EUPHORBIACEJ'J. 173 



such. Eiqihorhia hjpcricifolla ' shares in Columbia the name of 

 Canchalarjuu with certain bitter and depurative Gentianacece, of 

 which it appears to possess the properties. In certain countries of 

 South America it is considered as slightly narcotic, elsewhere its juice 

 is employed to extract spots on the cornea. The juice oîE. Clmmœsyce " 

 is used for itch and as a sudorific. In Brazil E. pilulifera ^ is 

 believed to be good for cm'iug the bites of serpents ; the juice is used 

 for the treatment of aphtee. E. officinarum,^ employed in Morocco for 

 tanning leather, is at the same time an insecticide and antirheumatic. 

 There have also been proposed as remedies for rabies E. pilosa ^ of 

 Russia and Mercurialis tomento-sa of the south of Europe." 



Very few of the Euphorbiacece are edible, with the exception of 

 those whose fruits and seeds we have mentioned as being eaten. Still 

 the shoots of several species of Euphorbia, as E. balsamifera of Africa, 

 are eaten when cooked. E. edulis '' is especially mentioned, Loureiro 

 has seen it eaten by the Cochin-chinese ; sjjecies of Mercurialis, 

 of which the peasants are said sometimes to eat the young leaves ; 

 species of Plukcactia of India, particularly P. volubilis,^ from which 

 a delicate dish is prepared by cooking them in the milk of the 

 cocoa-nut ; and finally Ma7iihot, whose leaves, minced and cooked 

 in oil, are sometimes eaten by the South Americans. But the most 

 celebrated aliment of this family is the fecula extracted from the 

 roots of certain species of the latter genus, bearing the names of 

 Cassava, Moussache, Couaque, Tapioca and Manioc^'' It is furnished 

 principally by M. amer (Fr.) or Manihot edulis of Plumier/" culti- 

 vated in most tropical countries, and by 31. doux (Fr.) or Camarjnoc^^ 



1 'L.Sort. Cliff. 198.— Hook. Exot. Pi. i. t. » 1.. Spec. 1192 (part.).— Lamk. /«. t. 788.— 

 36. — Boiss. Frodr. n. 51. Plcm. Hm. PI. Amer. t. 13, fig. 2. Rosexth. 



2 L. Amœii. iii. 115. — Boiss. Prodi: n. 101. — op. cit. 822. In the Moluccas, P. corniciilataSu. 

 B. massiliensis DC. Fl. fr. v. 357. is cultivated as a pot herb. It is employed 



3 L. Amcen. iii. 114. — Boiss. Prodr. n. -13. topically in the treatment of œdema, abscesses, 

 — E. capitata LaiMK. Diet. ii. 422. &c. (Sajor Putj . 



* L. Spec. 6i7. — E. pulytjoitatuin ISN. in Act. ' Endl. Eiwhirid. 595. — Guib. op. cit. ii. 347 

 Aead. Sc. Par. (1722), 387, t. 10. — Pekeira, E/em. Mat. Med. ed. 4, ii. p. i. 428. 



* L. Spec. 659. — E. procera BiEM. — E. villoma H. Bn. in Diet. Eiici/cl. Sc. Méd. sér. ii. iv. 561. 



Waidst. et Kit. — E. illyrica Lamk. Vict. ii. 435. lo M. ntiUissima Puhl. PI. bras. i. 32 t. 24. 



— E. paidculata Lois. M. Ana. Prodr. 1064, n. 17. — M. ediile A.llicB. 



6 A peculiar property is mentioned, that of Cub. iii. 208. — Jatropha Manihot L. Spec. 1007. 



being phosphorescent in the dark, in aBraziliau — Trss.i<V. Ant. iii.t. 1. — Descourt. Fl.'Ant iii. 



species, E. phosphorea Mart. {Reis. 726; in t. 176. — Janipha Manihot H. B. K. Nov. Gen. et 



Linncea [1820], Litt. 612.— Boiss. Prodr. n. Spec. ii. 10S.—£ot. Mag. t. 3071. [Mandijba, 



697). Mandiocca, Jttca amarya.). 



' Lour. Fl. Cochinch. (ed. 1790), 298 {Xmnj " M. Palmata M. Arg. Prodr. 1062. ». 16. 



rao«y &).— Boiss. Prafr.n. 294. —M. diffusa Pohl. — J/. Aipi Pohl. — 37. 



