84 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



salivation and cougliing. In its native country it is employed fresh 

 as a remedy for th.e bites of venemous serpents, beiug prized beyond 

 measure on this account and known under the name of Snake-root. 

 Dry, it is less active, but in large doses causes vomiting and alvine 

 evacuations. It is also an active medicament in pulmonary 

 affections, chronic bronchitis, catarrh, pleurisy with effusion, croup, 

 acute rheumatism in the joints and ophthalmia ; it is diuretic, dia- 

 phoretic, an emmenagogue, and a hydragogue. American practi- 

 tioners have prescribed it for all maladies, " even to extravagance." 

 According to the old analysis of Gehlen, its active pungent prin- 

 ciple, the so-called senegine or polygaline, when purified, is found 

 to be the polygalic ^ acid, causing a cough and sneezing, and 

 frothing in water like saponine. There are in America a great many 

 species possessing qualities similar to those of P. of Yirginia : P. 

 caracasana^ formosa^ and monticola * in Cumana, and in the United 

 States P. purpurea,^ sanguinea ® and paucifolia ; ^ in Mexico P. 

 glandulosa ^ and scoporia^ in the Antilles P. faniculata^^ in Brazil 

 P. poaya^^ in Australia P. veronicea^^ in India P. arvenis^^ and 

 crotalarioides,^^ at the Cape P. serpentariaP All are evacuant, more 

 or less vomitive, used as deobstruent in chronic bronchial catarrh, 

 and have most of them, rightly or wrongly, the reputation of being 

 alexipharmic. In ChUi an infusion of P. thesioides ^^ is adminis- 

 tered in the treatment of dropsy and pleurisy. P. (?) theesans ^'^ 

 is so named because the Japanese and Javanese use it as tea. The 



I QcEV. in Journ. Phariii. xxii. 460. H. PI. Us. Bras. n. 71 ; Fl. Bras. Mer. u. 2. 

 a H. B. K. Nov. Gm. et Spec. v. 407.— DC. Very actiye and, according to Maetius, as good 



Prodr. n. 120. — Linbi. Fl. Med. 125. as Ipecacuanha. 



3 H. B. K. loc. !!«.— EoSENTH. op. cit. 787. 12 F. Muell. PI. Vict. i. 184. (Syn. Acoord- 



■• H. B. K. loc. cit. 405.— DC. Prodr. n. 111. ing to Benth. Fl. Austral, i. 139, de P. Japoniea 



' NcTT. ex EosENTH. op. cit. 7S7.—P. san- Houtt. Syst. 3, t. 62, fig. 1. — DC. Prodr. h. 34. — 



guim:aM.iCH.TL. (nee L.). P. vulgaris Thunb. Fl. Jap. 277. 



8 L. ISpeo. 991. — LiNDL. Fl. Med. 126. 13 W. Spec. iii. 876. 



? W. Spec. iii. »%Q.— Purpurea Ait. Sort. Kew. » Buohan. ex DO. Prodr. n. 65.— LmuL. Fl. 



ed. 2,iT. 244 (nee Ndtt.). — Triclisperma grandi- Med. 126. 



fwa EAPiN.-Sp«cA.i. 117. is Eckl. et Zeth. Bnum. n. 181.— Hauv. et 



' H. B. K. loo. cit. 404, t. 50.— Viola punctata Sond. Fl. Cap. i. 93 [Kaffir Schlagen Wortel). 



W. (ex Rcem. et Sch. Sgst. v. 391). i6 w. Spec. iii. 877.— C. Gat, Fl. Chil. i. 239. 



« H. B. K. loc. cit. 399.— DC. Prodr. u. 101. —Clinclin Feuill. Obs. ii. t. 13 [Quelen-guelen). 



1" L. Amcen. v. 402.— Sw. Obs. 272, t. 6, fig. 17 L. Mantiss. 260.— DC. Prodr. n. 163 {Lep- 



2.— DC. Prodr. n. 100. tospermwm ?) .—'Rosvm-H.. op. cit. 788. — P. Thai 



II Maet. Mat. Med. Bras. t. 2, 8, fig. 6— A. S. Bbrm. Fl. Ind. 153. 



