212

Materia Medica.

part II.

I

G. 97. Corolla six-parted ; the alternate segments reflected. Stig-mas petal-like.

* Bearded with ensiform leaves.

Species 7. l.Jiorentina. Florentine Iris. Med. Bol. 2</ edit. t. 262.Sibthorp Flora Grceca. 28. t. 39.

Officinal. Iridis Florentine radix. Edin. The root ofFlorentine Iris.

Syn. Iris. (]e Florence (F.) Violenwnrzel (G.) Ireos (7.) Iris (S.)

This species of iris, which is found in a wild state in Carni-ola, the island of Rhodes, Laconia, and other places of thesouth of Europe, is cultivated in our gardens 1 , flowering inMay and June. The root is tuberous, horizontal, somewhatjointed, and sends off many fibres from the under part. Theleaves spring directly from the root, spreading in opposite di-rections, are sheathing, sword-shaped, vertical, nerved, curvedinwards at the apex, and of a sea-green colour, yellowish atthe base. From amidst them the stem rises upwards of a footin height, erect, simple, naked, round, and commonly bearing-two flowers. The flowers are large, of a pale whitish blue co-lour, erect, terminal, and odorous, bursting from a ventricose,nerved, floral leaf: the petals are alternate, three larger andthree smaller: the larger have thickish claws about an inchlong, bordered with a thin edge, green on the outside, andbearded within with yellow-tipped white hairs: the border isan inch in width and longer, reflected, whitish, and striatednear the flexure: the smaller are whitish blue, stand erect,are bent inwards with a reflected margin; and have thick at-tenuated greenish claws. The anthers are white, covered bythe stigmas, which have the colour of the corolla, and are cleftat the apex into two acute, serrated, upright segments. Thecapsules are three-celled, containing many seeds horizontallyplaced.

The roots of the Florentine iris are brought in a dry statefrom Leghorn, packed in large casks. They ai - e in irregularknobbed pieces, with the cuticle pared off; of a dirty yellowishwhite colour, and full of small holes, which mark the placeswhence the radical fibres issued. The best pieces break witha rough, but not fibrous, fracture.

Qualities. — These roots when recent have a bitterish, nau-seous taste, and arc very acrid; but this acrimony is lost bydrying. In their dry state they are brittle, easily pulverized,have a sweetish bitter taste, with a slight degree of pungency,and the agreeable odour of the violet; for which they are chieflyvalued. When chemically examined, they appear to consistprincipally of fecula, with a portion of mucilage and saccharine

i It was cultivated by Gerarilein 1596.

*5t