N. 0. COMPOSITE. 703 



667. A. Absinthium, Linn, h.f.b.i., ill. 328. 



Syn. : — Absinthium vulgare, Gcertn. ; A. officinale, Lam. 

 Eng. names : — The absinthe ; Wormwood. 

 Vernacular : — Vilayati-afsantin (H. and Duk.) 

 Habitat : — Kashmir. 



A perennial, hoary, silky, pubescent, herbaceous plant, very 

 aromatic. Stem erect, angular, ribbed, l-3ft. Leaves ovate 

 or obovate, l-2in., unequally, 2-3 pinnatifidly, cut into spreading 

 linear or lanceolate, obtuse ; segments hoary on both surfaces ; 

 radical and lower cauline narrowed into winged petioles. Heads 

 i-iin. diam., numerous, but hardly crowded. Flowers yellow, 

 pedicelled, hemispheric in drooping, secund racemes terminat- 

 ing in branches. Ray-corolla dilated below. Outer Involucre- 

 bracts oblong, hoary, narrowly scarious. Receptacle hairs long, 

 straight. Anthers acuminate (not aristate). Achenes elliptic 

 oblong, or somewhat obovoid, g^in. long. 



Part used: — The whole herb, in the form of decoction, 

 infusion and poultice. 



Uses : — The whole herb is an aromatic tonic, and formerly 

 enjoyed a high reputation in debility of the digestive organs. 

 It was also regarded as an anthelmintic. Before the discovery 

 of Cinchona, it was largely used in intermittents. It exercises 

 a powerful influence over the nervous system, and its tendency 

 to produce headache and other nervous disorders is well known 

 by travellers in Kashmir and Ladak, who suffer severely when 

 marching through the extensive tracts of country covered with 

 this plant (Watt's Dictionary, Vol. 1., p. 324). Pi-escribed in 

 the form of a poultice or fomentation as an antiseptic and 

 discutient. 



It yields by distillation a dark green or yellow oil, having 



a strong odour of the plant and an acrid taste. In large doses 



it is a violent narcotic poison. 



It contains a compound anabsinthin, C ld H24 0*» soluble in alcohol, benzene, 

 and chloroform, but only slightly soluble in water ; this forms long, white, 

 prismatic needles, which, when dried at 120°, melt at 258—259° ; from acetone, 

 it separates in large and peculiar crystals. With sulphuric acid, it gives a 



