DOLICHOS PRURIEN S. COW-HAGE DOLICHOS 
Class XVII. DIADELPHIA.— Order IV. DECANDRIA. 
Natural Order, LEGUMINOS^. THE PEA TRIBE. 
Fig. (a) represents the carina; (6) anthers; (c) pistil; (d) seed. 
The Cow-hage or Cow-itch, Dolichos, the hairy pods of which have been long celebrated as an anthel- 
mintic, grows spontaneously in the mountainous woods of Martinique, on the banks of rivers ; also in the 
East Indies, where it flowers in the cool months, from September to March. It appears to have been 
cultivated in England in the time of Ray, and now is not an uncommon inhabitant of our stoves ; but the 
plant seldom blossoms in this country. 
The root is perennial and fibrous. The stem is herbaceous, climbing, cylindrical, tomentose, divided 
into many branches, which twist round the neighbouring trees, and rise to a considerable height. The 
leaves are ternate, upon footstalks, from six to fourteen inches long, placed alternately at the distance of a 
foot from each other; the central leaflet is rhomboidal, the two lateral ones oblique, and all of them entire, 
pointed, from three to five inches long, waved on the edges, smooth on the upper surface, and hairy be- 
neath. The flowers are papilionaceous, large, inodorous, of a reddish, or rich violet colour, and placed 
mostly in ternaries, upon short pedicels, in pendulous, solitary spikes, about a foot in length, which hang 
from the axillae of the leaves, and make a magnificent appearance. The proper flower stalks are about half 
an inch long, furrowed, hairy, and furnished with small stipulae. The calyx is bell-shaped, gibbous at the 
base, downy, divided into two lips, of which the upper is smaller, semiovate; the under separates into three 
lanceolate segments. The corolla consists of a vexillum, or standard, which is roundish, entire, concave, 
obtuse, and double the length of the calyx; a carina, which is scythe-shaped, of the length of the alae, com- 
pressed, and at the apex furnished on each side with a short spur. The filaments are ten, nine of which 
are united at the base, the four alternate ones being longer, and supporting incumbent anthers ; in the 
shorter filaments the latter are placed vertically. The germen is oblong, villous, and supports a slender 
style, about the length of the filaments, terminated by a small orbicular stigma. The fruit is a coriaceous 
pod, about four inches long, compressed, curved like the letter S, thickly set with bristly, short, 
reddish, prurient hairs; and containing four, five, or six oval seeds, of a brown colour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. — The pods of the Dolichos pruriens are brought from the West 
Indies. They are densely covered externally with short hairs, which penetrate the skin when touched, and 
cause a very troublesome itching. Advantage has been taken of this irritating quality to expel worms from 
the human intestines; for this purpose they have been long advantageously employed in the West Indies, 
especially for the removal of the round worm, lumbricus teres, L. One of the earliest accounts, published 
in this country, of the vermifuge powers of the hair of the pods of the cow-hage, is that by Mr. Kerr, in the 
Edinburgh Medical Commentaries. Sir Hans Sloane notices the diuretic qualities of the roots and pods of 
this plant, but takes no notice of its vermifuge effects. Dr. Patrick Brown, however, informs us, that in 
the Windward Islands, a syrup is made of the pods, which is a very effectual remedy against worms. But 
the most complete account, showing the efficacy of this medicine as an anthelmintic, is that of Dr. Ban- 
croft, in 1759, who resided many years in Guiana, a Dutch settlement in South America, where the inha- 
bitants, particularly the slaves are much afflicted with intestinal worms. After stating the frequency of 
worms in that country, and endeavouring to account for it, he adds, that “ from whatever cause these worms 
originate, their number is so great, and their power so prolific, that the usual remedies are insufficient for 
their destruction ; for which reason the planters in general have recourse to cow-hage for that purpose. 
The part used is the setaceous hairy substance, growing on the outside of the pod, which is scraped off, and 
mixed with the common syrup, or molasses, to the consistence of a thin electuary, of which a tea-spoonful 
