IPOMOEA. • 215 



LEONTJRUS. —Motherwort. 



Leonurus Cardiac a Linne. — Motherwort. 



Description. — Calyx 5-nerved, 5-toothed, the teeth when old stiff and 

 prickly. Corolla 2-lipped ; the upper lip erect, concave, entire ; the lower 

 3-lobed, spreading. Stamen^ 4, ascending under the upper lip of the co- 

 rolla. 



A perennial herb. Stem erect, slightly hairy, 2 to 4 feet high. Leaves 

 long-petioled ; the lower rounded, pahnately lobed ; the upper cuneate at 

 the base, 3-cleft, the lobes lanceolate. Flowers pale purple, in close axil- 

 lary whorls, appearing in summer. 



Part Used. — The herb — not official. 



Constituents. — Volatile oil, a bitter principle, and common vegetable 

 constituents. 



Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Motherwort is stimulant and slightly 

 tonic. In warm infusion it is occasionally used to promote diaphoresis. 



CONVOLVULAQE/E. 



Character of the Order. — Chiefly twining or trailing herbs, rarely 

 shrubby, with alternate leaves or scales. Calyx of 5 imbricated sepals. 

 Corolla monopetalous, 5-plaited or 5-lobed, convolute in the bud. Sta- 

 mens 5, inserted in the tube of the corolla. Ovary free, 2-, rarely 3-celled 

 or sometimes 4-celled by a false partition. Fruit a 2- to 6-seeded capsule. 



A large order of mostly tropical plants, many of which are cultivated 

 for ornament, and several, as jalap and scammony, possess important me- 

 dicinal properties. 



IPOMCEA. 



Ipomoea pandurata Meyer — Wild Potato-Vine, Man-of-the-Earth. 



Description. — Calyx : sepals ovate-oblong, obtuse, smooth. Corolla 

 open funnel-form, 3 inches long, white, the tube tinged with purple. Sta- 

 mens included. Capsule 2-celled, 4-seeded. 



An herbaceous perennial with a very large thick root. Steins long and 

 stout, trailing or twining. Leaves cordate, entire, somewhat acuminate, on 

 long petioles. Peduncles longer than the petioles, 1- to 5-flowered. The 

 flowers are produced during summer. 



Habitat. — In sandy fields from Connecticut to Illinois and south ward. 



Part Used. — The root — not official. 



Constituents. — The fresh root, when wounded, emits a milky, resinous 

 juice which probably contains its active principle. 



Preparations. — It has been administered in powder and in infusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — This plant, generically allied with jalap 



