Flora Medica

AMARYLLIDACFJE.1209. B. toxicaria Ker. Bot. Reg.fol 139. and t. 567- Haemanthustoxicarius Hort. Kew. i. 405. Buphane toxicaria Herbertamar, 239. Amaryllis disticha Linn, suppl. 195.of Good Hope.CapeBulbs ovate-oblong with innumerable, thin, fibrous coatings. Leavesin 2 rows, numerous, erect and diverging, strap-shaped, oblique, glaucous,smooth at the edge. Scape appearing before the leaves, somewhatcompressed, glaucous, bearing an umbel of 200-300 pink flowers, whichare much longer than the reflexed spathes. Perianth 1J inch long,funnel-shaped, revolute, regular. Stamens much longer than theperianth, spreading. Ovary 3-cornered, with tumid angles. Theviscid juice of the bulbs is a dangerous poison.It is one of the ingredientsused by the Bushmen to envenom their arrows, and is supposedto add most powerfully to the activity of the poison.NARCISSUS.Perianth hypocrateriform, with a spreading, 6-parted, regularlimb, and an undivided or lobed cup terminating the tube. Stamens6, inserted into the tube in 2 rows below the top of thetube. Ovules numerous, horizontal. Capsule membranous,bursting into 3 valves through the cells. Seeds roundish, witha dark shrivelled coat.1210. N. poeticus Linn, sp.pl. 414. E. Bot.' t. 275. SmithEng. Fl. ii. 131. Dry Fields in various parts of Europe.Bulb ovate, with a dark-brown skin. Leaves 12 to 18 inches long,nearly erect, ^-an inch broad, of a rather glaucous deep green, roundedand obtuse underneath their ; edges acute, recurved ;the disk slightlyconcave, striated with numerous longitudinal veins. Stem about astall as the leaves, straight, hollow, 2-edged ;rounded at the sides.Bractea brown and dry, cloven, rather longer than the partial stalk.Flower large and very beautiful, powerfully fragrant. Petals purewhite. Nectary with a very shallow yellow cup, the border white internally;of a beautiful crimson next ;and at the extreme edge brownish,filmy, and minutely crenate. Smith. The bulbs have considerableenergy as emetics. They are administered occasionally, on the continentin doses of 5-10 grains to produce nausea, and of 30 grains as an emetic.In the form of extract this and other species have been regarded almostas a specificin cases of hooping-cough, in doses of 2 or 3 grains, butalthough the extract appears sometimes to act with surprising rapidity,effecting a cure in 5 or 6 days, yet it frequently fails, and is thought tobe less efficacious than Belladonna. In doses of 2-3 drachms theextract is a deadly poison.1211. N. Pseudo-narcissus Linn. sp. 414. E. Bot. t. 17.Smith Eng. Fl. ii. 132. Common in woods and thickets allover the north of Europe. (Daffodil.)Bulb nearly globular, with a blackish coat. Leaves several, erect,about a foot high, rather glaucous, with a blunt keel and flat edges.Bractea close to the base of the ovary, undivided. Flowers large, alittle drooping, unpleasantly scented. Petals pale yellow, nearly erect,longer than the tube of the cup, which is funnel-shaped, and almost as572