352 



MEDICAL BOTANY. 



This order presents great va- 

 riations in the inflorescence, and 

 will perhaps be divided ; the 

 several tribes now composing it 

 differ from each other in many 

 important particulars. The spe- 

 cies are generally shrubs, but 

 m a few instances are herba- 

 ceous ; they are chiefly natives 

 of cold and temperate climates, 

 and when occurring in tropical 

 regions are confined to the moun- 

 tains. 



Triosteum. — Linn. 



Calyx 5-clefl, persistent, nearly as 

 long as the corolla. Segments linear, 

 lanceolate. Corolla tubular, 5-lobed, 

 subequal, base gibbous. Stamens 5, 

 included. Ovary 3 (rarely 4 — 5) celled, 

 with a single suspended ovule in 

 each cell ; style included ; stigma some- 

 what lobed, capitate. Fruit drupaceous, 

 somewhat dry, 3-celled, 3-seeded. 



This genus is Asiatic and 

 North American, two species 

 being peculiar to each country ; 

 they are perennial herbaceous 

 plants, with lanceolate or ovate 

 entire leaves, narrowed and some- 



a Insertion of stamens, b Anthers, c Section of what COronate at base, and axil- 



1711'. t EmbJyo.'* SuCti ° n ° fd °' /- Seed ' e ' Secti ° n lar y almost sessile flowers, which 



are solitary or clustered. 



T. perfoliatum, Linn. — Stem hirsute ; leaves ovate-acuminate, narrowed at base, pu- 

 bescent beneath, hairy above ; flowers sessile, clustered. 



Linn., Sp. PL 250 ; Torrey and Gray, Fl. ii. 12 ; Barton, Veg. Mat. 

 Med. i. 59 ; Bigetow, Med. Bot. i. 90. 



Common Names. — Fever- wort ; Wild Coffee ; Horse Gentian ; Dr. Tin- 

 ker's weed. 



Description. — Root perennial, horizontal, thick and fleshy. Stem from two to four feet 

 high, simple, erect, pubescent. Leaves large, oblong-oval, acuminate, narrowed towards 

 the base, mostly connate, upper ones almost amplexicaul. Beneath they are covered with 

 a bluish-white pubescence, and above sparsely so, or almost glabrous. The flowers are 

 axillary, sessile, clustered. The calyx is composed of five linear segments of a purplish 

 colour, with a single bract. The corolla is rather longer than the calyx, tubular, five- 

 lobed, lobes rounded, the lower part of the tube is gibbous. The stamens are five, in- 

 cluded, with hairy filaments. The ovary is inferior and supports a long, slender style, 

 with an oblong stigma. The fruit is ovate, of an orange-colour (Torrey and Gray; dark- 

 purple, Barton, Pursh, &c.), crowned with the persistent calyx, three-celled, each cell 

 containing a hard seed. 



The Fever-wort is found in shady, rocky situations, in rich soil, in many 

 parts of the United States, flowering in June and July. The root is the offi- 

 cinal part; it is from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, of 



Caprifolium perfoliatum. 



