Flora Medica

FUNGACEJE.has been used, and as it is said with advantage, in epistaxis, haemoptysis,haematuria, and haematemesis, to expel clots and polypi from the uterus,in leucorrhoea, puerperal convulsions, and amenorrhcea.Ergot is said to be adulterated with plaster of Paris casts, colouredto resemble it. In the last edition of the London Pharmacopoeiait isreferred to the Acinula Clavus of Fries Syst. mycol. but Fries has no;such plant in any of his works jand the only species of Acinula known,A. candicans, is found on the rotten leaves of the common Alder, andamong melting snow ; its organisation is quite of another kind from thatof Spermcedia, and Fries, who regards the latter as a morbid state of thegrain of certain grasses, considers Acinula as a true fungus.1324. S. Maydis Fries iii.syst. mycol. Index. In Colombiain the female flowers of Zea Mays.An Ergot attacks the Indian Corn in Colombia, and is stated byRoulin {Ann. des. Sc. xix. 279.) to cause a loss of the hair and teeth onthe part of both animals and men that eat it ;mules fed itupon losetheir hoofs, and poultry lay eggs without shell ; its action upon theuterus is said to be as powerful as that of Rye ergot, or perhaps moreso. This ergot seems unknown at the Caraccas, where, at the instanceof Sir R. K. Porter, Dr. Vargas has been so obligingas to institutesome inquiries upon the subject. Maize thus infested is calledMais peladero.PACHYMA.Oblong-roundish, rootless ;rind distinct, thick, woody, scalyor tuberculated, homogeneous and between fleshy and corky inside.Fructification unknown. Fries.*** Fries suspects that the supposed species of this genus may bethe early state of other fungi.1325. P. Cocos Fries syst.ii. 242. Sclerotium Cocos Schweinitz.Under the soil of sandy Pine barrens in Carolina.Elliptical or somewhat reniform, as large as a man's head, very likea Cocoa nut in appearance. Rind an inch thick, between fibrous andscaly, hard, of the same colour as the roots of the Pine-trees. Insideuniform, smooth, filled with a fleshy corky matter having a mealyfungus-like smell when; full grown pink. Used in Carolina " admorbos sanandos." Fries.1326. P. Tuber regium Fries syst.ii. 243. (Rumph. 120,57. f. 4.) Under ground in the Moluccas.t.The size of the fist, or even as large as a child's head. Rind tuberculated,pitted, without fibres, resembling a stone, on account of itsdark earth v colour. Inside white, chalky, soft, uniform, scentless andinsipid. Used in the medicine of Eastern nations against diarrhoea,pains in the face, fevers, &c., called Uba Radja, or Culat batu by theMalays, Ulalhatu in Amboyna, Djamor bonkang in Java. Fries.1327. The Chinese have a fungus called Hoelen, the size ofa child's head, and considered a valuable medicine, which is supposedto be another species of the genus Pachyma.624