338 



MEDICAL BOTANY. 



Fig. 159. 



D. carota. 



Description.— Root slender, yel- 

 lowish, aromatic and sweetish. 

 Stem 2 or 3 feet high, erect 

 branched, leafy, hairy. Leaves 

 alternate, on broad, concave rib- 

 bed petioles, bipinnate, incised, 

 narrow, acute, distantly hairy. 

 Umbels solitary, large, white, ex- 

 cept a central neutral flower, 

 which is dark red. General in- 

 volucre, with the leaflets pinnati- 

 fid, nearly the length of the um- 

 bel; those of partial one undivided, 

 or partly 3-cleft, membranous at 

 the edges. Fruit small, pale dull 

 brown, oval. Mericarps with the 

 primary ribs filiform, bristly, three 

 near the middle of the convex 

 back, and two on the plane of the 

 commissure. Secondary ridges 

 A. Horizontal section of fruit. B. Flower seen from above, deeper and irregularly split into 

 g, e. disk. C. Plan of flower. D. Vertical section of fruit, setaceous lobes. Vittae, one under 

 /. Pericarp, o. Seed. p. Albumen, e. Embryo. E. Vertical , , ., ' , , 



section of flower, p. Petals, e. Stamens, o. Ovary, s. eacn secondary ridge, and two on 

 Styles and stigmas, g, e. Disk. the commissure. 



The Carrot is a native of many parts of Europe, and is extensively natu- 

 ralized in the United States, and in both countries is generally cultivated for 

 its esculent roots. The root of the Wild carrot is whitish yellow, hard, of a 

 strong smell, and unpleasant, somewhat acrid taste; that of the cultivated is 

 from a reddish-yellow to a dark red colour, succulent, of a pleasant, some- 

 what aromatic odour, and a sweet, mucilaginous, peculiar taste. The seeds 

 are light, of a dull brownish colour, an oval shape, convex and bristly on one 

 side, and fiat on the other. They have a warm, pungent, bitterish taste, and 

 an aromatic smell. The root of the cultivated kind contains some volatile 

 oil and a large proportion of pectin, a peculiar colouring principle called 

 carotin, and some sugar. That of the wild variety has much more volatile 

 oil, which is also found, but in larger proportion, in the seeds. This oil is of 

 a pale yellow colour. 



Medical Uses. — The root of the wild variety and the seeds of both kinds 

 are stimulant, carminative and diuretic, and have been administered to 

 fulfil these intentions. An infusion of them is said to relieve strangury from 

 blisters. The root of the garden carrot has attained some reputation as an 

 external application to unhealthy and foul ulcers, and is considered useful in 

 correcting and even altering the morbid condition of the parts. To fit it for 

 this purpose it is scraped or grated. When boiled it becomes perfectly mild, 

 and on being mashed forms a very good emollient cataplasm, but retains 

 none of its peculiar properties. 



Campylosperm^e. 



Section 7. Smyrnie.e.— Fruit with primary ribs only, laterally compressed. Fruit 

 turgid. 



Pr a TiG os . — Lindley. 



Calyx a 5-toothcd rim. Petals ovate, entire, involute at the point. Disk depressed, 

 scarcely visible in the fruit. Fruit nearly taper, with a broad commissure. Mericarps 

 compressed at the back, with 5 smooth ridges, thick at the base, ending in vertical mem- 

 branous wings. Vittoe numerous. 



