234 riFYTOLArcACK.i:. 



ami manner of mliiiiniHtmtioii. It was formerly employed in fevers of a 

 typhoid clmractor, but is now little used, except in bronchiid and pulmo- 

 Jiary airoctions of an adynamic character. 



PHYTOLACCACE/E. 



('hnractcr of Iha Orthr, — Herbs or uiidorsluMibs mu(!h resemblinj:f the 

 foUowiujjf order — (Ihcnopodiacou,' — but havinj^' a many-celled, many-ovulcd 

 ovary, which in fruit forms a berry. Itepresontod in North America by 

 the genus 



PHYTOLACCA.— PoKKWRKi). 



Phytolacca decandra Linn«'. — Pohvwrcd, Scokeici'cJ, Garget, /*igcnn- 

 bcrry. 



JJewription. — Calyx : sepals 5, rounded, white, petaloid. Corolla ab- 

 sent. Stamens 10, rather shorter than the sepals. Ovary of 10 carpcsls 

 united in a ring ; styles 10, short, recurved. Fruit a depressed-globose 

 berry, dark puri)le, 10-seeded. 



A smooth, stout perennial herb with hollow stems and large Heshy 

 roots. Stem mui;h branched, JJ to 8 feet high, at first green but becoming 

 purplish with age. Leaves scattered, ovate-oblong, entire, acute, smooth 

 lioth sides, petiolate. Flowers in long racemes ojiposite the leaves, ap- 

 pearing in summer. The bciTies ripen in autumn, and are filled with 

 crimson juice. 



Ilab'dal. — Common everywhere. 



Parts VHeiJ. — Phytolaccic bucca — phytolacca bcny ; phytolaccro radix — 

 Phytolacca root — Vnite.d Stales Pharmacopeia. 



Condilucntfi. — Tlie active principk; of poke has not yet been isolated. 



Pri'irirations. — None are official. Both tli(> berries and root have been 

 employed in decoirtion and in tincture, and the root has been used also in 

 the form of an ointment. 



Medical P'opcrties and f n^.v. — All parts of the plant possess acrid and 

 somewhat nai'cotic pi'operties. The juice of the fresh plant, or a strong 

 decoctif)n of the root, applied locally, may strongly irritate the skin, esjiec- 

 ially if tender or abraded. Taken internally it produ(!es nausea, vomiting, 

 and purging, and, in overdoses, aero -narcotic jjoisoning. It has been em- 

 ployed with more or less satisfactory resxilts in a great variety of cutaneous 

 allections, and in rheumatism, especially wlien chronic or of a syphilitic 

 origin. There is little doubt that, in view of the uncertainty which at pres- 

 ent exists regarding it, this plant would well repay further careful experi- 

 mentation. 



