Flora Medica

_1066. A. Belladonna Linn. sp. pi. 260. Eng. Bot. t. 592.Woodv. t. Smith i.Eng. Fl. i. 316. Common in Europe inwaste places and among ruins. (Dwale, Deadly Nightshade.)Root fleshy, creeping. Whole plant foetid when bruised, of a darkand lurid aspect,indicative of its deadly narcotic quality. Stems herbaceous,annual, 3 feet high, round, branched, leafy, slightly downy.Leaves lateral, mostly two together of unequal size, ovate, acute, entire,smooth. Flowers imperfectly axillary, solitary, stalked, drooping, darkdull purple in the border, paler downwards, about an inch long. Berryof a shining violet black, the size of a small cherry, sweetish, and notnauseous. Smith. A dangerous narcotic. Every part of theplant is poisonous and children and the ; ignorant have often sufferedfrom eating the berries, the beautiful appearance and sweet taste ofwhich render them very alluring. The symptoms which they induceare those of intoxication, accompanied with fits of laughter and violentgestures great ;thirst, difficulty of deglutition, nausea, dilatation of thepupil, with the eyelids drawn down ;redness and tumefaction of theface, stupor or delirium, a low and feeble pulse, paralysis of the intes-CAPSICUM.tines, convulsions and death. In medicine Belladonna is not onlynarcotic, but diaphoretic and diuretic. It is extensively employedespecially in producing a dilatation of the pupil, when its infusionis dropped into the eye. Among other properties it is said by Hahnemannand Koreff to protect the individual who takes it from thecontagion of Scarlatina.Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla rotate, equal. Filaments very short,equal ; anthers converging, opening longitudinally. Fruit firm,succulent, 2-celled, containing numerous dry flat seeds, notmixed with pulp.1067. C. annuum Linn. sp. pi. 270. Willd. enum. i. 241.Plenck. offic. pi. t. 107. (Rheede ii. t. 35.) South America,Mexico, East Indies.(Chilly, Capsicum.)An annual, of a dark green colour, almost smooth, growing 1 to 2feet high. Stems angular, furrowed, branched. Leaves ovate or oblong,acuminate, long-stalked, almost entire, sometimes hairy on the veinsunderneath. Flowers white, solitary, axillary, pendulous, with darkcolouredanthers. Fruit of various forms, round, oblong, cordate, orhorned, and either scarlet or yellow, in some varieties so little pungentas to be used sliced in salad, in others intolerably biting till the mouthbecomes accustomed to itby habit. The fruit and seeds are a powerfulstimulant, without any narcotic property. The well-known condimentcalled Cayenne pepper consists principally of the ground seeds.It is employed in medicine, in combination with Cinchona in intermittentsand lethargic affections, and also in atonic gout, dyspepsiaaccompanied by flatulence, tympanitis, paralysis, &c. Its most valuableapplication appears however to be in cynanche maligna and scarlatinamaligna, used either as a gargle or administered internally.1067 C. frutescens Linn. . (Goat-pepper) and 1 067 b.C. baccatum Linn. (Bird-pepper) have similar properties, butare more acrimonious.509