PART II.

Materia Medica.

■ Helleborus niger.

321

serrated. The flower-stalks are scapes, six or eight incheslong, erect, round, somewhat tapering, sheathed, variegatedwith red, and bearing one or two flowers. The floral leavessupply the place of a calyx, are oval, and indented at the apex.The corolla consists of live large, roundish, concave, spreadingpetals, at first white, with a tint of red, deepened by age, butfinally changing to green, after the pollen is shed, and the seedimpregnated. The nectaries are greenish yellow, tubular, two-lipped, the upper lip longer and slightly emarginate, the lowerfinely notched. The filaments are numerous, and thread-like,with yellow anthers. The germens, which vary in numberfrom four to eight, become beaked pods, containing many oval,black, shining seeds.

This plant has been supposed to be the skKefiopo; ju.sX«j ofHippocrates, but there is every reason for agreeing withWilldenow, that his fifth species, Helleborus orientalis, is thedrug of the ancients. It was found by Bellonius and Tourne-fort' growing in plenty about Mount Olympus, and the islandAnticyra, which was formerly celebrated lor its production.Sometimes the roots of Helleborus viridis, Adonis 'yernalis,Trollius europccus, Actasa spicata, Astrantia major, and Aconi-tuni neomontanmn, are either ignorantly or fraudulently substi-tuted for those of black hellebore. These are distinguishedchiefly by their colour being paler than the roots of thehellebore.

Qualities. — The fibres of the roots, which are the parts usedin medicine, are about the thickness of a straw, from fourinches to a foot in length, corrugated, of a deep brown blackon the outside, and internally white or yellowish. They havean unpleasant odour; and a nauseous, bitterish, acrid taste,benumbing the tongue, and leaving upon it an impression, " aswhen it hath been a little burnt with eating or supping anything too hot." e The acrimony is impaired by keeping; andappears to depend on a volatile matter, as water distilled fromthe root has an acrid taste. Both alcohol and water extract itsmedicinal properties; and, as the spirituous preparation is themost active, these appear to depend on its resinous part. Bycoction with water it yields a very considerable portion ofgummy matter and some resin. (See the extract.)

Medical properties and uses. — Black hellebore root is adrastic cathartic, and on this property probably depends itsemmenagogue and hydragogue powers. In smaller doses it issupposed to act as an alterative. It has been much celebratedin mania, melancholia, dropsy, scabies, and worms; but doesnot appear to possess any particular advantages over the other

1 Bellonii Ol>s. 1, iii. c. 41.* Grew.

Tournefort, Voyage, ii. let. 21. p. 189.