berberidace^e. 115 



best to notice it, in the hope that a fair trial may be made of its powers, and 

 whether it deserves the popular reputation it has acquired. 



Podophyllum. — Linn. 



Sepals 3, deciduous. Petals 6-9, obovate. Stamens 6-18, with linear anthers. Ovary 

 ovate, subsessile, peltate. Fruit fleshy, indehiscent, containing numerous seeds in seve- 

 ral rows, in a pulpy placenta. 



Although this genus differs from the Berberidacese in having more nume- 

 rous stamens, and in the absence of the peculiar dehiscence of the anthers, 

 still it is so closely allied in other respects, that it seems advisable to leave it 

 in this order, rather than to consider it as the type of a new one, though this 

 has been done by several very eminent botanists. Lindley, who places it in 

 the Ranunculacese, is of opinion that it forms a link between that order and 

 the present. It is mainly North American, and was thought to consist of 

 but one species, though Rafinesque recognises three, the P. peltatum, mon- 

 tanum, and callicarpum ; the latter is considered by Torrey and Gray to 

 be a mere variety of the first, and this is probably the case ; the montanum, 

 however, judging from Rafinesque's description and plate, presents many dif- 

 ferential characters, especially in having palmate but not peltate leaves. 

 Other species have lately been found in Northern India, one of which has 

 but six stamens. 



P. peltatum, Linn. — Stem 1-flowered ; leaves peltate-palmate; lobes cuneate, incised. 

 Stamens 12-18. 



Linn. Sp. PI. 722 ; Torrey & Gray, Flor. i. 54 ; Bigelow, Med. Bot. i. 

 35 ; Barton, Veg. Mat. Med. ii. 9 ; Rafinesque, Med. Flor. ii. 59. 



Common names. — May-apple, Wild Lemon, Mandrake, Raccoon berry, &c. 



Description. — The root is creeping, long, of a brown colour externally, and yellowish 

 within ; the stem is simple, upright, and smooth, about a foot in height, two-leaved, and 

 bearing a single flower at the insertion of the petioles. The leaves are large, peltate, 

 and divided into five or six lobes, which are incised at top; they are of a yellowish- 

 green above, and somewhat glaucous beneath. The flower is nodding, large, white, and 

 somewhat fragrant, and is succeeded by an oval fruit, of a lemon-yellow colour, contain- 

 ing a thick, somewhat mucilaginous pulp, in which the seeds are immersed, all connected 

 to the lateral receptacle by fibres. 



The May apple is found in great plenty in almost all parts of the United 

 States, in damp and shady woods, though occasionally to be met with in 

 dry and exposed situations. It flowers in May and June, and ripens its 

 fruit in September, at which time the leaves' wither and fall off. The fruit is 

 edible, and is very agreeable to some persons, whilst to others it is extremely 

 unpleasant ; it very closely resembles in taste and even appearance, the fruit 

 of the Passiflora edulis of the West Indies. It is slightly aperient, and may 

 be partaken of in large quantities, without any unpleasant effect. The In- 

 dians are very fond of it, and consider it medicinal. The leaves are said 

 to be narcotic and poisonous, but no experiments have been made to 

 ascertain their true qualities. The root has long been known and celebrated 

 as a cathartic of considerable activity. 



Medical uses, 6fC — The root of this plant was in common use among 

 the Indians, before the settlement of the country by the whites, and was 

 considered by them as one of their most powerful purgatives. The first 

 writers on the Materia Medica that noticed it, as Schoepf and Puihn, 

 speak of it as an emetic, but except used in too fresh a state or in large 



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