j  1 8  Note  on  Liberian  Drugs.  { AmjE£-If£rBU 
ilar  in  properties  to  ipecacuanha.  By  some  the  heads  of  small  pale 
lilac  flowers  are  chewed,  or  the  leaves  eaten  like  a  potherb  ;  others, 
however,  make  a  strong  decoction  of  the  plant,  of  which  two  table- 
spoonfuls  are  given  three  times  a  day. 
The  use  of  other  plants  of  this  genus  is  somewhat  similar  in  other 
countries.  Thus  in  Brazil  one  species  is  used  for  colic  ;  in  the  East 
Indies  the  fresh  juice  of  another  is  used  in  diarrhoea.1 
"Abortive  plant." — This  is  the  Stachytarpheta  Jamaicensis^  Vahl. 
{Verbena  jamaicensis,  L.),  a  native  of  Jamaica.  This  plant  is  said  by 
Dr.  Roberts  to  be  used  by  the  natives  in  the  form  of  tea  for  procuring 
abortion,  but  he  does  not  corroborate  this  statement  from  personal 
knowledge. 
The  plant  is  also  a  native  of  Jamaica,  where  it  is  used,  according  to 
Barham,  under  the  name  of  vervain,  as  an  emmenagogue,  the  decoc- 
tion of  the  root  being  used,  while  the  expressed  juice  is  administered 
for  worms  in  children  and  as  a  purgative.  In  Brazil,  according  to 
Martius,  it  is  used  for  healing  ulcers  and  internally  for  rheumatic  affec- 
tions. In  that  country  it  is  known  as  jarbao,  urgevao,  or  orgibao. 
According  to  St.  Hilaire  it  is  taken  by  some  people  as  tea,  and  was  at 
one  time  sent  to  Europe  under  the  name  of  Brazilian  tea.  He 
expresses  the  opinion  that  it  probably  is  about  equal  in  medicinal  value 
to  the  common  vervain,  Verbena  officinalis ;  it  is  nevertheless  largely 
used  as  a  household  medicine  in  Brazil.2 
Polypodium  phymatodes. — Under  the  name  of  "male  fern"  for 
the  fronds  bearing  fructification,  and  "  female  fern  "  for  those  without 
sori,  this  plant  is  used  in  Liberia  for  nephritis,  dysuria  and  other  kidney 
complaints.  It  is  used  either  in  decoction  or  tincture,  the  dose  of  the 
decoction  being  two  tablespoonfuls  three  times  a  day,  and  of  the  tinc- 
ture a  teaspoonful  every  three  hours.  The  female  fern  is  used  for 
leucorrhoea  and  prolapsus  uteri  by  the  native  women. 
Cream  of  Tartar  plant. — This  is  Osbeckia  rotundifolia,  Sm.  (Dissotis 
plumosa^  Benth.),  a  plant  belonging  to  the  Melastomaceae.  It  is  used 
by  the  natives  as  a  diuretic  and  alterative  in  the  same  way  that  cream 
of  tartar  is  used  in  this  country.3 
1  Ainslie,  "  Materia  Medica,"  vol,  ii,  p.  414  5  Martius,  "  Nat.  Med.  Brasil,"  p.  6 ; 
Barham,  "  Hortus  Americanus,"  p  42  ;  Oliver,  "  Fl.  Trop.  Africa,"  vol.  iii,  p.  56. 
2  St.  Hilaire,  "Ph.  usuelles  des  Brasiliens,"  pi.  xxxix. 
3  Oliver,  "Fl.  Trop.  Africa,"  vol  ii,  p.  452. 
