654 



MEDICAL BOTANY. 



Fig. 306. 



importance, though none of them are officinal. The bulbs of Asphodelus 

 ramosus were employed by Hippocrates in the treatment of ulcers, and are 

 noticed as remedial by Dioscorides and Pliny. They have been recommended 

 in more modern times as beneficial in itch. The roots of Anthericum bicolor, 

 are employed in some parts of France as a purgative, and those of Narthe- 

 cium ossifragum were considered to possess the power of softening the bones. 

 Herreria salsaparilha, of Brazil, is used in that country as a substitute for 

 Sarsaparilla, and is said to have all the properties of that article, (Martins.) 



Tribe 7, Aphyllan- 

 theje. — The only plants 

 of this order that have at- 

 tracted notice for valuable 

 qualities are different 

 species of Xanthorrhaza. 

 The leaves of several of 

 these afford valuable food 

 for cattle in Australia, and 

 the lower and succulent 

 portions of them are said 

 to form a pleasant esculent, 

 having a milky and some- 

 what balsamic taste. X. 

 arborea furnishes a frag- 

 rant, brownish-yellow re- 

 sin, called Botany Bay 

 gum, which, whilst burn- 

 ing, diffuses an odour of 

 Benzoin ; a tincture of this 

 is said to be a good as- 

 tringent in bowel com- 

 plaints, and has been 

 noticed with some praise 

 by Sir Gilbert Blane, and 

 also by Dr. Fish (Bost. 

 Med. Jour, x.) 



Tribe 8, Wachendor- 

 fe^e. — Nothing satisfac- 

 tory has been ascertained 

 respecting the qualities of 

 the species of this group. ' 

 Tribe 9, Asparage^. — The roots of Dianella odorata are very fragrant, 

 and are stated by Blume to be employed in Java in gonorrhoea, leucorrhcea, 

 and dysuria. Those of Asparagus are diuretic, and communicate a peculiar 

 odour to the urine. The young shoots or turiones of the A. officinalis are 

 well known as a delicate, spring culinary vegetable, and the juice, and a 

 syrup made from it, have been thought to exercise a marked power in re- 

 pressing an undue excitement of the circulatory system, and hence deemed 

 useful in hypertrophy of the heart, &c, but the evidence on this point is far 

 from satisfactory. They contain a peculiar principle called Asparagin or As- 

 paramide. In India, the roots of A. sarmentosus are popularly supposed to' 

 diminish the eruption in small-pox, to prevent it from becoming confluent. 

 A. acutifolius was used as a culinary vegetable by the ancients, and is said 

 to contain more Asparagin than the cultivated species. The roots of A. ra- 



B. Xanthorrhosa hastilis 



A B 



A. Kingia australis. 



