272 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



even alone it is capable of supporting life, in quantities not exceeding a few 

 ounces daily. It is said to be a common article of food in some parts of 

 Africa, and Hasselquist mentions a caravan of more than a thousand persons, 

 who having exhausted their provisions, were supported for two months on 

 the gum they were carrying as merchandise. 



Many other species of Acacia have properties deserving of notice. The 

 bark of A. ferruginea is very astringent, and when added to sugared water, 

 forms an intoxicating drink. The wood and resin of A. orfata are employed 

 by the Arabs as a fumigation in epilepsy, and- the leaves prevent milk from 

 turning sour for some days. (Forskal, Fl. Arab. 177.) The bark of A. leu- 

 cophlcea is similar in its properties to that of the A. ferruginea. Several of 

 the Australian species furnish a kind of Catechu, as the A. mollissima, A. 

 decurrens, and A. melanoxylon. 



Group XVIII. — Rosales. 



Order 45.— ROSACEA.— Jussieu, 



Calyx 4 — 5 lobed, with a disk lining the lube, or surrounding the orifice. Petals 5, 

 perigynous. Stamens indefinite or definite, arising from the calyx, just within the petals; 

 anthers innate, 2-celled, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovaries superior, solitary, or several, 

 1-celled, sometimes forming a many-celled pistil ; ovules 2 or more, anatropal, suspended, 

 rarely erect; styles lateral; stigmas usually simple. Fruit either 1-seeded, nuts, or acini, 

 or follicles containing several seeds. 



The species of this order are herbaceous or shrubby, with simple or com- 

 pound alternate leaves, often with two stipules at base, and occasionally 

 dotted. They are principally natives of the temperate and cool climates of 

 the northern hemisphere. None of them bear poisonous fruits, these pro- 

 ducts being in many cases palatable and salutary. The bark and roots are 

 usually astringent and tonic. Thus the root of Potentilla has been used for 

 tanning; Geum and Comarum are excellent tonics, as is also Agimonia ; 

 most of the Spirceas, and several species of Rubus, are much em- 

 ployed as astringents. But other properties also exist ; for example, the roots 

 of Gillenia are emetic and diaphoretic, and one of the most powerful anthel- 

 mintics known, is afforded by the Brayera^antlielmintica, a native of Abys- 

 sinia, whence it is exported to Egypt, Turkey, &c, and used with much suc- 

 cess against the tape-worm. It was first described by Dr. Brayer {Notice 

 d?un Nouv. PL, fyc, 1823), and the genus named after him by Kunth. The 

 part used is the flowers, four or five drachms of which are made into an in- 

 fusion with twelve ounces of water ; this is divided into two doses, and given 

 at the interval of an hour ; it purges severely, and is said to destroy the worm 

 in almost every case. Some of the barks are endowed with saponaceous 

 qualities ; the most remarkable is Quillaja saponaria, which is used in some 

 parts of South America as a substitute for soap ; it is said to remove all kinds 

 of spots and stains, especially from woollens, and form an excellent wash for 

 the hair, imparting glossiness, and preventing its falling out. 



Section 1. RosiDiE. — Calyx tube fleshy, covering the achenia. 



Rosa. — Linn. 



Calyx pitcher-shaped, 5-cleft, finally fleshy, contracted at the neck. Achenia nume- 

 rous, hispid, affixed to the inner side of the tube of the calyx. Stipules adnate to the 

 petiole. 



