SPIKE-FLOWERED ASAGR.F.A.
633
j s c portion will sometimes require dilution. If the surface to which ittuti 'l denuded, absorption of the veratria may occur, and consti-na R y m ptoms be thereby induced; hence it is a dangerous applica-
U °n. especially to children.
La "l Veratri, L. D. — White Hellebore, powdered, jij. ;
0 jj r ’ 3 y iij.; Oil of Lemons , tqxx. Mix. The Dublin College omits thestil t lL ' lnons - This ointment is used in the treatment of itch as a sub-e ^ or ^ le disagreeable, though far more effective, sulphur ointment.c j , e * 7 e decoction, there is danger of the absorption of the active prin-ting f t ‘ le r ^dzome when the ointment is applied to raw surfaces: it is,p C ore J an unfit remedy for children.
°' v dered white hellebore is a constituent of the Unguentum Sui.-° RIS compositum (vide p. 260).
0ne 1 Tid otes. —Astringent solutions have been recommended; and inreli f- aSe ’ w ^'ch fell under my notice, infusion of nutgalls seemed to giveacid ' • ^ lc su PP°sed benefit has been referred to the union of tannic,]■ . Wlth veratria, by which the solubility and activity of the latter arc^bt 111 . 1 ^ 10 ^ » but Schabel (quoted in Brandt and Ratzburg’s Giftgew'dchse,giv " ’ b.' ~8) found that three drachms of a tincture of white helleboreji , n> M 'dh infusion of galls, to a cat, proved fatal in twenty minutes.
recommends coffee, both as a drink and in clyster. Demul-ob,, llc l lu ds, and in some cases opiates, may be useful. The other partse treatment must be conducted on general principles.
Asagree’a officina'lis, Lindl.— Spike-flowered Asagrm'a.
Veratrum officinale, Schlecht. ; Helonias officinalis, Don , Ph . L, & Ed.
Sex Syst. Hexandria, Trigynia.
> (Semina: Sabadilla, L. E.)
Is tory.— This plant was described by Schlechtendahl ( Linnea ,vi. 45), afterwards by Mr. .Don {Ed. New Phil. Journ.Oct. 1832), and subsequently by Dr. Lindley {Pot.Reg. June 1839). The seeds were known to Monardes in 1572. They are called Sabadilla, or more properlyCebadilla (from the Spanish Cebada , barley) , on accountof the supposed resemblance of the inflorescence ofthe plant to that of Hordeum.
Botany. Gen. Char. — Flowers polygamous, race-mose, naked. Perianth six-partite; segments linear,veinless, almost equal, with a nectarifluous excava-tion at the base, equal, to the stamens. Stamensalternately shorter; anthers cordate, as if unilocular,after dehiscence shield-shaped. Ovaries three, quitesimple, attenuated into an obscure stigma. Folliclesthree, acuminate, papery; seeds scimitar-shaped, cor-rugated, winged. Bulbous herbs, with grass-like leaves,and small, pale, densely-racemed flowers. (Lindley.)Sp. Char. —The only species known.
Leaves linear, acuminate, subcarinate, roughish atthe margin, four feet long, and three lines broad. Scaperound, about six feet high. Raceme, a foot and a halflong, very dense, very straight, spicifonn. Flowerswhite, with a bractea at the base. Anthers yellow.
Fig. 113 .