402 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



the single or double character of the flowers, which are the officinal portion 

 of the plant. These are collected before they are fully blown, and dried. 

 They have a bitter, aromatic taste, and strong and peculiar odour ; as these 

 properties reside principally in the tubular florets, which are most numerous 

 in the single florets, they should always be preferred ; but the large double 

 flowers are generally the most esteemed, though inferior to the others, from 

 their disk florets being converted into ligulate rays. By distillation, chamo- 

 mile yields a Volatile oil, which, when first obtained, is of a pale blue colour, 

 but by keeping, changes to yellow or brownish. Besides this oil, the flowers 

 contain a bitter extractive and tannin. 



Medical Properties. — Chamomile flowers are an aromatic bitter tonic in 

 small doses, but act as an emetic when given in. large ones. In the form of 

 cold infusion they are useful in imparting tone to the digestive organs, and 

 are frequently administered when the stomach is disordered and a sluggish 

 condition of bowels exists. Chamomile has also been recommended in inter- 

 mittent fevers and has been spoken highly of, but is inferior to many other 

 of the tonic remedies ; when given in doses sufficient to check the parox- 

 ysms, it is very liable to induce profuse discharges from the bowels. The 

 warm infusion is often employed to aid the operation of emetics, and the oil 

 is given to relieve flatulency. The infusion or decoction are also occasion- 

 ally used in a hot state as fomentations. The general mode of administra- 

 tion is in infusion, made with half an ounce of the flowers to a pint of boiling 

 water, to be macerated for ten minutes and then strained. The powder is 

 seldom used, as it is apt to create nausea. 



Several other plants have received the name of chamomile and have been 

 used as a substitute for it ; among which the most common are the Matricaria 

 chamomilla and the Pyrethrum parthenium ; both of these are bitter and 

 tonic, but are more disagreeable than the genuine article. Another very 

 common substitute is the Achillea millefolium, which is fully as efficient, and 

 at one time enjoyed a high reputation not only as a tonic, but also as an 

 excellent vulnerary, and is still much employed in domestic practice in many 

 parts of Europe ; its extremely disagreeable taste will, however, always pre- 

 vent its coming into general use. 



Anacyclus. — De Candolle. 



Head many-flowered, heterogamous. Florets of ray, pistillate, sterile, somewhat ligu- 

 late, rarely tubular. Of the disk, perfect, 5-toothed. Receptacle conical or convex, paleaceous. 

 Involucre in few rows, somewhat campanulate, shorter than the disk. All the florets 

 with an ob-compressed, two-winged tube. Style of the disk florets with ex-appendiculate 

 branches. Achenia flat, or compressed with broad, entire wings. Pappus short, irre- 

 gular, somewhat toothed. 



A small genus separated from Anthemis, to which, however, it is closely 

 allied, and might without much extension of the generic characters, be con- 

 sidered as a section. 



A. pyrethrum, De Candolle. — Stem procumbent, pubescent. Radical leaves petiolated, 

 smoothish, pinnately divided. Segments much cleft into linear, subulate lobes. Cauline 

 leaves sessile. Branches one-flowered. Scales of involucre lanceolate, acuminate, with 

 a brown margin. 



Linn., {Anthemis,) Sp. PI. 1262 ; Stephenson and Churchill, ii. 97 ; 

 Anacyclus pyrethrum , De Candolle, Prod., vi. 15. 



Common Names. — Pellitory of Spain ; Spanish Chamomile. 

 Foreign Names. — Pyrethre, Fr. ; Piretro, It. ; Zahn Wurtzel, Ger. 



