969
GKEAT WILD VALERIAN.
s °> pit ^ llAR -~ —Smoothish, erect. Stem furrowed. Leaves, all, or nearlytkiryrnfi^^ ’ l ' le segments, seven or eight pairs, lanceolate, serrate.
(* 1 ^ ' en of'b somewhat panicled. Fruit smooth (D. C.)
*>errate(l U ) r ° us ' Stem from two to four feet high. Leaflets coarsely* there i ’ 110se °f the radical leaves broadest, approaching to ovate; butno remarkably large terminal leaflet. Corolla roseate or white.
‘fo'eral • • *
arint.A* n f ,i,;„ s „ cc j es are described. Dufresne mentions four:—t kind ; above six feet high.
-The commonest kind; usually from two to four feet high.
" u reinai'KaDiy targe __....
varieties of this species are described. Dufresne mentions four:—
8, lr —The large ‘ six feet high.
W|, , ‘ 'flF'ilio. seu media.- ' ' r —- <
I- V t "• marsh ^ pl aces -
—Of this there appears to be two sub-varifeties:—
vin e - '■ officinalis ( sylvestris ), Ph . L. V. officinalis a folii angustioribus, Wood-
°dorn sylvestris major montana, Bauhin. —In this sub-variety the root is more
tw 0 f s ’. a,| d is, therefore, preferred for medical use. The stem does not exceed
g fl ee ^. IU height. The caulinar leaves are very narrow, and often entire.
On t» -’ft— -*- ■— --
4. p .y pratensis .—Grows in marshy places at ttetueiucig, -
“crda—•Cultivated in botanical gardens, at Paris .
M Sts E8 f CRlPTI °N.—The root ( radix valeriance minoris seu sylvestris) con-tgp e ? a short, tuberculatedrhizome, from which issue numerous, round,Dali,, 11 r °°t-tibres, which are from two to six inches long, white inter-red ar ! d ’ " hen fresh, grayish or yellowish-white externally, but wheny^dovvish-brown. They give origin to other smaller fibres: theirhactjy )0dl ^ res h and dry, is strong, very characteristic, and highly at-s° m to cats; their taste is warm, camphoraceous, slightly bitter,Ke llt llat acrid, and nauseous. Hill {Mat. Med.) says the heaths ofpp. Tssex furnish a great deal of it. Loudon (Encycl. Agricult.1) (; ,.| ) , an d 1152) says it is cultivated for medicinal use at Ashover, inStayed lle ’ hhe roots are dug up in the autumn, when the leaves are
ii. §JJ 1 >osit ion.—A ccording to Trommsdorf (Geiger, Handb. d. Pharm.resi,io ’ 100 P arts °f dry valerian root consist of volatile oil T2, peculiarfibr e j£ 7 extr active 12'5, gummy extractive 9'4, soft resin 6% woody
7* ler > Valerian. —When valerian root is submitted to distillation with
"the’ a . e . distilled products are water and oil, both of which contain valerianic acid.° v er, a , 1( j U oil be mixed with carbonate of magnesia, and distilled, the pure oil passesp 'Wish Va , na - nate of magnesia is left in the retort. The pure oil is pale green, or• ei, fCam I limpid; it has a penetrating camphoraceous odour, and an aromatic,"‘hie acid' 1 '°c ate . ous ’ but ,10t acr ‘ 1 ' taste - I‘ s S P- g r - is 0934. According to Bonastre,
, es it blue, and converts it ultimately into oxalic acid.
’ obtained by adding 1 ~'—•“ tn
a "' u ble iu^ 3 ,j' le ox ‘dation of the oil. It is tiquiu <u —„ .fi, t(iu s | s . P arts of water, and in all proportions in alcohol and ether. The anhydroustl),: neat’. : | CC ° r<li W to Ettling, of Cio, H9, 03: its atomic weight, therefore, is 93.
c ?■ Resi n fi V '^f r ‘ n ' lafes are soluble.
, l>eth e r'7 s , black, has an acrid taste, and an odour ofleather. It is soluble in al-
a l • Hesino Jb, 1 1,ut not in a solution of soda.
"°hol. . ^tractive .—Is soluble in water, but is insoluble in ether and absolute
s precipitated from its solution by almost all the metallic solutions.
Wn ; , le ^' 0< ^CAL Effects.—V alerian excites the cerebro-spinal sys-aiid 76^ C j 11111 a y be denominated a cerebro-spinal stimulant (see p. 67Varge doses cause headache, mental excitement, visual illu-