THE LOBELIA TRIBE.

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profession by the Rev. Dr. Cutler, of Massachusetts. (Thacher's Amer. NewDispensatory, p. 258, 2d ed.) It was introduced into England in 1829, by Dr.Reece. (Pract. Treat. on the Anti-asthmalic Properties of Bladder-podded Lo-belia, 1829.)

Botany. — Gen. char. — Calyx five-lobed ; the tube obconical, ovoid orhemispherical. Corolla cleft longitudinally from above, bilabiate ; the tube cy-lindrical or funnel-shaped, straight; the upper lip usually smaller, and erect;the loiver generally spreading, broader, three-cleft, or more rarely three-toothed.The two inferior, or occasionally all, of the anthers barbed at the point. Ovaryinferior or semi-superior, and (in species very much alike) somevvhat free. (DeCand.)

Sp. char.— Stern erect, the lower part simple and shaggy; the Upper part ra-inose and smooth. Leaves irregularly serrate-dentate, hairy ; the lower onesoblong, obtuse, shortly petioled ; the middle ones ovate-acute, sessile. Flowerssmall, racemose. Pediceh short, with an acuminate bract. Calyx smooth, thetube ovoid; the lobes linear-acuminate, equal to the corolla. Capsule ovoid,inflaled. (De Cand.)

Annual; height, a foot or more. Root fibrous. Stern angular. Leavesscattered : segments of the calyx linear, pointed. Corolla delicate blue. Antherscollecled into an oblong, curved body, purple ; filaments white. Style filiform ;Stigma curved, and inclosed by the anthers. Capsule two-celled, ten-angled,crowned with the calyx. Seeds numerous, small, brown.

Haii.—North America, from Canada to Carolina, and the Mississippi. Beginsto flower in July. The plant should be collected in August or September.

Desckiption. —The herb (herba lobelia. inßalcs) is usually imported into thiscountry, prepared by the Shaking Quakers of New Lebanon, North America.It has been compressed into oblong cakes, weighing either half a pound or apound each, and enveloped in blue paper. The dried herb is pale greenish-yel-low ; ils smell is somewhat nauseous and irritating; its taste burning and acrid,very similar to that of tobacco. Its powder is greenish.

Composition. —No accurate analysis of lobelia has hithertobeen made. Dr.Colhoun (Journ. of the Philadelphia Coli, of Pharm, p. 300) has announcedthe existence of a peculiar principle of this plant. From a fevv experimentsvvhich 1 have recently made on lobelia, I find that it contains a volatile acridprinciple {oil?), an acid (peculiar ?), resin, chlorophylle, gum, eztractive, woodyfibre, and perhaps caoutchouc.

[The chemical Constitution of Lobelia has been more extensively investigatedby William Procter, Jr., {American Journ. Pharm, vols. ix. and xiii.)]

1. Volatile Acrid principle (Volatile Oilof Lobelia ? Lobelianin ?)—Water distilled fromlobelia has the peculiar smell and the nauseous acrid taste of the plant. In one experiment Iobtained a thin film of what appeared to be a solid volatile oil. The distilled water of lobeliais unaffeeted by aeids, sesquichloride of iron, and tineture of nutgalls. [Mr. Procter, afler acareful rcpelilion of his experiments, was unable to obtain any evidence of the existente of avolatile acrid principle in lobelia, but admits the existence of a volatile oil. He found the dis-tilled water of lobelia to possess none of the peculiar acrimony of the plant.]

2. Lobelina (?).—The substance deseribed by Colhoun is said to resemble the nicotin ofBerzelius. It is soft, brown, and deliquescent; and has the acrid taste of lobelia. It is solublein alcohoi, scarcely so in ether; with aeids it forms salts (Colhoun). [According to Mr. Proc-ter, the substance obtained by Dr. Colhoun was not lobelina, but an impure hydrochlorato ofthat base. Lobelina in a nearly pure State, has a hght ycllow eolour, semifluid consislence andsomewhat aromatic odour. Its sp. gr. is less than that of water ; it is very soluble in ether andalcohoi, but less soluble in water. It is precipitated from its aqueous Solution as a white tan-nato by tannic acid, but is not disturbcd by gallic acid. It has a deeided alkaline reaction,neutralizes aeids and forms crystallizable salts. A stnking peculiarity of this principle is itsready decomposiüon by a heat of 212° F., when in a pure State, whilst in combination wilh anacid it rernains unchanged at the boihng temperature.] By evaporating the tineture of lobelia,and digesting the residue in dilute hydrochlorie acid, I have obtained a yellowish-brown ex-tract {impure liudrochlorate of lobelina ?), soluble in alcohoi, insoluble or nearly so in ether, andhaving an acrid taste, like that of lobelia, but stronger. Tineture of nutgalls added to theaqueous decoction of lobelia causes slight cloudiness (tannale of lobelina 1).

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