202 
Medicinal  Uses  of  F lowers. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm.. 
I      April,  1891. ' 
The  flowers  of  Calotropis  gigantea  are  considered  digestive,  stomachic,  tonic 
and  useful  in  catarrh,  asthma  and  loss  of  appetite. 
The  sweetly  scented  flowers  and  other  parts  of  Ipomcea  boua-nox  are  among 
the  medicines  supposed  to  have  some  merit  as  remedies  against  snake-bites. 
A  poultice  of  the  flowers  of  Melia  Azedarach  is  applied  to  relieve  nervous 
headaches,  and  has  the  reputation  of  being  useful  to  kill  lice  and  to  cure  erup- 
tions of  the  scalp. 
The  flowers  of  Ocimum  Basilicum  possess  stimulant,  diuretic  and  demulcent 
properties. 
The  flowers  of  Quassia  amara  are  infused  in  wine  or  water  as  a  stomachic, 
every  part  of  the  tree  being  bitter. 
From  the  flowers  of  Thibaudia  Quereme  an  aromatic  tincture  is  prepared  in 
Peru  as  a  remedy  for  toothache. 
In  Goa,  Portuguese  India,  the  flowers  of  Eleusine  coracana  are  prepared  and 
much  esteemed  in  chest  complaints  and  debility.  Many  natives  live  upon 
them  alone  prepared  in  some  way. 
In  India  with  the  flowers  of  Erythrina  indica,  the  juice  of  which  is  unctuous 
and  aromatic,  they  prepare  a  syrup  much  emplo}^ed  in  affections  of  the  chest. 
With  the  flowers  of  Cassia  fistula,  a  purgative  syrup,  known  as  gut-kand,  is 
made,  which  is  considered  a  febrifuge. 
The  flowers  of  Vite.r  trifolia  are  prescribed  with  honey  in  cases  of  fevers, 
accompanied  with  vomiting  and  severe  thirst. 
The  Xagassar  flowers  [Mesua  ferrea)  are  obtained  in  the  bazars  of  India, 
in  a  dried  state,  being  used  in  medicine  as  a  stimulant,  astringent  and  stoma- 
chic, as  well  as  esteemed  for  their  fragrance.  The  grandees  of  Ava  are  said  to 
stuff  their  pillows  with  the  dried  anthers  of  the  flowers  on  account  of  their 
fragrance.  The  flowers  and  leaves  are  regarded,  in  Bengal,  as  antidotes  to 
snake-bites.  Dried  in  powder  the  flowers,  with  butter  and  sugar,  are  used  as  an 
astringent  in  hemorrhoidal  discharges.  The  flowers  when  distilled  yield  an  attar. 
The  flowers  of  Michelia  Champaca  are  of  a  yellow,  sometimes  deep  orange 
color,  and  exquisitely  fragrant.  They  are  highly  esteemed  by  the  Hindoos, 
especially  for  the  use  they  make  of  them  in  their  religious  ceremonies. 
Flowers,  as  we  have  thus  seen,  are  much  used  in  medicine,  but  they  are  also 
employed,  in  some  instances,  as  an  article  of  food.  It  is  rarely  that  we  find 
the  corolla  of  a  plant  serving  any  other  purpose  than  as  a  temporary  protection 
for  the  reproductive  organs  within.  But  for  a  flower  to  secrete  more  than  halt 
its  weight  of  sugar,  and  thus  become  an  article  of  economic  value,  and  even 
of  commerce,  is  most  remarkable  ;  of  this  we  have  an  instance  in  the  flowers 
of  an  Indian  tree,  species  of  Bassia. 
Some  flowers  attract  birds  and  bees  by  their  nectar,  others  repulse  them 
by  their  stupefying  odor.  The  Persian  insect  powder  of  commerce  consists  ot 
the  florets  of  the  disk  of  different  species  of  Pyrethrum,  collected  before 
the  seed  is  fully  formed.  The  flowers  of  Tansy  are  also  said  to  have  a  stupe- 
fying effect  on  insects.  The  Caucasian  and  Persian  flowers,  usually  called  Guirila, 
although  first  employe^,  are  no  longer  now  of  commercial  importance.  The 
cultivation  is  chiefly  carried  on  in  Dalmatia  and  Montenegro.  The  trade  cen- 
tres in  Trieste,  where  about  12,000  cwt.  are  sold  yearly,  at  the  price  of  about 
£11  a  cwt.  The  unground  flowers  are  much  preferred,  as  the  powder  is 
greatly  adulterated.  From  one  Russian  port,  Poti,  this  insect  powder  used  to 
be  exported  to  the  value  of  £7,000  a  year. 
