160 Morris . — On the use of certain plants 
Pereira , L., is used in Martinique against the bite of the 
dreaded Fer-de-lance ( Trigonocephalus ). Viola ovata , Nutt., 
an American species, is a reputed specific against rattlesnake- 
bites. The roots of Oxalis sensitiva , L., are recommended 
for scorpion-bites, but appear to have no reputation for the 
bites of snakes. The singular embryo of Ophiocaryon , re- 
sembling a snake coiled up inside the nut, gives the name 
of snake-nut to the fruit ; but here again the plant does not 
appear to be used as an antidote. 
The Brazilians consider the leaves of Casearia ulmifolia , 
Vahl, a member of the Samydaceae, ‘ a certain remedy against 
the bites of the most venomous kinds of snakes.’ The root 
of Poly gala Senega, L., or the Senega Snake- root, an erect 
slender herbaceous plant, native of North America, is 
supposed by the Indians to resemble the tail of a rattlesnake 
and to be a cure for its bite. This same root is used in 
Europe on account of its stimulating action on the pulmonary 
mucous membrane. An allied species, P. Serpentaria , Eckl., 
has a reputation for curing snake-bites amongst the natives of 
South Africa. The Snake-root of Brazil, called Raiz de Cobra, 
appears to be Chiococca anguifuga , Mart. This possesses a 
musky smell similar to that of a snake which is said to have 
suggested its use as an antidote. The root of this plant is 
known as Cai'n9a, and is used in Europe as a diuretic and a 
purgative in cases of hydrophobia. 
Again, Ophiorrhiza Mingos , L., known in the Malayan 
Islands as Earth-gall, a low bushy shrub, also a member of the 
Rubiaceae, with intensely bitter roots, is popularly reputed to 
be a cure for snake-bites. According to some writers, the 
sap of Corypha umbraculifera , L., and C. sy Ives Iris, Willd., is 
an emetic, and is considered also an alexipharmic. 
In 1883 Professor Macowan, of the Cape Botanic Garden, 
brought forward the possibility of utilizing Leonotis Leonurus , 
R. Br., as a medicinal plant. It was found on inquiry that 
this plant had a local reputation as a cure for snake-bites and 
possessed very powerful properties. It is smoked by the 
Hottentots, who call it Duyvel’s tabak. 
