576 



MEDICAL BOTANY. 



formed by the consolidated succulent calyx. Seed solitary, with a thin, brittle integu- 

 ment. Embryo in a fleshy albumen, curved. 



This order consists of trees and shrubs, with a milky juice, and furnished 

 with leaves of various forms and texture, but most generally lobed and sca- 

 brous, having large deciduous stipules. It is very closely allied to the next 

 order, from which it mainly differs in the hooked form of the embryo. The 

 species are natives of the temperate and warm latitudes of both hemispheres, 

 except in Europe, where none are found truly indigenous. They are distin- 

 guished for their milky juice, which in many cases contains much caout- 

 chouc. 



Ficus. — Linn. 



Flowers monoecious, placed on the inside of a hollow, fleshy receptacle, the extremity 

 closed by a few scales. Sterile flowers irregular, of several unequal, membranous seg- 

 ments. Stamens 1 — 5. Fertile flowers : calyx 5-parted, membranous, converging over 

 a simple carpel, containing a solitary suspended ovule, and terminated by a subulate 

 style, having a bifid stigma. Seed lenticular, hard, and dry. Embryo curved in a fleshy 

 albumen. 



Fig. 250. 



A very extensive genus of tro- 

 pical plants, some species of 

 which attain an enormous size, 

 whilst others are small and insig- 

 nificant. They all abound in a 

 milky, acrid juice, containing 

 caoutchouc ; this is perceptible 

 even in the common Fig. Many 

 of them bear edible fruits, as 

 that of the F. carica, or common 

 Fig, so common, in a dried state, 

 as an article of dessert. It is a 

 native of Asia, but is now culti- 

 vated in all temperate climates. 

 The fruit, when ripe, is sweet, 

 high-flavoured, and wholesome; 

 but if eaten to excess, occasions 

 flatulence and diarrhoea. There 

 are numerous varieties, distin- 

 guished by their form, size, and 

 colour. In general, the fruit is 

 solitary, axillary, more or less 

 pear-shaped, of a yellowish co- 

 lour, and a mild, mucilaginous 

 saccharine taste. The larger 

 proportion of them are used in a dried state, in which form they are imported 

 from the Mediterranean, and principally from Smyrna, packed in boxes or 

 drums. They are more or less compressed, and usually covered with a 

 whitish saccharine powder. The dried fig is much more saccharine than 

 the fresh, and consists principally of mucilage and sugar. They are laxa- 

 tive, demulcent, and nutritious, and are mainly employed in medicine to act 

 gently on the bowels in habitual constipation, but also enter into the compo- 

 sition of some confections and electuaries. Roasted and split, they are some- 



F. carica. 

 a. Section of fruit, h. Stamens, c. Styles. 



