Plex.mon. 10. EUPHORBIACE^. 26. Mercur. 261 



ii. Monoicous, barren filaments 0', lierhaceous, smooth. 

 Mercurialis. 



1. Mercurialis annua. Annual mercury. 

 Stem brachiate; leaves bald; Jlowers glomerately spiked; 



root fibrous. 



Mercurialis annua glabra vulgaris, Raii Syn. 139,2, 

 Mercurialis mas et fcemina, Ger. e?n. 332, 1, and 2. 

 Mercurialis vulgaris mas et fcemina, Pflrfc. 295. 

 Mercurialis annua, Lin. S. P. 1465. 

 French mercuri). 



Ruins; annual ; July to September. 



Herb light green, smooth, shining, upright, fcetid ; leaves 

 ovate, Serrated; capsules muricated. — Mucilaginous, used 

 in clysters ; juice takes away warts. 



b. Dioicous; barren filaments 2; herbaceous , or shrubby; 

 rough. Cynocrambe. 



2. Mercurialis perennis. Perennial mercury. 



Stem quite simple; leaves rough; flowers with long pe- 

 dicells^ root creeping. 



Mercurialis perennis repens, cynocrambe dicta, Raii Syn. 138, 1. 

 Cynocrambe mas et fcemina, Ger.em. 333, 1. 



Mercurialis sylvestris cynocrambe dicta vulgaris, mas et fcemina. Park. 

 -292. 



Mercurialis perennis, Lin. S. P. 1465, 

 Mercurialis nemoralis, Salisb. Prod. 390. 

 Dag's mercury. 



"Woods and hedges, male and female plants generally in 

 separate patches ; perennial ; April and May. 



Root much branched; stem 18 in. high, upper part 

 densely leaved; leaves petiplate, ovate; stipulcB membra- 

 naceous, reflex; capsules pilose, rough. — Mildly laxative 

 when boiled as greens ; but a case has occurred in which 

 being eaten fried with bacon, it produced hypercatharsis 

 and convulsions, and was fatal to three children, but their 

 two parents escaped. 



VI. 27. BUXUS. Pliny. Box. 



Monoicous ; perigonium 3 to 4-sepaled. — Male. Sta- 

 mens 4, inserted on the rudiment of the germen ; barren 



filaments 2 ; anthers arrowshape. — Fem. Barren filaments 3 ; 

 styles 3 ; stigmata 3, blunt ; regma 3-coccous ; cocci two- 

 seeded. — Stem arborescent; secondary branches opposite, 

 4-sided, girt below with many bracteae; leaves opposite, per- 

 ennial ; petiole decurrent, making the branches angular ; 



flowers glomerate, axillary, nearly sessile, scaly; female 

 single, central j male many, in the circumference. 



