FUASERA — AMKUICAN COLl MliO. 221 



SAliBATIA.— Ameuican Crntaiiry. 



Sabbatia angularis Pnrsli. — Amirican Ccnlauri/. 



DeHcnplion. — Ciilyx dt'cply r)-i)arted. CoroUji deeply 5-p.artcd, tlioovul 

 lobes twice the lenjjjth of the calyx. Stiiuieus 5, inserted on the sliort 

 corolla-tiibo ; anthers ohloiipf, soon recurved. Stylo lonj^er than the sta- 

 mens, declined ; Htigmas '2. Capsule 1-celled, 2-vHlved. 



A smooth biennial. Stem erect, 1 to 2 feet high, squant, the angles 

 winged ; brancdies axillai'v, opposite. Leaves ovate, entire, somewhat cor- 

 date and clasping at the base. Flowers numerous, large and showy, rose- 

 pink, forming a large corymb ; they appear late in summer. 



llabUal. — In rich dry soil from New York to Illinois and southward. -^ 



Part Ufitnl. — The herb — not otHcial. 



Cornet it lumt f^.—Thifi, and probably all other species of sabbatia, contains 

 a bitter principle which has not, as yet, been isolated, to which their medi(^i- 

 nal virtue is due. 



I'rcpfiralions. — Commonly administered in infusion. 



Medical Prop^rlias and I'scs. — American ('(nitavay is a simple Ijitter 

 tonic. It was, in early days, used in intermittent and remittent fevers, 

 and probablj', like other agents of the same class, sometimes with curative 

 etlfect. At present it is seldom employed, thougli it might doubtless be 

 occasionally beneficial as a promoter of the appetite, and an aid to diges- 

 tion in ciises of debility and in convalescence. Several other indigenous 

 species are said to possess similar or identical properties. 



FRASERA. — Amkuican Columbo. 



Frasera Carolinensis Walter. — American (hlnmho. 



Dt'.Kvriplion. — Calyx 4parted, persistent. Corolla rotate, 4-parted, the 

 lobes oblong, niucrouate, each with a depressed fringed gland on the upper 

 face. Stamens 4, alternate with the lobes of the corolla. Style persist(>nt ; 

 stigmas spreading. Capsule oval, compressed, 1-celled, 2-valved ; seeds 

 few, largo, borne on the margins of the valves. 



A smooth perennial herb, with a large sjnndle-shaped root. Stem cylin- 

 drical, erect, 3 to 8 feet high, with leaves and branches mostly in whorls 

 of four. Leaves sessih^ lance-oblong, the lowest spatulate. Flowers 

 greenish-yellow, dotted with puri^le, in cymes disposed in a large pyram- 

 idal panicle, appearing in naidsummer. 



JIabital. — In I'ich dry soil, from Southern New York to Georgia and 

 westwai'd. 



Pari Used. — The root — foi'merly official, but dropped from the Pharma- 

 copoeia in 1880. 



Constituents. — Gentisic acid, and gentiopicrin, both of which are found 



