MEDlCINAL PLANTS OF JAMAICA. PARTS 1 & 11.

One prescription for a disordered stomach combined this species with Vernonia divaricata to make tea. The
bruised leaves are said to make a useful dressing for a lame foot. (10, 26, 36).
VERNONIA DIVARICATA Sw. (Old) Man Bitter Bush; Wild Gungo.
The use of this plant to make tea for stomach upsets is confirmed (see also Senecio discolor) and a new
common name is recorded. (2. 9. 24).
WEDELIA GRACILIS L. Marigold; Consumption Weed.
A species of Wedelia less common than W. trilobata which is used in the same way.
CONVOLVULACEAE
CUSCUTA Sp. Love Bush.
With button weed (Borreria laevis) and Zebrina pendula this species is sometimes boiled to make tea for
amenorrhoea. Some people consider it useful to make tea for children's colds and to be of value in marasmus
("mirasmy") cases. In Indiex. Cuscuta spp. are used by the natives to "purify the blood" and especially for
bilious conditions. Maya medicine made use of C. americana in the preparation of baths for tuberculosis and
high fever. (1, 2, 5, 7, 15, 39, 56).
EVOLVULUS ARBUSCULA Poir. Sea (side) Thyme.
This plant. a tea bush in its own right, is sometimes sold in the markets to the unwary as Poor Man's
Friend (Stylosanthes viscosa). It is said to make a very pleasant beverage which is "good for the heart. wind and
belly-ache". (36).
CRASSULACEAE
BRYOPHYLLUM PINNATUM Kurz. Leaf of Life.
The use of this plant in Jamaica as an application for headaches and pains, including sprains, is
confirmed. Similar uses to those already recorded are made of the species in Cuba and in Maya medicine. The
Maya also considered it of value in the treatment of dysentery and failure of menstruation. (2. 7, 8. 10. 25. 27.
47. 56. 61).
CRUCIFERAE
An important family. economically. consisting of about two thousand species which are mostly
herbaceous plants of temperate and cold regions. They are characterised by the occurrence of myrosin and of
glycosides rich in sulphur. The family provided a number of our vegetables including the cabbage tribe.
NASTURTIUM FONTANUM Aschers. Water Cress (Water Cushie or Crishes).
This well-known salad plant is rich in vitamins A and C and also contains some vitamin D. The dried
plant contains 0.448 mgm. iodine per kgm. The tops are also said to contain the glycoside glyconasturtiin and
volatile oil. The plant is antiscorbutic. slightly stimulant. diuretic and expectorant. In Jamaica it is used as a
salad. in soup and as tea: it is thought to be good for the heart. The Flora of Cuba records that it is of value for
constipation. chronic catarrh and pyorrhoea. (15, 16, 27, 47. 48).
CUCURBITACEAE
CITRULLUS VULGARIS Schrad. Water Melon.
The fruit of the water melon is regarded as cooling. "It is good for anyone whose skin comes up in weals
when the time is hot". The fruit contains 92 to 96 per cent water. sugar and traces of citric acid. It is easily
digested and early writers considered it useful for fever patients. Browne reported the use of the seeds in
cooling and nutritive preparations: they contain about 27 per cent fat. In native African medicine. the fruit and
seed are credited with diuretic properties and the juice of the roasted fruit is thought to be vermifuge. The seeds
are used as a masticatory. (5, 7, 9, 15, 16, 26, 27, 61).