LILIACE^E. 651 



is said to furnish Socotrine aloes, but it is not satisfactorily ascertained that 

 such is really the case. 



3. A. spicata, Thunberg. — Stem woody. Leaves thick, fleshy, broad at base, gradually 

 narrowed to the point, channelled, distantly-toothed, with sparse white spots. Spike a 

 foot long, very compact, flowers campanulate, horizontal. Petals broad, ovate, obtuse ; 

 sepals narrower, less concave. Stamens longer than the perianth. 



Thunberg, Ft. Cap. 309; Linn., Suppl. 205; Lindley, Fl. Med. 595. 



Indigenous at the Cape of Good Hope, and one of the sources of Cape 

 Aloes. This is also furnished by A. purpurascens (though according to T. 

 Martius, it also yields Socotrine), by A. arborescens, A. commelyni, A. mitri- 

 formis, &c. 



There are several other species, as A. rubescens, A. linguceformis, A. am- 

 bica, A. indica, &c, natives of the countries whence Aloes is imported, 

 that may contribute to the production of the several varieties of this purga- 

 tive. 



The kinds of Aloes met with in commerce are numerous, though not more 

 than two or three are usually found in our shops, and most usually but one — 

 the Cape, which, when good, answers every purpose that is desired from it. 

 The quality of aloes appears to depend, in a great measure, on the mode of 

 its preparation. (For an account of the different modes, and the various 

 kinds of Aloes, see Fe?-eira, ii. 113, and U. S. Dispensatory.) 



Aloes were well known to the ancients at the time of Dioscorides, but are 

 not noticed by either Hippocrates or Theophrastus. They appear to have 

 been in use in India and other parts of the East, from a very early period. 

 All kinds have a disagreeable, permanent bitter taste. The odour is peculiar. 

 They are almost wholly soluble in water, but the best solvent is diluted alco- 

 hol. They have, several times, been analyzed, but the results are not 

 entirely satisfactory ; but it has been shown that they contain from 50 to 80 

 per cent, of a bitter matter, called Aloesin, soluble in water, and a substance 

 having some of the properties of a resin. The presence of an acid has like- 

 wise been demonstrated, which Pereira terms Aloetic. 



Medical Uses. — The action of Aloes varies according to the dose. In 

 small quantities, it seems to have the properties of a tonic, and in larger pro- 

 portions to increase the peristaltic motions of the bowels. It exercises a sti- 

 mulant action on the venous system of the abdominal viscera, and especially 

 on those of the pelvis — hence the occurrence, or aggravation of haemorrhoids 

 from its habitual use, and its occasional emmenagogue influence. 



Aloes are well calculated, especially in combination with soap, iron, &c, 

 for torpid conditions of the lower bowels, in atonic dyspepsia. This remedy 

 is likewise useful as an anthelmintic, in cases of Ascarides, to promote the 

 menstrual discharge, to reproduce a hemorrhoidal flux, &c. Aloes is usually 

 given in pills, in doses of five to twenty grains. It enters as a constituent 

 into a great number of useful compound remedies. 



Tribe 4. Allieje. — Numerous . species of this extensive tribe are highly 

 important, not only for their medicinal, but also for their esculent properties. 

 The bulbs of Camassia escule?ita are much employed by the Western tribes of 

 Indians as food, and are also said to form an excellent poultice for in- 

 flamed breasts in nursing women. Those of Ornithogalum umbellatum are 

 edible and nutritive when cooked, and the young shoots of O. pyreniacum 

 are used as a substitute for Asparagus in some parts of Europe. The stalks 

 of Albuca major are mucilaginous and thought by the Hottentots to be very 

 efficacious in assuaging thirst. Muscari comosum and ambrosiacum have 

 been considered as stimulant and antispasmodic. T. Martius states that the 



