46  Indigenous  Plants  of  Medical  Interest.  {Am  ^Jw!g*m- 
and  the  magnolias  are  pleasantly  tonic,  but  are  seldom  applied  now  in  medicine. 
Although  the  white  poplar  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  erect  trees  of  our 
forest,  some  of  them  are  so  difficult  to  split  that  a  gentleman  once  made  the 
remark,  "  You  couldn't  split  poplar  with  Jersey  lightning."  This  last  article  is 
described  as  a  subtle  fluid  ;  but  we  have  seen  some  effects  of  lightning  on  this 
side  of  the  river  Delaware. 
That  fluid  may  flow  on  as  we  take  up  a  solid  for  digestion  ;  the  papaw, 
Asimina  triloba,  the  only  representative  here  of  a  Southern  order.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  it  is  rare,  but  on  the  Susquehanna  below  Columbia,  among 
our  happy  hunting-grounds,  it  flourishes  to  perfection.  To  the  novice  the 
term  papaw  sounds  like  source  of  the  papoid,  but  that  is  derived  from  a  dis- 
tinct tree,  Carica  Papaya.  Our  tree  would  suggest  some  hidden  good,  either  as 
aliment  or  medicament,  from  its  size,  the  abundance  of  seeds  and  apparent 
pleasantness  of  fruit,  if  nothing  else.  The  people  along  the  Susquehanna  are 
still  trying  with  their  usual  good  taste  to  accustom  themselves  to  its  lack  of 
lusciousness,  but  the}?  find  it  like  other  good  things  hard  to  swallow  and  to  retain. 
Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  its  principle,  the  alkaloid 
asiminine,  but  only  with  partial  success. 
The  order  Menispermaceae  has  but  one  representative  in  this  region,  the 
officinal  Menispertnum  canadense.  The  moonseed  or  yellow  parilla  is  a  fine 
climber,  quite  prevalent,  but  receives  little  attention  from  the  physicians  or 
public. 
In  the  order  Berberidaceae  we  have  Caulophyllum  or  blue  cohosh,  Jeffersonia 
or  twin  leaf  and  Podophyllum  or  mandrake.  Caulophyllum  thalictroides, 
so-called  for  its  resemblance  to  the  genus  Thalictrum,  is  a  beautiful  plant  a  foot 
or  so  high,  and  furnished  with  a  panicle  of  greenish  yellow  flowers.  It  being  an 
officinal  plant,  we  would  invite  you  to  a  closer  inspection  of  it  when  the 
proper  season  comes.  Jeffersouia  diphylla  is  rare  in  this  section  of  the  State, 
but  found  in  limited  places  and  amounts  in  Bucks  Count}-.  Podophyllum 
peltatum  is  another  of  our  woodland  treasures  ;  its  pair  of  large  umbrella-shaped 
leaves  protecting  the  handsome  flower  and  subsequent  edible  (?)  fruit,  make  it 
desirable  for  beauty  and  general  utility.  f 
Now,  we  have  a  nosegay  principally  New  Jersey  aquatics,  viz  :  Castalia  or 
Nymphcsa  odorata,  the  water  lily ;  Nuphar  advena  or  spatterdock,  and 
Nelumbo  lutea,  or  yellow  lotus.  They  are  all  abundant  in  the  State  named, 
and  it  seems  form  more  lines  of  trade  for  sight  and  smell,  than  science, 
though  we  expect  to  hear  a  great  deal  to  the  contrary  in  the  near  future. 
The  order  Papaveracese  presents  us  with  blooded  stock,  should  have  said 
rootstocks  ;  however,  blood  will  tell  and  this  is  not  in  the  order  of  exceptions. 
Our  native  poppies  though  are  not  near  enough  to  bring  in  ;  but  friends  lately 
from  Greenland  state  that  they  nourish  there  ;  occasionally  we  find  them 
in  this  neighborhood.  Sanguinaria  is  a  rival  to  mandrake  for  ground 
space  and  what  blood  is  spilled  between  them  is,  of  course,  by  mechanical 
means.  This  plant  is  most  anno}-ing  to  collectors  for  herbarium  use  as  the 
parts  of  the  flowers  are  very  caducous,  falling  very  early,  and  the  leaves 
are  not  expanded  till  long  after  flowers  are  gone  ;  hence,  we  never  see  a  good 
one  on  paper.  Chelidonium  majus  is  a  larger  plant  and  it  blooms  for  several 
months.    It  has  little  use  here  in  medicine,  as  far  as  we  know. 
In  Fumariacese  we  have  Dicentra  canadensis,  or  squirrel  corn,  a  vernal 
