25 6 
A S C 
loofe fpikes from tlie ends of the branches; they are al¬ 
ternate, fubfeffile, and have to each a long bracte, with a 
claw to it, refembling the cowled bag of Marcgravia ; to 
uhich genus this feenis nearly allied. Native of Guiana. 
ASCLE'PIA,y. a feftival of Aifculapius the god of 
phytic, obferved particularly at Epidaurus, where it was 
attended with, a corned between the poets and mufieians, 
whenceit was likewife called ayaiv, thefacredcontention. 
ASCT.EPIAD, f. [from Afckpias the inventor.] A cho- 
riambic meafure of verfe in Greek and Latin poetry : as 
for example, Maecenjas ata|vls | edrte j regibus. 
ASCLEPI'ADES, one of the mod celebrated phyfici- 
ans among the ancients, was a native of Prufa, in Bithy- 
ria ; and pradifed phy lie at Rome, under Pompey, ninety- 
fix years before the Chriftian aera. He was the head of a 
new fed ; and, by making ufe of wine and cold water in 
the cure of the lick, acquired great reputation. He wrote 
feveral books, which are frequently mentioned by Galen, 
Celfus, and Pliny ; but they are now lod. 
ASCLE PI AS, J. [from JEfculap{us> the god of medi¬ 
cine.] In botany, the Swallow-wort; a genus of the 
clafs pentandria, order digynia, ranking in the natural or¬ 
der of contortac. The eifential generic characters are— 
Calyx : perianthium five-cleft, (harp, very fmall, perma¬ 
nent. Corolla: monopetalous, flat or reflex, five-parted, 
contorted ; nedaries five, ovate, concave, putting out a 
little horn.—A leaf is (hewn on Botany Plate IV. fig. 43. 
vol. iii. 
Species. T. Leaves oppofite, flat. x. Afclepias undu- 
lata, or waved-leaved fwallow-wort : leaves feflile, oblong, 
lanceolate, w'aved, fmooth; petals ciliate. Native of the 
Cape of Good Hope; and flowers here in July. 
а. Afclepias crifpa, or curled-leaved fwallow-wort: 
leaves cordate-lanceolate, waved, fcabrous, oppofite ; um¬ 
bel terminal. Found at the Cape by Sparrman. 
3. Afclepias pubefeens, or pubefeent fwallow-wort: 
leaves ovate, veined, naked ; Item flirubby, peduncles vil- 
lofe. Flowers-purple. Native of the Cape. 
4. Afclepias volubilis, or twining fwallow-wort : leaves 
ovate, quite entire, acuminate ; Item arboreous, twining ; 
umbels erect. Quite fmooth, with Ihining branches. 
Flowers greenifii. Native of Malabar and Ceylon. 
5. Alclepias afthmatica, or afthmatic fwallow-wort : 
leaves petiolate, cordate-ovate, above fmooth, quite en¬ 
tire; Item Ihrubby, twining, hirfute ; umbels few-flower¬ 
ed. Found in the woods of Ceylon by Koenig. The root 
is efieemed in althmatic cafes. 
б. Afclepiasgigantea, or curled-flowered gigantic fwal¬ 
low-wort: leaves ovate-oblong ; petioles very (hort; feg- 
menis of the corolla reflex, involute. This rifes to fix or 
feven feet in height; leaves thick ; flowers white ; pods 
large. 1 1 is dellrudive to ffieep nnaccullomed to it. The 
time ot flowering is from July to September. Dr. Pa¬ 
trick Browne fays, that it is common in all the favannas 
about Kingllon and Old Harbour in Jamaica ; where it is. 
known by the name of auricula , or French jalmin. 
7. Alclepias Syriaca, or Syrian fwallow-wort : leaves 
oval, tomentofe underneath; Item Ample ; umbels nod¬ 
ding ; fiem upwards of four feet high ; towards the top of 
them the flowers come out on the fide, of a purple colour. 
It flowers in July, and is a native of North America. 
The French in Canada eat the tender (hoots in fpring, as 
we do afparagus. The flowers are fo fragrant as to make 
it very agreeable to travel in the woods, elpecially in the 
evening. They make a fugar of them in Canada, gather¬ 
ing them in the morning, when they are covered with dew. 
Many people cclledt the cotton from the pods, and fill 
their beds with it in lieu of feathers. Onaccount ot the filk- 
inefs of this cotton, Parkinfon calls the plant VirginianJilk. 
S. Afclepias amcena, or oval-leaved fwallow-wort : 
leaves ovate, hairy underneath; fiem limple ; umbels and 
nedaries ered. The flowers are of a bright purple colour, 
and make a pretty appearance in July, but are not fucceed- 
ed by pods in England. Native of North America. 
i). Afclepias purpurafeens, orpurple Virginianfwallow- 
a s e 
wort : leaves ovate, villofe underneath ; Item Ample, um¬ 
bels ered, nedaries refupinate. The flowers differ from 
thofe of the foregoing, in having the petals of a dulky 
herbaceous colour, the horns of the nedaries paler, and 
more gaping. It is a native of North America, and flow¬ 
ers from July to September. 
jo. Alclepias variegata, or variegated fwallow-wort or 
wifank: leaves ovate, wrinkled, naked, fiem limple, um-i 
bels fubfefiile, pedicels tomentofe. The flowers come out 
on the fide of the ftalk, and are of an herbaceous colour. 
Native of North America, and flowers in July. 
11. Afclepias Curafiavica, or Curalfoa fwallow-wort or 
baftard ipecacuanha: leaves lanceolate, fmooth, (Fining. 
Stem from a foot to two or three feet in height ; the root 
is compofed of equal fibres, whiiifh, and hardly fo bigas 
oat-ftraws. Miller affirms, that thefe roots have been lent 
to England for ipecacuanha ; from which however they 
may be eafily diftinguifhed, the true ipecacuanha having 
jointed fleflty roots, which run deep into the ground. The 
juice of the plant, made into a fyrup with fugar, has been 
obferved to kill and bring away worms wonderfully, even 
when molt other vermifuges have failed ; it is given to 
children in the Weft Indies from a tea-fpoonful to a table- 
fpoonful. The root dried and reduced to powder, is fre¬ 
quently tiled by the negroes as an emetic; and hence its 
name of wild or baftard ipecacuanha. Native of South 
America, the Weft-India illands, and China : flowers from 
J une to September. 
12. Afclepias nivea, or white or almond-leaved fwallow- 
wort : leaves ovate lanceolate frhoothilh, fiem Ample, um¬ 
bels ered, lateral, folitary. Stems a foot and a half or tw o 
feet high : leaves deep green above, pale beneath. Na¬ 
tive of North America: flowers from July to September. 
13. Afclepias incarnata, or flelli-coloured fwallow-wort; 
leaves lanceolate, fiem divided at top, umbels erect, twin. 
This puts out feveral upright (talks about two feet high ; 
at the top are produced dole umbels of purple flowers, 
which appear in Auguft. Native of America. 
14. Alclepias decumbens, or decumbent fwallow-wort: 
leaves villofe ; Item decumbent, eighteen inches in length: 
leaves narrow ; flowers of a bright orange-colour. Native 
of North America. 
15. Afclepias ladifera, or milky fwallow-wort: leaves 
ovate, Item ered, umbels proliferous, very (hort. Native 
of Ceylon. 
16. Afclepias vincetoxicum, officinal fwallow-wort, or 
tame-poifon : leaves ovate, bearded at the bafe; fiem ered, 
umbels proliferous. Root very large, and much branch¬ 
ed : it is compofed of many Itrong fibres, which are con- 
neded at the top, like thofe of afparagus. It flowers 
from June to Auguft. It is a native of moll parts of the 
continent of Europe, and it is Angular, according to the 
remark of Linnaeus, that it ffiould not have been found 
wild in Great Britain. It was formerly efieemed to be an 
alexipharmic, and hence its name of vincetoxicum , tarne-poi- 
fon. It has been alfo recommended in dropfical cafes, and 
diforders peculiar to women ; but is difuled in the prefent 
pradice. No animal, except the goat, is faid to touch it. 
Linnaeus however affirms, that the horfe will crop it, af¬ 
ter it is froft-bitten. Our common Engliffi name, fwallozu- 
wort, is from a fancied refemblance of the follicles or feeds 
to a fwallow flying. 
17. Afclepias nigra, or black fwallow-wort : leaves o- 
vate, bearded at the bale; ftem twining a little at top. Black 
fwallow-wort agrees with the common or officinal fort in 
the lhape of its roots, leaves, and flowers, but the ftalks 
extend to a greater length, and towards their upper part 
t wifi round any flicks, or other plants near them ; and the 
flowers are black. M. Villars mentions his having obfer¬ 
ved a variety of the common fwallow-wort near the Grande 
Chartreufe, with Hems twilling at top, and fmaller flowers 
of a dulky green as well as the leaves. He conjedures 
that this may conned thefe two fpecies, which to him never 
feemed to be really diftind. This fort is by no means fo 
common as the foregoing, having been found only in the 
•foil til 
