Flora Medica

FABACEJE, OR LEGUMINOS-S.4-94. I. tinctoria Linn, sp.pl. 1061. Willd. iii. 1237. DC.prodr. ii. 224. Roxb. fl. ind. iii. 379. W. and A. i. 202.Ind. indica Lam. enc. iii. 24-5. illustr. t. 626. f. i. I. sumatranaGcertn. t. 148. f. 2. East Indies ;common inLiguareain the West Indies according to Dr. Macfadyen.Suflruticose, erect, branched, sprinkled with short whitish pubescence.Branches terete, firm. Leaves pinnated; leaflets 5-6-pairs,oblong-obovate, cuneate at the base, slightly decreasing in size towardsthe apex of the leaf; stipules subulate, erect or incurved. Racemesshorter than the leaves, sessile, many-flowered. Flowers small, approximatedat the base of the raceme, more distant and deciduoustowards the apex. Calyx-segments broad, acute. Legumes approximatedtowards the base of the rachis, nearly cylindrical, slightlytorulose, deflexed and more or less curved :upwards sutures thickened.Seeds about 10, cylindrical, truncated at both ends. W. and A.A decoction of the root used as a lotion effectually destroys vermin ;the juice of the young branches mixed with ishoney recommendedfor aphtha? of the mouth in children ;and Indigo in powder, sprinkledon foul ulcers is said to cleanse them. The disease in poultry, knownby the name ofyaivs, is cured by the application of a solution of Indigoby means of a rag. Macfady. fl.jam. i. 251. Indigo is also used inepilepsy, and erysipelas. Med. Gaz. xx. 172. Moreover the valuabledye obtained from it is a highly dangerous vegetable poison. It is,however, by no means confined to I. tinctoria. The following areequally important in regard to their dyeing qualities :495. I. Anil Linn. Mant. 272. yields much of the Indigo ofthe West Indies. The powdered leaf used in hepatitis. Ainslie.496. I. argentea Linn. Mant. 27. is the species cultivated forIndigo in Egypt.497. I. caerulea Roxb. fl.ind. iii. 377. was said by Roxburghto produce the finest indigo he knew.CLITORIA.Calyx 5-cleft, furnished at the base with pretty large veryobtuse bractlets. Vexillum large, rounded. Stamens diadelphous(9 and 1), inserted with the corolla a little above thebase (not into the bottom) of the calyx. Style somewhat dilatedat the apex. Legumes linear, compressed, straight,2-valved, united with the base of the style, 1-celled, manyseeded,often with cellular partitions between the seeds.Climbing herbaceous plants. Leaves unequally pinnated: leafletsoften 1 pair, more rarely 2-3 pairs, generally furnished withpartial stipules at their base. Flowers axillary, pedicellate,large, white or blue or purple, often resupinate. W. and A.498. C. Ternatea Linn. sp. pi. 1026. Bot. t.Mag. 1542.DC. prodr.ii. 233. Ternatea vulgaris HBK. vi. 415. (Rumph.v. t. 31 . Rheede viii. t. 38.) Various parts of both the Eastand West Indies.242