RANUNCULACEiE. 95 



cians; this is not the case, and as is observed by Dr. Tully, it is perhaps owing 

 to an adulteration of the former with the latter, that it sometimes causes un- 

 pleasant effects. (Bost. Med. Sf Surg. Jour. viii. 133.) 



The A. cimicifuga, a native of Siberia, is exceedingly foetid, and is em- 

 ployed in that country as a remedy against fleas, and according to Gmelin is 

 also considered as efficacious in dropsy. (Flor. Sibir. iv. 183.) 



Zanthoriza. — Marshall. 



Sepals 5. Petals 5 bilobate, pedicellate. Stamens 5-10. Pistils 5-10. Follicles 

 small, mostly 1 -seeded ; seed suspended. 



This genus contains but one species and is peculiar to North America. It 

 was first described by Marshall, and has been recognised by all modern bo- 

 tanists. 



Z. apiifolia, VHeritier. — Leaves alternate, pinnate ; flowers in a terminal 

 lax panicle. 



L'Heritier. Stirp. i. 79 ; Stokes, Med. Bot. ii. 194 ; Barton, Veg. Mat. Med. 

 ii. 203 ; Torrey & Gray, Fl i. 40. 



Common names. — Yellow-root, Yellow-wort, &c. 



Description. — A small shrub from two to three feet in height, with a horizontal root. 

 The stem is simple and the bark smooth, enclosing a bright yellow wood. The leaves 

 are pinnate, with incised leaflets, supported on long petioles which are somewhat amplex- 

 icaule at base. The flowers are in pendulous racemes, of a dark purple colour, and are 

 succeeded by compressed semi-bivalve capsules, containing oval flattened seeds. 



The Yellow-root is a native of the Southern States, principally restricted to 

 the mountains ; it is abundant along the lower parts of the Ohio, and in Ten- 

 nessee, and North Carolina. It flowers in April. It first attracted attention 

 on account of its tinctorial properties, which were well known to the Indians. 

 It imparts a drab colour to wool, and a rich yellow to silk, but is said to have 

 no effect on cotton or linen, though it is probable that with a proper mordant 

 that it could be fixed on these articles also. With Prussian blue it affords a 

 dull olive green. 



Medical uses, SfC. — The properties of this shrub are those of a pure bitter, 

 which is most marked in the bark. From the experiments of Dr. Wood- 

 house, (IV. Y. Med. Repos. ix. 291,) these qualities appear to depend on a 

 bitter gum and resin, of which the latter is most abundant ; no exact analysis 

 of it has, however, been made. Dr. B. S. Barton was of opinion that the 

 Zanthoriza is a more powerful bitter than Colomba, and it is probable that it is 

 a good substitute for it or any other of the foreign simple tonic bitters. It may 

 be given in decoction, tincture or powder; the latter in doses of two scruples 

 agrees well with the stomach. From the intensely bitter character of the 

 resin, alcohol would appear to be the best menstruum. 



Many other plants of this extensive order have been employed as medicinal 

 agents in different countries. Thus the leaves of Knowltonia vesicaloria are 

 used as vesicants in South Africa, and those of several species of Adonis are 

 very active, as Pallas states that those of A. vernalis are used in Siberia to 

 procure abortion, and Clusius says that the roots were used as a substitute for 

 Hellebore, and even considered to be the plant mentioned by Hippocrates 

 under that name. In Africa the leaves of A. capensis and A. gracilis are 

 employed as epispastics, in fact, they are all caustic, vesicant and dangerous. 

 Rafinesque states that the roots of some of the native species of Thalictrum 



