Flora Medica

6-parted, permanent, equal. Stamens inserted into the base ofthe perianth; filaments either all alike, or every other one tricuspidate,with the anther on the middle point. Style subulate; stigma simple. Capsule usually obtusely 3-cornered or3-lobed, depressed, 3-celled, bursting into 3 valves through thedissepiments, and containing 2 or 1 black angular seed in eachcell.1255. A. sativum Linn, sp.pl 425. Desf. fl.all i. 287. DC.fl. fr. ill 219. S. and C. t. 110. R. and S. vii. 1000. Portugal?Hieres? Egypt?' (Garlic.)Bulbs clustered, very proliferous, many enveloped in the same silveryskin. Stem about 2 feet high, leafy below the middle. Leaves acute,distichous, glaucous, channelled above. Spathe calyptriform, horned.Umbels bulbiferous. Flowers, if any, pink, red, or whitish, ratherlonger than the stamens. The bulbs act as a local irritant, and, whentaken into the stomach as a stimulant, expectorant and diuretic. Theyhave been used in dropsies and as an anthelmintic. Steeped in rum theyform a favourite remedy among country people for the hooping cough ;the infusion is rubbed night and morning into the skin of the patient'sloins. A clove of garlic or a few drops of the juice, introduced into theear, are said to prove highly efficacious in atonic deafness.1 256. A. Cepa Linn. sp. pi. 431 . Fl. t. grcec. 326. R. and S.vii. 1024. Egypt. (Onion.)A biennial. Bulbs simple, round, depressed or globose or oblong,invested with shining thin dry membranes. Stem 1-2 feet high, fistular,leafy at the base. Leaves taper, fistular, distichous, glaucous, acute,shorter than the stem. Spathe reflexed, generally longer than thelower flowers. Umbels large, regular, compact, many-flowered, notbulbiferous. Pedicels about an inch long, thickened at the point.Flowers whitish, greenish, or tinged with purple ;the segments alwayshaving a green keel. Stamens almost twice as long as the perianth.The onion is stimulant, diuretic, expectorant, and rubefacient. Thejuice is sometimes given, made into a syrup with sugar, in infantilecatarrhs and croup, in the absence of much inflammatory action. It isalso recommended in dropsy and calculous disorders. Roasted andsplit it is sometimes applied as an emollient poultice to suppuratingtumours. Wood and Bache.1257. Bulbine planifolia R. and S. (Anthericum bicolorDesf.} has purgative roots according to De Candolle.DRAC.ENA.Perianth urceolate, tubular, or deeply 6-parted, deciduous ;with a spreading or reflexed limb. Filaments thickened in themiddle, inserted into the upper part of the tube of the perianth ;anthers linear, incumbent. Ovary pedicellate ; stigma depressed,obtuse or 3-lobed. Berry subglobose ; 3-celled ; cells 1-2-seeded,usually abortive.1258. D. Draco Linn. syst. veg. 275. R. and S. vii. 337.593 Q Q