Flora Medica

POLYGALACE^E.Root slender, almost insipid. Lower leaves large, rosulate, obovate;upper cauline acute. Flowers numerous, blue or white. Lateralsepals cuneate, elliptical, about as long as the fringed corolla. Capsuleobcordate, oblong, longer and broader than the sepals, distinctly narrowedto the base. Rchb, Whole plant bitter. It is much extolledby Van Swieten and others in pulmonary complaints and spitting ofblood.250. P. rubella Muhlb. cat. Willdsp.pl iii. 875. Bigelowmed. hot. iii. t. 54. P. polygama Walt. f. car. 179. Dry,sandy, gravelly soils in many parts of the United States.Root somewhat fusiform, perennial, branching. Leaves, smooth, thelower obovate, smaller ;the upper linear-lanceolate, obtuse, mucronated,sessile. Flowers purple, short-crested, in terminal racemes. Bractssmall, ovate-lanceolate, caducous. Wings of the calyx rhomboid-oval,obtuse, with a slight middle nerve. Corolla small, closed, of threesegments, the middle one largest and crested by the division of its sidesand extremity. Anthers 8, forming a double row, the filaments coalescing.Ovary compressed, inversely heart-shaped ; style deflexed ;stigma bearded inside, with a prominence below it.Capsule inverselyheart-shaped, nearly smooth, margined, and invested with the wings ofthe calyx. Seeds 2, obovate, hairy, with a transparent appendage orstrophiole on the inside. From the base of the stems proceed anumber of prostrate shoots situated upon, and sometimes nearlyunder the ground, bearing a row of incomplete fertile flowers. Theseflowers are furnished with a calyx without wings, acuminate corollaand stamens, and a short style. The ovary and fruit preciselyresemble those of the more perfect flowers. Bigelow. A strong bittertaste pervades all the parts. In small doses its infusion is found usefulas a tonic, and stimulant to the digestive organs. In large doses itopens the body and excites diaphoresis.251. P. sanguinea Linn. sp. 991. A supposed antidote tothe bite of poisonous reptiles.252. P. Poaya Mart. spec. mat. med. bras. t. 2. and t. 8. f. 6.Aug. de St. H. pi. tts. No. 1\.fl. bras. ii. 20. Brazil common;in the plains of Minas Geraes and Goyaz.Stem suflruticose, 5-angled. Leaves leathery, 5-nerved. Racemesspicate. Wings of the calyx oblong-elliptical or obovate, obtuse, somewhatlonger than the keel. Corolla crested. Seeds clavate, veryshaggy. An active emetic ; its root used successfully in the biliousfevers of Brazil ; when fresh, scarcely inferior to Ipecacuanha Martius.253. P. crotalarioides DC.prodr. i. 327. Nepal.Stem branched from the base, suffruticose, decumbent, downy.Leaves obovate-wedge shaped at the base, stalked. Racemes 8-10,flowered. Wings roundish-obovate, as long as the orbicular ciliatedcapsule.A reputed cure for the bite of venomous reptiles.254?. P. Chamaebuxus Linn. sp. 989 has properties similar tothose of P. Senega.255. P.venenosa Juss. in Pair. diet. v. 493. is said by Commer-126