372 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Nepeta Cataria (catnip) is a perennial lierb naturalized in 

 the United States from Europe (Fig. 74). It contains a bitter 

 principle, tannin, and an oxygenated volatile oil. Glecoma hcdc- 

 racea or ground ivy is a creeping perennial herb with blue bilabi- 

 ate flowers and reniform, crenate leaves. It contains a bitter 

 principle and volatile oil. Cunila origanoidcs or American 

 DITTANY, is a small perennial herb growing from New York to 

 Florida, and characterized by its pungent aromatic properties. 



Leonunis Cardiaca or motherwort is a perennial herb nat- 

 uralized in the United States and Canada from Europe. The 

 leaves are 3-lobed ; the calyx -is 5-nerved and with 5 prickly 

 teeth ; the corolla varies from white to pink or purple. The plant 

 contains a volatile oil of rather an unpleasant odor ; a bitter prin- 

 ciple; two resins and several organic acids, namely, malic, citric 

 and tartaric. 



f. SOLANACE^ OR POTATO FAMILY.— The family 

 includes herbs, shrubs, trees and vines, which are most abundant 

 in tropical regions. The leaves are alternate and vary from entire 

 to dissected. The flowers are mostly regular, except in hyos- 

 cyamus. The stamens are adnate to the corolla tube, the anthers 

 connivent and the pollen-sacs apically or longitudinally dehiscent. 

 The fruit is a berry or capsule in which the sepals mostly persist 

 and sometimes become enlarged or inflated. The seeds have a 

 large reserve layer and the embryo is frequently curved. 



Datura Stramonium (Jimson weed) is a large, annual, branch- 

 ing herb (Fig. 269), found in waste places in the United States 

 and parts of Canada, being naturalized from Asia. The leaves 

 and flowering tops are official (p. 622). The large, spiny capsule 

 is shown at Fig. 89, B. The seeds are described on page 624. 



Atropa Belladonna (Deadly nightshade) is a perennial herb 

 producing a large fleshy root, which is used in medicine (p. 463), 

 as are also the leaves and flowering tops (Fig. 268, p. 620). 



Scopolia carniolica is a perennial herb with nearly entire or 

 somewhat irregularly toothed leaves. The flowers are campan- 

 ulate and dark purple. The fruit is a globular, transversely 

 dehiscent capsule (pyxidium). The rhizome is official (p. 509)- 



Hyoscyamus niger or henbane is a biennial herb (Fig. 267), 

 the leaves and flowering tops of which are official (p. 617). 



