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Materia Medica.

PART II.

I*

horizontally spreading hairs. The leaves are sessile, pinnatifid,sometimes doubly so, serrated or cut, and generally hairy.The flowers are solitary, on slender hairy peduncles; the calyxconsists of two ovate, rough, concave leaves, which fall beforethe petals expand; these are four, large, roundish, unequal, andspreading, of a full bright scarlet colour, and sometimes mark-ed with a black spot at the base. The germen is ovate, smooth,with a convex, sessile, shield-like stigma, scalloped on the edge,having many purple-coloured rays; and becomes an urn-shapedcapsule.*

The petals must be gathered when they begin to blow, asthey very soon drop after they are fully expanded.

Qualities. —They have a faint narcotic odour, and a mucila-ginous, very slightly bitter taste. They yield their colouringmatter to warm water; and on this account only are used, asthey cannot be said to possess any anodyne properties.

Officinal preparation. Syrupus Rhoeades. L. D.2. Papaver Somniferum.Officinal. Papaveris capsulje. Opium. Lond. Papaveris Som-

niferi Capsule. Opium. Edin. Papaver album ; capsule ;

Opium ; succus concretus. Dub. Poppy capsules or heads ;

and Opium.

Syn. Capsules des pavots blanes ; Opium (F.) Capi del Papavero; Oppio (!■)Adormiderasj Opio (5.) Afeeoan (Arab.) Afiun (B.)

The somniferous or white poppy is a native of Asia; andalthough it is found growing wild in the southern parts of Eu-rope, and even in England, yet, there is every reason for think-ing, that its seed must have been carried to these parts. Jtwas very early cultivated in Greece, perhaps, at first solely forthe sake of its seed, which was used as food*; and in the pre-sent age, not only on account of the opium, for which it isreared in Turkey and India, but also on account of the capsules,and of the bland oil obtained from the seeds, the poppy is ex-tensively cultivated in most of the states of Europe. 3 It is anannual plant, flowering in July, with a glaucous coloured,smooth, erect, round stem, rising to the height of five or sixfeet, when in a favourable situation. The leaves are large,simple, obtuse, lobed and crenated, and embracing the stem onwhich they are alternately placed. The flowers are large andterminal; the calyx is formed of two smooth, ovate, bifid, con-

IH

1 This form of capsule easily distinguishes it from Papaver dubium, which has a Jongnarrow capsule, but mother respects closely resembles the corn poppy.

» Homer notices it under the name of ftrwut, as a garden plant; and it is said to benourishing, by Hippocrates : the seeds are not narcotic.

In England, it has been cultivated for the purpose of obtaining opium ; and a Mr.Ball, in 1796, received a premium from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, fora specimen of British opium little inferior to the Oriental j but the project of makingopium in this country has not been pursued to any useful extent. Transactions of theSociety of Arts, xiv. seo to 270.