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GARDENING IN THE SOUTHWEST 
Narcotics 
put them to soak in good brandy; administering a tablespoonful three 
times a day as a remedy for chills and fever. 
Other medicinal herbs that flourish in the Southwest are: Nettle 
(Solanum caroliniensis); Pokeberry (Phytolacca decandra); Golden Rod 
(Solidago serotina); Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii); Penstemon 
Cobaea (Foxglove, Beard-tongue); Helianthus (Sunflowers); Wood Sorrel 
(Oxalis drummondii); the Kansas Sunflower (Brauneria); Black Night¬ 
shade (Solanum nigrum) ; and the Jimson Weed , or Thorn Apple (Datura 
stramonium). 
Among the definite narcotics to be found here are Purslane Speedwell 
(Veronica perigrina); Herb-of-the-Cross (Verbena officinalis); Bitter 
Corn Salad (Valerianella amarilla) and a small, dry-looking grayish-green 
weed (Nicotiana repanda), commonly known as Indian Tobacco, which 
frequents city lawns and adjacent fields. What a stiff, soulless little thing 
the latter plant is! And yet, along with all the others, it has a place in the 
Universal Scheme. 
This article lays no claim to exhaustive detail; nor does it deal 
with the plants from the standpoint of medical efficacy; neither 
does it recommend their use medicinally in any form. It features 
only those plants and herbs that are themselves classified under the 
head of Herbal Materia Medica, or such as are related to plants so 
listed, and those that have food value, with regard for interest 
and appeal. 
Mary Daggett Lake. 
