Ulex. Ulex europaeus.
Ulex. Ulex europaeus L. (Fam. Leguminosae), is the common furse, gorse, or whin so conspicuous in the waste places and by the roadsides of Great Britain, from its spiny branches and bright yellow flowers situated on the spines, either solitary or in pairs. The young tops are fed to cattle and horses, but the food value has been questioned. The leaf buds 'have been used as a substitute for tea and the flowers yield a beautiful yellow dye. In the seeds of this plant, A. W. Gerrard has found an alkaloid, ulexine. In 1890 Kobert (D. M. W., 1890), as the result of an elaborate physiological study, came to the conclusion that ulexine and cytisine are identical. The suggestion has given rise to a considerable chemico-physiological discussion, a brief abstract of which may be found in P. J., Feb., 1891. Kobert found indications of a second alkaloid in ulex. Partheil (A. Pharm., 1892, 448; 1894, 486) and Plugge (A. Pharm., 1894, 444) are in accord as to the identity of ulexine and cytisine. Ulexine has been used in cardiac dropsy. Dose, from one-fifteenth to one-twentieth of a grain (0.004-0.003 Gm.).
