MELANTHACE.E. 64X 



is in powder, of which the dose is a teaspoonful. It is probable that the tinc- 

 ture would be an efficient mode of administration. 



The other native species, as C. -acaule, C. spectabile, &c, are said to pos- 

 sess the same properties ; and Gmelin states (Flor. Siber. i. 6), that the C. 

 calceolus of Europe, is considered efficacious in Epilepsy. 



Group XLIX. — Liliales. 



Order 114.— MELANTHACE.E.— Brown, 



Flowers hermaphrodite or monoecious. Calyx and corolla alike, free, petaloid, in 6 

 segments, or from cohesion tubular; usually with an involute aestivation. Stamens 6. 

 Anthers extrorse. Ovary 3-celled, many-seeded. Style 3-parted. Stigmas undivided. 

 Capsule usually separable into 3 pieces, mostly with a loculicidal dehiscence. Seeds 

 with a membranous testa. Albumen dense, fleshy, or cartilaginous. Embryo very 

 minute. 



A large order of bulbous, tuberous, or fibrous-rooted herbaceous plants, 

 varying much in appearance. The species are very abundant at the Cape 

 of Good Hope, and are not uncommon in Europe, Asia, and North America. 

 The general character of the order is virulence ; for, although some of them 

 are mild and innocuous, the larger proportion of the species are acrid and 

 poisonous. Several of them are officinal, and hold a high rank in the list of 

 medicinal agents. 



Besides those to be noticed at greater length, the following are deserving 

 of a brief mention. Xerophyllum setifolium, or Turkey's Beard, a native of 

 sandy situations in many parts of the United States, has been shown by Mr. 

 William Procter (Am. Jour. Pharm. N, S. v. 183) to contain an alkaloid, 

 which he terms Xerophia, which is decidedly bitter ; but its action on the 

 system has not been ascertained, though it is probably analogous to that of 

 the others from this order. The root of Helonias frigida, of Mexico, is an 

 active poison, and even the foliage stupefies horses that feed on it. That of 

 H. dioica, of this country, vulgarly called " Devil's Bit," is said to be an- 

 thelmintic in infusion; its tincture is bitter and tonic. In Melanthium vir- 

 ginicum it is still more active, as it will operate as an active poison, and is a 

 certain but somewhat dangerous cure for the itch, if used in decoction as a 

 wash. Amianthium erythrospermum, or Fall Poison, is also very ener- 

 getic ; a decoction of the root is employed in some parts of the country to 

 destroy flies, and its foliage poisons cattle feeding upon its leaves in the 

 autumn. The roots of the different species of TJvularia are somewhat acrid 

 and mucilaginous when fresh ; and a decoction of them has been employed 

 as a domestic remedy in sore mouth and affections of the throat, and also 

 considered as an alexipharmic in snake-bites. The roots are, however, 

 edible when cooked, and the young shoots are a very good substitute for 

 asparagus. 



As agr m a . — Lindley. 



Flowers polygamous, racemose, naked. Perianth 6-parted. Segments linear, veinless, 

 almost equal, with a nectariferous pit at base, equal to the stamens. Stamens alternately 

 longer. Anthers cordate, after-dehiscence scutiform. Ovaries 3, simple, tapering into an 

 obscure stigma. Fruit of 3 acuminate, chartaceous follicles. Seeds scimetar-shaped, 

 wrinkled, winged. 



41 



