Flora Medica

ASTERACEJE.the stem lanceolate. Floral leaves broadly cordate-ovate, acuminate,hoary. Heads on long stalks. Flowers pale red. A decoction ofthe leaves and roots are given on the Malabar coast in cases of dysuria.PIQUERIA.Head 4-5-flowered. Involucre oblong, consisting of 4-5leaves in a single row. Receptacle small, naked, flat. Tubeof corolla sbort, somewhat dilated, usually hairy. Terminal appendageof the anthers scarcely any. Branches of the styleobtuse. Achaenia when young compressed, when old 5-angled,smooth, and jointed with a short stalk. DC.903. P. trinervia Cav. ic. iii. 1 9. t. 235. Jacq. eel. \. 70. t. 48.DC.prodr.v. 104 Ageratum febrifugum and Stevia febrifugaMay. and Sesse. Mexico ;rocks near Santa Rosa de la Sierra,Xalapa, and many other parts where it is called Xoxonitztal andYoloxiltic.A small herbaceous plant. Leaves ovate- or oblong-lanceolate, subserrated,3-nerved. Panicle corymbose, lax, many-headed. Heads 4-flowered. Tube of the corolla shaggy. Scales of the involucre obtuse,mucronate. Florets white. Used in Mexico as a remedy in intermittentfevers.LIATRIS.Heads 5-30-flowered. Involucre imbricated, in a few rows.Receptacle naked. Corolla tubular, enlarged at the throat, withlong lobes. Branches of style cylindrical, much protruded.Achaenium with about 10 ribs, somewhat cylindrical. Pappusin 1-3 rows, consisting of feathered or bearded bristles.904. L. squarrosa Willd. iii. 1634. bor.Hook.fi. am. i. 306.Elliott sketch ii. 282. DC. prodr.v. 129. Pursh ii. 509.Serratula squarrosa Linn. sp. pi.1 147. (Dill. elth. t. 71. f. 82.)North America from Canada to Carolina in dry Pine barrens.Root tuberous, perennial. Stem 2-3 feet high, pubescent, ratherrough, leafy, not branched. Leaves very long, linear, nerved, roughishat the edge, sometimes ciliated. Heads few, racemose, solitaryat theend of a leafy peduncle,peduncle. Involucre cylindrical, either smooth or downy,with lanceolate, rigid, spreading scales, the ends of which are leafy.Flowers bright purple. Achaenia striated, hairy, crowned with a purplish-brownconspicuous pappus. Known in the Southern parts ofAmerica by the name of Rattlesnake's master. In case of being bittenby this animal they bruise the roots and apply them to the wound,while at the same time the patient drinks a decoction of it in milk.Pursh. The roots have a terebinthinous odour, and are reputed to bepowerfully diuretic, and hence antisiphilitic.It is probable that other species of this genus possess similar properties,at least that of being diuretic.905. L. scariosa Willd. and 906. L. odoratissima Willd. inparticular, deserve to become the subjects of inquiry.450