E U P H O R B I A C E A. 



593 



This is also a native of 

 the United States, and in 

 some places is very- 

 abundant, usually in a dry- 

 sandy soil. The root, 

 which is the officinal part, 

 is inodorous and almost 

 tasteless. Its examina- 

 tion by Dr. Zollickoffer, 

 who introduced it to the 

 notice of the profession, 

 gave the same results as 

 those obtained by Dr. 

 Bigelow in the last-men- 

 tioned species. 



It has the same pro- 

 perties as the JS. ipecacu- 

 anha, but is more active, 

 and is therefore objection- 

 able in many cases, from 

 its tendency to cause hy- 

 percatharsis. It acts as 

 an emetic in doses of fif- 

 teen or twenty grains, and 

 as a diaphoretic in those 

 of three or four grains. 

 The recent root, contused 

 and applied to the skin 

 for a few moments, will 

 create a pustular erup- 

 tion. 



Fig. 260. 



E. corollata. 



6. E. hypericifolia, Linn. — Annual. Stalk somewhat procumbent, smooth, dichoto- 

 mous. Leaves opposite, oblong-, somewhat falciform, serrated, often marked with purple 

 spots. Flowers small, terminal, fasciculate. 



Linn., Sp. PL 652 ; Torrey, Comp. 331 ; Zollickoffer, Am. Jour. Med. 

 Sci. and Jour. Phil. Coll. Pharm. v. 70 ; Rafinesque, Med. Flor. i. 183. 

 Common Names. — Milkweed; Black Purseley, &c. 



Common in all parts of the United States, in gardens, fields, &c. The 

 whole plant is stated by Dr. Zollickoffer, who first introduced it into the Ma- 

 teria Medica, to be astringent and narcotic. It has a somewhat sweetish taste, 

 followed by a sensation of austereness. It is directed to be given in infusion made 

 with half an ounce of the dried plant to a pint of boiling water. This, Dr. 

 Zollickoffer has found very beneficial in dysentery, in doses of a tablespoon- 

 ful every hour. He also used it in menorrhagia and fluor albus in wineglassful 

 doses twice a day with success. 



In addition to the above, many other species are deserving'of a short notice. 

 The E. lathyris, or Caper Spurge, often found in gardens, but whose native 

 country is unknown, was much employed as a purge in former years; the 

 bark of the root and stems acts both as an emetic and purgative, but the 

 seeds were generally employed, and are said to have been used to procure 

 abortion. In the old Pharmacopoeias it is called Cataputia minor, and is one 



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