200 PLUMBAGINACEJi. 



Preparations. — Infusion aud vinous tincture. 



Medical Proijaiicti and Uses. — Tlie unripe fruit and inner bark are as- 

 trinj^x'ut and bitter. Tannin ajipears t(^ be llieir cnly constituent of thera- 

 peutic importance. Like other drug's containing tannin, persimmon has 

 been enipk)yed in chi-onic and subacute catarrhal aliections, utid in hem- 

 orrhages, but many other articles are much more eligible aud eliicacious. 



PLUMBACINACE/E. 



Cliaiartrr of tin'. Order. — Herbs, rarely woody, "svith leaves alternate or 

 clustered at the root. Flowers rt!gular, .^-merous. Cidyx tubular, plaited, 

 persistent. Petals united at the base, or distinct. Stamens oi^jjosite the 

 l)etals or lobes of the corolla. Ovary 1-celled, free from the calyx, 1- 

 ovuled. 



An order i:xhiil)iting the sea-shore or salt marshes, mostly in temperate 

 regions, llcpresented in North America by three genera, only one of 

 Avhich comprises medicinal species. 



STATICE. — Mausii-Rosemau Y. 



Statice LimoniumLinnc'. — Ifirsh-Iioseinary, Sea Lavender. 



Deseriiilio — Calyx funnel-i'orm, dry, mend)ranaceous, persistent. Co- 

 rolla : petals 5, distinct, or united below, with long claws. Stamens 5, 

 united to the bases of the petals. Styles 5, rarely 3, distinct. Fruit mem- 

 branaceous, indehiscent. 



A perennial herb, with a thick, reddish, woody root. Leaves all radi- 

 cal, thickish, oblong, spatulate, or obovate-lanceolate, tapering into a 

 rather long petiole. Scapes 1 to 2 feet high, loosely paniculate, the flow- 

 ers in one-sided spikes on the branches, 2- to y-bracted, appearing late iu 

 summer. 



Habdat. — In salt marshes along the coast, and, in various forms, 

 throughout the world. Onr plant is var. Carohniana Gray, while the fonn 

 found on Ihe Pacific coast is car. Californica Gray. 



Part Used. — The root — not official. 



ConsfduenlK. — IMarsh -rosemary contains, as its most important constitu- 

 ent, about twelve per cent, of tainiin. 



JWjjarations. — Decoction jind infusion. 



Medical JVopertiea and Uxe.-^. — Containing, as it does, a large percent- 

 age of tannin, this pl-uit is powerfully astringtnt. In the early part of 

 this century it was largely used for the same purjioses as are catechu and 

 kino now. At present its dec^oction is cljiefly used as a domehtic remedy, 

 often as a gargle in sore throat, and as an astringent to bleeding aud ulcer- 

 ated surfaces. 



