MEDlCINAL PLANTS OF JAMAICA. PARTS 1 & 11.

PASSIFLORA SEXFLORA Juss. Duppy Pumpkin: Bat Wing; Goat or Duck Foot; Passion Flower.
Beckwith states that this plant is used for colds, either alone or with Cissampelos pareiras and as a
plaster for sores, a lame foot or a stiff neck. (2).
PHYTOLACCACEAE
A small family consisting for the most part of shrubby plants of the warmer regions of the world about
which there are chemical data for only a few individual species. Mustard oil, saponins and 'phytolaccic acid' are
among the compounds known for the group.
PETIVERIA ALLICAEA L. Guinea Hen Weed: Strong Man's Weed.
This plant has a strong smell of garlic and the meat and milk of cattle feeding on it acquire a very
disagreeable smell and taste. The plant contains mustard oil. The leaves are rubbed up and sniffed or tied on the
head for headaches while the roots, steeped in white rum, are similarly used. Beckwith records the use of a
decoction with Eryngium foetidum for fever and headaches. Lunan mentions the use of the juice for hysterical
fits. (2, 7, 14, 15, 19, 24, 25, 27).
PIPERACEAE
A large family widely distributed in the tropics of the old world. The leaves contain oil cells. The genus
Piper, for wtich the majority of chemical data are available, contains characteristic pungent principles. Also
found in members of the family are alkaloids, essential oils, resin and bitter principles.
PEPEROMIA PELLUCIDA Kunth. Pepper Elder (Pepper Helda); Rat Ears; Ratta Temper; Silver
Bush; Shinv Bush.
According to Beckwith this plant is used as a tea for a loose cough. In the Grenadines, where it is called
silver bush, it provides a tea for undernourished children. In Africa it is frequently employed in infusions for
convulsions. In Trinidad, where it is called shiny bush, it is used for colds and as a cooling medicine for
children. (2, 28, 13).
PIPER AMALGO L. Joint Wood: Pepper Elder.
The young stem and leaves of this species provide a decoction for flatulence and, according to
Steggerda, serve as a tonic for the blood. Browne says the root is sudorific, diaphoretic and good for dropsy,
and that the leaves and shoots were used in baths and fomentations. The fruits provide an alternative to
commercial pepper. (5, 15, 26).
PIPER NIGRINODUM C.DC. Jointer Bush: Black Joint (Giant); Black Jointer.
For fever and colds the twigs are boiled, the resulting decoction being used as a tea and for a bath. The
bath is also taken for pains and the tea, with ginger added, is used for stomach-ache and as a general beverage.
(2).
PIPER UMBELLATUM L. Cow or Colt's Foot.
For colds this plant is made into a tea, either alone or with other cold bushes. The leaves are tied on the
head for headache and Beckwith says the warmed leaf is applied for lameness, In Lunan's time the root was
used for boils. In parts of Africa the leaves are boiled as a vegetable, and as a remedy for tapeworm while the
roots are used for rheumatism. The leaves and berries contain a pungent volatile oil about which little is known.
(2, 7, 10, 15, 27).
PLANTAGINACEAE
A small family of mainly herbaceous temperate region species. A glycoside aucubin, together with
choline, adenine and succinic acid bas been found in members of the family.