84

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

y, Dragon's blood in powder. —This is a reddish povvder of very fine quality, imported fromthe East Indies. It is probably the dust ubtained from tbe fruit of the C. Draco, in the wayjust described.

i. Dragon's blood in the lear. Sanguis Draconis in granis, Martius. It occurs in irregu-lär pieces, not exceeding tbe sizc of a horsebean. T. W. C. Martius, (Pharmakognosie,) says,pieees of tbe fruit of tbe Calamus Rötung are frequenlly found intermixeri.

g. Lump Dragon's blood,. Sanguis Draconis in massis. —Tbis is of inferior quality. Itoccurs in largo masses, which, whcn broken, present a beterogeneous appearance.

Olber varieties of Dragon's blood are described, but I bave nevcr met vvith thetn.

Dragon's blood is composed of red resin (called draconin), 907 ; ßxed oil, 2'0 ; benzoieaeid, 3-0; Oxalate ofliine, 1-6; phosphale ofliine, 3-7, (Herberger, Journ. Pharm, xvii. 225.)

It is inert, or nearly so, but was formerly reputed an astringent. It is a constituent ofSonic tootb-powders and tineturos, but is never prescribed by medical practitioners. Its prin-cipal consumption is for colouring spirit and turpentine vurnisbes.

Order XI.— MELANTHACEiE, R. Brown.—THE COLCHICUM

TRIBE.

Essential Character. — Perianth inferior, petaloid, in six pieces, or, in consequence of tbecohesion of the cläws, tubulär; the pieces generally involute in gestivatinn. Stamens six ;anthers mostly turned outwards. Ovary tbree-celled, many seeded ; style trifid or three-purted ; stigma undivided, Capsule generally divisible into tbree pieces; sometimes with aloculicidal dehiseence. Seeds with a membranous testa; allmmen dense, fleshy. (R.Brown.)

Properties. —Poisonous : Operation acro-narcotic. Tbis is well shown in the genera Colchi.cum, Veratrum, and Asagrtma. MM. Pelletier and Cavenlou extracted what they consideredto be veratria from each of these genera. According to Hesse and Geiger the active prin-eiple procured from Colchicum is colchicina.

Fig. 139.

1. COLCHICUM AÜTUMNA'LE, Linn, L. E. D.~ THE COMMON MEADOW

SAFFRON.

Sex. Syst. Hexandria, Trigynia.

(Cormus et semina, L. E— Bulbas et semina, D.)

(Colchici radix and Colchici seinen, U. S.)

Histoky. —Dioscorides (Lib. iv. cap. 84,) speaks of Colchicum (xoX^ixöv), andsays it grows in Messenia and at Colchis. From the latter place it reeeived itsname. Dr. Sibthorp (Prodr. Fl. Gracce, i. 250,) foundthree species of Colchicum in Greece, viz. C. autumnale,C. montanum, and C. variegatum. The first of these heconsiders to be the Colchicum of Dioscorides. It is thespecies admitted into the Pharmacopasia Grceca, printedat Athens in 1837.

Botany. Gen. ciiar.— Perianth Single, tubulär, verylong, rising from a spatha ; limb campanulate, six-partite,petaloid. [Stamens six, inserted into the throat of thelube. Ovarium three-celled. Styles three, filiform, long.Stigmas somewhat clavate.] Capsule three-celled ; cellsunited at the base. (Hooker, with some additions.)

Sp. ciiar.— Leaves plane, broadly lanceolate, erect(Hooker),

Boot fibrous. Cormus (improperly called root or bulb)ovate, fleshy, large, covered with a loose brown membrane.The leaves are produced in the spring along with the fruit,and disappear before the flower appears. Flowers several,lilac or pale purple, arising from the cormus by a long,narrow, white tube. Fruit oblong, elliptical, composedof three cells, which may be regarded as distinet capsules,with intermediate fissures. Seeds small, spherical, witha rough brown testa, and large fleshy strophiola; inter-nally they are white, and consist of a minute embryolodged in a horny elastic albumen. The flowers appear in September, and thefruit the following spring or summer.

Colchicum autumnale.

a. The flowering plant.

b. Stigmas, with a portion

of the styles.

c. Leaves and fruit: