Am.  Jour.  Pharm.l 
Feb.,  I885.  J 
Some  Native  Southern  Remedies. 
91 
noted  here  that  attention  has  recently  been  called  to  the  fact  that  in 
certain  parts  of  the  country  an  infusion  of  the  leaves  of  this  plant  is 
very  generally  used  as  a  beverage,  as  a  substitute  for  tea,  a  regular 
trade  in  the  article  having  sprung  up  in  the  shops. 
12.  Chrysopsis  graminifolia,  Nutt.,  the  Grass-leaved  Silver  Aster. 
Reported  as  "Blue-grass^'  and  "Fever- grass."  Used  as  a  poultice  to 
sprains. 
13.  Helenium  nudifloy^um,  Nutt.,  the  Naked-flowered  Sneeze-weed. 
Report  refers  to  its  well-known  irritating  properties  when  applied  to 
the  nostrils. 
14.  Gnaphalium  purpureum,  L.,  the  Purple-flowered  Everlasting. 
Reported  as  "  Cough-weed/'  and  as  a  remedy  for  coughs  and  colds. 
15.  Gnaphalium  polycephalam,  Mx.,  the  Sweet-scented  Life-ever- 
lasting.   Reported  as  a  diaphoretic  and  a  poultice  in  tympanitis. 
16.  Pterocaulon  pycnostachyum,  Ell.,  the  Indian  Black-root.  Said 
to  posses  tonic  and  emmenagogue  and  oxytocic  properties.  The  latter 
is  an  interesting  announcement  as  bearing  on  its  well-known  narcotic 
properties. 
:natural  order  gentianace^. 
17.  Gentiana  ochroleuca,  Froel.,  the  Sampson  Snake-root.  Dr. 
Lane  confirms  its  value  as  a  substitute  for  the  other  gentians. 
NATURAL  ORDER  LOGANIACEiE. 
18.  Gelsemimn  sempervirens,  Ait.,  the  Yellow  Jessamine.  Concern- 
ing this,  the  most  important  and  valuable  upon  the  list,  and  one  of  the 
most  valuable  plants  in  the  entire  materia  medica,  the  doctor  speaks  in 
no  stinted  terms.  In  his  hands,  and  in  the  hands  of  his  acquaintances, 
it  has  sustained  the  reputation  it  has  generally  gained.  An  interesting 
fact  is  that  a  majority  of  the  country  practitioners  in  that  section  pre- 
pare their  own  extracts,  using  eight  ounces  of  the  bark  of  the  green 
root  to  the  pint  of  dilute  alcohol.  If  this  practice  is  general  through- 
out the  south,  it  would  materially  affect  the  estimate  of  the  consump- 
tion of  this  drug. 
NATURAL  ORDER  AMARANTACEtE. 
19.  Telanthera  polygonoides,  Moq.  Reported  under  the  name  "  Piss- 
a-bed,''  and  as  a  diuretic  and  anti-spasmodic,  used  in  cases  of  strangury. 
We  would  repeat  that  it  is  most  desirable  that  similar  reports, 
accompanied  in  all  cases  by  specimens  showing  as  much  as  possible  of 
the  plant,  mailed  flat  between  sheets  of  pasteboard,  should  be  contrib- 
uted, particularly  from  the  south  and  southwestern  regions. — Therap. 
Gaz.,  Dec,  1884,  p.  546. 
