MELANTHACEiE. 



645 



C. autumnale. 



1. Closed Capsule. 2. Open do. 3. Styles. 



' 4. Section of Capsules. 5. Seed. 



C: \vHwk\LE,- Linn. — Gorm ovate, solid, 

 •fleshy. Leaves!' dark green, smooth, obtuse, 

 ^lohg, sorpcwjh'at carinate,' produced in the 

 spring. Flowers* several, radical, leafless, of a 

 purf>le : ';coiour, wijfh -long whitish tube, appear- 

 ing* .in' the. ' autu'nijj, Capsules 3, distinct, but 

 fawning a fcingle^oblong, elliptical fruit, with 

 interm«dia£e.j»ssur|s. Seeds whitish, polished, 



.Unn'.^^'M, 485 ; Eng. Bot. 133 ; 

 Stepben*^op"ancl Churchill, ii. 70 ; Lind- 

 ley^F/. Med. '589. #>. 



, uommon Names. — Meadow Safrjc-n ; 

 m Naked Lady, &c. H 



Foreign Names. — : Colchique ; T'ue 

 chienVi^V; Giglio. matto, It.; Zeitlose, 

 Ger. 



Jt is found in many parts of Europe, 

 usually growing in meadows and low 

 rich situations. .The corm is in full per- 



. fection in June or July, when a new one 



* makes its appearance at the base. This 

 young corrn flowers in the autumn, 

 though then ver/y small, but rapidly en- 

 larges during the winter, and in the 



y spring sends out leaves and the seed- 

 vessel, which latter had remained under 

 ground from the time of flowering. The 

 older corm now becomes more and more spongy and watery, till the time of 

 flowering, but retains its form and size until the succeeding spring, when it 

 withers away, the corm to which it had given rise being: now perfect, and 

 this in turn undergoes the same changes. The corm is most active in July, 

 and should be collected for use at that time. Dr. Lindley states that many 

 of those found in the shops have been gathered during the flowering season, 

 and hence are comparatively worthless. When obtained at the proper time, 

 the corm is about the size of a small tulip root, which it much resembles, 

 except that it is solid instead of being tunicated. It is rounded on one side, 

 flattened on the other. Externally it is brown, the section being white, and 

 contains an acrid milky juice. The odour is somewhat irritating, and the 

 taste unpleasant, bitter and acrid. It is preserved by having the outer coat 

 removed, and being cut in slices, which are to be dried quickly. Sometimes 

 it is dried without being divided. The dried slices should be of an oval 

 rounded form, with a notch on one side, of a grayish-white colour, an amy- 

 laceous appearance, and an acrid bitter taste. 



The seeds, which are likewise officinal, are small, rounded, of a brownish- 

 yellow colour, and of the same taste as the corm. They should not be col- 

 lected until fully ripe. According to the analysis of Pelletier and Caventou 

 {Jour. Pharm. vi. 364), the corm contains Veratria in the form of a super- 

 gallate; Fatty matter united to a volatile acid; Yellow colouring matter, 

 Gum, Inulin, &c. The seeds are said by Geiger and Hesse, to contain ano- 

 ther extremely poisonous principle which they term Colchicina, differing 

 from Veratria, in being soluble in water, and in not being acrid. 



Colchicum was known to Dioscorides, and appears to have been employed 

 in the earlier ages of medicine, but to have been forgotten for a long time ; 

 for although mentioned by Alexander of Trallus, in the sixth century, as a 



rif ; ,J> 



