jart ii. Materia Mebxca. — Digitalis folia.

285

ish claws. The stamens are often short and abortive ; the styleslong, recurved, and downy on the upper side.

The varieties of this species of Dianthus produced by horti-culturists are very numerous. For medicinal use, those shouldbe chosen which have the richest colour and most spicy odour.The petals must be picked when the flower is fully blown.

Qualities. — The odour of the petals is fragrant and aroma-tic, resembling that of the clove spice, the taste slightly bitter,and subastringent. Both water and alcohol extract their sen-sible qualities ; and they yield an essential oil by distillationwith water. The infusion strikes a black colour with sulphateof iron; acids redden its colour; and alkalies change it to green.

Medical properties and uses. — Notwithstanding the testimonyof our forefathers in favour of the efficacy of these flowers innervous affections, modern practitioners value them merely fortheir sensible qualities, and employ them only to give an agree-ble flavour and fine colour to a syrup, which is a pleasant vehi-cle for the exhibition of more active medicines.

Officinal preparation. Syrupus Dianthi Caryophylli, E. D.

DIGITALIS. Spec. Plant. Willd. iii. 283.CI. 14. Ord. 2. Didynamia Angiospermia. Nat. ord. Luridse, Linn.

Scrophulariae, Juss.G.1155. Cal. five-parted. Corona bell-shaped, Ave-cleft, belly-'

ing. Capsule ovate, two-celled.Species 1. D. Purpurea. Purple Foxglove. 1 Med. Bot. "2d edit.

218. t. 78. Smith Flor. Brit. 665. Eng. Bot. 1297- Withering s

Account of Foxglove.Officinal. Digitalis folia, Lond. Dub. Digitalis Purpurea

folia, Edin. Foxglove leaves.

Syn. Girande Digitalis {F.\ Fingerhut (G.)> Digitate Porporina (/.), Deda-lera purpurea (_S.).

Foxglove is an indigenous biennial plant, found growinggenerally on the sides of hills, or where the soil is dry, sandy,or gravelly; flowering from the middle of June to nearly themiddle of August. The root is knotty and fibrous, sending upan erect stem about four feet in height; round, downy, andleafy. The lower leaves are in tufts, large, about eight inchesin length and three in breadth, ovate and pointed, with bor-dered fleshy peduncles : the upper or stem leaves are alternate,sparse, and lanceolate; and both kinds have bluntly serrated,nearly crenate edges, and wrinkled velvety surfaces ; with theupper surface of a beautiful deep green colour, and the underpaler and more downy. The flowers, which are numerous,are attached on footstalks to one side of the upper part of thestem, so as to allow them to hang down and form a very eie-

1 It was named Digitalis by Fuchsius, the first author who notices its medical pro-perties from the German name Fingerhut, a linger stole. It had been previouslydescribed by Tragus under the name of Campanula sylvestrii.