120 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



of the Indian tribes. The petioles and leaves may be eaten as greens, and 

 the nuts are very analogous to chestnuts in taste, but if partaken of too freely, 

 are apt to affect the bowels. The leaves are cooling and emollient, and form 

 a good dressing for blistered surfaces. Endlicher states that the viscid juice 

 of the stalks may be employed as a remedy against nausea and diarrhoea, 

 and according to Ainslie, the petals were shown to Dr. Hamilton in Behar as 

 a remedy in cases of dysuria. Loureiro (Flor. Coch. Chin. i. 340) says of 

 it, " Radix seminaque esculenta sunt, sapida et salubria ; in re medica virtu- 

 tem habent refrigirantem et roborantem." 1 



Group V.— Papaverales. 



Order 9.— FA? AVER ACE JE.—Jussieu. 



Herbs, rarely shrubs, with alternate, often divided leaves. Flowers in general, large 

 and solitary. Sepals 2, caducous. Petals 4, caducous, arranged in a cruciate form, hypo- 

 gynous. Stamens numerous, but always in some multiple of the petals, sometimes in 4 

 parcels, one of which adheres to the base of each petal ; anthers innate. Ovary of one 

 or more united carpels ; style very short or none ; stigmas stellate or radiate. Pericarp a 

 one-celled, many-seeded capsule, opening by valves, holes, or pores under the permanent 

 stigma ; sometimes pod-shaped, with two placentae. Seed with an oily or fleshy albumen 

 and embryo. 



The principal portion of this order are natives of Europe, fully two-thirds 

 of the species being found there. Several are indigenous to North America, 

 and it appears probable that many more will be discovered. They are un- 

 known in a wild state within the tropics. They are for the most part annuals, 

 the few perennials among them inhabit mountainous regions. 



The plants of this order abound in an acrid milky juice, which is often 

 narcotic, and in many cases highly poisonous. This pervades the whole 

 plant with the exception of the seeds, which are in most cases oily and nutri- 

 tive, though this is not invariably the case, as those of Argemone Mexicana 

 are said to be narcotic and purgative, especially if smoked ; they are also 

 emetic, and are used as such in the West Indies ; and Ainslie states that the 

 juice is considered by the Hindoo physicians as a beneficial application in cases 

 of ophthalmia, and also as a good application in chancre. The juice of the 

 Chelidonium majus is extremely acrid, and was at one time esteemed as a 

 powerful deobstruent and sudorific; it is a popular remedy against warts, and 

 has been used with some success in piles. The root of Sanguinaria is acro- 

 narcotic, and emetic, and that of Meconopsis Nepalensis is said to be an active 

 poison. The juice of Bocconia frutescens is acrid, and has been found useful 

 in destroying warts, and as an application to obstinate cutaneous eruptions 

 and foul ulcers. (Macfadye?i, Flor. Jam. 23.) 



Papaver. — Linn. 



Sepals 2. Petals 4. Stamens numerous. Style wanting ; stigmas numerous, sessile, 

 stellately arranged on the summit of the ovary. Capsule superior, with many-seeded 

 placentas, forming incomplete septa, opening by many pores under the stigma. 



This genus consists of herbaceous, generally annual plants, with large 

 flowers of various shades of colour, especially of red and white, rarely yel- 

 low, never blue. It is almost European ; with the exception of three or four 

 species, they are all natives of that continent. A few have become natu- 

 ralized in the United States, but are not common. 



P. somnifkrum, Linn. — Caulescent, glabrous, glaucous. Leaves amplexicaul, ovate- 

 oblong, incised-dentate, glabrous. Sepals glabrous. Capsules obovate or globose, gla- 

 brous. 



