396 
Fncus  Vesiculosus. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
\      Sept  ,  1876. 
strength  of  these  observations  Fucus  vesiculosus  was  admitted  into 
several  pharmacopoeias,  but  was  afterwards  dismissed,  the  last  one 
dropping  it  being  the  "  Dublin  Pharmacopoeia,"  in  the  edition  of  1850. 
The  beneficial  effects  in  scrofulous  swellings  and  goitre  of  the  vegetable 
ethiops  and  of  the  sponge  charcoal,  which  had  been  introduced  by  Ar- 
naud  de  Villeneuve  near  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  the  dis- 
covery of  iodine  in  the  ashes  of  sea-plants,  induced  Dr.  Coindet,  of  Gen- 
eva, in  1 819,  to  study  the  effects  of  iodine,  and  led  to  the  introduction  of 
this  element  into  medicine.  Subsequently,  Duchesne  Duparc,  and  after 
him  Godsfrey,  stated  (1862)  that  they  had  found  this  fucus  to  possess 
valuable  properties  as  a  remedy  for  morbid  obesity,  an  observation 
which,  by  later  investigators,  does  not  appear  to  be  confirmed  to  the 
full  extent  mentioned  by  the  first  recommenders  in  this  complaint. 
Of  late,  the  bladder  wrack,  it  seems,  has  been  employed  medicinally 
to  some  extent  in  the  United  States,  so  that  a  brief  description  of  this 
and  some  allied  species  may  be  desirable. 
The  genus  Fucus  belongs  to  the  suborder  Fucoideae  or  Melano- 
sporeae  of  the  natural  order  Algae.  As  originally  constituted  by  Lin- 
naeus, it  embraced  several  genera  which  have  been  separated  by  later 
authors,  and  among  which  are  the  genera  Laminaria,  Sargassum  and 
Cystoseira,  the  last-named  having  the  thallus  usually  inflated  into 
vesicles  which  often  show  a  moniliform  arrangement,  while  the 
vesicles  of  Sargassum  are  stipitate.  Fucus  has  either  a  cylindrical 
(filiform)  or  flat,  usually  forking  thallus,  and  the  sporocarps  inflated  and 
usually  terminating  the  branches.  In  their  fresh  state  they  have  an 
olive  or  brownish-green  color,  becoming  blackish  on  drying.  Several 
species  have  portions  of  the  thallus  inflated  so  as  to  form  hollow 
vesicles. 
Fucus  vesiculosus,  Lin.,  attains  the  length  of  1  to  3  feet,  and  has  a 
flat  thallus  J  to  1  inch  wide,  with  the  margin  entire  and  a  distinct  mid- 
rib running  the  entire  length  of  the  thallus  ;  the  vesicles  are  always  in 
pairs,  one  being  placed  on  each  side  of  the  mid-rib,  spherical  or  oblong 
globular  in  shape,  and  occasionally  attaining  the  size  of  a  hazelnut.  It 
grows  on  rocky  sea  shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  near  high-water 
mark,  and  in  marshes  which  are  occasionally  overflowed  by  the  tide. 
Formerly  it  was  known  by  the  name  of  quercus  marina,  or  sea  oak,  its 
common  English  names  being  bladder  wrack,  sea-wrack,  sea-ware,  kelp- 
ware  and  black  tang.    In  Scotland  and  other  northern  countries  it  is 
