Flora Medica

ASCLEPIADACE^E.f. 33.) West Indies and tropical parts of the American continent.Root fibrous. Stem about 3 feet high. Herbage covered with a fineminute downiness, especially on the stem, peduncles and calyx.Leaves lanceolate-oblong, gradually narrowed into the petiole, ratherwavy. Peduncles between the petioles, shorter than the leaves,bearing at the end a simple umbel of about 8 flowers. Calyx reflexed.Corolla scarlet, with reflexed, acute segments; appendages erect,yellow, rather shorter 'than their horn. This plant is called Wild Ipecacukanain the West Indies, where it isemployed by the negroes as anemetic. The roots, which are the part used, appear to be also purgative.A decoction is said to be efficacious in gleets and fluor albus.CALOTROPIS.Corolla somewhat campanulate, with an angular tube, and a5-parted limb ; the angles saccate internally. Coronet ofappendages 5-leaved; leaflets carinate, attached vertically totheir tube, revolute at the base. Anthers terminated by a membrane.Pollen-masses compressed, pendulous, attached by anarrow point. Stigma not pointed. Follicles ventricose, smooth.1 1 44. C. gigantea RBr. in. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. ii. 79. R. and S.vi. 91. Bot. Reg. t. 58. Asclepias gigantea Linn, sp.pl. 312.Ericu Rheede ii. t. 31. Madorius Rumph.herb. amb. auct. 24.One of the most common large shrubs all over India. (Mudar.)Stem often as thick as a man's leg, or thigh, nearly erect, branched,abounding in an acrid milky juice. Bark ash-coloured. Young shootscovered with soft woolly down. Leaves opposite, decussate, subsessile,embracing the stem, broad, cuneate-obovate, bearded on the upperside where they end in the petiole the ; upper surface pretty smooth ;the under one, covered with a white woolly pubescence from 4;to 6inches long, and from 2 to 3 broad. Umbels generally simple, thoughsometimes compound, stalked. Peduncles round, covered with thesame woolly substance as the leaves and young shoots, and issuingalternately from between the opposite leaves, nearly erect, half thelength of the leaves. Involucres several oblong pointed scales.Flowers large, beautiful, a mixture of rose colour, and purple. Calyx5-parted. Corolla full 2 inches in diameter ; segments oblong, obtuse,revolute, reflexed at the point.A plant of great importance in Indianmedicine ; employed in epilepsy, hysterics, convulsions from coitusimmediately after bathing, spasmodic disorders, such as locked jaw,convulsions in children, paralytical complaints, cold sweats, poisonousbites, and venereal complaints. Roxburgh. Under the names ofMador, JKfudar, Akum, and Yercund, the root and bark, and especiallythe inspissated juice, are used as powerful alteratives and purgatives. It isespecially in cases of leprosy, elephantiasis, and intestinal worms that ithas been found important. Its activity appears owing to theof presenceMudarine, a singular substance possessing the property of coagulatingby heat and becoming again fluid by exposure to cold.1145. C. procera RBr. in hort. Kew. ed. 2. ii. 78. Bot. Reg.540