610 



MEDICAL BOTANY. 



Cupressus sempervirens, are likewise said to be anthelmintic, and according 

 to Pliny, an antidote to the venom of serpents. Galen states that the strobiles 

 are an efficacious astringent in diseases of the bowels, and are also useful as 

 a febrifuge. An infusion of our native C. thyoides, or White Cedar, is stated 

 to be stomachic, and in a warm state, diaphoretic. The cones of Schubertia 

 disticha, or American Cypress, are very balsamic, and the resin from them 

 has been employed in domestic practice as a diuretic and carminative. 



Tribe 3. Taxine^e. — Fertile flowers solitary, terminal, consisting of an ovule, mostly 

 surrounded by a fleshy disk ; in fruit forming a kind of drupe. 



This tribe has been separated, by some botanists, from Pinacese, on ac- 

 count of the structure of its fruit ; but if this is considered a valid ground, 

 the Junipers should also constitute an order. Most of the species are resin- 

 ous, and their wood is very durable. Taxus baccata, the Yew, has fetid leaves, 

 which are said to be poisonous, especially to cattle. The ancients entertained 

 an idea that the emanations from the tree were extremely dangerous, espe- 

 cially during the flowering season, and that the juice of the plant was a viru- 

 lent poison. More modern observations have shown, that although the leaves, 

 are capable of destroying life, they cannot be considered as among the active 

 poisons. According to Burnett, on the authority of an Italian physician, 

 these leaves, in small doses, act in the manner of Digitalis, in reducing the 

 force of the circulation, and have one advantage over that drug, of never 

 accumulating in the system. The fruit of Caryotaxus nucifera are astrin- 

 gent, and are said to be employed in Japan to restrain the emission of urine ; 

 those of Salisburia are edible, and much esteemed in the same country as 

 promoters of digestion. The young branches of Dacydium taxifolium are 

 used in New Zealand to prepare a beverage analogous to Spruce Beer. 



Class III.-— Endogens or Monocotyledonous Plants. 



Stem without distinct bark or pith; the wood formed of bundles of fibres and vessels 

 irregularly dispersed through cellular tissue ; the epidermis or rind closely adherent ; no 

 medullary rays or concentric layers ; increase in size by the deposition of new fibres in 

 the central part of the stem, within the old. Leaves seldom articulated, usually sheath- 

 ing at base, with simple, parallel veins. Embryo with a single cotyledon, or if a second 

 be present, it is much smaller than the other. Germination endorhizal. 



Fig. '271. 



q. Transverse section of an endogenous stem. u. Stem and leaves, showing the parallel veins. 

 r. Germinating seed. s. Section of germinating seed. t. Germinating seeds of a grass with 2 unequal 

 cotyledons. 





