The root and the leaves are used as a febrifuge in the Philippines and in India, according to Wight. In Brazil the bark is given in small repeated doses as a hypnotic and in the Philippines as a diuretic and purgative; a decoction of the leaves is similarly used. The bark contains an alkaloid discovered by Rochefontaine and Rey, called _erythrin_, which acts upon the central nervous system, diminishing its normal functions even to the point of abolishment, without modifying motor excitability or muscular contractility. W. Young isolated a glucoside, _migarrhin_, similar to saponin, but possessing the additional property of dilating the pupil. In bronchitis with dyspnoea the following infusion of bark is very useful: Fresh bark, } Freshly bruised leaves, } aa 2 grams. Water 1,500 grams. Boil till reduced one-half, filter and add: Simple syrup 200 grams. Dose: Wineglassful every two hours. Botanical Description.--A large tree, 20° high, thorny, with ternate leaves. Leaflets rhomboid, broad, entire, glabrous. Secondary petioles: that of the middle leaflet long, bearing 2 glands, those of the others short, bearing 1 gland each. The leaves fall at the end of the rainy season and the flowers bloom. They are a handsome scarlet color, large, in terminal racemes. Calyx half-cylindrical, oblique, truncate, entire. Corolla papilionaceous; standard elongated, lanceolate. Wings short. Keel very short, 2-lobuled. Stamens diadelphous. Anthers large. Ovary woolly. Stigma thick. Pod curved, rounded, furrowed in parts corresponding to the seeds which are numerous, oval, pointed at the ends. Habitat.--Common throughout the islands. Blooms in February. _Clitoria ternatea,_ L. Nom. Vulg.--_Kolokanting_, _Pakingang_, Tag.; _Kolokating_, Vis.; _Butterfly-pea_, Eng. Uses.--The pounded seeds mixed with oil are used locally for painful joints. They possess purgative and emetic properties and Dr. J. Shartt has employed a mixture of the powdered roasted seeds, 8 grams, with double the quantity of acid tartrate of potassium. Its action is gentle, but sure. The alcoholic extract of the root, a soft, brown, resinous substance with an odor recalling that of jalap, is a very active cathartic, producing sharp effects in doses of 30-60 centigrams; in fact it produces such severe tenesmus that its use in such doses should not be recommended. The root bark is used internally in an infusion (4-8 grams to 1 liter of water) as an emollient in irritability of the bladder and urethra and has been recommended for such a purpose by Mooden Sheriff. It is a diuretic which frequently acts as a purgative, a fact that is not surprising in view of the above-mentioned properties of the alcoholic extract. The roasted seeds used as a purgative are so trustworthy that they deserve the further attention of physicians.