The  leaf  is  wrapped  round  the  flower-bud
when  it  rises  out  of  the  ground,  and  is
bluntly  flve  to  nine-lobed,  roundish  at  flrst,
but  afterwards  kidney-shaped.  The  flowers
are  large  and  conspicuous,  and  have  two
sepals,  from  eight  to  twelve  white  petals
overlapping  In  two  or  three  series,  about
twenty-four  stamens  with  fllaments  shorter
than  the  petals,  and  a .  short  style  with  a
broad  two-lobed  furrowed  stigma.  The
fruit  is  an  oblong  pod-shaped  two-valved
cap8nle,containing numerous  crested  seeds
attached  to  the  frame  or  replum.  The  root
has  long  been  known  to  possess  active
medicinal  properties,  and  various  prepara-
tions of  it  are  commonly  prescribed  by
American  doctors;  but  it  has  only  recently
come  into  use  in  this  country,  and  that
chiefly  among  the  class  of  practitioners
ftyllng  themselves 'eclectics.'  Its  princi-
pal use  appears  to  be  as  an  expectorant  in
diseases  of  the  chest,  or,  in  larger  doses,
as  an  emetic :  and  it  would  seem  to  owe
its  properties  to  the  presence  of  an  acrid
alkaloid  called  sanguinarina.  The  Ameri-
can Indians  formerly  used  the  orange-
coloured  juice  of  the  root  for  smearing
their  bodies,  and  for  staining  various  do-
mestic articles.  Tlie  plant  has  also  been
successfully  employed  by  American  and
French  dyers.  (A.  S.J


SANGUINARY.    Achillea  milUfoliunu

SANGUINE,  SANGUINEUS.  Dull  red
passing  into  brownish-black.
SANGUINIERB.    (Fr.)    Sanguinaria.
SANGUISORBACEiB.  A  small  order
which  most  botanists  consider  as  a  tribe
of  BosacecB,  distinguished  from  Boseoe  pro-
per by  the  want  of  petals,  and  the  solitary
carpels.   SeeRosAosjs.
