(552 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



bulbs of Ledebouria hyacintkoides are employed as a substitute for Squills in 

 the East Indies, and Ainslie says they are beneficial in strangury in horses. 



Squill a. — Steinheil. 



Sepals 3, coloured, spreading. Petals similar, a little broader. Stamens 6, shorter 

 than the perianth; filaments smooth, somewhat dilated at base, acuminate, entire. 

 Ovary 3-parted, glandular and melliferous at tip ; style smooth, simple ; stigma obscurely 

 3-lobed, papillose. Capsule rounded, 3-angled, 3-celled. Seeds numerous, in 2 rows, flat, 

 with a membranous testa. 



A small genus of bulbous-rooted plants, principally natives of Southern 

 Europe, and mostly abounding in an acrid principle which is emetic. It was 

 separated from Scilla by M. Steinheil on account of its winged seeds and 

 the melliferous glands in the ovary. 



S. maritima, Steinheil^ — Bulb large, roundish-ovate. Leaves appearing after the 

 flowers, broad-lanceolate, channelled, spreading, recurved. Scape long, terminated by 

 a large, dense, ovate raceme. Flowers pale yellowish-green, with a green mark on the 

 middle of each segment. Filaments shorter than the segments of the perianth. 



Steinheil, Ann. Sci. Nat. Ser. vi. 279 ; Lindley, Fl. Med. 591 ; Scilla 

 maritima, Linn., Sp. PI. 442; Stephenson and Churchill, iii. 153; Orni- 

 thogalum maritimum, Lamarck, Fl. Fr. iii. 276. 



Common Names. — Squill ; Sea Onion. 



Foreign Names. — Scille, Fr.; Ciopollo marino, It. ; Mierswiebel, Ger. 



The Squill is a native of the shores of the Mediterranean, &c, but is some- 

 times found far inland. It was well known to and used by the ancients, 

 and was employed by Hippocrates externally, and as a pessary. Pythago- 

 ras, is stated by Pliny, to have written a dissertation on its virtues, and it is 

 asserted to have been worshipped by the Egyptians, but it appears probable that 

 the bulbous root, considered holy by them, was a variety of S. pane ration. 



The recent root, which is seldom brought to this country, is composed of 

 thick, smooth scales, closely applied over each other, containing an acrid 

 juice of a bitter taste. The dried Squills of the shops is in white or yellowish- 

 white, somewhat serni-transparent pieces, which are flexible when moist, but 

 brittle when dry, of a mucilaginous bitter taste, but scarcely any odour. 

 From the recent analyses of the Squill, it is shown to contain an acrid Vola- 

 tile matter, a peculiar principle called Scilliti?t, Tannin, Gum, &c. Scillitin 

 is crystallizable, deliquescent, bitter, and alkaline, and in conjunction with the 

 acrid matter is the efficient component. 



Medical Uses. — Squill in small doses is expectorant and diuretic; in larger, 

 emetic and cathartic, and in over-quantities acts like an irritant poison. To 

 obtain its diuretic or expectorant action, the dose should be sufficiently large 

 to occasion a slight degree of nausea. It has proved very beneficial in chro- 

 nic catarrh, and, in the form of the compound syrup, of great use in croup. 

 As a diuretic, it is usually given in combination with mercury and digitalis, 

 or with both. The dose of the powder as an expectorant or diuretic is from 

 one to three grains; of the syrup, half a drachm to a drachm, and of the 

 compound Syrup, ten drops to a drachm. 



Mr. Steinheil has described another species of Squilla under the name of 

 S. pancration, which he thinks is the Pancration of Dioscorides, and the red- 

 rooted variety of which is probably the bulb worshipped by the ancient 

 Egyptians. S. indica is a species noticed by Roxburgh as having a bulb 

 fully as nauseous and bitter as the officinal kind, and as probably possessed 



