PLUMBAGINACE.E. 



525 



Fiz. 223. 



S. caroliniana, Walter. — Radical leaves obovate lanceolate, acutely mucronate, entire, 

 smooth ; scape alternately branched, flowers geminate, in unilateral spikes. 



Walter, Fl. Car. ; Nuttall. Gen. i. 206 ; Rafinesque, Med. Fl. ii. 93 ; 

 Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 51. 



Common Names. — Marsh Rosemary ; Ink root, &c. 



Description. — Root perennial, fusiform, ob- 

 tuse, fleshy, of a brownish-red colour. Radical 

 leaves petiolate, erect, cuneiform, smooth, mu- 

 cronate, entire. Scapes round, smooth, from 

 a foot to eighteen inches high ; paniculate 

 above, divisions alternate, bearing unilateral 

 spikes of small, somewhat sessile flowers, 

 each with two scaly mucronate bracts. 

 Calyx funnel-shaped, five-toothed, five-an- 

 gled, the angles ciliate. Corolla blue, deeply 

 five-cleft, divisions spatulate, obtuse. Sta- 

 mens five, inserted on claws of corolla. Ovary 

 superior, small, and obovate, supporting five 

 styles, shorter than the stamens. Seed ob- 

 long. 



This species approaches so closely 

 to the foreign S. limonium and S. 

 gmelini, that many botanists consider 

 it as a mere variety ; but these have 

 oblong, undulated leaves, whilst in the 

 American plant, they are perfectly flat 

 and cuneiform ; the flowers also of the 

 limonium are much larger. It is found 

 along the seacoast in marshy situa- 

 tions from Maine to Florida, flowering 

 during the latter part of the summer. 

 There are several varieties, differing in 

 the colour of the flowers, the length of 

 the leaves, &c. 



The officinal part is the root, which 

 is fusiform or branched, heavy, fleshy, 

 and of a reddish or purplish-brown co- 

 lour. The taste of it is very bitter and 

 astringent, but neither the root nor any 

 part of the plant has any odour. It 

 imparts its virtues to water or alcohol, 

 but more readily to the former by the aid of heat. According to an analysis, 

 by Mr. E. Parrish, {Am. Jour. Phar m . xiv. Ill,) it contains about 12 per 

 cent, of Tannin, some Gum, Extractive matter, &c, but no Gallic acid, as 

 indicated by Dr. Bigelow, who, it should be noticed, is of opinion that this 

 root is equal in astringency to galls, and that the best mode of exhibition is 

 the cold infusion, a statement at variance with the experiments of Mr. Parrish. 



Medical Uses. — It is a powerful astringent, and is much employed in some 

 parts of the country in diseases of the bowels, and in decoction, as a gargle 

 in aphthous and ulcerated sore mouth, or in affections of the throat and fau- 

 ces, and has been found useful in some forms of cynanche, when other 

 astringents have failed in making any impression. As a remedy in diar- 

 rhoea it enjoys much popular reputation ; but is only suitable to the latter 

 stages, where a tonic and astringent action is required. It is applicable to 



S. caroliniana. 



