LILIACEiE. 



649 



i. 240). Those of Fritillaria imperialis are stated, by Orfila, to be an acrid 

 poison ( Toxicol, ii. 94). They enter into the composition of some ointments 

 of the foreign Pharmacopoeias. A decoction of the flowers of F. meleagris 

 has been used in febrile affections, and its juice was at one time thought 

 beneficial as an application to carcinomatous ulcers. Many species of Li- 

 Hum afford edible bulbs, as L. camtschasense, L.martagon, L. pomponium, 

 &c. That of L. candidum is also employed as food in some countries, and 

 is likewise used in medicine as a maturating cataplasm. A fragrant oil is pre- 

 pared from the petals, which has been thought beneficial in ear-ache and 

 uterine pains. Its greatest employment is in perfumery. The root of Glo- 

 riosasuperba is said to be a violent poison. According to Bowdich ( Travels), 

 when bruised, it is used in Guinea as an application to strains and bruises. 

 The leaves are astringent. 



Fig. 303. 



Tribe 2. Hemerocalleje. — Very few species belonging to this tribe have any 

 active qualities, though some have been, from time to time, admitted as medicinal. 

 The tubers of Hemerocallis flava are noticed by Dioscorides as forming an ex- 

 cellent cataplasm to painful tumours and burns. The flowers of Funkia japo- 

 nica are said to be the basis of a liqueur, to 

 which marked stimulating properties have 

 been attributed. The roots of Polianthes 

 tuberosa are acrid and emetic, and accord- 

 ing to Lemery, detersive, resolvent, and 

 astringent. From the fragrant flowers, a 

 variety of essences and perfumes are 

 prepared. The most important plant of 

 this group is Phormium tenax, or New 

 Zealand flax ; this affords a fibre of great 

 strength, exceeding that of hemp, and 

 will, probably, become of much impor- 

 tance in the arts. Lesson, (Voy. Med., 

 116,) states that the roots are bitter, and 

 are employed in New Zealand to rub the 

 nipples of nursing females, who wish to 

 wean their children, and according to 

 Dieffenbach, they are an excellent substi- 

 tute for sarsaparilla, acting as a purga- 

 tive, sudorific, and expectorant (Chem. 

 Gaz. 1842). Several species of Sanse- 



viera likewise afford a kind of hemp, which has appeared in commerce 

 under the name of African, hemp. 



Phormium tenax. 



Tribe 3. Aloine^e. — This section contains some plants of much reputa- 

 tion as medicinal agents, and a few of which, belonging to Aloe, are officinal. 



Aloe. — L 



inn. 



Perianth tubular, 6-cleft, fleshy, nectariferous at base ; sepals resembling the petals, 

 and closely covering them in an imbricate manner. Stamens hypogynous, as long as 

 the perianth, or sometimes longer. Capsule membranous, scarious, 3-cornered, 3-celled, 

 3-valved, with a loculicidal dehiscence. Seeds numerous, two-ranked, roundish or an- 

 gular. 



