Flora Medica

MALVACEAE.W. and A. Decoction of the root and stem used in Brazil as a remedyin windy colic ;flowers as an expectorant in dry and inveterate coughs.ABELMOSCHUS.Calyx 5-toothed, spathaceous, deciduous, surrounded by a5-10-leaved often very caducous involucel. Ovarium 5-celled ;cells with many ovules. Style 1, 5-cleft at the apex. Stigmas5. Capsule 5-celled, 5-valved, loculicidal, polyspermous. Seedsnaked.287. A. esculentus W. and A. i. 53. Hibiscus esculentusLinn, sp.pl 980. Cav. diss. t.iii. 61. f. 2. DC. i.prodr. 450.H. longifolius Roxb.fl. ind. iii. 210. West Indies : cultivatedall over the wanner parts of the world. (Okra, Bendee, Gombo.)An annual. Stem erect, branched, 3-6 feet high, round, towards thebase somewhat woody, and in a good soil, as thick as a man's wrist ;tender parts covered with sharp bristles, and often spotted with purplishspecks. Leaves alternate, stalked ; inferior ones only angular,about the middle of the plant palmate, while the superior ones are subdigitate,with the divisions lanceolate-oblong; all serrate, and somewhatbristly. Petioles round, bristly, as long as the leaves. Flowersaxillary, solitary, on short stalks, very large, pale yellow, with a darkcrimson bottom. Involucre 1 from 6 to 12-leaved ; leaflets linear,bristly, deciduous. Calyx spathiform, bursting on 1 side, of a remarkablysoft texture. Stigmas as many as the cells in the capsule. Capsulefrom 6 to 12 inches long, and about 1 in diameter, somewhatbristly, particularly the ridges, their number corresponding with that ofthe cells, and valves, with a single row of round, smooth seeds in eachcell. Abounds in a copious mucilage; a valuable emollient and demulcent.Constantly used in hot countries as a means of thickeningsoup. Leaves are used to form emollient poultices.288. A. moschatus W. and A. i. 53. Hibiscus moschatusLinn.sp.pl.9SO. DC. prodr.i. 452. H. longifolius Willd.sp.pl.iii. 827. DC. 1. c. 450. Rheede. ii. t. 38.Stem herbaceous, hispid with spreading hairs, not prickly. Leaves,and long petioles, hispid with rigid hairs, but otherwise glabrous, unequallyand coarsely toothed, deeply 5-7-lobed ;lobes all spreading,oblong or lanceolate, acuminated. Pedicels harshly pubescent, axillary,about as long as the petioles. Involucral leaves 6-10, linear, hairy,somewhat'persistent. Capsule oblong, acuminated, hairy. W. and A.Dr. Wm. Hamilton quotes an instance of its powerful effects inThecounteracting the fatal influence of the bite of venomous reptiles.bruised seeds were rubbed on the wound, and a considerable quantityforced down the throat of the animal in question. Trans, med. hot.soc. 1834, p. 72. Musky seeds considered cordial and stomachic andby the Arabs mixed with coffee. 144