775
THE CASSAVA OR TAl’IOCA PLANT.
furim b ' s flight down stairs, which seems to have been per-'yyj ie in a At of delirium.
P^in Bn ?? w d ere d eiqthorhmm is applied to the skin, it causes itching,^ inflammation, succeeded by vesication.
& a stro Gn SU) ?d° we, l-, it causes vomiting and purging, and, in large doses,pj SE ® n i er his, with irregular hurried pulse and cold perspirations,it i s r S '7~N° tw ithstanding that it is still retained in the Pharmacopoeia ,and d • em P lo yed in medicine. It was formerly used as an emetic°Pe ' '“* c P^gative in dropsies; but the violence and danger of itsin ,.r n have led to its disuse. Sometimes it is employed as an errhineviolent *1° a ^ oc ti°ns of the eyes, ears, or brain; but its local action is soP°'vdo lat We can t)nl .Y a Ppiy it when largely diluted with some mildas starch or flour.
thef 0r (i Wl th turpentine or Burgundy pitch (or rosin), it is employed ina nesig 111 °0^ a ' s t er > as a rubefacient , in chronic affections of the joints. Ash°li c b i s ra rely employed. As a caustic, either the powder or alco-ljiu, n ^cture ( Tinctura Euphorbii, Ph . Bor. prepared by digesting euplior-Ajjt ' ln rec tifl e( i spirit, Oj.) is sometimes employed in carious ulcers.Hin] Cent V —In a case of poisoning by euphorbium, emollient and de-^ ( l'iid^ b rinks, clysters (of mucilaginous, amylaceous, or oleaginousbath s ’ an< ^ °pi um > should be exhibited, and blood-letting and warmis to i^hph'ycd. In fact, as we' have no chemical antidote, our object living p ° lve ble Poison in demulcents, to diminish the sensibility of theai Kl ii, art b y opium, and to obviate the inflammation by blood-lettinglhe " arm bath.
a uipha Man'ihot , Kunth, E.— The Cassa'va or Tapio'ca Plant.
Jatropha Manihot, Linn.
Sex Syst. Monoecia, Monadelphia.
^ (Fecula of the root; Tapioca, E.)
—Tapioca (Tipioca) is mentioned by Piso (Hist. Nat. Bra -^Pellatio ''^ The terms Janipha and Manihot are Indian
ftv’e-p^fV Gkn. Char. — Flowers monoecious. Calyx campanulate,none. Stamens ten; filaments unequal, distinct,6 around a disk. Style one. Stigmas three, consolidated into aI’ 10 - 164. rugose mass. (A. de Jussieu.)
Sp. Char. —Leaves palmate, five to seven-parted, smooth, glaucous beneath: segments lan-ceolate, quite entire. Flowers racemose (Hooker,Bot. Mag. t. 3071). Root large, thick, tuberous,fleshy, and white ; containing an acrid, milky,highly poisonous juice. Flowers axillary.
Extraction. — The tuberous root consistsprincipally of starch and a white milky poi-sonous juice. It is rasped and pressed to sepa-rate the juice, which deposits a fecula: this,when w'ashed and dried in the air without heat,Manihot. is termed Moussache (from mouchaco, a Spanish