Flora Medica

in a slight degree. It appears to be an acrid narcotic, and is apt toproduce very unpleasant symptoms after being exhibited ;dimness ofsight, giddiness, dilated pupil, spasms of the muscles of the eyes, andeven convulsions are reported by Barton to have been brought on byit.OROBANCHACE^E.Nat. syst.ed. 2. p. 287.Sepals 2, lateral, undivided or cloven, permanent. Corollaringent, withering ; upper lip concave, notched, lower reflexed,in 3 unequal wavy lobes. A gland under the ovary. Antherssagittate, with the lobes pointed at the base ;filaments almostas long as the tube of the corolla, downy and glandular. Capsuleovate, pointed, with 4 parietal parallel placentae.1108. O. major Linn. sp. pi. 882. Eng. Bot. t. 421. SmithEng. Fl. iii. 146. On barren soil, parasitical upon the roots ofbroom or furze. (Broomrape.)Root of a few fibres. Stem about a foot high, erect, dusky, unbranched,angular, hollow, fleshy, clothed, like every other part, withshort, rough, glandular pubescence, and beset with scattered, lanceolate,upright scales, in the place of leaves the base; tumid, ovate, clothedwith smaller, more abundant scales. Spike terminal, simple, ratherdense, of from 15 to about 20 flowers, of a dull purplish brown, withoutany scent, and after a while turning entirely brown, dry and membranous.Bracts solitary under each flower, lanceolate, acute, rustyand downy. Sepals deeply cloven. Upper lip of the corolla large,sometimes slightly cloven, often entire and rather pointed, lower in 3acute, nearly equal, wavy, sometimes crenate lobes. Filaments dilatedand channelled, as well as perfectly smooth, in their lower half; glandularand downy at the summit. Anthers smooth, brown. Ovary downyall over as well as the style. Stigma of 2 large, distant, globular, yellowlobes. Smith. A powerful astringent, bitter plant, the infusion ofwhich has been employed as a detergent application to foul sores, andnternally to restrain alvine fluxes.EPIPHEGUS.Perfect flowers sterile ; imperfect fertile. Calyx short,short, 4-toothed. Perfect corolla 2-lipped; the upper lip emarginate,the lower 3-toothed ; imperfect corolla slender, 4-toothed,deciduous. Stamens as long as the corolla ;filaments smooth :anthers 2-lobed, acute at the base, valveless, dehiscent in themiddle. Stigma capitate, somewhat emarginate. Capsule gibbous,compressed, half 2-valved, with 4 diverging placentae.1109. E. virginiana Nutt. gen. am.pl.ii. 60. Orobanchevirginiana Linn, sp. pi. 882. Elliott sketch, ii. 136. Parasitic525