6/2/2023 0 Comments Hummings herbal byeThe fragrant and beautiful flowers which many of them bear serve a three-fold purpose in life.įirst. Really, the cause they serve is as godly as was the mission of the Greek demigods centuries ago. The genus of Asclepiads like their namesakes of classic Greece, comprises many species which are not only prominent and beautiful in form, but eminently useful as well in the healing art. It is not the object of this paper to treat of all these tribes, as that would make it unnecessarily long, but rather to take up the genus Asclepias, L., known as Swallow-wort, Milkweed, Silkweed, containing as it does many species, which are well known and others, that have not yet been investigated by the Medical Profession. Periploceae, which also has but the genus Periploca. Gonolabeae, containing the single genus, Gonolobus. Asclepiadeae containing the genera Asclepias, Ascerates, Enslenia, and Vincetoxicum. Here in North America we have the following tribes and genera, classified according to Prof. This order of plants contains about 141 genera, including over 900 species. The milky juice is usually acrid and bitter, but occasionally it is bland and used as milk, as in the case of Gymnema lactiferum, the cow-plant of Ceylon. The plants of this order have acrid, emetic, purgative and diaphoretic properties. They have opposite or whorled entire leaves the follicular pods, seeds, anthers (connected with the stigma), sensible properties, etc., just as in the family of Apocynaceae, from which they differ in the commonly valvate corolla and in the singular connection of the anthers with the stigma, the cohesion of the pollen into wax-like or granular masses, etc. This family consists of shrubs or occasionally herbs, usually with a milky juice, and often twining in habit. The name, which was bestowed upon a genus of this Order, was given in honor of Aesculapius, or Asklepios whose priests or fabled descendants were known as the Asklepiads or priest-physicians and who served the god of medicine in the ancient sanctuaries at Epidauros, Sikyon, Cos, Achaia and elsewhere. The Asclepiadaceae comprise the eightieth Order of the Natural System of Plants.
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