58 
PHARMACAL PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
varieties (English and German aconites) are grown throughout the 
State. Some have escaped from cultivation. Aconite for medicinal 
purposes is extensively grown in England and Germany. It could 
be very profitably grown in California. Good leaves are worth about 
fifteen to twenty cents per pound wholesale. 
21. Acorus calamus L. Sweet flag. Aroidece. 
The dried rhizomes have been much used as a popular blood purifier 
and bitter aromatic tonic, and as a sialagogue. Used in flatulency, 
colic and typhoid conditions. Also used in beer making, in the prep- 
aration of hair powders, sachet powders, perfumery and in flavoring 
gin. Grows in marshy soils. 
22. Actaea eburnea Rydb. Banunculacece. 
This plant is said to be poisonous and requires further study. Prop- 
erties said to be similar to those of cimicifuga. 
23. Actaea spicata L. Cohosh. European baneberry. Banuncu- 
lacece. 
The black berries are poisonous ; mixed with alum, they yield a 
black ink. Roots are antispasmodic and expectorant. 
24. Actaea spicata arguta Torr. Baneberry. Banunculacece. 
Found in rich, rocky woodland soils. Highly esteemed as a med- 
icine by the Indians. Acts as a purgative and in large doses as an 
emetic. The varieties A. spicata alba and A. spicata rubra have sim- 
ilar uses and properties. (F. Stearns, Proc. A. Pli. A., 1858.) 
25. Adenostoma fasciculatum Torr. Chamisol Chamisso. Grease- 
wood. Bosacece. 
Given to sick cows by the Coahuilla Indians, according to Barrows. 
Oil extracted, mixed with lard and used in the treatment of skin 
affections. Tea from leaves and bark given internally for syphilis. 
26. Adenostoma sparsifolium Torr. Yerba del pasmo. Convulsion 
herb. Bastard cedar. Bosacece. 
Found in southern California. Used by early Spanish settlers as a 
remedy for numerous ailments, as colds, cramps, lockjaw, snake bite, 
and tetanus. The powdered twigs and leaves, fried in oil or grease, 
are used as an ointment. The twigs, steeped in a drink, are given 
to produce vomiting and to give bowel relief. (See paper by Bar- 
rows.) (Bailey’s Cyclo. Am., Hort. 24.) 
27. Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Venus’s hair fern. Polypodiacece 
(Ferns). 
A well-known fern. A syrup (Sirop de capillaire) of this plant is 
much used as a cough remedy. (Calif. Geol. Survey. Bot. 2: 342.) 
