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[I 


I 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS 

BEING 

DBSOMPIIOIIS    WITH    0KI9INA1    FIOUKES 


PRINCIPAL  PLANTS  EMPLOYETl  IN  MEDICINE 

INK   IK  iCCODNT  OF  TBI 

CHARACTEBS,  PROPEETIBS,  AND  USES  OF  THEIR  PARTS 
AND  PRODUCTS  OF  MEDICINAL  VALUE. 


ROBERT  BENTLEY,  F.L.B.,  M.R.C.S.Ehg. 


HENRY  TEIMEN.  M.B.,  P.L.8. 

difaith/bt  or  10111(1,  lumH  iicaiDHi 

THE  PLATES  BY  DAVID  BLAIR,  F.L.S. 
IN    FOUR    VOLUMES 

VOL.  IT  (Ho«.  288-306) 

ARTOCARPA0E.£    to    ALO^ 


LONDON 
J.  &  A.  CHURCHILL,  NEW  BURLINGTON  STREET 


? 

i 


FICUS    CABIGA,  Linn,. 


228 


N.  Ord.  Abtocabpacbjb.      Le  Maout  &  Deo.,  p.  669;  Bareau  in 
DC.  Prod.,  xvi,  p.  280. 

Tribe  Ficea,    LindL,  Veg.  K.,  p.  266. 

Genus  Flcus,  Linn.*  A  vast  genua  not  as  yet  fully  mono- 
graphed.  Estimated  to  contain  over  600  species  (including 
Urodigma,  &c.),  found  in  the  warmer  and  tropical  parts 
of  both  hemispheres. 


228.  Ficns  Carica^f  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  1059  (1753). 

Fig. 

8yn, — Ficus  ssp.  and  Caprificns,  Chuparrini. 

Figures.-'WoodY.,  t.  2U;  Hayne,  ix,  1. 13;  Steph.  &  Oh.,  1. 154;  Nees, 
t.  97 ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  1. 19  a ;  Beichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Grerm.,  zii,  t.  659 ;  Nees, 
Gen.  il.  Grerm.,  Apet. 

Description. — ^A  small^  irregularly-branched  tree,  or  large  strag- 
gling bush ;  branches  numerous,  cylindrical,  with  a  smooth  red- 
dish or  pale  grey  bark,  marked,  whilst  young,  with  the  scars  of 
tbe  petioles  and  fallen  stipules ;  the  youngest  twigs  downy.  Leaves 
alternate,  deciduous,  spreading,  on  longish,  thick,  often  curved, 
cylindrical,  downy  petioles ;  blade  4  or  more  inches  long,  rather 
rigid,  dark  green,  rough  on  the  upper  surface,  finely  woolly 
beneath,  sub-cordate  at  the  base,  usually  more  or  less  deeply  cut 
into  8  or  5  palmate,  broad,  rather  blunt  lobes,  margin  more  or  less 
irregularly  and  coarsely  dentate-serrate;  stipules  large,  smooth, 
early  deciduous,  embracing  the  whole  circumference  of  the  stem 
and  enveloping  the  young  bud  like  an  extinguisher.  Flowers 
unisexual,  minute,  closely  crowded  on  the  inner  surface  of  a  large, 
hollow,  externally  pear-shaped  receptacle,  supported  at  the  base  by 
several  broad,  smooth,  scaly  bracts,  and  perforated  at  the  apex  by 
an  orifice  closed  by  numerous  small  scales ;  these  receptacles  are 
axillary  and  supported  on  short  stalks.  Male  flowers  (not  seen) 
few,  found  near  the  mouth  of  the  receptacle,  "  perianth-segments 
3 — 5,  stamens  1 — 5,  generally  3,  filaments  longer  than  perianth '' 

*  Ficus,  the  Latin  classical  name ;  in  Greek,  o-vc^  or  trvKsa, 
f  Carica,  used  by  the  Latin  authors  for  a  dried  fig ;  from  Caria  in  Asia 
Minor,  where  they  were  produced. 


228    FICUS  OABICA 

and  inserted  at  its  base.  Female  flowers  occupying  the  whole, 
or  all  but  the  uppermost  part  of  the  receptacle,  shortly  stalked, 
perianth  very  delicate  and  transparent,  deeply  cut  into  3 — 5  acute 
segments ;  ovary  superior,  hyaline,  1-celled  (rarely  2-celled  ?),  with 
a  single  ovule,  style  lateral,  tapering,  much  exceeding  the  peri- 
anth and  cut  into  two  tapering,  usually  unequal,  stigmas.  "  Fruit ^' 
varying  in  size  to  nearly  3  inches  long,  smooth,  yellowish  stained 
with  purple,  shining,  consisting  of  the  pear-shaped  receptacle, 
which  has  become  enlarged,  soft,  and  fleshy,  with  very  numerous 
minute  seed-like  nuts  (true  fruit)  crowded  over  its  inner  surface, 
surrounded  by  the  remains  of  the  perianths.  Nut  1-celled,  pericarp 
yellow,  brittle ;  seed  solitary,  suspended,  embryo  strongly  curved 
lying  in  a  fleshy  endosperm. 

Habitat — The  Fig  tree  is  native  in  Syria  and  some  adjacent 
parts  of  Asia  Minor,  extending,  in  a  wild  state,  perhaps  to  the  north- 
west confines  of  India,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  universally  cultivated 
plants  generally,  it  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  the  truly  wild  area. 
It  was  very  early  introduced  into  the  Mediterranean  countries  of 
Europe  and  spread  with  civilisation  over  the  whole  of  that  conti- 
nent ;  it  is  now  found  in  cultivation  in  all  the  temperate  and  warmer 
countries  of  both  hemispheres.  It  ripens  its  fruit  well  in  England 
in  warm  seasons.  The  form  of  the  leaves  is  very  variable,  some 
trees  having  them  cordate-ovate,  or  faintly  three-lobed ;  whilst,  on 
the  other  hand,  there  are  forms  with  small,  deeply-cut,  sub-pin- 
natifid  leaves ;  the  size  and  amount  of  hairiness  also  varies  consider- 
ably. The  fruit  is  sometimes  green  or  white,  even  when  fully  ripe. 
On  the  varieties  of  the  wild  and  cultivated  fig,  reference  must  be  made 
to  GUsparrini^s  papers  quoted  below,  where  they  are  considered 
as  several  species  under  two  genera  {Ficus  and  Caprijicus).  It  is 
remarkable  that  the  nuts  in  many  kinds  of  fig  are  found  to  be  empty 
(no  embryo  being  developed),  although  the  ^'fruif  has  thoroughly 
ripened.  The  male  flowers  are  rarely  found,  and,  it  is  said,  only 
in  those  receptacles  which  are  produced  early  in  the  lowest  axils. 

Gasparrini,  Nova  Genera  (1844),  and  Kicerche  Bulla  natura  del 
Gaprifico  (1845) ;  Farlatore,  Fl.  Ital. ;  Brandis,  Forest  Fl.  Ind., 
p.  418;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  487. 


228    FIGUS  GABICA 

Official  Part  and  Namhe. — ^Ficus;  the  dried  fruit  (B.  P.).  The 
dried  fruit  {Fims)  (I.  P.).     The  dried  fruit  (U.  S.  P.). 

(General  GharOfCters  amd  Commerce. — The  fruit  of  the  fig  is 
called  a  sycofms.  A  fig  consists  of  a  fleshy^  hollow,  pear-shaped 
receptacle,  provided  with  a  small  orifice  at  its  apex,  and  bearing 
upon  its  inner  sur&ce  numerous  small  seed-like  fruits,  termed 
achenia.  In  the  unripe  state  the  receptacle  is  green  and  tough, 
and  contains  an  acrid,  somewhat  bitter,  milky  juice ;  but  as  it 
ripens,  the  receptacle  enlarges,  becomes  softer  and  more  juicy,  the 
acrid  milky  sap  is  replaced  by  a  saccharine  fluid,  and  it  assumes 
commonly  a  purple  hue  externally,  although  sometimes  a  brown 
or  yellow  colour,  or  even  remains  green. 

On  a  small  scale  and  in  favorable  climates  figs  may  be  dried 
on  the  tree,  but  for  commercial  purposes  they  are  always  gathered 
and  dried  either  in  ovens,  or  more  commonly  by  exposure  to  the 
sun.  When  dried,  they  are  either  rendered  pliant  by  squeezing  and 
kneading,  and  are  then  packed  by  pressing  into  drums  and  boxes, 
in  which  state  they  are  called  pulled  figs ;  or  they  are  packed  in 
the  state  in  which  they  are  left  after  having  been  dried,  when 
they  are  termed  natural. 

The  largest  and  best  figs  come  from  Smyrna,  and  are  known  as 
Smyrna  or  Turkey  Figs  ;  smaller  and  less  pulpy  figs  are  likewise 
imported  under  the  name  of  Greeh  Figs.  The  best  Smyrna  figs 
are  also  termed  ''  Eleme  Figs/'  The  total  imports  of  figs  of  all 
kinds  into  this  country  average  about  150,000  cwt.  annually, 
representing  a  money  value  of  about  £240,000.  Of  these  about 
100,000  cwt.  come  from  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  the  remainder  from 
Spain,  Portugal,  and  other  countries. 

The  official  Smyrna  figs  are  of  an  irregular  compressed  form ; 
soft,  tough,  more  or  less  translucent,  of  a  brownish  or  yellowish 
colour  externally,  and  covered,  in  cool  weather,  with  a  saccharine 
efflorescence.  They  have  an  agreeable,  peculiar,  fruity  smell ;  and 
a  very  pleasant  sweet  taste. 

Composition. — ^The  principal  constituent  of  figs  is  grape  sugar, 
which  forms  from  60  to  70  per  cent,  of  the  dried  fruit.  It  is  this 
sugar  which  constitutes   the  efflorescence   seen  on  figs  in  cool 


228    FIOUS  OABIOA 

weather.  Figs  also  contain  a  small  quantity  of  gum,  fatty  matter, 
and  some  other  unimportant  substances. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Pigs  are  regarded  as  nutritive, 
emollient,  demulcent,  and  laxative.  They  are,  however,  rarely 
employed  medicinally ;  but  persons  subject  to  habitual  constipa- 
tion sometimes  find  them  useful  as  an  article  of  diet.  Boasted  or 
boiled,  and  split  open,  they  are  occasionally  used  as  a  suppurative 
poultice  in  gum-boils. 

In  countries  where  they  are  plentiful  figs  are  taken  as  food, 
and  are  regarded  as  agreeable  and  wholesome ;  but  in  this  country 
they  are  chiefly  employed  as  a  dessert. 

Isaiah  xzzviii,  21;  1  Sam.  xxv,  18;  1  Ghron.  zii,  40. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  379 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  488 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  407. 


DESCRIPTION   OP    PLATE. 

Brawn  from  a  tree  in  the  Royal  Botanic  Society's  Garden,  Regent's  Park ; 
the  male  flowers  added  from  Nees,  the  embryo  from  Berg  and  Schmidt. 

1.  A  flowering  branch. 

2.  Section  of  the  inflorescence. 

3.  A  female  flower. 

4.  Section  of  the  same. 
6.  Ripe  "  fruit." 

6.  A  nut. 

7.  Section  of  the  same. 

8.  9.  Male  flowers. 

(2-4,  8,  9  enlarged ;  6,  7  greatly  magnified. 


229 

K.  Ord.  Abtocabpacbjs. 
Tribe  Morea, 

Genoa  Moma^*  Linn.    Baill.,  Hist.,  vi,  p.  190.    Species  about 
6  or  7,  natiyes  of  Asia  and  N.  America. 


229.  Morns  nigra,  Lmn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  986  (1753). 

Mulberry, 

Figures.— WoodYiUe,  t.  243;  Stepb.  &  Ob.,  i,  t.  39;  Hayne,  xiii,  1. 16; 
Neea,  1. 100;  Reiob.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xii,  t.  658;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ., 
Apet. 

Description. — ^A  small  tree^  reaching  abont  30  feet  high  at  the 
most^  with  a  short  trunk  and  a  round  bashy  head ;  bark  very 
rongh^  greyish  brown^  young  twigs  pubescent.  Leaves  alternate^ 
stalked^  spreading^  with  long^  hairy^  pale  brown^  caducous  stipules^ 
petiole  shorty  cylindrical^  pubescent^  blad^  3 — 5  inches  long, 
broadly  ovate,  with  a  cordate  base,  subacute,  somewhat  attenuate 
at  the  apex,  deeply  crenato-serrate,  rather  stiff,  full  green  and 
ronghish  on  the  upper  surface,  pale  and  finely  tomentose  beneath. 
Flowers  small,  unisexual,  monoecious,  sessile,  arranged  in  short 
spikes  or  catkins  coming  off  solitarily  from  the  side  of  the  leaf- 
axils,  the  male  catkins  1 — 2  inches  long,  rather  lax,  cylindrical, 
the  female  much  shorter  ^ — |  inch,  dense,  ovoid.  Male  flowers  : 
^-perianth  very  deeply  4-partite,  with  oval-oblong,  obtuse,  con- 
cave, hairy  segments  imbricate  in  bud ;  stamens  4,  opposite  the 
perianth-segments,  inserted  at  their  base,  and  slightly  exceeding 
them  in  length,  anthers  ovate,  dorsifixed,  2-celled;  pistil  rudi- 
mentary. Female  flowers  : — ^perianth-leaves  4,  imbricate  in  pairs, 
broadly  oval  or  roundish,  obtuse,  the  outer  pair  the  larger,  erect, 
persistent,  downy ;  stamens  none ;  ovary  as  long  as  the  perianth- 
leaves,  oval,  compressed,  1 -celled,  with  a  single  pendulous  ovule, 
styles  2,  short,  filiform.  "  Fruif  consisting  of  the  whole  female 
inflorescence,   about    1    inch    long,   broadly    oblong,    cylindrical, 

*  Mortu,  in  Greek  ftopov,  the  classical  name  for  the  tree;  probably  of 
Celtic  origin. 


229    MOBUS  NIGRA 

bluBt^  lobular^  at  first  red^  then  passing  throngh  purple  to  almost 
blacky  shining^  readily  falling,  principaDy  composed  of  the  persis- 
tent perianth-leaves  which  have  become  much  enlarged  and  targid 
with  juice,  and  are  ruptured  by  a  slight  touch ;  true  fruit  yery 
small,  enclosed  in  the  juicy  perianth-leaves,  and  with  difficulty 
separated  from  them,  pericarp  membranous,  very  thin,  turgid  with 
juice,  afterwards  dry.  Seed  solitary,  pendulous,  oval,  com- 
pressed, smooth,  testa  brittle,  embryo  strongly  curved  or  doubled 
in  the  fleshy  endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  mulberry  was  known  to  the  ancients,  and  culti- 
vated by  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  It  is  believed  to  be  native  to 
Persia,  the  Caucasus  and  Armenia,  and  to  have  spread  westwards 
in  early  times.  By  the  9th  and  10th  centuries  it  was  in  cultiva- 
tion in  Northern  Europe,  and  probably  reached  England  at  no 
long  time  after.  It  grows  very  well  here,  and  is  a  favourite  fruit 
tree  in  old  gardens  about  London.  It  flowers  in  June,  and  the 
fruit  is  ripe  in  September. 

In  Italy  and  Sicily,  and  in  Greece,  the  tree  occurs  apparently 
wild,  but  is  probably  the  result  of  very  ancient  cultivation.  Up 
to  the  15th  century  it  was  grown  throughout  Italy  for  the 
rearing  of  silkworms,  but  at  that  period  another  species,  M.  alba, 
Linn.,  a  native  originally  of  North  India  and  China,  was  intro- 
duced and  superseded  M.  ni^ra  throughout  the  country.  At  the 
present  day  M.  alba  is  the  only  species  grown  for  the  purpose, 
exhibiting  a  great  number  of  varieties. 

There  is  a  curious  form  of  the  mulberry  with  a  deeply  lobed  or 

digitate  leaf,  which  is  not  unfrequently  found  on  the  same  tree 

with  ordinary  leaves. 

Burean,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvii,  p.  238 ;  Parlatore,  Fl.  ItaL,  x,p.  176 ; 
London,  Arb.  &  Fratic.  Brit.,  iii,  p.  1343 ;  Seringe,  Descr.  & 
Cult,  de  M^ers  (1865) ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  800. 

Official  Part  a/ad  Name. — MoBi  Succus  ;  the  juice  of  the  ripe 
fruit  (B.  P.).  The  juice  of  the  ripe  fruit  (I.  P.).  Mulberry  juice 
is  not  official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — The  ripe  fruits  of  this 
well-known  tree,  which  are  commonly  termed  mulberries,  have  a 


229    MOBUS  NIGRA 

dark  purple^  almost  blacky  colour^  a  faint  odonr^  and  a  refreshing, 
acidolons,  saocharine  taste.  They  are  yery  jnicy,  and  this  juice, 
which  has  a  dark  violet  colonr,  and  a  similar  taste  and  odour  to 
the  fruit,  is  the  only  official  part  of  the  plant. 

Mulberries  have  been  analysed  by  H.  Van  Hees,  who  ascertained 
their  chief  constituents  to  be  ttbgar  anA  free  acid,  supposed  to  be 
fnalicj  although  probably  in  part  ta/rtcmc.  The  other  constituents 
found  were  albuminous  matter,  pectin,  fat,  gum,  salts,  cellulin  and 
insoluble  matters,  and  water.  Compared  with  other  edible  fruits, 
mulberries  are  remarkable  for  the  large  proportion  of  sugar  they 
contain,  being  only  exceeded  in  this  respect  by  the  fig,  grape, 
and  cherry.  Thus  figs  yield  the  largest  amount  of  sugar  of  any 
fruit,  grapes  from  10'6  to  19  per  cent.,  cherries  10*79,  mul- 
berries 9'19,  currants  6*1,  strawberries  5'7,  and  raspberries  4  per 
cent. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — In  medicine  mulberry  juice  is 
principally  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  official  syrup  of  mul- 
berries, whic}i  possesses  refrigerant  and  slightly  laxative  proper- 
ties. It  is  chiefly  employed  as  a  colouring  and  flavouring  agent, 
and  as  a  laxative  for  infants.  The  juice,  which  is  refrigerant,  may 
be  used  as  a  drink  in  febrile  diseases.  The  fruits  may  also  be 
employed  for  a  like  purpose,  but  should  be  avoided  when  there  is 
a  tendency  to  diarrhoea. 

Othbe  Uses  of  the  Plant. — The  fruit  is  well  known  as  an 
esteemed  dessert  fruit.  In  Greece  it  is  submitted  to  fermenta- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  affording  an  intoxicating  beverage.  The 
leaves  of  this  species,  but  more  especially  those  of  Morus  alba, 
are  in  common  use  as  food  for  silkworms  ;  and  the  boA-lc  of 
the  root,  which  has  a  somewhat  acrid  and  bitter  taste,  possesses 
cathartic  and  anthelmintic  properties.  For  the  latter  purpose, 
two  drachms  of  the  bark  may  be  infused  in  eight  ounces  of  boil- 
ing water  for  an  hour,  and  the  infusion,  when  strained,  taken  as  a 
dose.     It  is  said  to  be  especially  useful  in  cases  of  tapeworm. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  378 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  489 ; 
a.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  563;  BentL,  Man.  Hot.,  p.  620. 


229    MORUS  NIGRA 


DESCRIPTION    or   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  garden  of  the  Apothecaries'  Company, 
Chelsea. 

1.  Branchlet  with  foliage  and  fruit. 

2.  A  male  catkin. 

3.  A  male  flower. 

4.  Section  of  the  same. 

5.  The  same,  expanded. 

6.  A  female  catkin. 

7.  8.  Female  flowers. 

9.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 
10, 11.  Ferianth-leayes  of  female  flow'er. 

12.  Cross  section  of  a  mnlberrj. 

13.  A  single  altered  flower  isolated. 

14. 16.  Fruit. 

16. 17.  Seed. 

18.  Vertical ;  and — 19.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 

(3-5,  8-11, 15, 17-19  enlarged.) 


HUK'JLUS  LUPULUS.Zmz! 


230 


N.  Ord.  Caknabihxjb.    Lindl.,  Yeg.  K.,  p.  265;  Le  Maoat  and 
Deo.,  p.  674. 

G^us  HumnluBy*  Linn.  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  yi,  p.  162.  Species 
2  or  3,  natiyes  of  temperate  parts  of  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere in  the  Old  World. 


230.  Hnmnlus  LupuluSif  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  1028(1753). 

Hop, 

8yn. — H.  americanus,  ^i^. 

J^rev.— Bigelow,  t.  60;  Hayne,  yiii,  t.  36;  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  41; 
ISees,  1. 101 ;  Woodyille,yol.  y ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  27  b ;  Syme,  E.  Bot., 
yiii,  1. 1284;  Ileioh.,Ic.  Fl.  G^rm.,xii,  t.  656 ;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ. ; 
Lindl.,  Veg.  K.,  fig.  179;  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  figs.  129—136. 

Description, — ^A  large  herbaceoas  perennial  twiner,  with  a 
large,  thick,  branched  rootstock.  Stems  several,  reaching  a 
length  of  20  feet  or  more,  closely  twining  or  twisted,  slender 
bnt  very  strong  and  tough,  almost  woody  at  the  base,  cylindrical, 
striate,  very  rongh  with  small  harsb  prickly  hairs  along  the 
lines.  Leaves  opposite,  with  very  long  scabrons  petioles,  stipules 
caulinary,  large,  the  adjacent  ones  of  each  opposite  pair  united  to 
form  a  single,  large,  ovate,  acute,  membranous,  interpetiolar 
stipule  at  first  erect  afterwards  strongly  reflexed;  blade  3 — 4 
inches  long  and  equally  broad,  rather  variable  in  form,  usually 
deeply  cordate  at  base,  palmately  cut  about  half-way  down  into 
3  or  5  ovate  acute  lobes,  coarsely  serrate,  very  rough  on  both 
surfaces  especially  on  the  prominent  veins  beneath;  the  upper 
leaves  much  smaller,  often  ovate,  not  lobed.  Flowers  numerous, 
unisexual,  dioocious ;  the  male  small,  on  slender  pedicles  arranged 
in  lax  divaricate  or  slightly  drooping  axillary  panicles,  with  small 
acute  bracts,  the  female  much  smaller,  sessile,  each  one  in  the  axil 
of  a  very  small,  obtuse,  pilose,  roundish  bractlet  on  its  outer  side 
(which  is  persistent  and  greatly  enlarged  in  fruit),  and  arranged  in 

*  Htvmidua,  a  name  first  used  by  LinnsBiiB,  and  probably  founded  on  the 
names  of  the  plant  in  the  languages  of  northern  Europe, 
f  Ltypuku,  the  classical  name  of  the  plant ;  Lupus  salictarvus  of  Pliny. 


230    HUMULUS  LUPULUS 

pairs  in  the  axil  of  a  larger  membranons  acate  bract^  the  whole 
closely  placed  on  a  short  axis  so  as  to  form  a  small^  ovoid,  con- 
tracted inflorescence  at  the  end  of  a  long  axillary  peduncle. 
Male  flower : — ^perianth  very  deeply  cut  into  5  oval-oblong  acute 
segments,  greenish-yellow,  glabrous  ;  stamens  5,  opposite  the 
segments,  filaments  very  short,  anthers  oblong-linear,  apiculate, 
opening  by  two  terminal  slits.  Female  flower : — ^perianth  mono- 
phyllous,  very  thin  and  membranous,  closely  surrounding  the  ovary, 
persistent ;  ovary  ovoid,  smooth,  1-celled,  with  a  single  pendulous 
ovule,  styles  2,  much  longer  than  the  ovary,  and  projecting  con- 
siderably beyond  the  larger  bracts,  subulate,  densely  hairy, 
purple.  ''  Fruit  ^'  consisting  of  the  whole  inflorescence,  the  bracts 
of  which  have  become  much  enlarged  and  scale-like,  whilst  the 
bractlets  have  so  much  increased  as  to  equal  them  in  size,  the 
whole  forming  an  oblong-ovoid  or  sub-globose,  cone-like,  nodding, 
catkin  (strobile)  1 — IJ  inches  long;  scales  ovate  or  roundish,  all 
very  similar  in  shape,  but  the  original  bracts  usually  more  acute 
and  more  strongly  veined  than  the  bractlets  which  also  have  the 
base  sprinkled  over  on  the  outer  side  with  minute  superficial 
yellowish  glands,  all  dry  and  papery,  veiny,  greenish-yellow  or 
brownish ;  true  fruit  about  as  large  as  hempseed,  seed-like,  borne 
at  the  base  of  the  enlarged  bractlets,  sub-globular,  slightly  com- 
pressed, enveloped  in  the  persistent  loose  membranous  perianth, 
the  lower  part  of  which  also  is  sprinkled  with  minute,  glo* 
bular-topshaped,  shining,  yellowish  grains  or  glands  (lupulin), 
pericarp  hard,  brittle.  Seed  solitary,  pendulous,  testa  very 
thin,  embryo  with  long  cotyledons,  spirally  coiled,  flat,  no 
endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  Hop,  which  has  been  well  called  the  ''  Northern 
Vine,'*  is  found  in  a  wild  state  throughout  Europe  except  the 
extreme  north,  and  extends  eastwards  to  the  Caucasus  and 
through  Central  Asia  to  the  Altai  Mountains.  It  is  also  common 
but  doubtfully  indigenous  in  the  northern  and  western  United 
States  of  America,  and  has  been  introduced  into  Brazil  and 
Australia.  In  England  the  hop  is  a  common  wild  plant  climbing 
over  hedges  and  bushes,  especially  in  the  south ;  in  Scotland  it  is 


280    HUMULUS  LUPULUS 

not  thought  to  be  native.  It  flowers  in  Jnly  and  August^  and 
the  fniit  is  ripe  at  end  of  September. 

The  cultivation  of  the  hop  certainly  goes  back  to  the  eighth 
and  ninth  centuries  in  northern  and  western  Europe^  but  was  never 
practiaed  by  the  Greeks  or  Bomans.  In  England^  however^  the 
plant  does  not  appear  to  have  been  at  all  generally  used  before  the 
beginning  c^  the  seventeenth  century,  but  rapidly  grew  in  estimation, 
and,  at  the  present  time,  this  country  produces  the  largest  amount 
of  any  European  State ;  the  principal  area  is  the  County  of  Kent  and 
the  adjacent  parts  of  Sussex  and  Surrey,  but  hops  are  also  grown 
in  Hampshire  and  in  Worcestershire  and  Herefordshire.  Several 
varieties  are  recognised  by  cultivators,  depending  on  the  shape  and 
colour  of  the  ripe  cones.  Monoecious  plants  are  occasionally  met 
with.  Some  English  botanists  have  considered  the  plant  to  be 
an  introduction  to  this  country,  but  there  does  not  appear  to  be 
any  good  reason  for  the  supposition.  Boswell  Syme  indeed  states 
that  the  seed  rarely  ripens  here,  but  we  have  frequently  found  it 
so  in  the  south  of  England. 

Good  figures  of  the  Lupuline  grains  will  be  found  in  Berg's 
'  Anatomischer  Atlas,'  t.  49. 

Syme,  B.  Bot.,  viii,  p.  133 ;  Hook,  f..  Stud.  Fl.,  p.  333 ;  Watson, 
Gomp.  Cyb.  Brit.,  p.  310;  Gren.  &  Gk>dr.,  Fl.  France,  iii, 
p.  112 ;  Ledebour,  Fl.  Boss.,  iii,  p.  635 ;  A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot. 
N.  U.  States,  p.  446 ;  DC.  Prod.,  zvi,  1,  p.  29 ;  Lindl.,  Fl. 
Med.,  p.  296  ;  DC.  G6ogr.  Bot.,  p.  857 ;  Fliick.  &  Hanb., 
Pharmacogr.,  p.  495. 

Ofieial  Parts  cmd  Na/mes. — Lupulus;  the  dried  strobile^  of 
the  female  plant  (B.  P.).  The  dried  strobiles  of  the  female  plant 
(I.  P.).  1.  HuHULUS;  the  strobiles:  2.  Lupxtlina;  the  yellow 
powder  sejiarated  from  the  strobiles  (U.  S.  P.).  The  common 
name  hj  which  the  strobiles  are  designated  in  the  British  Phar- 
macopoeia and  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India  is  Hop,  and  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  as  Hops. 

1.  LupxJLUS  OB  HuMULUS. — Collection  and  Preparation. — In  the 
British  Pharmacopoeia  the  dried  strobiles  or  fruits  are  directed  to 
be  obtained  from  plants  cultiyated  in  England.     In  the  Pharma- 


230    HUMULUS  LUPULUS 

copoeia  of  India^  and  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States^ 
no  special  soarce  is  indicated.  In  England  the  gathering 
or  picking  of  the  strobiles  takes  place  in  September ;  the  hops  are 
then  dried  in  kilns ;  and  finally  packed  in  hempen  sacks^  called 
hags  or  pockets.  By  keeping  hops  lose  their  fresh  appearance^ 
become  darker  coloured^  and  acqaire  an  unpleasant  odoor  from 
the  formation  of  a  little  valerianic  acid ;  hence  in  order  to  prevent 
or  retard  these  changes  they  are  frequently  exposed  to  the  fames 
of  burning  sulphur.  Hops  when  freshly  prepared  in  this  way 
smell  of  sulphurous  acid^  and  their  use  in  this  state  should  be 
carefully  avoided  in  medicine ;  but  it  is  said  that  by  keeping  the 
injurious  character  of  the  acid  is  soon  lost.  Hops  thus  treated 
have  also  been  strongly  objected  to  by  brewers,  but,  according  to 
Liebig,  without  any  real  foundation. 

General  Characters  amd  Composition, — ^The  strobiles  as  found 
in  commerce  are  more  or  less  compressed  and  broken  up.  When 
fresh  they  have  a  pale  greenish-yellow  colour;  an  agreeable, 
peculiar,  somewhat  aromatic  and  narcotic  odour;  and  a  bitter, 
aromatic,  pungent,  and  feebly  astringent  taste.  Their  odour  and 
taste  are  essentially  due  to  the  lupulinic  glands,  which  are  de- 
scribed below  under  the  head  of  lupulina  ;  and  it  is  in  these  that 
the  virtues  of  hops  almost  entirely  reside.  When  handled,  or 
more  especially  when  rubbed  between  the  fingers,  they  have  a  sticky 
feel,  and  their  odour  becomes  more  evident.  But  by  keeping,  as 
already  noticed,  the  odour  of  hops  becomes  less  agreeable,  or  even 
unpleasant,  from  the  formation  of  a  little  valerianic  acid.  At  the 
same  time  they  also  lose  their  greenish-yellow  colour  and  fresh 
appearance,  and  acquire  a  brown  tint,  and  frequently  a  spotted 
appearance ;  and  finally  become  weaker  and  of  inferior  value. 

The  principal  constituents  of  hops  are  volatile  oily  bitter  principle, 
wax,  and  resins.  These  substances  appear  to  be  confined  to  the 
lupulinic  glands,  or  if  they  exist  in  the  scales  at  all,  they  are  in 
far  less  proportion.  The  principal  constituent  of  the  scales  or 
bracts  is  a  kind  of  tannic  a^d  ;  it  is  found  in  the  proportion  of 
from  8  to  5  per  cent.,  and  has  been  named  lupulo-tannic  add.  The 
experiments  of  Griessmayer  show  that  hops  also  contain  a  minute 


230    EUMULUS  LUPULUS 

qnantity  of  trimethylamine,  and  a  liqaid  yolatile  alkaloid^  named 
by  him  lupuKne,  and  which  is  said  to  have  the  odour  of  conia. 
The  medicinal  properties  of  hops  essentially  reside  in  the  volatile 
oil  and  bitter  principle^  for  which  reason  the  lupulinic  glands  are 
the  most  active  part  of  this  dmg,  bnt  they  want  the  astringency 
of  the  scales.  The  natnre  of  the  yolatile  oil  and  other  special 
constituents  of  the  lupulinic  glands  are  described  below  under 
lupulina. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Hops  possess  tonic  and  slightly 
narcotic  properties;  they  are  also  somewhat  astringent.  The 
narcotic  property  appears  to  be  derived  from  the  yolatile  oil^ 
hence  a  pillow  of  hops  is  sometimes  useful  to  preyent  restlessness^ 
and  induce  sleep^  in  neryous  and  other  affections ;  but  when  so 
employed  it  is  advisable  to  moisten  the  hops  previously  in  spirit^ 
in  order  to  prevent  the  rustling  noise  which  they  otherwise  pro- 
duce. Fomentations  and  poultices  of  hops  have  been  also  found 
to  give  relief  in  painful  swellings  and  tumours ;  and  an  ointment 
made  by  mixing  powdered  hops  with  lard  has  been  recommended 
as  an  anodyne  application  in  cancerous  tumours. 

Internally^  hops  are  usually  administered  in  the  form  of  infusion^ 
extract^  or  tincture ;  and  have  been  found  more  especially  useful 
in  cases  of  atonic  dyspepsia.  They  have  been  also  given  with 
success  in  the  nervous  tremors^  wakefulness^  and  delirium  of 
drunkards  ;  for  diminishing  the  tendency  to  nocturnal  emissions, 
and  in  allaying  chordee  ;  in  nervous  affections  attended  with 
sleeplessness ;  in  hysteria,  intermittent  fevers,  rheumatism,  gouty 
spasm  of  the  stomach,  and  other  diseases  ;  but  in  this  country, 
except  as  adjuncts,  hops  are  but  little  used  in  medicine. 

The  principal  consumption  of  hops,  is  in  the  manufacture  of 
beer  and  ale,  to  which  they  communicate  a  pleasant  bitter  and 
aromatic  flavour,  and  also  tonic  properties  ;  hence  bitter  ale  taken 
with  meals,  is  frequently  a  useful  remedy  in  atonic  dyspepsia. 
Hops  when  added  to  beer  and  ale  also  check  the  acetous 
fermentation. 

2.  LuFULiKA. — This  substance  is  only  official  in  the  Pharma- 
copoeia of  the  United  States,  although,  as  already   stated,  the 


230    HUMULUS  LUPULUS 

medicinal  properties  of  hops  essentially  reside  in  it.  It  is  com- 
monly known  nnder  the  name  of  lupulin  or  lupuUne ;  but  both 
this  name  and  that  of  hipuUna  are  objectionable^  as  they  should 
be  reserved  for  the  bitter  principle  of  hops.  It  is  more  correctly 
known  by  the  name  of  lupuUnie  glands. 

Collection  and  PreserpaOon. — Lupulinio  glands  are  principally 
found  at  the  base  of  the  scales  of  the  hop  strobiles;  but  they 
are  also  scattered  to  some  extent  over  the  whole  surface  of 
these  fruits.  They  may  be  readily  obtained  either  by  rubbing 
or  threshing  the  dried  strobiles^  or  by  first  stripping  off  the 
scales  and  shaking  or  rubbing  them ;  and  then  separating  the 
powder  which  has  been  detached  by  a  sieve.  This  powder  should 
afterwards  be  washed  by  decantation^  by  which  any  sand  or  earth 
which  is  always  mixed  with  it  to  some  extent  is  removed ;  and^ 
finaUy^  it  should  be  carefully  dried^  and  preserved  for  use  in  well- 
stoppered  bottles.  The  dried  strobiles  yield  from  about  8  to  16 
per  cent,  of  these  glands. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — When  viewed  in  sub- 
stance by  the  naked  eye^  the  lupulinic  glands  appear  in  the  form 
of  a  brownish-yellow^  granular  powder.  This  powder  has  the  agree- 
able odour  and  the  bitter  taste  of  hops ;  it  bums  readily^  like 
lycopodium^  when  thrown  into  the  air  and  ignited ;  and  is  readily 
wetted  by  alcohol  or  ether,  and  also  gradually  by  water.  When 
examined  by  the  microscope  the  true  nature  of  this  powder  is 
manifest,  for  it  is  then  seen  to  be  composed  of  minute,  somewhat 
globular-topshaped,  shining,  yellowish  glands,  which  have  been 
thus  described  by  Stoddart :  ''  From  ^  to  ^i^  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
shaped  like  flattened,  subovate,  little  saucers,  and  covered  over  by 
cell  markings.  They  are  attached  by  a  short  pedicel.  As  they 
get  older  the  central  portion  expands,  and  instead  of  the  former 
concave  shape,  swell  out  and  become  convex.'^  The  stalk  is  not 
perceptible  in  the  detached  gland  as  found  in  commerce.  The 
recent  gland  is  filled  with  a  dark  brown  or  yellowish  liquid ;  but 
in  the  dried  gland  of  commerce  this  liquid  is  contracted,  and 
forms  a  mass  in  its  centre. 

The  composition    of    the    lupulinic   glands  has    been   already 


230    HUMULUS  LUPULUS 

referred  to  in  speaking  of  tlie  constitnents  of  the  Btrobiles.  Their 
▼irtnes  appear  to  reside  in  the  volatile  oil  and  bitter  principle. 
Both  these  substances  are  taken  np  by  alcohol ;  but  by  boiling  the 
glands  in  water^  although  their  bitterness  is  then  extracted^  their 
aroma  is  more  or  less  driven  oS.  The  volatile  oil  may  be  readily 
obtained  by  distilling  hops  with  water.;  the  yield  varying  from  1 
to  2  per  cent.  The  odour  of  hops  is  due  to  this  volatile  oil.  It 
has  a  greenish  or  reddish-brown  colour^  according  as  it  is  distilled 
from  the  fresh  or  old  strobiles.  It  has  no  rotatory  power^  is  neutral 
to  litmus  paper,  and  when  exposed  to  the  air  it  soon  resinifies ; 
hence  the  lupulinic  glands,  which  owe  much  of  their  medicinal  value 
to  this  oil,  are  preferable  in  a  fresh  state,  and  should  always  be 
preserved  excluded  from  the  air  in  closely  stoppered  bottles.  This 
oil,  as  first  noticed  by  Personne,  always  contains  a  small  propor- 
tion of  valerol,  which  ultimately  passes  into  valerianic  add ;  in 
fact,  according  to  M^hu,  lupulinic  glands  contain  from  0*1  to 
0*17  per  cent  of  this  acid.  The  formation  of  valerianic  acid  in 
hops  by  keeping,  has  already  been  noticed,  in  speaking  of  the  col- 
lection and  preparation  of  the  strobiles.  The  bitter  principle  has 
been  variously  named  by  chemists  lupulin,  Ivpuline,  hipulite,  and 
humulin.  It  was  first  noticed  by  Payen,  but  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  obtained  in  a  pure  state  till  1863,  when  it  was  isolated 
by  Lermer,  who  called  it  the  bitter  add  of  hops.  It  is  contained 
in  but  minute  proportion  in  the  lupulinic  glands.  It  crystallises 
in  large  rhombic  prisms,  and  has  an  extremely  bitter  taste.  It  is 
probably  the  tonic  principle  of  the  hops.  The  recent  experiments 
of  Etti  also  show,  that  hops  contain  a  crystallised  white,  and  an 
amorphous  brown  redn,  to  which  the  bitter  principle  adheres. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — For  medicinal  use  lupulina  pos- 
sesses all  the  important  properties  of  the  strobiles,  and  may  be 
with  advantage,  in  most  cases,  substituted  for  them,  both  for 
external  use,  and  internal  administration ;  in  this  country,  how- 
ever, it  is  but  very  rarely  prescribed.  Its  effects  are  stated  to  be 
especially  manifest  in  certain  irritable  conditions  of  the  genito- 
urinary organs,  as  in  irritable  bladder,  gonorrhoea,  spermatorrhoea, 
and  chordee. 


230    HUMULUS  LUPULUS 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  375;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B., 
p.  608 ;  Pharmacog^phia,  pp.  497-500 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by 
W.  &  B.,  p.  460 ;  Thomson,  Lond.  Disp.,  by  Garrod,  p.  400 ; 
Chem.  Gaz.,  April  1, 1856,  &om  Comptes  Hiendus,  and  July  15, 
1853 ;  Griessmayer,  in  Amer.  Joum.  Pharm.,  Ang.,  1874,  p. 
360 ;  Stoddart,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  ser.  3,  yoI.  i,  p.  986 ;  Itob,  in 
Silliman's  Joam  of  Sci.,  toI.  ii  (1820),  p.  302 ;  Tr^ol,  Annales 
des  Sciences  Nat.  Bot.,  toI.  i  (1854),  p.  299;  Pharm.  Joum., 
ser.  3,  vol.  ix,  p.  350 ;  Dackworth,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  ser.  2, 
Yol.  X,  p.  246. 


DESCBIPTIOK  OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  coltivated  in  Kew  Gardens. 

1.  A  branchlet  of  a  female  plant  with  ripe  catkins. 

2.  A  fmit  with  its  enlarged  bractlet. 

3.  A  frait  enveloped  in  the  persistent  perianth. 

4.  The  same  with  the  perianth  removed. 

5.  Vertical — and  6.  Transverse  section  of  fruit. 

7.  Portion  of  panicle  of  male  flowers. 

8.  A  single  flower. 

9.  Two  female  flowers  with  their  bi*actlets  and  bract. 

10.  Bractlets  of  the  same. 

11.  Vertical  section  of  the  ovary. 

(3—7, 9—11  enlarged.) 


CANNABIS  SATIVA,ia 


281 

K.  CM.  Gankabinsjs. 

Genus  Cannabifl,*  Linn,    Baill.,  Hist.  PI.,  yi,  p.  215.    There  is 
bat  a  single  species. 


23L  Cannabis  sativa,  Linn.,  Sp.  Plant,  ed.  \,  p.  1027  (1753). 
Hemp.     Indian  Hemp.     Bhang,  Ganja  (Hindustani). 


k — C.  indica,  Lam,    C.  chinensis,  Del. 

Figures. — Hayne,  viii,  t.  35 ;  Nees,  1. 102;  Berg  &  Sch.,  1. 19  b;  Sjme, 
E.  Bot.,  viii,  t.  1283;  Beichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xii,  t.  655;  Nees, 
Gen.  Fl.  Germ. ;  Baill.,  Hist.  Fl.,  yi,  figs.  137—145 ;  Bbeede,  Hort. 
Malab.,  z,  t.  60,  61. 

Description. — ^Annual.  Stem  from  3 — 10  feet  or  even  more  in 
height,  erect,  often  slightly  woody  at  the  base,  simple  or  slightly 
branched,  slender,  striate,  slightly  rough  with  a  very  close  short 
and  fine  tomentnm,  greyish-green.  Leaves  numerous,  alternate 
or  opposite,  spreading^  on  long  slender  scabrous  petioles  with 
linear  acute  stipules  at  the  base,  palmate,  leaflets  5 — 7,  or  only 
3  in  the  upper  leaves,  the  middle  one  longest,  sessile,  linear- 
lanceolate,  acute  or  attenuate  at  both  ends,  strongly  and  sharply 
serrate,  finely  scabrous  and  dark  green  above,  pale  and  very 
finely  downy  beneath.  Flowers  unisexual,  dioecious,  small;  male 
numerous,  shortly  stalked,  irregularly  arranged  on  the  branches 
of  lax  drooping  panicles  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves  and  summit 
of  the  stem,  female  fewer,  sessile,  each  with  a  small  bract, 
crowded  in  erect,  simple,  short  spikes  leafy  below,  from  the  axils 
of  the  leaves.  Male  flower : — Perianth  very  deeply  divided  into 
5  almost  separate,  spreading  or  reflexed,  oblong,  subacute, 
nearly  equal,  downy,  pale  yellowish  segments,  imbricate  in  the 
ovoid  acuminate  bud ;  stamens  5,  opposite  the  segments, 
filaments  slender,  very  short,  anthers  large,  pendulous,  2 -celled. 
Female  flower : — Perianth  a  single  cordate-ovate,  hirsute,  gland- 
ular, 5-veined  leaf,  sheathing  round  and  entirely  enclosing  the 
ovary ;   ovary  ovoid,  smooth,  one-celled,  with  a  single  pendulous 

*  CanntHnst  Kowapts,  the  classical  name ;  of  oriental  origin. 


231    CANNABIS  SATIVA 

ovule,  style  very  short,  or  none,  stigmas  2,  filiform,  long, 
protruding  far  beyond  the  perianth,  hairy.  Fruit  small,  about  yi 
inch  long,  enclosed  in  the  persistent  spathe-like  perianth,  ovoid- 
compressed,  pointed,  pericarp  indehiscent  but  easily  separable 
into  2  valves  on  pressure,  smooth,  pale  brownish-grey.  Seed 
completely  filling  the  fruit,  embryo  strongly  curved  or  doubled 
on  itself,  peripheric ;  endosperm  scanty,  oleaginous. 

Habitat. — The  Hemp  is  a  native  of  the  temperate  parts  of  Asia 
near  the  Caspian,  Southern  Siberia,  the  Kirghiz  desert,  and  Persia ;  * 
also  probably  of  Northern  India,  Kashmir,  and  the  Himalayas;  in  the 
latter  country,  as  also  in  China,  it  was  at  all  events  of  very  ancient 
cultivation.  It  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  Italy  in  the 
Roman  period,  and  has  gradually  spread  into  all  temperate  and  warm 
countries  of  both  the  old  and  new  worlds.  It  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  cultivation  of 
Hemp  is  now  chiefly  carried  on  in  Central  and  Southern  Russia.  In 
England  the  plant  is  not  unfrequently  met  with  as  a  casual 
weed  in  gardens  and  waste  ground  near  houses,  being  very 
frequently  the  offspring  of  seed  from  the  cleanings  of  birdcages. 

The  Indian  Hemp  differs  in  no  respect  from  the  common 
plant  unless  in  being  somewhat  taller  and  having  the  leaves 
more  constantly  alternate.  The  width  of  the  leaflets  varies 
considerably ;  as  a  rule  they  are  somewhat  narrower  in  the  male 
than  the  female  plant ;  the  latter  is  also  usually  rather  taller  and 
darker  in  colour. 

In  Algeria  the  Hemp  is  cultivated  under  the  name  of  Kif  or 
Tekrouri  ;  the  form  there  grown  has  a  somewhat  different  habit, 
and  smaller,  darker,  mottled  fruit. 

Syme,  E.  Bot.,  viii,  p.  131;  Ledebour,  Fl.  Ross.,  iii,  p.  634; 
Gren.  &  Godr.,  Fl.  France,  iii,  p.  112 ;  Roxb.,  Fl  Ind.,  iii, 
p.  772 ;  A.  DC,  Geogr.  Botan.,  p.  833 ;  ChristiBon,  in  Ann.  & 
Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  v  (1850),  p.  483 ;  Dukerley,  in  BuU.  Bot.  Soc. 
France,  xiii,  p.  401;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Medica,  p.  299;  Fliick.  <b 
Hanb.,  Fliarmacogr.,  p.  481. 

Official  Part  and  Names, — Cannabis  Indica  ;  the  dried  flower- 
ing tops  of  the  female  plants  grown  in  India,  and  from  which  the 


231    CANNABIS  SATIVA 

resin  has  not  been  removed  (B.  P.).  The  dried  flowering  tops  of 
the  female  plant  grown  in  India^  from  which  the  resin  has 
not  been  removed  {Indian  Hemp,  Gunjah,  Hind.  (I.  P.)  1. 
Cankabis  Indica;  the  flowering  tops  of  the  female  plant  of 
Cannabis  sativa^  variety  Indica:'^  2.  Cannabis  Americana;  the 
flowering  tops  of  Cannabis  sativa^  cultivated  in  North  America 
(U.  S.  P.). 

Production  and  Forms, — The  whole  of  this  drug  which  is 
employed  in  Eoropean  medicine  is  derived  from  India^  where  it  is 
grown  in  many  localities^  but  principally  in  the  districts  of 
Bogra  and  B&ish&bi,  to  the  north  of  Calcutta.  Indian  Hemp  is 
alone  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  and  the  PharmacopoBia 
of  India;  but  in  the  last  Pharmacopceia  of  the  United  States^ 
both  Indian  Hemp  and  American  Hemp^  which  is  obtained  from 
plants  cultivated  in  North  America^  are  official.  There  are 
several  forms  and  preparations  of  Indian  Hemp^  but  the  only  one 
which  is  official  is  that  which  is  known  in  India  under  the 
Hindnstuii  name  of  Ounjah  or  Ganja.  By  the  London  drug- 
brokers  it  is  termed  Guaza. 

GuNJAH  OK  Ganja. — General  Characters  and  Composition. — 
This^  which  is  the  principal  Indian  form  of  the  plants  consists  of 
the  dried  tops  after  flowerings  and  from  which  the  resin  has  not 
been  removed.  As  usually  imported^  the  samples  are  made  up 
of  more  or  less  aggregated  small  masses^  each  of  which  is  from 
about  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  and  a  half  in  lengthy  and 
consisting  of  the  tops  of  one  or  more  alternate  branches^  bearing 
the  remains  of  the  flowers  and  smaller  leaves  with  a  few  ripe 
fruits^  and  the  whole  pressed  together  by  adhesive  resinous 
matter.  Other  samples  are  composed  of  straight,  stiff,  woody 
stems,  several  inches  long,  and  bearing  above  the  branched  flower- 
ing stalks. 

Gunjah  is  rough  to  the  touch,  very  brittle,  of  brownish-green 
or  dusky-green  colour,  and  with  scarcely  any  taste,  but  with  a 
faint,  peculiar,  narcotic,  not  unpleasant  odour.  Powell  says  that 
when  the  leaves  have  been  picked  off  from  the  plant,  to  consti- 
tute the  other  principal    form  of  hemp   known  in   India,  called 


231    CANNABIS  SATIYA 

bhang,  little  shoots  arise  from  the   stem^  and  that  these  when 
picked  off  and  dried,  form  gunjah. 

The  most  important  constituents  of  Indian  Hemp  are  resin 
and  volatile  oil.  The  resin,  which  has  been  termed  eannahinj 
is  described  by  T.  and  H.  Smith,  as  brown  in  mass,  but  of  a 
fawn  colour  in  thin  layers,  and  burning  with  a  bright  white  flame 
and  leaving  no  ash.  It  is  soluble  in  both  alcohol  and  ether.  The 
effects  of  Indian  Hemp  are  commonly  regarded  as  mainly,  if  not 
entirely,  due  to  this  constituent.  Gunjah  yielded  Messrs.  Smith 
from  6  to  7  per  cent,  of  resin.  Gtistinell,  who  has  recently 
examined  the  plant  cultivated  in  Egypt,  also  describes  its  active 
constituent  as  a  resin,  which  he  says  exists  in  the  proportion  of 
about  3  per  cent.,  and  which  he  has  named  hashishin. 

The  volatile  oil  exists  in  but  very  small  proportion,  thus 
according  to  Bohlig,  to  the  extent  of  only  0*3  per  cent,  in  the 
fresh  herb  after  flowering.  It  is  lighter  than  water,  and  is 
described  by  Fersonne  as  of  an  amber  colour,  and  with  the 
oppressive  odour  of  the  hemp  plant.  The  latter  chemist  has 
resolved  it  into  two  bodies,  one  a  colourless  liquid  which  he  has 
termed  cam/ndbene,  and  the  other  a  solid  hydride  of  this  {hydride  of 
cannabene).  The  volatile  oil  is  regarded  by  Personne  as  the  sole 
active  principle  of  Indian  Hemp  ;  but  although  its  vapour  is  stated 
to  produce  when  inhaled  a  peculiar  sensation  of  shuddering,  with 
motor  excitement,  followed  by  prostration  and  syncope,  further 
evidence  is  required  before  we  can  speak  positively  on  its  action. 
Dr.  Preobraschersky  has  recently  announced  the  discovery  of  a 
volatile  alkaloid  in  the  tops,  &c.,  of  Indian  Hemp,  which  he 
states  is  similar  in  its  reactions  to  nicotia  or  nicotine,  the  active 
principle  of  tobacco ;  hence,  should  its  presence  be  confirmed,  it 
must  be,  at  least,  one  of  the  active  constituents  of  the  drug. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Gtirrod  says  '' Indian  Hemp 
produces  a  peculiar  kind  of  intoxication,  attended  with  exhila- 
ration of  the  spirits  and  hallucinations,  said  to  be  generally  of  a 
pleasing  kind.  These  are  followed  by  narcotic  effects,  sleep  and 
stupor.  In  its  anodyne  and  soporific  action  it  resembles  opium, 
but  its  after  effects  are    considered   less    unpleasant ;    it   does 


231    CANNABIS  SATIVA 

not  produce  constipation  nor  loss  of  appetite.  Indian  hemp 
possesses  antispasmodic  and  anodyne  powers,  for  which  it  has 
been  chiefly  employed  in  medicine.  It  has  been  administered  in 
the  different  forms  of  neuralgia,  in  spasmodic  coughs,  as 
pertussis  and  asthma,  also  in  tetanus,  hydrophobia,  and  other 
anomalous  spasmodic  and  painful  diseases.  Sometimes,  but 
very  seldom,  it  has  been  used  to  procure  sleep.''  Christison 
states  that  for  energy,  certainty,  and  convenience,  Indian  hemp 
is  the  next  anodyne,  hypnotic,  and  antispasmodic  to  opium,  and 
often  equals  it.  Dr.  Clendinning  speaks  favorably  of  its  use  as 
a  nervine  stimulant  in  removing  languor  and  anxiety,  and 
raising  the  pulse  and  spirits ;  and  Dr.  ConoUy  thinks  it  may  be 
useful  in  some  chronic  forms  of  mania.  As  a  medicine, 
however,  it  is  quite  clear  that  Indian  hemp  has  not  fulfilled  the 
expectations  formed  of  it  on  its  first  introduction  into  this 
country ;   it  is  therefore  but  little  employed  at  the  present  time. 

In  the  East,  Gunjah  and  the  other  forms  and  preparations  of 
Indian  hemp  as  described  below,  are  enormously  used  by 
Hindoos  and  Mahomedans,  either  for  smoking  with  or  without 
tobacco,  or  by  swallowing  them  in  combination  with  other 
substances,  or  by  infusion  in  water,  &c. 

Otheb  Forms  and  Pbepabations  of  Indian  Hemp. — The  other 
principal  forms  in  which  Indian  hemp  is  met  with  in  the  East  are 
Bhang,  Ghurrus,  Hashish,  and  numerous  electuaries,  pastes,  &c., 
in  which  butter  or  some  other  oily  substance  is  the  basis  of 
formation,  as  majoon  in  Calcutta,  mapouchari  at  Cairo,  and  the 
dawames  of  the  Arabs. 

1.  Bhang,  Sidhee,  or  Subjee. — This  form  is  very  much  used 
in  India.  It  consists  of  the  dried  coarsely  broken  larger  leaves 
of  the  plant,  mixed  with  a  few  fruits.  It  has  a  dark-green  colour, 
and  resembles  gunjah  in  odour  and  taste.  It  is  largely  employed 
in  India  for  smoking,  either  with  or  without  tobacco ;  and  as  the 
active  ingredient  of  the  sweetmeat  called  majun  or  majoon.  An 
intoxicating  drink  is  also  prepared  by  infusing  the  coarsely 
powdered  leaves  in  cold  water. 

2.  Ohv/nus  or  Cha/ras. — This  is  the  resin  which  spontaneously 


231    CANNABIS  SATIVA 

exudes  in  minnte  drops  from  the  stems,  leaves,  and  tops.  It  is 
collected  in  several  ways  as  follows  : — ^thus  O'Shaiiglmessy  states 
that  men  in  leathern  garments  bmsh  forcibly  throagh  the  plants, 
and  the  resin  which  then  adheres  to  them  is  scraped  off.  Another 
way  is  by  nibbing  or  pressing  the  tops  of  the  plant  in  the 
palms  of  the  hands,  and  afterwards  scraping  off  the  adhering 
resin.  A  third  method,  according  to  Powell,  consists  in  collect- 
ing the  dust  which  arises  when  masses  of  dry  bh^ng  are  stirred 
abont.  This  resin  is  necessarily  a  very  impure  substance,  hence 
is  not  used  in  medicine,  but  is  chiefly  consumed  by  smoking. 
The  best  is  imported  into  India  from  Yorkand. 

Gunjah,  Bhang,  and  Ohurrus,  are  the  principal  forms  of  hemp 
which  are  found  in  India. 

8.  Rashish,  Haschisch,  or  Hashash. — This  is  the  Arabic  term 
for  Hemp.  It  is  largely  employed  in  Arabia,  and  consists-  of  the 
dried  tops  of  the  plant  which  are  gathered  some  time  before  the 
seeds  are  ripe.  The  word  assassin  is  commonly  said  to  be 
derived  from  the  Arabic  name  for  hemp. 

In  Central  Asia  a  preparation  of  Indian  Hemp  is  found  in  flat 
cakes,  which  is  also  termed  Hashish  by  the  Russians,  and  nasha  by 
the  Bucharians.  Dr.  Preobraschersky,  who  has  recently  analysed 
it,  says  its  important  constituents  are  an  aromatic  resm  of  tolu-like 
odour,  a  colourless  volatile  oil,  and  a  volatile  alkaloid  analogous 
to  nicotia  in  its  reactions. 

Othis  Products  and  XJsbs  of  the  Hehp  Plant. — This  plant 
produces  the  valuable  fibre  known  as  Hemp.  It  is  found, 
however,  that  the  hemp  plant  grown  in  tropical  countries 
produces  less  valuable  fibres  than  the  plant  of  colder  latitudes, 
but  that  the  former  is  far  more  active  as  an  intoxicating  and 
medicinal  agent  from  secreting  a  much  larger  quantity  of  the 
narcotic  resin.  Hemp  is  principally  obtained  from  Russia;  but 
the  best  is  produced  in  Italy.  Inferior  hemp  is  also  derived 
from  the  United  States  and  India.  Hemp  is  chiefly  used  for 
cordage,  sacking,  and  sail-cloths.  In  1873,  1,251,000  cwts.  were 
imported  into  this  country. 

The  fruits^  commonly  called  Hemp  seeds,  are  the  achenes  of  this 


231    CANNABIS  SATIVA 

plant.     Each  achene  contains  a  single  oily  seed.     These  fmits 

are  demulcent  and  oleaginous^  but  appear^  at  least  when  ripe^  to 

have  no  narcotic  properties.     They  are  used  for  feeding  birds ; 

and  when  submitted  to  pressure^  they  yield  about  25  per  cent,  of 

a  fixed   oil^   which   is    employed  as    a   varnish^    and   for   other 

purposes. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  367 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B., 
p.-504 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  491 ;  U.  S.  Diap.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  392;  O'Shanghnessy,  Bengal  Disp.,  pp.  579—604;  Powell, 
Economic  Products  of  the  Punjab,  1868,  p.  293 ;  Garr.  Mat. 
Med.,  p.  361;  Cooke,  Seven  Sisters  of  Sleep,  pp.  212 — 257; 
T.  &  H.  Smith,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  toL  vi,  ser.  1,  p.  171; 
Personne,  Joum.  de  Pharm.,  vol.  zxzi  (1857),  p.  48;  Proc. 
Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  vol.  zxii,  p.  160 ;  Pharm.  Joum.,  yoL  iv, 
ser.  3,  p.  696 ;  Amer.  Joum.  Pharm.,  vol.  zlix,  p.  371,  from 
Ph.  Zeitschr.  Bussl.,  1876,  pp.  705—714. 


DESCBIPTION    OF  FL^TI. 

Drawn  from  specimens  grown  in  Kew  Gardens. 

1.  Upper  part  of  a  female  plant. 

2.  A  female  flower. 

3.  Perianth  unrolled. 

4.  Ovary. 

5.  Section  of  the  sama 

6.  A  male  panicle. 

7.  A  bud. 

8.  A  male  flower. 

9.  Stamens. 

10, 11.  Fruit  surrounded  with  the  persistent  perianth. 
12,  13.  Frfdt. 

14.  Vertical,  and— 15.  Transverse  section  of  fruit. 
(2-5,  7-9, 11, 13-15  enlarged.) 


rB}urFL  =  .dM 


232 

N.  Ord.  IJLMACEiE.    Lmdl.,  Yeg.  Kingd.,  p.  580;  Le  Maout  & 
Dec.,  p.  676 ;  Baill.,  Hiat.  PI.,  vi. 

Tribe  Ulmea, 

Genus  XTlmuSy*  Linn,  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  vi,  p.  184.  Species 
about  20,  natives  of  temperate  regions  in  the  Northern 
Hiemisphere. 


282.  Ulnms  oampeBtriB,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  225  (1753). 

Elm.      Common  Ehn. 

8yn, — ^U.  snberosa,  Ehrh.    XJ.  glabra,  MiU. 

IV^rvTM.— Woodville,  t.  242;  Hayne,  iii,  t.  15;  Stepb.  &  Oh.,  t  120; 
Nees,  t.  104;  Syme,  E.  Hot.,  viii,  1285,  6;  Reich.,  Ic.  Fl.  Qerm., 
xii,  t.  661 ;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Gkrm. 

Description. — ^A  large  tree,  frequently  reaching  a  height  of  100 
feet,  with  a  stout  erect  trunk  with  very  rough  brownish-grey  bark 
deeply  furrowed  longitudinally,  and  many  large  branches  forming 
a  rather  narrow  rounded  head,  with  rough  brown  bark  often  with 
thick  corky  ridges,  twigs  very  numerous,  slender,  young  shoots 
pubescent,  buds  small,  purple.  Leaves  alternate,  on  very  short 
hairy  cylindrical  petioles  ;  stipules  oblong,  blunt,  membranous,  pale 
brown,  quickly  deciduous  ;  blade  1\ — 3  inches  long,  broadly  oval 
or  somewhat  obovate,  very  unequal  at  the  base,  acute  at  the  apex, 
irregularly  and  rather  deeply  serrate,  the  numerous  parallel 
secondary  veins  running  out  to  the  edge,  deep  green  and  rather 
rough  above,  paler  and  covered  with  very  fine  short  hairs  beneath, 
thin.  Flowers  small,  appearing  before  the  leaves,  very  shortly 
stalked,  pedicels  fleshy,  articulated'  near  the  base,  arranged  in 
small  clusters  of  about  20  flowers  in  the  axils  of  the  leaf-scars  of 
the  previous  year ;  bracts  oblong,  rather  longer  than  the  pedicels, 
orange,  ciliated.  Perianth  funnel-shaped  or  campanulate,  with  5 
(rarely  4)  rather  shallow,  triangular,  subacute  lobes,  rough  with 
minute  hairs,  delicately  ciliate,  purple,  persistent.  Stamens  5 
(or  4),  inserted  on  the  base  of  the  perianth-tube  and  opposite  to 


*  Ulmus,  the  Latin  name  for  the  tree ;  the  Greek  name  was  irrikia. 


232    ULMUS  OAMPESTRIS 

its  lobes^  filaments  slender^  incurved  in  the  bad^  afterwards 
exserted^  anthers  2-celled^  dorsifixed^  introrse,  pink  becoming  pur- 
ple, the  connective  dilated.  Ovary  superior,  ovoid,  much  com- 
pressed, smooth,  2-celled,  with  a  single  pendulous  ovule  in  each 
cell ;  style  none  ;  stigmas  2,  large,  curved,  villous  along  the  inner 
edge.  Fruit  (samara)  ^ — |  inch  long,  supported  on  the  persistent 
perianth,  dry,  membranous,  flat,  broadly  oblong  or  obovate,  entire, 
deeply  notched  at  the  rounded  apex,  1 -celled,  the  ovoid  compressed 
cavity  placed  above  the  middle  near  the  notch,  and  completely 
surrounded  by  the  thin  papery,  smooth,  radiately- veined,  pale,  dull 
yellow  wing.  Seed  (not  seen)  solitary,  pendulous,  testa  mem- 
branous, marked  with  the  lateral  raphe,  embryo  straight,  radicle 
short,  superior,  cotyledons  fleshy,  flat,  obovate ;  no  endosperm. 

Habitat. — There  are  few  trees  better  known  in  England  than 
the  Elm,  which  is  common  throughout  the  country.  It  is,  how- 
ever, not  a  native  of  our  islands,  though  a  very  ancient  denizen, 
and  is  always  a  planted  tree.  The  flowers  appear  very  early  in 
spring  before  the  leaves,  in  March  and  April,  and  are  succeeded 
rapidly  by  the  little  leaf -like  fruits,  which  attain  nearly  their  full 
size,  and  then  fall  without  perfecting  the  seed.  This  species  of 
Elm  is  very  variable,  and  botanists  have  described  several  species, 
differing  in  the  size  and  form  of  the  leaves  and  the  amount  of 
pubescence  on  the  under  surface,  as  well  as  the  mode  of  growth  of 
the  tree ;  but  they  are  defined  with  difficulty,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered as  merely  varieties.  In  U.  suherosa  Ehrh.  the  bark 
developes  more  or  less  thick  and  ridged  corky  wings. 

In  Central  and  Southern  Europe  the  Elm  is  very  common,  and 
it  extends,  indeed,  into  Scandinavia,  but  the  original  home  of  the 
tree  is  probably  in  Eastern  Europe  and  Asia ;  its  range  now 
includes  also  North  Africa,  Asia  Minor,  Siberia,  &c..  Northern 
India  and  China. 

The  native  Elm  of  England  is  U.  montana,  Sm.,  known  as  the 
Wych  Elm,  which  is  a  smaller  tree  with  more  spreading  branches, 
much  larger  leaves,  and  a  usually  rounded  samara  which  always 
has  the  seed-cavity  situated  at  about  the  centre. 

Planchon,  in  DC.  Prod.,  xvii,  p.  156;   Syme,  E.  Bot.,  viii. 


232    XJLMUS  OAMPESTRIS 

p.  137 ;  Hook.  f.  Stud.  Fl.,  p.  334 ;  Watson,  Oomp.  Oyb.  Brit.» 
p.  310 ;  Gren.  and  €k>dr.,  Fl.  France,  iii,  p.  105 ;  Ledebonr, 
Fl.  Boss.,  iii,  p.  646 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  303. 

Official  Pa/rt  cmd  Name, — Ulmi  Cortex  ;  the  dried  inner  bark, 
from  trees  indigenons  to,  and  cultivated  in,  Britain  (B.  P.).  The 
dried  inner  bark  (I.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia 
of  the  United  States,  the  dried  inner  bark  of  Ulmus  fuha  being 
there  official  instead  of  the  present  bark. 

Oolleetion  and  Preparation. — For  medicinal  use  elm  bark  should 
be  separated  from  the  tree  in  the  spring,  and  after  the  removal  of 
the  rough  outer  corky  layer  and  the  middle  layer,  the  liber  or  inner 
bark  should  be  quickly  dried. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — ^When  prepared  as  above, 
elm  bark  is  found  in  the  form  of  broad  flattish  pieces,  varying  in 
thickness,  but  rarely  more  than  one  eighth  of  an  inch,  brownish- 
yellow  in  colour,  somewhat  striated  on  the  inner  surface,  but 
smooth  on  the  outer  surface,  and  showing  the  marks  of  the  knife 
used  in  removing  the  outer  layers  of  bark.  It  is  tough  and 
fibrous,  almost  inodorous,  but  with  a  slightly  mucilaginous,  bitter, 
and  astringent  taste. 

The  principal  constituents  of  the  official  elm  bark  are  mucilage 
and  tannic  add.  As  ordinarily  prepared,  when  it  consists  of  liber 
only,  it  contains  no  starch,  but  this  latter  substance  is  a  consti- 
tuent of  the  middle  cortical  layer.  In  the  summer  months  a 
gummy  substance  is  exuded  from  the  bark  of  the  elm  tree, 
which  is  converted  by  the  action  of  the  air  into  a  brown  insoluble 
matter,  which  has  been  called  uhnin,  A  decoction  of  elm  bark  is 
turned  green  by  perchloride  of  iron,  and  a  precipitate  is  formed  in 
it  by  a  solution  of  gelatine.  When  a  concentrated  decoction  is  used, 
the  addition  of  perchloride  of  iron  then  produces  a  brown  pre- 
cipitate. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Elm  bark  possesses  mild  astrin- 
gent, tonic,  and  demulcent  properties,  and  in  full  doses  it  is  said  to 
act  as  a  diaphoretic  and  diuretic.  In  the  form  of  decoction  it 
has  been  thought  to  be  useful  in  chronic  skin  diseases,  more 
especially  those  of  a  squamous  character,  as  lepra,  psoriasis,  and 


232    ULMUS  CAMPESTRIS 

herpes.  Some  practitioners  have  nsed  it  as  an  alterative  instead 
of  sarsaparilla^  for  which  they  have  regarded  it  as  a  good  and 
cheap  substitute.  As  a  medicine,  however,  it  is  now  nearly  obso- 
lete. 

The  dried  bark,  when  gronnd  to  powder,  has  been  mixed  with 
meal,  in  Norway,  to  make  bread  in  times  of  soarity. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  363 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  875  ;  Pharmaoographia,.p.  500 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  v, 
p.  936;  Steph.  and  Ohurch.,  by  Burnett,  vol.  ii,  pi  120; 
Sigmond,  in  Med.  Bot.  Trans.,  vol.  i,  p.  169. 


DESCBIFTION    OF    PLATB. 

Drawn  from  specimens  collected  near  London. 

1.  A  twig  with  flowers. 

2.  Section  of  a  flower-cluster. 

3.  A  single  flower  with  bract. 

4.  Vertical  section  of  ovary. 

5.  A  cluster  of  &uit. 

6.  A  single  fruit. 

7.  A  twig  with  leaves. 

(2-4  enlarged.) 


u 


r 


288 

N.  Ord.  TJiMACEM. 
Tribe  Ulmea. 

Genus  UlmiiBy  Linn, 


288.  Ulmns  fdlya,  Michaiix,  Fl.  Bor.^Anierie.,  i,  p.  172    (1803). 

Slippery  Ehn.     Red  Elm. 

8yn. — U.  rubra,  Mich.  fiX. 

Figture. — Mich,  f.,  N.  American  Sylra,  iii,  1. 128. 

Description. — A  small  or  moderate-sized  tree^  rarely  reaching 
50 — 60  feet,  bark  reddish-brown,  young  twigs  pubescent,  buds 
large,  the  inner  scales  covered  with  long  orange-red  down.  Leaves 
large,  alternate,  on  short  cylindrical  hairy  petioles,  blade  4 — 8 
inches  long,  oblong-oval,  acute  or  acuminate,  very  unequal  at  the 
rounded  or  subcordate  base,  strongly  doubly  serrate,  rough  with 
very  short  stiff  hairs  above,  thickly  pubescent  beneath.  Flowers 
nearly  sessile  or  shortly  stalked,  arranged  as  in  U.  ccunvpestris^ 
bracts  with  long  rufous  hairs.  Perianth  as  in  the  last,  but 
somewhat  larger,  more  deeply  cut  into  6 — 9  lobes,  and  covered 
with  long  rufous  hairs.  Stamens  6 — 9.  Pistil  as  in  the  last. 
Fruit  much  like  that  of  Z7.  caiifipesMs,  but  usually  more  orbicular 
in  outline,  the  seed-cavity  placed  about  the  centre  of  the  fruit, 
silky  with  short  fulvous  hairs. 

Habitat. — ^This  is  the  North  American  Elm,  and  is  common  in 
elevated  and  open  places,  banks  of  rivers,  &c.,  in  Canada  and  the 
North  United  States,  extending  southwards  to  Western  Florida,  in 
woods.  It  flowers  in  March  and  April,  and  the  fruit  is  ripe  by 
end  of  May.  U.  fulva  is  a  near  ally  of  the  English  U.  montana. 
It  can,  however,  be  easily  recognised  by  its  large  rufous-hairy 
buds  and  the  very  rough  upper  surface  of  the  leaves. 

A.  Graj,  Man.  Bot.  U.  States,  p.  442;  Chapman,  Fl.  South 
States,  p.  416 ;   Flanchon,  DO.  Prod.,  xvii,  p.  161 ;    Lindl., 
Fl.  Med.,  p.  303. 

Official  Pa/rt  cmd  Names. — Ulmus,    Slippery  Elm   Bark;    the 


233    ULMUS  FULVA 

inner  bark  (U.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Phar- 
macopoeiaj  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 

Collection  and  Preparation. — Slippery  Elm  bark  should  be 
collected  in  the  springs  and  when  deprived  of  its  outer  layers, 
dried.  In  collecting  the  bark  the  tree  is  destroyed,  and  as  the 
wood  is  of  no  commercial  value,  no  effort  is  made  to  cultivate  the 
plant,  or  replace  the  loss.  Thus  while  the  demand  for  this  bark 
is  increasing  year  by  year,  the  supply  is  diminishing,  and  the 
collectors  who  formerly  obtained  it  in  large  quantities  in  New 
York  and  other  eastern  states,  have  now  to  go  westward  for  their 
supplies. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — Slippery  elm  barh  or  red 
elm  barh  is  found  in  the  form  of  powder,  or  cut  into  small  pieces,  or 
in  flattish  pieces  of  variable  size.  The  latter  condition  is  that  in 
which  it  is  more  commonly  found  in  the  pharmacies  of  the  United 
States.  The  pieces  are  frequently  two  or  three  feet  long,  several 
inches  broad,  and  from  one  to  two  lines  thick.  Externally  it  has 
a  reddish-yellow  colour,  the  reddish  tint  being  more  evident  on  its 
inner  surface ;  and  it  is  so  extremely  tough  and  fibrous  that  it  may 
be  bent  double  without  breaking.  It  has  a  peculiar  sweetish 
odour,  which  resembles  fenugreek,  and  a  very  mucilaginous 
taste  when  chewed.  The  powdqr  has  a  light  greyish-fawn 
colour.  Much  of  the  powdered  elm  bark  found  in  the  United 
States  is  said  to  be  adulterated  with  starchy  matter,  probably 
flour. 

Wood  and  Bache  say  that  much  of  the  bark  brought  into  the 
market  is  of  inferior  quality,  being  very  deficient  in  mucilage. 
It  has,  however,  '^  the  characteristic  odour  of  the  best  bark,  but 
is  much  less  fibrous  and  more  brittle,  breaking  abruptly  when 
bent  instead  of  being  capable,  like  the  better  kind,  of  being  folded 
lengthwise  without  breaking.^'  It  is  uncertain  to  what  this 
inferiority  is  owing,  whether  to  difference  in  the  species,  or  the 
age,  or  to  circumstances  in  the  growth  of  the  tree  producing  it. 

The  principal  constituent  of  slippery  elm  bark  is  a  peculiar 
mucilage,  which  is  readily  imparted  to  either  cold  or  hot  water, 
forming   a  very   viscid  mixture,   but  not   a   true  solution.     The 


233    ULMUS  FULVA 

macilage  is  copiously  precipitated  by  the  solation  both  of  the 
acetate  and  snbacetate  of  leadj  but  not  by  alcohol. 

Medical  Properties  a/nd  Uses. — Slippery  elm  bark  is  a  valuable 
demulcent^  and  is  applicable  in  all  cases  where  this  class  of  medi- 
cines is  required.  It  is  mach  employed  in  the  United  States^  both 
extemaUy  and  intemaUy.  It  is  usually  administered  in  the  form 
of  an  infusion^  and  is  especially  recommended  in  catarrhal  affec- 
tions^ diarrhoea^  dysentery^  and  diseases  of  the  urinary  passages. 
In  cases  of  external  inflammation  the  infusion  is  also  regarded  as 
an  excellent  application.  The  powder  is  much  used  for  making  an 
emollient  poultice ;  or  in  some  cases  the  bark^  previously  softened 
by  boiling  water^  is  employed  as  an  emollient  application.  More 
recently^  the  bark  has  also  been  recommended  for  the  dilatation  of 
strictures  and  fistulas.  The  mucilage  possesses  nutritive  properties^ 
and  it  is  said^  that  in  consequence^  the  bark  has  been  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  life  for  some  days^  when  no  other  food  could  be 
obtained. 

It  is  also  stated  that  slippery  elm  bark  has  the  property  of 
preserving  fatty  substances^  such  as  butter  and  lard^  from  rancidity^ 
when  these  are  melted  with  it  and  kept  in  contact  for  some  time. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  364 ;  Fharmacographia,  p.  501 ; 
U.  S.  Diep.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  876;  Wood,  Ther.  and  Pharm., 
▼ol.  ii,  p.  804 ;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharin.  Assoc.,  vol.  xxi,  p.  435 ; 
Amer.  Joum.  of  Pharm.,  vol.  xxiv,  p.  180. 


DESCRIPTION   or   PLATE. 

Drawn  chiefly   from  a   specimen  in  the  British    Museum    collected  by 
Bartram  in  N.  America. 

1,  2.  A  flower. 

3.  A  fruit. 

4.  Twig  with  leaves. 

5.  A  large  full-grown  leaf. 

y  (2  enlarged.) 


234 


K.  OrcL  Salicinb  JS.    Lindl.,  Yeg.  Eingd.,  p.  254 ;  Le  Maont  A 
Deo.,  p.  685. 

Genns  Salix,*  Litm,  Andersson,  in  DC.  Prod.,  zri^  pt.  2, 
pp.  191 — 323.  Species  very  varioualy  estimated.  Bay 
about  200 ;  fbnnd  in  nearly  all  parts  of  tlie  world. 


234.  Salizalba,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  I,  jp.  1021  (1753). 

White  Willow.     Oolden  Willow. 

8yn, — S.  coBmlea,  8m,    S.  vitelline,  Linn. 

Figures.— WoodYille^  vol.  v;  Hayne,  xiii,  t.  42;  Neea,  Supp. ;  Syme, 
B.  Bot.,  viii,  tt.  1309—11 ;  Reich.,  Ic.  Tl.  Germ.,  xi,  t.  608. 

Description. — ^A  large  tree^   attaining  s  height  of   60  feet  or 
more^  with  numerous  ascending  branches^  bark  grey  or  yellow, 
farrowed,    yoong    shoots    and   bnds   white   and    silky.      Leaves 
numerous,  alternate,  on  short  silky  petioles  ;  stipules  small,  lanceo- 
late or    subulate,  erecti   soon    falling,  blade  8—4  inches   long, 
•narrowly  lanceolate-oblong,  tapering  and  very  acute  at   the  apex, 
tapering  at  the  base,  shallowly  serrate  on  the  margin,  with  very 
forward-pointing,  gland- tipped  teeth,  whitish  with  adpressed  silky 
hairs  on  both   surfaces  but   especially  beneath,   often   becoming 
glabrotis  above  when  old,  midrib  prominent  on  the  under  surface. 
Flowers  very  small,  numerous,  unisexual,  dioecious,  sessile,  each  in 
the  axil  of  a  small   oval-oblong,  sub-acute,  ciliated,  scaly  bract, 
closely  placed  to  form  slender,  cylindrical,  spreading  or  erect  spikes 
(catkins)   about  1^^ — 2^  inches  long,  borne  on  short  lateral  leafy 
branchlets  and  appearing  with  the  young  leaves.     Male  flowers  : — 
perianth   none   unless  represented  by  two  very  small   glandular 
scales  (disk,  nectary) ;  stamens  2,  distinct,  filaments  rather  long, 
stiff,  hairy  below,  anthers  small,  2-celled,  roundish,  yellow.    Female 
flowers  : — ^perianth  none,  scales  as  in  the  male  flowers ;  pistil  ses- 
sile, ovary  ovate,  tapering,  smooth,  1 -celled,  with  numerous  parietal 
ovules,  style  very  short,  stigmas  2,  spreading,  each  divided  into 
2   lobes.     Fruit  very  small,  dry,  conical,  dehiscing  loculicidally 

*  Salix,  the  classical  Latin  name  for  the  willow. 


I 


234    SALIX  ALBA 

from  above  into  2  recurved  valves^  1 -celled.  Seeds  numerous, 
very  small,  each  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  long  silky  hairs  (arillus), 
which  come  off  from  the  very  short  funicle  ;  embryo  with  flat 
oval  cotyledons,  radicle  inferior,  no  endosperm. 

Habitat. — A  common  tree  on  river  banks,  the  sides  of  streams 
and  ditches,  and  in  marshy  ground,  but  very  frequently  planted, 
and  possibly  originally  introduced.  In  such  situations  it  is  found 
throughout  England  and  the  greater  part  of  Scotland,  and  has  a 
very  extensive  range  throughout  Central  and  South  Europe, 
Northern  Africa,  and  temperate  Asia,  Syria,  and  Persia,  to  the 
Himalayas.  It  has  been  intrftduced  into  America.  The  flowers 
are  produced  in  April  and  May  with  the  young  leaves,  and  the 
male  catkins  soon  fall. 

The  foliage  presents  some  variation  in  the  amount  of  silkiness. 
The  variety  called  8.  vitellina  may  be  known  by  its  polished  golden- 
orange  twigs  and  the  long  scales  of  the  catkins.  Andersson 
describes  many  other  varieties. 

Andersson,  in  DC.  Prod.,  zyi,  2,  p.  211;  Syme,  E.  Bot.,  viii, 
p.  210 ;  Hook,  f.,  Stud.  PL,  p.  337 ;  Watson,  Oomp.  Ojb.  Brit., 
p.  314 ;  Gren.  and  Gk>dr.,  Plore  de  Prance,  iii,  p.  125 ;  Lede- 
boar,  Fl.  Boss.,  iii,  p.  598;  Lindl.,  PI.  Med.,  p.  318. 

Official  Part  a-nd  Name. — Salix  ;  the  bark  of  Salix  alba  (U.  S.  P. 
Secondary) .  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  But  the  barks  of  Salix  alba,  Salix 
caprea,  Salix  fragilis,  and  other  species  of  Salix,  were  formerly 
official  in  the  London^  Edinburgh,  or  Dublin  Pharmacopoeias. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — The  Willow  bark  of 
commerce  is  derived  from  various  species  and  varieties  of  Salix, 
and  varies  in  its  characters  accordingly.  It  is  generally 
obtained  from  the  branches,  and  then,  when  dried,  it  is  thin^ 
quilled,  of  a  brownish  colour  externally,  whitish  within,  tough, 
fibrous,  and  difficult  to  powder,  with  a  feeble,  somewhat  aromatic 
odour,  and  a  bitter  astringent  taste.  Those  barks  which  have 
the  most  bitter  taste  are  usually  regarded  as  the  best.  Great 
difference  of  opinion  has,  however,  prevailed  as  to  which  species 
possessed    the    most   medicinal    power.        The    bark    of    Salix 


234    SAL1X  ALBA 

Russelliana,  Smithy  the  Bedford  Willotv,  was  regarded  by  Sir  J. 
E.  Smith  as  the  most  valuable  species;  but^  as  remarked  by 
Lindley,  if  the  medicinal  qualities  of  Willow  bark  are  dependent 
upon  its  bitterness^  that  of  Salix  puiyurea,  Linn.^  which  is  the 
most  bitter^  should  be  the  best. 

The  principal  constituents   of    Willow   bark    are    tannic  add 
and  a  peculiar  neutral   principle  called  salicin.     The  amount   of 
tannic  acid  is  so  considerable  in  willow  bark  that  it  has  been  used 
for  tannings  and  it  is  said  to  be  especially  abundant  in  the  bark 
of  Salix  Busselliana.     Both  water  and  alcohol  take  up  the  active 
properties   of   the  bark.     Salicin  has  been  obtained  from  more 
than  twenty  species   of  Salix,  and  also  from   several  species   of 
Populus ;  •  the  barks  of  S.  Russelliana,   S.   alha,    S.    caprea,   S, 
fragilis,  S.  pentandra,  and  S.  purpiirea,  are  said  to  yield  it  in  the 
largest    proportion;    but    further    experiments    are   required  on 
this  point.      Salicin^  when   pure^  occurs  in  white  scaly  crystals^ 
which  have    a   very   bitter   taste;    they    are    soluble    in    both 
alcohol    and   water^  but  are   insoluble    in    ether.      Concentrated 
sulphuric  acid    decomposes  it^   producing  a    bright  red    colour. 
Salicin    is    a    neutral    glucoside^    for    when    boiled    with    dilute 
sulphuric  acid,  or  when   acted  upon  by  emulsin,  it  is  converted 
into  glucose  and   saligenin,  which   latter  substance  is  a  diatomic 
phenol-alcohol,  crystallizing  in  pearly  scales,  which  are  soluble  in 
water.     When  gently  heated  with  sulphuric  acid  and  bichromate 
of  potash,  salicin   is  converted   into   the  fragrant   oil  of  meadow 
sweety  hydride  of  salicyl,  or  salicylotts  a^d,  which  differs  only  in 
composition  from  salicylic  acid  by  containing   an  atom  less  of 
oxygen.      Salicylic  add  was   formerly  obtained  from  the   willow, 
meadow   sweet   [Spiraa  Ulmaria),  and   winter- green    {Oaultheria 
procumhens),  but  it  is  now  very  largely  prepared  from  carbolic  acid. 
Salicylic  acid  is  also  contained  in  oil  of  cloves.      Salidn  may  be 
obtained  by  boiling  an   aqueous  infusion  of    willow   bark   with 
hydrated  oxide  of  lead,  which  precipitates  the   tannin  and  colour- 
ing matter ;  then  filtering  and  evaporating  the  solution,  when  the 
salicin  is  deposited,  and  may  be  purified  by  repeated  solution  and 
crystallization. 


234    SALIX  ALBA 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Willow  bark  possesses  tonic  and 
astringent  properties^  and  has  been  employed  as  a  substitute  for 
cinchona  bark  in  intermittent  fevers.  It  owes  its  activity  to  the 
presence  of  salicin,  in  which  form  it  is  usually  administered. 
From  the  testimony  of  numerous  practitioners  in  this  country, 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  in  the  United  States,  there 
appears  to  be  little  doubt  that  salicin  has  to  some  extent 
antiperiodic  properties,  but  far  inferior  in  this  respect  to  quinia. 
Garrod  only  regards  it  as  possibly  useful  as  a  mild  bitter 
tonic,  when  given  in  doses  of  from  ten  to  twenty  grains*  He 
states  that  he  "  has  made  many  trials  of  salicin  in  cases  both 
of  ague  and  of  intermittent  neuralgia,  and  his  experience 
amounts  to  this, — ^that  salicin  is  a  drug  devoid  of  any  true 
antiperiodic  property,  twenty  to  thirty  grains  given  three  times 
a  day  failed  to  check  ague,  but  the  patients  were  subsequently 
cured  at  once  by  the  exhibition  of  quinine  ;  and  the  same  negative 
results  were  found  to  follow  its  administration  in  neuralgia.'' 
When  taken  internally,  salicin  is  eliminated  in  the  urine  as 
hydride  of  salicyl,  the  secretion  then  giving  a  purple-red  colour 
with  the  persalts  of  iron.  Recently,  Senator  has  obtained  very 
favorable  results  from  the  administration  of  salicin  in  various  febrile 
complaints  such  as  typhus,  &c.  Salicin  has  also  been  given 
with  success  by  Maclagan  and  Senator  in  acute  rheumatism. 

The  decoction  of  willow  bark  has  been  found  beneficial  as  an 
application  to  foul  and  indolent  ulcers ;  and  in  chronic  skin 
affections,  as  psoriasis. 

Becently,  salicylic  acid  and  its  salts,  more  especially  salicylate 
of  soda,  have  been  extensively  used  in  medicine ;  and  as  a  remedy 
in  rheumatism,  and  some  other  diseases,  the  powers  of  salicylic 
acid  may  be  considered  as  established.  Salicylic  acid  has  also 
been  largely  employed  as  a  preservative  ageut,  and  has  been 
proved  to  possess  powerful  antiseptic  properties;  in  fact,  these 
properties  of  salicylic  acid  are  now  extensively  utilised  in  beer 
brewing,  the  preservation  of  fruits,  and  in  other  ways.  ^  It  is  also 
now  largely  used  instead  of  carbolic  acid  in  antiseptic  surgery. 
Dr.  Fergus  has  recently  recommended  salicylic  acid  as  a  topical 


234    SALIX  ALBA 

application  in  diphtheria.  It  has  also  been  snccessfnlly  nsed  as 
an  internal  remedy  in  diphtheria.  Salicylic  acid  is  said  to  have 
an  injurious  effect  upon  the  teeth^  hence  Dr.  Bnch  strongly 
cautions  the  public  against  the  use  of  salicylic  acid  as  a  wash  for 
the  mouth  and  teeth.  All  persons^  therefore^  using  this  acid  or 
its  salts^  should  rinse  the  mouth  with  water  after  taking  a  dose 
of  either  of  them. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  338  ;  Lindl.,  Flor.  Med.,  p.  317, 
Steph.  &  Church.,  Med.  Bot.,  by  Burnett,  voL  iii,  pi.  139; 
WattB,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  y,  p  147;  Gkirr.,  Mat.  Med.,  p.  352; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  765 ;  Kolbe,  in  Pharm.  Jonrn., 
Yol.  ▼,  ser.  3,  p.  421 ;  Benger,  in  Pharm.  Joam.,  toL  yi,  ser.  3, 
p.  210;  Hunter,  in  Pharm.  Journ.,  yol.  vii,  ser.  3,  p.  276; 
Williams,  in  Pharm.  Jonrn.,  vol.  Tui,  ser.  3,  p.  785 ;  Several 
Papers  in  Year-Book  of  Pharmacy  for  1875,  1876,  and  1877  ; 
Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc,  vol.  zxiv,  p.  369. 


DBSCEIPTION    OP    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  collected  near  London  and  in  Lancashire. 

1.  A  branchlet  of  the  male  tree  with  flowers. 

2.  A  male  flower. 

3.  A  branchlet  of  a  female  tree  with  flowers. 

4.  A  female  flower. 

5.  6.  Emit  dehiscing. 
7,  8.  A  seed. 

9.  Twig  with  leaves. 

(2,  4,  6,  d  enlarged.) 


i 


MANIHOT   UIILIESIMA./'^yiZ 


235 

N.  Ord.  Ettphobbiacea.     Lindl.,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  274 ;  Baill., 
HiBt.  PL,  ▼;  Le  Maout  &  Dec.,  p.  687. 
Tribe  H^ppomohem. 

Qeama  Mwlhot**  Adams.  Baill,  HiBt  PL,  v,  p.  180.  Oyer 
70  species  have  been  deecribed,  natiyes  of  tropical  parta  of 
the  New  World. 


•m  •         • 


236.  Manlhot  ^ ^  ,., 

p.  82  (1827). 

Manioc.     Mandioe.     Cassava.     Oassada. 

8yi%. — Jatropba  Manibot,  Linn,  Janipba  Manibot,  Kuidk,  M.  edule, 
A.Eich, 

Figures, — Tussac,  Fl.  dee  Antilles,  iii,  t.  1 ;  Pobl,  loo.  cit.,  t.  24 ;  Berg, 
Charaoterist.,  t.  24,  fig.  199 ;  Hot.  Mag.,  t.  3071 ;  Fl.  Brasil.,  faso.  64, 
t.65. 

Description* — ^A  herbaoeotta  or  semi-shrubby  perennial,  with 
yery  large,  cylindrical,  tapering,  fleshy,  yellowish  roots,  reaching 
as  much  as  3  feet  long  and  6  to  9  inches  in  diameter,  filled  with  a 
milky  juice.  Stems  slender,  5  to  9  feet  in  height,  somewhat 
woody  below,  with  a  whitish  bark,  erect,  cylindrical,  often  some- 
what zigzag,  smooth,  purplish  and  glaucous,  branched  above. 
Leaves  large,  spreading,  alternate,  on  long  slender  cylindrical 
purplish  stalks,  deciduous  just  above  the  base  and  leaving  that 
as  a  wart-like,  flat-topped  projection  from  the  stem.  Stipules 
about  ^  inch  long,  narrowly  triangular-linear,  acute,  smooth,  usually 
deciduous;  blade  3 — 4  inches  long,  palmate,  very  deeply  divided 
nearly  to  the  base  into  3 — 7  nearly  equal  linear-oblong  or  oval- 
oblong  segments,  which  are  usually  somewhat  narrowed  below^ 
acute  or  acmninate,  entire,  glabrous  and  dull  green  above,  very 
glaucous  and  sometimes  puberulous  on  the  prominent  yellowish 
veins  beneath,  thin,  deflezed  and  reddish  when  young.  Flowers 
unisexual,  monoecious,  of  moderate  size,  the  female  the  larger,  on 
slender  pedicels^  arranged  in  small  few-flowered  stalked  racemose 

*  Manihoi,  giyen  as  the  natiye  Brazilian  name  for  the  present  species  in 
the  early  Spanish  treatises  of  the  16th  century. 


235    MANIHOT  UTILISSIMA 

panicles  4  or  5  inches  long,  several  of  which  come  off  together  from 
the  forks  of  the  branches,  flowers  of  each  sex  mixed,  or  the  male 
flowers  above  and  female  below,  bracts  large,  narrow,  articulated,  early 
caducous.  Male  flowers  : — perianth  bell-shaped,  deeply  cut  about 
half  way  down  into  5  acute  segments,  dull  orange  or  yellow,  purplish 
outside,  smooth ;  stamens  10,  distinct,  filaments  shorter  than  the 
perianth,  slender,  somewhat  unequal,  anthers  oblong,  yellow^ 
inserted  beneath  the  large,  flat,  orange-coloured,  fleshy  disc,  which 
is  deeply  10-lobed,  with  the  lobes  projecting  between  the  bases  of 
the  filaments ;  no  pistil.  Female  flowers : — perianth  much  as  in 
the  male,  but  more  deeply  cut ;  stamens  none ;  ovary  surrounded 
at  the  base  by  an  annular,  succulent,  orange  disc,  ovoid-conicaJ^ 
smooth,  purple,  with  6  thick,  lobed,  blunt,  narrow  wings  or  ridges 
down  the  sides,  3 -celled,  with  one  ovule  in  each  cell;  style  short, 
stigmas  8,  spreading  or  reflexed,  lobed,  and  plaited,  white.  Fruit 
shortly  stalked,  about  ^  inch  long,  globose-ovoid,  glabrous  but  rough 
with  raised  ridged  prominences,  with  6  thick,  narrow,  rather  undu- 
lated wings,  the  3  down  the  backs  of  the  carpels  the  most  promi- 
nent, 3-celled,  dehiscing  septicidally  into  3  cocci,  which  also 
separate  from  the  axis  and  dehisce  along  the  ventral  suture 
(septifragal).  Seeds  solitary  in  each  coccus,  about  ^  i^ch  long, 
oblong,  compressed,  smooth,  grey,  with  a  prominent  caruncle 
round  the  hilum,  cotyledons  foliaceous. 

Habitat, — A  plant  much  cultivated  throughout  the  tropics^ 
especially  in  the  New  World.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe 
it  indigenous  to  Brazil,  where  it  was  in  common  cultivation  when 
the  country  was  first  visited  by  Europeans ;  it  does  not,  however, 
certainly  appear  to  have  been  ever  met  with  in  a  truly  wild  state, 
though  many  other  species  of  the  genus  are  native  there.  Next 
to  S.  America  the  Cassava  is  most  largely  grown  in  West  Tropical 
Africa ;  its  cultivation  is  there  universal,  and  the  plant  has  become 
semi-spontaneous.  It  has  been  in  consequence  supposed  to  be 
indigenous  to  Africa,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  has 
been  in  some  way  or  another  imported  from  America.  Specimens 
are  grown  in  the  hot-houses  of  our  botanic  gardens,  but  the  plant 
never  flowers  with  us.     It  seems,  indeed,  that  the  flowers  are 


235    MANIHOT  UTILISSIMA 

everywliere  somewliat  rarely  produced ;  they  appear  in  March  and 
April,  and  the  fmit  is  ripe  in  Jaly. 

As  is  usually  the  case  with  cultivated  plants  the  Manioc  presents 
considerable  yariety.  The  number  of  segments  in  the  leaves  is 
most  usually  5,  but  varies  from  8  to  7,  the  latter  being  a 
frequent  number ;  the  depth  of  the  division  between  them  is  some- 
times much  shallower  than  above  described,  and  a  form  with 
entire  leaves  has  been  recorded.  Varieties  are  recognised  also 
according  to  the  colour  of  the  stem,  red,  blue,  or  blackish.  There 
is  also  a  variety  which  possesses  an  innocuous  juice  in  the  root. 

But  the  plant  usually  grown  as  Sweet  Cassava,  or  Manioc  with  a 

non-poisonous  juice,  is  M,  Aipi,  Pohl   {Jatropha  chileis,  Gmel.). 

This  is   figured  in  PohFs  work  above  quoted,  t.  23.     It  is  very 

similar  to  M.  uiilissvma,   with    which    some    botanists  place    it. 

Mtiller,  however,  regards  it  as  a  variety  of  his  M.  jpalmata,  which 

is  distinguished  by  the  absence  of  wings  on  the  ovary  and  capsule, 

the  much  larger  anthers,  and  the  presence  of  pubescence  on   the 

young  shoots,  besides  the  bland  character  of  the  roots,  which  are 

reddish  in  colour. 

Fohl,  Plant.  Brasil.,  i,  p.  32 ;  Miiller,  in  DO.  Prod.,  zv,  pt.  2, 
p.  1064,  and  in  Fl.  Brasil.,  faso.  64,  457 ;  DO.  G6ogr.  Bot., 
p.  816 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  185. 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Name, — Tapioca;  the  fecula  of  the  root  of 
Janipha  Manipha,  Bot.  Mag.  (O.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the 
British  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  but  it 
was  formerly  recognised  in  both  the  Edinburgh  and  Dublin 
Pharmacopoeias. 

1.  GSNEBAL  ChABACTSBS  AND  PbODUCTS  OF  THS  BoOTS. — TwO 

kinds  of  cassava  root  are  distinguished,  which  are  obtained  from 
different  varieties  of  the  plant ;  these  are  termed  bitter  cassava 
root  and  sweet  cassava  root.  a.  Bitter  Cassava  Boot  is  large  and 
tubercular,  and  abounds  in  a  poisonous  milky  juice.  It  is  difficult 
to  distinguish  it  by  its  appearance  from  the  sweet  cassava  root, 
but  it  is  devoid  of  the  tough,  fibrous,  or  woody  portions  found 
in  the  centre  of  that  root,  and  it  does  not  become  soft  like  it  by 
boiling  or  roasting.     The  meal  known  as  cassava  meal  is  obtained 


235    MANIHOT   UTILISSIMA 

by  sabjecting  tlie  grated  root  to  pressare  to  express  the  jaioe^  and 
then  drying  and  pounding  the  residual  cake.  Of  this  meal  cassava 
bread  is  made.  This  is  found  in  thin  cakes^  which  are  prepared 
by  gently  heating  the  moistened  meal,  and  then  drying  it  in  the 
sun.  The  expressed  juice  of  the  root  by  standing  deposits  the 
starch  called  cassava  starch,  of  which  the  official  tapioca  is  made. 
This  juice,  freed  from  starch,  and  boiled,  is  commonly  regarded 
as  a  powerful  antiseptic,  but  Attfield  has  conclusively  shown  that 
its  powers  in  that  respect  are  very  slight.  The  sauce  called  cassa- 
reep  is  made  from  the  juice  concentrated  by  heat,  which  dissi- 
pates its  poisonoufi  properties,  and  afterwards  flavoured  by  aroma* 
tics.  Cassareep,  when  mixed  with  peppers  and  meat,  forms  the 
West  Indian  '^pepper-pot.''  b.  Sweet  Oasscwa  Boot  resembles 
the  bitter,  as  already  noticed,  in  external  appearance,  but,  unlike 
the  latter,  it  is  not  poisonous,  and  may  be  eaten  with  impunity. 
It  is  a  common  article  of  food  in  the  West  Indies  and  some  parts 
of  South  America,  when  boiled  or  roasted.  It  is  as  mealy  as 
a  potato  when  boiled.  The  expressed  juice  of  the  root,  when 
fermented,  constitutes  the  intoxicating  liquor  drunk  by  the 
Indians,  and  called  Piwarry.  Cassava  meal  and  breads  cassava 
starch,  and  tapioca,  are  prepared  from  the  sweet,  as  well  as  the 
bitter  cassava  root. 

Composition. — The  principal  constituent  of  both  the  bitter  and 
sweet  cassava  roots  is  starch.  Bitter  cassava  root  also  yields 
hydrocyanic  add  to  which  its  poisonous  properties  are  due. 

2.  Cassava  Staboh  oe  Tapioca  Meal. — This  starch  is  found  in 
two  states,  which  are  known  under  the  names  of  cassava  sta/rch 
and  tapioca.  A.  Oasscuva  starch;  tapioca  meal;  or  Brazilian, 
arrow-root.  This  is  the  meal  deposited  from  the  expressed  juice 
of  the  cassava  roots  after  being  washed  and  dried  in  the  air 
without  heat.  It  is  usually  imported  from  Rio  Janeiro.  It  is 
white  and  pulverulent,  and  resembles  in  external  appearance 
Maranta  starch.  When  examined  by  the  microscope  it  is, 
however,  readily  distinguished,  for. it  is  then  seen  to  consist  of 
small  single  granules,  which  are  generally  muUar-shaped,  and 
when  seen  endwise  they  appear  circular  or  globular.     Some  are 


236    MANIHOT  UTILISSIMA 

also  trancated  ovate  grannies.  The  hilam  is  circular^  cracked 
in  a  stellate  manner^  and  snrronnded  with  rings.  These  micro- 
scopic and  other  characters  apply  eqaallj  to  both  bitter  cassava 
sfa/rch  and  8weet  cassava  starch,  b.  Tapioca, — This,  which 
is  official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States^  is  im- 
ported from  Bio  Janeiro  and  Bahia.  The  tapioca  imported 
from  Bio  is  always  mnch  whiter,  and  has  a  more  pearl-like 
appearance  than  that  from  Bahia,  which  is  coarse  and  has  a 
yellowish  tint.  Tapioca  is  nothing  more  than  cassava  starch 
which  while  moist  or  damp,  has  been  heated  on  hot  plates.  By 
this  treatment  the  starch  granules  swell,  many  of  them  burst, 
and  the  whole  agglomerate  in  small  irregular  masses  or  lumps. 
In  consequence  of  the  change  thus  effected  in  the  starch 
granules,  tapioca  is  partially  soluble  in  cold  water,  and  the 
filtered  cold  solution  strikes  a  blue  colour  with  tincture  of  iodine. 
In  boiling  water  it  swells  up,  and  forms  a  transparent,  viscous, 
jelly-like  mass. 

Properties  and  Uses. — The  effects  and  uses  of  tapioca  are  like 
those  of  other  starches.  It  is  entirely  devoid  of  irritating  and 
stimulating  properties.  Made  into  puddings,  it  is  extensively 
employed  as  a  dietetical  substance.  Boiled  in  water  or  milk, 
and  flavoured  with  sugar,  spices,  or  wine,  according  to  circum- 
stances, it  is  used  as  an  agreeable,  nutritious,  and  easily 
digestible  article  of  food  for  the  sick  and  convalescent.  It  is 
also  much  used  for  infants  at  the  time  of  weaning. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  429;  Ghristison,  Disp.,  p.  909; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  858;  Shier,  Report  on  the  Starch- 
prodncing  Plants  of  British  Guiana,  Demerara,  1847 ;  Hamil- 
ton, in  Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  v,  ser.  1,  p.  27  ;HeDry  and  Boutron- 
Obalard,  Jonm.  de  Fharm.,  toL  zxii,  p.  118 ;  Pharm.  Joniii., 
vol.  vii,  ser.  1,  p.  197,  and  yoL  ii,  p.  248;  Pharm.  Jonm., 
vol.  yi,  ser.  2,  p.  302,  and  vol.  ii,  p.  13 ;  Attfield,  in  Fharm. 
Jonm.,  vol.  i,  ser.  3,  p.  274 ;  Pharm.  Journ.,  vol.  iii,  ser.  3,  p.  669. 


235    MANIHOT   UTILISSIMA 


DSSCBIPTION   OF   PLATS. 

Drawn  from  specimens  in  the  British  Maseum,  ooUected  by  Welwitsch  in 
Angola,  Africa  (no.  301). 

1.  Upper  part  of  a  branch  with  flowers. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  a  male  flower. 

3.  Disc  of  the  same. 

4.  Yertical  section  of  female  flower. 

5.  Ovary. 

6.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 
8,9.  Seeds. 

(2-^  enlarged.) 


236 


N.  Ord.  EUPHOKBIAGB^. 

Tribe  Aealyphea, 

Genus  MaUotus  •  Loureiro.  Miill.  Arg.  in  DC,  1.  c,  pp. 
956—983 ;  Baill.,  Hist.  PI.,  r,  p.  196.  Species  72,  natives  of 
the  hot  parts  of  the  Old  World. 


236t  MallotllS  philippinensiSi  MiilL  Arg.    in   Idnnma,    xxxi7, 

p.  196  (1865). 

Kamelaj  Kcumalj  ^c.  (N.  India),  Punndga  Kesara  (Sanskrit). 

Byn, — Croton  philippense.  Lam.  (1786).    C.  pnnctatns,  Beit.    Q.  coc- 
cineus,  Willd.     Bottleraf  tinctoria,  Boxb.  (1798).     B.  aarantiaca, 

H.  .&  A.    Echinus  philippinensis,  BaiU. 
Figures, — Bheede,  Hort.  Malab.,  pt.  5,  t.  21  (and  t.  24,  which  represents 
a  state  with  fasciated  branches);  Boxb.  Gorom.  PL,  iii,  1. 168;  Bed- 
dome,  Fl.  Sylv.,  t.  289. 

Description. — -A  tree  of  20 — 30  feet,  with  a  tnmk  8—4  feet 
round  ;  branches  slender,  with  a  pale  bark,  the  younger  ones 
covered  with  a  more  or  less  dense  ferrugineous  tomentum. 
Leaves  articulated,  alternate,  petioles  1 — 2  inches  long,  rusty- 
tomentose,  swollen  at  the  end,  blade  3 — 6  or  more  inches  long, 
ovate  or  rhombic-ovate,  with  two  obscure  glands  at  the  base, 
entire,  coriaceous,  upper  surface  glabrous,  8-nerved  at  base,  veins 
very  prominent  on  under  surface,  which  is  densely  covered  with  a 
tomentum  of  minute,  rusty,  stellate  hairs.  Flowers  dicecious; 
female  flowers  in  lax  spike-like  terminal  and  axillary  racemes  ;  male 
flowers  3  together  in  the  axils  of  small  bracts,  arranged  in  longer 
often  much  branched  axillary  panicles ;  both  more  or  less  set  with 
ferrugineous  tomentum.  Male  flowers : — ^perianth  of  3  or  4  thin 
lanceolate  reflexed  leaves;  stamens  about  20  or  more  on  long 
filaments,  the  connective,  tipped  by  a  small  red  gland.  Female 
flowers : — ^perianth  of  2  (3,  or  more)  broadly  ovate  leaves  slightly 


•  From  fiaXK^Toc,  woolly. 

t  Named  after  the  Bev.  Dr.  Bottler^  a  Danish  missionary  at  Tranqucbar, 
iu  India,  who  died  in  1836. 


236    MALLOTUS  PHTLTPPINENSIS 

connected  below  ;  ovary  included  in  the  perianth^  densely  clothed 
with  a  thick  covering  of  stellate  hairs  and  minute  red  granular 
bodies ;  styles  3,  broad^  spreading^  covered  on  their  inner  surface 
with  long  papillary  processes.  Capsule  trigonous-globular,  about 
|ths  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  pericarp  tough,  greenish,  more  or 
less  covered  with  a  bright  crimson  layer  of  minute,  readily 
detached  granules,  dehiscing  septifragally  by  3  valves.  Seeds  one 
in  each  cell,  short,  round  on  back,  flat  in  front,  attached  to 
summit  of  axis,  dark  purple-brown,  smooth,  without  a  caruncle. 

Habitat. — This  tree  is  widely  distributed  through  the  East,  from 
Abyssinia  (Hanbury)  to  the  Indian  peninsula,  where  it  is  common 
in  the  sub-Himalayan  tract,  ascending  to  4500  feet,  Ceylon, 
Malaya,  the  Philippines,  Hongkong,  and  Australia,  flowering 
NovembBr  to  January.  It  is  cultivated  in  a  few  botanic  gardens 
in  this  country,  but  has  not  yet  flowered  with  us. 

Boxb.,  Fl.  Ind.,  iii,  p.  827 ;  Benth.,  FL  Hongkong.,  p.  307 ;  Benth., 
Fl.  Austral.,  vi,  p.  141 ;  Miill.  Arg.  in  DO.  Prod.,  1.  c,  p.  980 ; 
Brandis,  Forest  Fl.  Ind.,  p.  444. 

Official  Part  atid  Names. — ICamala.  A  powder  which  consists  of 
the  minute  glands  that  cover  the  capsules  of  Bottlera  tinctoria, 
Boxb.  (B.  P.) — ^A  powder  which  consists  of  minute  glands 
(Kamiala)  that  cover  the  capsules  (I.  P.) — Eottlbra,  Kameela. 
The  glandular  powder  and  hairs  obtained  from  the  capsules  of 
Kottlera  tinctoria,  Roxburgh  (U.  S.  P.  Secondary). 

Production  and  Collection. — Kamala  is  produced  in  several  parts 
of  India,  from  which  it  is  imported  into  this  country  and  else- 
where. The  following  particulars  of  its  collection  in  the  north- 
west provinces  of  the  Madras  Presidency  are  derived  from 
Pha/muicographia  : — "  Enormous  quantities  of  Rottlera  tinctoria 
are  found  growing  at  the  feet  of  these  hills,  and  every 
season  numbers  of  people,  chiefly  women  and  children,  are 
engaged  in  collecting  the  powder  for  exportation  to  the  plains. 
They  gather  the  berries  in  large  quantities,  and  throw  them  into 
a  great  basket,  in  which  they  roll  them  about,  rubbing  them  with 
their  hands   so   as  to    divest  them   of    the  powder,  which    falls 


236    MALLOTUS  PHILIPPINBNSIS 

through  the  basket  as  through  a  sieve^  and  is  received  below  on 
a  cloth  spread  for  the  purpose.  This  powder  forms  the  Kamala 
of  commerce^  and  is  in  great  repate  as  an  anthelminitic^  but  is 
most  extensirely  used  as  a  dye.  The  adulterations  are  chiefly  the 
powdered  leaves^  and  the  fruit-stalks  with  a  little  earthy  matter^ 
but  the  percentage  is  not  large.  The  operations  of  picking  the 
fruit  and  rubbing  off  the  powder  commence  here  in  the  beginning 
of  March  and  last  about  a  month.''  Kamala  is  also  collected  in 
Eastern  Africa  and  Southern  Arabia. 

Oeneral  Oha/racters  cmd  Composition,  —  Kamala  is  a  fine^ 
granular^  mobile  powder,  of  a  brick-red  or  madder  colour,  with 
but  little  smell  or  taste.  It  is  insoluble  in  cold  water,  and  nearly 
so  in  boiling  water,  but  ether,  alcohol,  chloroform,  and  benzol 
dissolve  its  resinous  portion,  and  form  deep  red  solutions.  It 
resembles  lycopodium  by  floating  on  water,  and  by  igniting  when 
sprinkled  over  a  flame.  When  examined  by  a  microscope  it  is 
seen  to  consist  of  minute  irregular  spherical,  semi-transparent, 
garnet-red  glands  with  a  wavy  surface,  more  or  less  mixed  with 
stellate  hairs  and  sand.  The  glands  or  pure  kamala  may  be 
removed  by  sifting. 

Much  doubt  exists  as  to  the  chemical  constitution  of  kamala. 
Some  years  since  Dr.  Thomas  Anderson,  of  Glasgow,  obtained  a 
principle,  which  he  called  Bottlerin,  in  the  form  of  minute,  yellow, 
platy  crystals  with  a  satiny  lustre.  These  crystals  were  readily 
soluble  in  water,  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  alcohol,  but  more  so  in  hot 
alcohol,  and  insoluble  in  water.  Leube,  who  afterwards  examined 
kamala,  was  unable  to  obtain  this  principle,  but  he  found  two 
resins  which  together  formed  80  per  cent,  of  the  drug,  and  these 
he  regarded  as  the  active  constituents.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
minute  crystals  may  be  obtained  in  some  cases  from  an  ethereal 
solution  of  kamala  by  spontaneous  evaporation,  but  the  exact 
nature  of  these  crystals  is  unknown. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Kamala  acts  speedily  and  actively 
as  a  purgative,  but  it  not  unfrequently  causes  much  nausea  and 
griping.  In  India  it  has  long  been  employed  as  an  anthelmintic^ 
being  especially  adapted  for  the  expulsion  of  tape- worm.     Dr.  Mac- 


236    MALLOTUS  PHILIPPINENSIS 

kinnon^  after  an  extended  trial,  says  that  kamala  is  a  safe  and 
efficient  remedy  for  tape-worm,  and  more  certain  than  either 
tnrpentine  or  kousso.  Dr.  Anderson,  an  army  surgeon  in  India, 
also  speaks  highly  of  its  value.  He  writes,  "  The  worm  is  gene- 
rally passed  entire,  and  almost  always  dead,  and  in  all  the  cases 
I  have  examined  (fifteen)  I  was  able  to  detect  the  head.'^  It  is, 
however,  but  little  esteemed  in  this  country  as  an  anthelmintic, 
fern  rhizome  being  generally  regarded  as  more  efficacious.  G^rrod 
says,  however,  that  he  has  used  it  with  success  in  some  cases. 
Eamala  has  also  been  used  externally  in  this  country  in  herpetic 
ring- worm.  In  India  kamala  is  also  frequently  employed  as  an  ex- 
ternal application  in  scabies  and  various  other  affections  of  the  skin. 
It  is  also  used  in  India  for  dyeing  silk  a  rich  orange-brown.  The 
dye  is  also  known  at  Aden  under  the  name  of  Wa/rcbs  or  Wurrus. 

Pharmacograpliia,  p.  615 ;  Ph.  Jl.,  vol.  xii  (1853),  386,  589,  and 
vol.  xvii  (1858),  408 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  and  R.,  p.  586 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  and  B.,  p.  744 ;  Gar.  Mat.  Med.  p.  312. 


DESCKIPTION   OP    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  Indian  Bpecimens  in  the  herbarium  of  the  Bnt.  Museum,  the 
male  plant  collected  by  Wallich ;  the  female  collected  by  Dr.  Thomson.  1.  A 
male  panicle.  2.  A  male  flower.  3.  Extremity  of  branch  of  a  female  plant. 
4.  A  female  flower.  5.  Yertical  section  of  the  same.  6.  Transyerse  section 
of  the  ovary.  7  and  8.  Fruit.  9.  Front  and  10.  Back  view  of  a  seed. 
11.  Some  of  the  small  glands  removed  from  the  capsule.  (2,  4 — 6,  and  8 
enlarged.    11  gi*eatly  magnified.) 


237 

N.  Ord.  ElTPHOBBIAGEJE. 

•  'Irihe  Aealyphea. 

Qeaas  BioinuB,*  Linn.  Miill.  Arg.  in  DO.  Prod.,  zy,  pt.  2, 
pp.  1016-21 ;  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  y,  p.  109.  Species  a  single 
Teiy  yariable  one. 


237.  BicinuB  communis,  Linn,,  8p.  Plant  ed.  l,p.  1007  (1753). 

Pahma^ChrisiL     Castor  Oil. 

8yn. — B.  enropsras,  Nees,  B.  IfiBvis,  DC.  B.  yiridis,  WtUd.  B. 
liyidus,  Jacq.    B.  afrioanns,  MiU.  &c.  &c. 

J%ttr««.— Woodville,  t.  221 ;  Nees,  1. 140 ;  Hayne,  x,  t.  48 ;  Stepli.  &  Oh., 
t.  50;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  1  c;  Mora  Grseca,  t.  952;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl. 
Germ. ;  Baill.,  1.  c,  f .  153-162. 

Description. — ^Very  yariable  in  habit  and  appearance ;  in  tropical 
countries  a  tree  reaching  40  feet  high,  in  warm,  temperate  regions 
a  slender,  y^oody,  branching  bnsh  of  12 — 14  feet,  in  this  country 
a  very  large  branched,  annual  herb  4  or  5  feet  high ;  herbaceous 
stems  hollow,  smooth,  cylindrical,  glaucous,  with  a  purplish  bloom 
in  the  upper  part.  Leayes  alternate,  on  long,  curyed,  cylindrical, 
purplish  petioles,  sub-peltate,  drooping,  stipules  large,  ovate, 
yellowish,  united  into  a  cap  enclosing  the  buds,  deciduous, 
blade  6 — 8  inches  across,  palmately  cut  for  three  quarters  of  its 
depth  into  7 — 11  lanceolate,  acute,  coarsely  serrate  segments, 
smooth,  blue-green,  paler  beneath,  red  and  shining  when  young. 
Flowers  monoecious,  large,  arranged  on  the  thick  rachis  of  an 
oblong,  spicate  panicle,  which  is  at  first  terminal  but  becomes 
lateral  by  the  growth  of  an  axillary  bud  beneath  it ;  male  flowers 
shortly  stalked,  on  branched  peduncles  at  the  base  of  the  panicle, 
pedicels  articulated  about  the  middle ;  female  flowers  sessile,  at 
the  upper  part ;  bracts  broadly  triangular.  Male  flowers  :  Calyx 
deeply  cut  into  3 — 5  smooth,  broadly  oyate,  pointed  segments,  val- 
yate  in  eestiyation ;  petals  none ;  stamens  very  numerous,  irre- 
gularly combined  into  many  much  branched,  compound  stamens, 

*  Bicinus,  a  dog-tick,  from  the  form  of  the  seed ;  the  plant  was  called  kUi 
and  KfMTw  by  the  Greeks,  the  latter  word  having  the  same  meaning. 


237    BldSVS  COMKUSIS 

inserted  on  the  raised  centre  ci  the  receptacle,  anthen  anmD,  2- 
ceDedy  dehiscing  kmgitndinaDy.  Female  flowers:  Galjx  as  in 
the  male,  bat  more  deeply  cat,  with  the  segments  narrower,  more 
acate  and  erect;  petals  none;  OTary  shorter  than  the  calyx, 
superior,  globolar-trigonons,  with  the  blant  an^es  bearing  sereral 
lines  of  large,  soft,  erect,  finger-shaped  prominences,  tipped  with 
a  transparent  spiny  bristle,  3-celled,  with  a  single  OTole  attached 
to  the  top  of  the  axis  in  each  cell,  style  Tery  deeply  divided  into 
three  long,  flattened  branches,  each  split  into  two,  the  inner  sur- 
face covered  with  papilbe,  bright  carmine-red.  Froit  a  blant, 
greenish,  deeply-grooved,  tricoccoas  capsule,  less  than  an  inch 
long,  with  the  prominences  of  the  ovary  become  sharp,  weak, 
spreading  spines,  3-celled,  dehiscing  locnlicidally  and  septicidaDy 
into  6  valves.  Seeds  ovoid,  flattened,  nearly  |  inch  long  by  i 
broad,  smooth,  shining,  pinkish-grey,  prettily  mottled  with  dark 
brown,  caruncle  large,  snbglobular,  raphe  faintly  raised,  running 
down  centre  of  ventral  surface,  embryo  large  in  axis  of  the  endo- 
sperm, cotyledons  f oliaceons,  broadly  ovate,  with  a  cordate  base, 
veined. 

HabitcU. — ^It  is  believed  that  this  well-known  plant  is  a  native 
of  India,  and  that  it  has  spread  thence  over  all  the  warmer 
countries  of  the  world.  In  the  Mediterranean  region,  especially 
in  Spain  and  Sicily,  where  it  occurs  as  a  bush  or  small  tree,  it 
has  quite  the  look  of  a  native  plant.  It  is  cultivated  for  medi- 
cinal purposes  in  India,  Italy,  and  other  countries  ;  in  England  it 
is  only  grown  as  a  garden  ornament  and  is  an  annual.  The 
known  varieties  are  very  numerous,  and  have  mostly  been 
described  as  species.  Mailer  groups  them  in  one  species  under  16, 
distinguished  by  the  varying  size  and  form  of  the  capsules  and 
seeds ;  the  colour  of  the  latter  varies  also  considerably,  and  the 
spines  on  the  capsule  are  sometimes  quite  absent. 

The  name  "  Castor ''  was  originally  applied  to  this  plant  in 
Jamaica,  where  it  seems  tp  have  been  called  ''  Agnus  Castus,*' 
though  it  bears  no  resemblance  to  the  South  European  plant 
properly  so  named  {Vitex  AgntLs-Castus,  L.). 

Mull.  Arg.  in  DC,  1.  c,  p.  1017;  LindL,  PI.  Med.,  p.  183;  Pappe, 


237    momUS  OOMMUKIS 

il.  Cap.  Med.  Prodr.,  p.  37 ;  Oris,  in  Ann.  des  Sc  NatnrelleB, 
Ber.  4,  XV,  p.  5. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — Olbum  Bicini  ;  tbe  oil  expressed 
from  tlie  seeds  (B.  P.).  The  seeds  (Bidm  Sermna)  (L  P.). 
Olsum  Bicini  ;  the  fixed  oil  obtained  from  the  seed  (U.  S.  P.). 

1 .  Thb  Seeds. — The  seeds  are  oval^  somewhat  compressed,  convex 
on  one  side,  and  with  two  flattish  surfaces  on  the  other ;  varying  in 
length  from  about  9  to  over  \  an  inch,  and  in  breadth  from  7  to  ^ 
of  an  inch,  and  about  I  of  an  inch  thick ;  ordinarily  they  may  be 
described  as  being  about  the  size  of  a  coffee  grain,  or  small  bean. 
In  India  two  varieties  of  the  seed  are  distinguished,  the  laige  and 
the  small ;  the  latter  being  usually  considered  to  yield  the  better 
product.  A  fleshy,  tumid  process,  termed'a  caruncule  or  strophiole, 
is  situated  at  one  end  of  the  seed,  or  if  this  is  broken  off,  a 
blackish  scar  remains.  Externally,  the  seeds  are  very  smooth 
and  shining,  and  of  a  greyish  colour,  marbled  with  brownish  or 
blackish  bands  and  spots,  of  various  tints  and  shapes,  so  as  to 
give  the  seeds  a  great  variety  of  appearances.  In  one  hundred 
parts  of  castor  oil  seeds  Greiger  found,  exclusive  of  moisture, 
23*82  parts  of  seed-coats,  and  69*09  of  nucleus  or  kernel,  which 
is  of  a  whitish  colour.  The  seed-coats  are  without  taste  or  odour; 
but  if  not  rancid,  the  nucleus  has  a  bland  sweetish  taste,  succeeded 
by  a  very  slight  degree  of  acridity. 

The  principal  constituent  of  the  nucleus  is  the  fixed  oil,  com- 
monly called  Castor  Oil,  which  is  described  below.  The  seeds 
are  only  official  in  the  Pharmacopceia  of  India  as  the  source  of  the 
oil;  of  which  the  nucleus  yields  from  about  40  to  50  per  cent. 
The  other  constituents  of  the  seeds  are,  about  20  per  cent,  of 
albuminoid  matters,  2*2  of  sugar  and  mucilage,  and  about  18  per 
cent,  of  cellulose.  Professor  Tuson  has  also  indicated  the  pre- 
sence of  a  crystalline  alkaloid,  which  he  has  named  Bidninej  but 
his  results  have  been  called  in  question  by  Werner,  and  recently 
by  E.  S.  Wayne,  of  Cincinnati;  he  still,  however,  maintains  the 
correctness  of  his  conclusions.  The  seeds  are  also  supposed  to 
contain  a  very  small  portion  of  some  acrid  purgative  principle; 
but  this  matter  has  not  been  isolated.  But  a  small  proportion  of 
this  purgative  principle  is  contained  in  the  castor  oil  as  ordinarily 


237    RIOINUS  COMMUNIS 

obtained  by  expression,  for  the  oil  obtained  by  absolate  alcohol 
from  castor  oil  seeds,  as  well  as  the  seeds  themselves,  or  an 
emulsion  prepared  with  them,  have  a  far  more  powerful  purgative 
action  than  the  expressed  oil. 

2-  Oleum  Eicini.  Castor  (HI. — Production,  Varieties,  and  Com- 
merce. Castor  oil  may  be  obtained  from  the  seeds  in  three  ways  : — 
1.  by  decoction;  2.  by  expression;  and  3.  by  some  solvent,  as 
alcohol.  All  the  oil,  however,  now  consumed  in  England,  India, 
and  the  United  States ;  and  with  few  exceptions,  in  other  parts 
of  the  world,  is  obtained  by  expression.  All  processes  in  which 
a  high  temperature  is  employed  are  considered  objectionable  from 
increasing  the  acridity  of  the  oil.  In  India,  in  order  to  extract 
the  oil,  the  seeds  are  first  gently  crushed  between  rollers, 
and  after  the  seed  coats  or  husks,  and  unsound  seeds,  have  been 
removed  by  hand-picking,  the  cleaned  kernels  are  submitted  to 
pressure  in  an  hydraulic  press ;  and  the  oil  thus  obtained  is  first 
heated  with  water  until  the  water  boils,  by  which  the  albuminous 
matters  are  separated  as  a  scum ;  and  the  oil  is  then  finally 
strained  through  flannel.  In  the  north  of  Italy,  more  especially 
about  Verona,  the  fresh  seeds  are  alone  used,  and  after  the  seeds 
have  been  broken  and  their  integuments  very  carefully  removed 
with  a  winnowing  machine  and  by  the  hand,  the  blanched  seeds 
are  put  into  small  hempen  bags,  which  are  arranged  in  super- 
posed layers  in  a  powerful  hydraulic  press  with  a  sheet  of  iron 
heated  to  90°  between  each  layer,  so  as  to  enable  the  oil  to  flow 
readily ;  they  are  lastly  submitted  to  pressure  in  a  room,  which  in 
the  winter  is  heated  to  a  temperature  of  about  70°.  The  oil 
which  first  flows  is  of  the  finest  quality ;  but  an  inferior  oil  is 
subsequently  obtained  by  pressing  the  marc  at  a  somewhat  higher 
temperature. 

By  somewhat  modified  processes  good  castor  oil  is  also  obtained 
in  this  country  and  in  the  United  States ;  but  in  the  West  Indies 
it  is  prepared  by  boiling  the  crushed  seeds  after  depriving  them 
of  their  integuments,  in  water,  and  afterwards  separating  the  oil 
by  skimming  or  straining.  The  oil  thus  extracted  is  very  inferior 
to  that  obtained  by  expression,  as  before  described. 


237    MOINUS  COMMUNIS 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — Grood  commercial  castor 
oil  has  a  viscid  consistence,  and  a  specific  gravity  of  about  0*96. 
It  is  coloarless,  or  pale  straw-yellow ;  with  scarcely  any  odour, 
and  a  mild,  somewhat  unpleasant  taste,  which  is  succeeded  by  a 
very  slight  acridity.  Inferior  oils  have  a  brownish  colour,  a 
nauseous  odour,  and  a  disagreeable  acrid  taste.  Castor  oil  is 
especially  distinguished  by  its  ready  solubility  in  absolute  alcohol 
and  in  glacial  acetic  acid ;  it  is  also  soluble  in  about  two  volumes  of 
rectified  spirit.  It  does  not  generally  solidify  until  about  0^ ; 
and  when  exposed  to  the  air  in  thin  layers,  it  slowly  dries  up  to  a 
varnish,  and  hence  it  belongs  to  the  class  of  drying  oils. 

When  saponified,  castor  oil  yields  several  fatty  acids,  one  of 
which  is  supposed  to  be  palmitic  acid,  and  another,  which  is 
peculiar  to  castor  oil,  is  termed  Ridnoleic  a-dd. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Castor  oil  is  a  mild  and  most  effi- 
cient purgative,  and  is  well  adapted  for  infants  and  young  children, 
the  puerperal  state,  and  in  irritable  conditions  of  the  alimentary 
canal  or  of  the  genito-urinary  organs.  It  is  one  of  the  safest 
and  most  reliable  purgatives  we  possess  for  the  relief  of  obstinate 
constipation.  It  has  also  been  strongly  recommended  by  Dr. 
Johnson  as  an  eliminant  in  malignant  cholera,  and  has  the  high 
authority  of  Sir  Thomas  Watson  and  numerous  other  practitioners 
in  its  favour. 

In  India,  Algeria,  &c.,  castor  oil  has  been  used  for  burning  in 
lamps,  and  the  inferior  qualities  are  also  employed  in  India  for 
soap-making. 

•Formerly  the  seeds  were  employed  as  a  purgative,  but  on 
account  of  their  violent  action,  they  are  not  now  administered. 

The  leaves  have  been  also  recommended  in  the  form  of  a  de- 
coction or  poultice,  as  an  application  to  the  breasts  of  women 
to  increase  the  secretion  of  milk.  The  decoction  has  also  been 
reputed  to  act  as  a  lactagogue  and  emmenagogue  when  administered 
internally. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  531 ;  Pharmacog^aphia,  p.  512 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  k  B.,  p.  609 ;  Gmelin's  Chemistry,  vol.  xvii 
(1866),  p.  131 ;  Gi-oves,  in  Phai*m.  Joum.,  vol.  viii,  2iid  ser., 
p.  250;  Amei*.  Joui-n.  Phorm.,  vol.  zxvi,  p.  207,  and  yol.  xxvii. 


237    RIOINUS  COMMUNIS 

p.  99 ;  Chemical  News,  vol.  xxii  (1870),  p.  229 ;  PbarmacopcBia 
of  India,  pp.  201  and  462. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Di*awn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Gai'den  of  the  Apothecaries*  Company, 
Ch<48ea,  flowering  in  September. 

1.  A  flowering  top. 

2.  Section  of  male  flower. 

3.  A  group  of  united  stamens. 

4.  A  female  flower. 

5.  Yertical,  and — 6.  Transyerse  section  of  ovary. 

7.  Pniit. 

8.  Seed. 

9.  Vertical,  and — 10.  Transyerse  section  of  the  same. 

(2-6  enlarged.) 


D  B1uT  li  ace  U  ^lilh 


238 

N.  Ord.  EiTPHORBiACEJi:. 

Tribe  CroUmea. 

Qeaaa  Croton,*  Idnn.  (emend).  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  v,  p.  129; 
Miill.  Arg.  in  DC.  Prod.,  xv,  sect.  2,  pp.  612—700.  Species 
about  450,  mostly  tropical. 


238.   Croton  Eluteriait  /.  /.  BennMt,  in  Joum.  Linn.  Soc,  iv 

(1859),  p.  29  (non  SwoHz). 

Sweetwood  Bark.     Sweet  Bark.     Bahama  Casca/rilla. 

£fyn.— Elntheria,  IAmi.,  Hort,  Cliff.    Clatia  Eluteria,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant. 

.FV^ncrM.— Woodyille,  t.  223,  fig.  2 ;  cop.  in  Steph.  &  Cb.,  1. 1^0  (drawn 
from  Dean's  specimens  in  Brit.  Museum) ;  Daniell,  in  Pharm.  Jonrn., 
1862, 1st.  plate. 

Description. — ^A  compaot  shrab  or  small  tree,  attaining  at  the 
most  20  feet,  and  usually  mnch  smaller,  witH  slender  wand-like 
branches,  which   frequently   divide   dichotomously    at    an  acute 
angle.     Bark   fissured,  pale  yellow-brown,  scented;    the  young 
twigs  covered  with  minute  peltate  scales.     Leaves  few^  alternate, 
without  stipules^  on  longish  petioles;  blade  1^ — 2^  inches  long, 
ovate-lanceolate>    rounded   or    sub-cordate    at    the    base,    much 
attenuated  into  the  blunt  apex ;   margin  somewhat  undulated  or 
irregularly  dentate ;  the  under  surface,  as  also  the  petioles,  entirely 
covered,  so  that  the  venation  is  concealed,  by  a   close  coating 
of  minute,  peltate,  radiated  scales,  white  with  a  bronze  centre, 
giving  the  surface  a  metaUic  bronzed-silver  appearance ;  on  the 
upper  surface  the  scales  are  entirely  white,  more  scattered,  not 
forming  an  unbroken  layer.     Flowers  monoecious,  in  erect  axillary 
racemes;     the  pedicels  and  calicos  rusty-looking,  with  bronzed 
stellate   scales,    bracts   shorter   than   the   pedicels,   buds   nearly 
globular;   petals  white*     Male  flowers  numerous  in  each  raceme  : 
calyx  deeply  5-partite,  the   divisions  broad  and  rounded;  petals 

*  From  KpoT^v,  a  tick. 

t  The  name  EhUeria  is  derived  from  Eleutbera,  one  of  the  Bahama  Is. 
adjacent  to  Providence  Island. 


238    CROTON  ELUTERIA 

5,  fringed  ;  stamens  about  15,  inserted  on  the  receptacle. 
Female  flowers  few  at  the  base  of  the  racemes  :  calyx  deeply 
o-partite,  the  divisions  lanceolate,  acute ;  petals  5,  fringed,  shorter 
than  the  calyx ;  ovary  rounded,  covered  externally  with  scales, 
3-celled,  with  one  suspended  ovule  in  each  cell;  styles  3,  thick, 
cylindrical,  each  three  times  dichotomous.  Capsule  ovoid,  §ths  of 
an  inch  long,  silvery-grey  with  stellate  scales,  3-celled ;  pericarp 
thin,  dehiscing  septicidally  into  3  valves,  which  afterwards  separate 
from  the  axis  and  split  loculicidally.  Seeds  solitary  in  each  cell, 
smooth,  shining,  orange-brown,  with  the  caruncle  paler ;  rounded 
on  the  back,  flat  on  the  sides,  and  strongly  ridged  by  the  ventral 
raphe ;  embryo  straight  in  axis  of  endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  Sweet  Bark  grows  in  all  the  islands  of  the 
Bahamas  group,  chiefly  on  low  hills,  and  in  Cuba.  The  British 
Museum  contains  also  a  specimen  collected  by  Michaux  in  '^  the 
southern  parts  of  N.  America  /'  but  the  species  is  not  included  in 
Chapman's  Flora  of  these  States.  The  shrub  is  said  to  have  been 
introduced  into  England  by  P.  Miller  in  the  last  century,  but  it  is 
not  now,  we  believe,  in  cultivation.  The  flowers  are  described 
as  deliciously  sweet-scented,  and  appear  in  March  and  April. 

Daniell  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  ser.  2,  iv  (1862),  p.  145 ;  Miill.,  Arg., 
1.  c,  p.  516;  Griaebach,  11.  W.  Ind.  (1864),  p.  89  • 

Offldal  Pa/rt  and  Names. — Cascabill^  Cortex.  The  bark 
(B.  P.) — The  bark  {Cascarilla  Cortex)  (I.  P.) — Cascaeilla.     The 

bark  (U.  S.  P.) 

Gommerce. — Cascarilla  bark  is  imported  from  Nassau,  the 
principal  town  in  New  Providence,  one  of  the  Bahama  Islands. 

Oeneral  Gha/ra^ters  and  Gomposition. — Cascarilla  bark  usually 
occurs  in  quills,  which  vary  in  length  from  one,  to  two,  three,  or 
more  inches,  and  in  diameter  from  the  size  of  a  common  goose- 


'*  Grisebach  here  recombines  this  ishmb  with  C,  Sloanei,  J.  J.  Beim.  (C 
Mvieria,  Swartss,  G,  glaheUus,  Wall.  Arg.),  a  native  of  Jamaica,  figured  very 
badly  in  Woodville,  t.  223,  fig.  1,  and  beautifully  in  Hayne,  ziv,  1. 1,  Daniell, 
2nd  plate,  and  B.  &  S.,  t.  28,  b.  But  the  species  seem  so  thoroughly  distinct, 
and  were  so  clearly  distinguished  by  Bennett,  that  this  retrograde  step  is 
little  likely  to  be  followed. 


238    CROTON  BLUTERIA 

quill  to  that  of  the  little  finger.  The  external  snberous  coat  is 
easily  separated  from  the  inner  coats^  and  is  more  or  less  covered 
with  a  silvery- white  minute  lichen  {VerrucaHa  alhissima,  Ach.), 
the  perithecium  of  which  is  seen  in  the  form  of  black 
specks.  The  colour  of  the  suberous  coat  when  not  coated  with 
lichens  is  dull  brown^  which  is  also  the  colour  of  the  bark  gene- 
rally. The  bark  is  moderately  hard^  has  a  compact  texture^  and 
breaks  readily  with  a  short  resinous  fracture.  The  taste  is  warm 
and  nauseously  bitter^  and  its  odour  agreeable  and  aromatic^  more 
especially  when  burned:  hence  by  this  character  cascarilla  is 
readily  distinguished  from  other  barks. 

The  principal  constituents  of  cascarilla  bark  are  a  volatile  oil, 
resin,  and  a  bitter  crystalline  principle^  first  isolated  by  Duval, 
and  named  by  him  CaseaHllin, 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Cascarilla  bark  is  aromatic, 
bitter^  and  tonic.  Formerly  it  was  much  used,  especially  in 
Germany,  as  a  substitute  for  cinchona;  but  although  it  is  very 
far  inferior  to  this  bark  as  a  tonic  and  febrifuge^  it  is  a  useful 
tonic  in  convalescence  after  fevers.  In  this  country  it  is  princi- 
pally employed  in  atonic  dyspepsia,  in  chronic  bronchial  affections 
to  check  excessive  secretion  of  mucus,  and  in  chronic  diarrhoea 
and  dysentery.  The  agreeable  musky  odour  which  it  produces 
when  burned  also  renders  it  a  useful  ingredient  in  fumigating 
pastilles,  for  which  purpose  it  is  frequently  used.  For  the 
same  reason  it  is  sometimes  mixed  in  small  quantities  with 
tobacco,  in  order  to  render  it  more  agreeable  for  smoking.  It 
is  said,  when  thus  used,  to  cause  giddiness  and  intoxication,  but 
this  is  scarcely  probable. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  part  1,  p.  412 ;  Fharmacographia,  p.  506 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  and  B.,  p.  234 ;  Joum.  de  Pharm.,  3rd  ser. 
Tiii,96. 

DESCBIPTION  OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  collected  in  Proyidence  Island,  Bahamas,  by  Dr. 
W.  F.  Daniell  in  1858  (Brit.  Maseom).  1.  Small  branch,  with  leaves  and 
several  racemes  of  fruit  and  flowers.  2.  Male  flower.  3.  The  same  in  vertical 
section.  4.  Female  flower.  5.  Vertical  section  of  the  same.  6  and  7.  Emit 
8.  Transverse  section  of  the  same.  9  and  10.  Seed,  inner  surface.  11.  Scale 
from  leaf.    (2—5,  7,  8,  and  10  enlai^ged.    11  greatly  magnified.) 


CBl>ur«aiutdddliUi 

CROTON    TlGLIUM.x'i^t^ 


239 

N.  Ord.  EuPHOBBIACSiE. 

Tribe  Orotoneit. 
Genua  Croton,  Linn, 


239.  Croton   {Eu-croton)    Tiglium,*   Linn.,  8p.   Plant.,   ed.   i, 

p.  1004  (1753). 

Jamalgota.     Jepdl.     Purging  Croton. 

8yn, — Tiglimn  officinale,  KlotMch.    Croton  J'amalgota,  F.  HamiUon. 

FigwreB. — ^Kees,  1. 138 ;  Woodville,  vol.  v ;  Hayne,  xiv,  t.  3 ;  Berg  &  Sch-, 
1. 17  e ;  [Steph.  k  Oh.,  t.  4,  '*  taken  from  a  drawing  in  the  Medico- 
Botanical  Society  in  London,"  can  scarcely  be  this  species] ;  Bnrm., 
Thes.  ZeyL,  t.  90;  Bheede,  Malab.,  pt.  ii,  t.  33;  Marchand  in 
Adansonia,  i,  t.  9, 10;  Baillon,  Hist.  PL,  y,  f.  196->202. 

Description. — A   small  tree,   15—20  feet  High;    tmnk   rather 
crooked,  with  smooth  bark ;    branches  slender,  smooth,  terete ; 
bark  pale  whitish-brown,  marked  with  scars  of  the  fallen  leaves. 
Leaves  alternate,  on  stalks  nearly  half  as  long  as    the   blade ; 
blade  about  4,  inches  long  hj  2  inches  wide  when  full  grown, 
thin,  glabrous,  ovate,  attenuate  at  the  apex,  faintly  and  rather 
distantly  serrate,  pale  bright   green,   veins  prominent    beneath, 
petiole  breaking  up  immediately  on  entering  the  leaf  into  5  veins, 
the  two  lateral  faint,  the  two  intermediate  well  marked,  giving 
with  the  mid-rib  a  triple-nerved  aspect  to  the  leaf ;  on  either  side 
of  base  of  the  blade  and  connected  with  the  petiole  is  a  prominent 
sessile   gland ;    stipules  minute,  filiform,  deciduous ;    the  young 
leaves  and  buds  with  scattered  stellate   hairs.      Flowers  in  lax, 
terminal,  erect  racemes,  unisexual ;  the  male  at  the  upper  part  of 
the  raceme,  the  female  less  numerous  at  the  lower  part ;  pedicels 
longer  than  the  flowers ;  bracts  minute.     Male  flower :    calyx  of 
5  spreading,  broadly  triangular,  blunt  sepals,  with  valvate  eestiva- 
tion;  petals  5,  inserted  on  the  flat  receptacle,  alternate  with  and 
reflexed  between  the  sepals,  oblong-linear,  blunt,  set  with  rather 


*  ^e  seeds  were  called  Grana  Tiglii  or  Orana  TilU  by  the  pharmacists  of 
the  17th  centnry ;  but  we  do  not  know  the  origin  of  these  names. 


239    OROTON  TIGLmM 

long  white  hairs  above,  glabrous  beneath,  pale  green ;  a  promi- 
nent roundish  yellow  gland  stands  within  each  sepal,  alter- 
nating with  the  petals ;    stamens  14 — 20,  as  long  as  the  petals, 

one  opposite  each  petal  and  sepal,  the  remainder  irregularly  dis- 
persed over  the  receptacle,  which  is  covered  with  short  white 
hairs,  anthers  small,  broad,  innate,  cells  semilunar.  Female 
flower;  calyx  deeply  5-partite,  divisions  ovate,  acute,  spreading 
or  reflexed,  set  with  few  or  more  numerous  stellate  hairs  and 
with  a  small  rounded  prominence  in  the  angle  between  each; 
glands  5,  blunt,  prominent,  opposite  the  sep.,  as  in  the  male 
flowers ;  petals  round ;  ovary  sessile,  thickly  covered  with 
stellate  hairs,  3-celled,  with  a  single  pendulous  ovule  in  each; 
styles  3,  deeply  bifid.  Fruit  about  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut,  slightly 
inflated,  pale,  smooth,  brownish-yellow,  capsular,  8-ceUed,  with 
a  single  large  seed  in  each  cell  ;  dehiscing  septicidally  into 
3  cocci,  and  afterwards  loculicidally.  Seeds  nearly  J  an  inch  long 
by  about  fths  wide,  ovoid,  rounded  on  the  back,  marked  on  the 
ventral  surface  by  a  fine  raised  raphe ;  testa  thin,  brittle,  light 
brown,  black  within ;  embryo  with  large  f oliaceous  cotyledons, 
lying  in  the  centre  of  the  oily  endosperm. 

Habitat, — The  croton  oil  plant  is  common  throughout  the" 
Indian  Peninsula,  both  wild  and  cultivated;  it  also  grows  in 
Ceylon,  Borneo,  and  the  Philippines,  and  as  an  introduced  tree 
in  Mauritius  and  Japan.  It  was  first  cultivated  in  this  country 
in  1798,  and  is  now  to  be  seen  in  many  botanic  gardens,  though 
it  rarely  flowers. 

Marchand  in  Adansonia,  i,  p.  232;  Miill.  Arg.,  1.  c,  p.  600; 
Roxb.,  Fl.  Ind.,  iii,  p.  682 ;  F.  Hamilton  in  Trans.  Linn.  Soc., 
vol.  xiv,  p.  258. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — Oleum  Ceotonis.  The  oil  expressed 
from  the  seeds  (B.  P.) — The  seeds  {Grotonis  semina)  (I.  P.) — 
Oleum  Tiglii.     The  fixed  oil  obtained  from  the  seed  (U.  S.  P.) 

General  Characters  and  Composition  of  Croton  Seeds. — The 
croton  seeds  of  commerce  are  about  the  size  of  coffee  beans,  oval 
in  shape  and  imperfectly  quadrangular  in  form.  The  testa  is  of  a 
dark  cinnamon-brown  colour  on  the  surface,  but  when  scraped  it 


239    OEOTON  TIOLIUM 

presents  a  black  appearance.  This  testa  is  brittle^  and  encloses  a 
pale-coloured^  delicate  seed-coat^  within  which  is  the  yellowish- 
oily  albumen  enclosing  the  embryo  which  has  been  already 
described.  The  seeds  haye  no  odonr^  and  at  first  they  have  bnt  a 
mildly  oleaginous  taste^  but  soon  become  persistently  acrid  and 
burning. 

The  principal  constituents  of  croton  seeds  are  a  fatty  fixed  oil 
(see  Oha/racters  of  Oroton  Oil),  tiglinic  add,  crotonic  or  quurtenylic 
acid,  and  erotonol.  The  latter  is  asserted  by  Schlippe^  who  has 
alone  isolated  it^  to  be  the  drastic  principle  of  croton  oil.  The 
purgative  principle  has  not  been  isolated.  Tuson  has  indicated 
the  presence  of  an  alkaloid  in  croton  seeds  analogous  to 
ea^carillin  from  cascarilla  bark^  but  his  experiments  require  con- 
firmation. 

General  Oha/racters  of  Oroton  Oil. — Two  varieties  of  croton  oil 
are  known  in  this  country ;  one  which  is  imported  from  India^ 
and  another,  the  one  now  almost  generally  in  use,  is  expressed 
here  from  croton  seeds  which  are  chiefly  imported  from  Cochin 
or  Bombay.  In  India,  in  order  to  obtain  the  oil,  the  seeds  are 
first  subjected  to  slight  torrefaction,  by  which  the  shell  is  more 
*  easily  separated,  and  the  kernel  or  nucleus  is  then  submitted  to 
pressure.  In  this  country  the  commercial  seeds,  after  having 
their  shells  removed,  are  submitted  to  pressure.  The  kernels 
yield  from  50  to  60  per  cent,  of  oil.  Croton  oil  has  a  fluorescent 
appearance,  more  especially  the  English  pressed  oil,  a  viscid 
consistence,  which  is  increased  by  age,  a  faint,  peculiar,  some- 
what rancid,  disagreeable  odour,  and  an  oily,  acrid  taste.  The 
colour  of  the  two  varieties  varies,  that  of  the  East  Indian  croton 
oil  being  pale  yellow,  and  the  English  oil  varying  from 
brownish  yellow  to  dark  reddish  brown  like  the  deepest  coloured 
sherry.  Both  kinds  are  soluble  in  ether  and  oil  of  turpentine, 
but  they  vary  in  their  relations  to  alcohol — that  of  English  oil 
being  entirely  soluble,  while  the  Indian  oil  forms  an  opaque 
mixture  with  alcohol,  which  becomes  clear  if  heat  be  applied,  but 
the  oil  separates  again  by  standing.  Croton  oil  essentially  consists 
of  the  fatty  fixed  oil  mixed  with  the  other  constituents  of  the  seeds. 


2d»    OROTON  TIGLIUM 

Medical  PropertieB  <md  Uses, — Croton  seeds  when  applied 
externally  act  as  a  powerful  local  irritant^  and  when  given  inter- 
nally^ in  doses  of  a  grain^  as  a  very  active  drastic  purgative. 
From  their  poisonous  character  when  given  in  over  doses  they  are 
not  now  used  in  this  country*  It  is  said^  however^  that  in  India^ 
where  the  seeds  are  sometimes  known  under  the  name  of 
Jamalgata  pills,  they  have  been  used  with  great  success  in 
amenorrhoea ;  and  Professor  Erasmus  Wilson  speaks  highly  of  a 
diluted  tincture  of  croton  seeds  as  a  stimulant  application  in 
certain  cutaneous  affections^'  more  especially  in  eczema^  lichen^ 
ichthyosis,  and  erythema. 

Croton  oil  when  rubbed  on  the  skin  acts  as  a  rubefacient  and 
counter-irritant^  and  when  administered  internally  it  operates  as 
a  powerful  hydragogue  cathartic.  It  is  a  most  useful,  and 
frequently  a  very  valuable  cathartic  in  any  case  in  which  it  is 
desired  to  act  speedily  and  powerfully  on  the  bowels,  as  in 
obstinate  constipation,  in  dropsy,  in  apoplexy,  in  paralysis,  in 
torpid  conditions  of  the  intestinal  canal,  &c ;  and  also  in  cases 
where  the  patient  cannot  or  will  not  swallow,  when  it  may  be 
dropped  on  the  tongue,  as  in  some  affections  of  the  throat, 
mania,  &c.  The  official  liniments  of  the  British  and  Indian  phar-  ^ 
macopoeias  when  rubbed  on  the  skin  produce  redness  and  a  pustular 
eruption^  They  act  as  useful  stimulants  when  thus  applied  in 
chronic  rheumatism,  neuralgia,  glandular  and  other  indolent  swell- 
ings, and  in  chronic  bronchitis  and  other  pulmonary  affections. 

IT.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  and  B.»p.  624;  Pharmaoographia,  p.  508; 
Per.  Mat.  Med.,  voL  ii,  part  i,  p.  409 ;  Ph.  Jl.,  vol.  iv,  2nd  series, 
382  and  387 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  and  B.,  p.  525 ;  Wilson, 
Diseases  of  the  Skin,  p.  177. 

DESCRIPTION   OP  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  kindly  sent  by  Dr.  D.  Moore  from  Glasnevin 
Garden,  Dublin,  where  it  flowered  in  September,  1874;  the  fruit  added  from 
examples  in  the  Museum  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain.  1.  A 
flowering  branch.  2.  Male  flower.  3.  Section  of  the  same.  4.  A  female 
flower.  5.  Section  of  same.  6.  Fruit.  7.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 
8.  Seed,  yentral  sui-face.  9.  Vertical  section  of  the  same.  10.  A  stellate  hair 
from  the  inflorescence.    (2—5  enlarged.    10  much  magnified.) 


G^LijI  iAtoLcd  rthlh 


EUPHORBIA  RESmiFERA,  St^y 


cm  '\> 


240 

N.  Ord.  ElTPHOBBIACBA. 

Tribe  Euphorhiea. 

Genus  Euphorbia,*  Xitm.  BailL,  Hist.  PL,  v,  p.  105 ;  Boissier, 
in  DO.  Prod.,  xv,  pt.  2,  pp.  7-187.  Species  about  700, 
natires  of  all  parts  of  the  world. 


240.  Euphorbia  resiniferay  Berg  in  Berg  and  Schmidt,  DarsL 
und  Beschr.  Offic.  Gewachse,  t  34  d  (1863). 

Dergmuse,  Barhmous  (Morocco). 

Figwres, — Jackson,  Account  of  Morocco,  t.  6,  left-hand  figure  (whole 
plant) ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  34  d,  fig.  M — z  (inflorescence  and  fruit). 

Bescription, — ^A  leafless  perennial  plant  somewhat  resembling  a 
Cactus.  Stem  4  or  more  feet  high,  witb  a  very  short  tmnk^ 
covered  with  greyifeh  bark  and  becoming  woody  with  age,  then 
much  branched,  branches  long,  stiff,  spreading  and  curved  like 
those  of  a  candelabrum,  fleshy,  quadrangular  (rarely  triangular), 
with  concave  faces  about  1  inch  wide,  and  blunt  angles  along  which 
are  placed  at  short  intervals  triangular  brown  scaly  plates  (scutella), 
each  bearing  two  short,  sharp,  spreading  spines  (altered  stipules) 
about  i  inch  long.  Leaves  quite  absent,  represented  by  a  minute 
tubercle  fused  with  the  scale.  Flowers  unisexual,  monoecious, 
very  small  and  simple,  mixed  with  numerous  fimbriated  bractlets, 
either  all  male,  or  with  a  single  female  in  the  centre,  collected 
into  small  few-flowered  heads  surrounded  by  a  cup-shaped, 
perianth-like  involucre  provided  at  its  mouth  with  5  large, 
spreading,  very  broadly  wedge-shaped  golden-yellow  petaloid 
"  glands '';  heads  arranged  in  clusters  of  3,  coming  off  from 
a  little  above  the  space  between  the  stipular  spines,  the  middle 
one  nearly  sessile,  the  lateral  ones  on  short  thick  stalks,  with  a 
little  bract  at  the  base.  Male  flowers  : — Achlamydeous,  consisting 
of  a  single  stamen  with  a  very  short  filament,  jointed  on  to  the 
summit  of  a  filiform  pedicel.  Female  flowers : — Perianth  very 
small,  3-fid,  at  the  summit  of  a  long  thick  pedicel,  pistil  large, 

*  ^vfoppiov,  euphorhium,  was  the  name  of  the  drug  in  classical  authors. 


2i0    EUPHORBIA  RESINIFERA 

deeply  3-lobed,  smooth.  Fruit  a  small  capsule  about  |  incli  wide, 
on  a  long  stalk  projecting  beyond  the  involucre,  and  strongly 
curved  downward,  very  deeply  3-lobed,  lobes  rounded,  depressed, 
laterally  compressed  and  strongly  keeled  on  the  back,  smooth ; 
pericarp  hard,  thick.  Seed  solitary  in  each  cell,  roundish  ovoid, 
faintly  papillose,  without  a  strophiole ;  embryo  straight,  with  a 
superior  radicle  in  the  axis  of  copious  endosperm. 

The  above  description  is  chiefly  taken  from  Berg  and  Cosson. 
We  have  seen  no  specimen  of  the  flowers  or  fruit. 

Habitat.  —  This  remarkable  succulent  species  of  Euphorbia 
grows  only  on  the  slopes  of  the  Great  Atlas  range  in  the  interior 
of  Morocco,  chiefly  to  the  south-east  of  the  city  of  the  same  name. 
It  was  first  described  by  Jackson,  whose  figure  was  published  in 
1809;  he  says  it  is  '^  probably  the  Eupkorbium  officinalis  of 
liinnaBus,^'  but  does  not  give  any  definite  specific  name.  Dr. 
(now  Sir  Joseph)  Hooker  and  Mr.  Ball  met  with  it  in  the  year 
1871  in  the  province  of  Dimineh,  and  it  has  been  observed  by 
several  other  travellers. 

The  first  observer  appears  to  have  confounded  with  this  another 
Cactoid  species  of  which  he  figures  a  fragment  on  the  same  plate 
(right-hand  figure).  This,  which  has  9-  or  10-angled  branches, 
grows  chiefly  further  west  nearer  the  coast,  and  is  the  E, 
Beau7nieriana,  Hook.  f.  &  Ooss.  Jackson's  figures  were  long 
thought  to  probably  represent  E.  Canariensia,  L.,  and  that  name 
has  been  therefore  given  as  the  source  of  the  drug ;  Berg,  how- 
ever, by  a  careful  comparison  of  that  species  with  the  fragments 
of  the  plant  mixed  with  the  imported  drug,  was  able  to  detect 
abundant  differences,  and  to  found  the  present  species,  E. 
resinifera. 

Living  plants  were  sent  to  Kew  in  1870  from  the  mountains  of 
Netifa,  east  of  Morocco,  where  they  were  collected  by  Mr.  J.  W. 
Gi^ce ;  these  plants  have  not  yet  flowered,  but  a  specimen  sent 
from  the  district  of  Misfioua,  and  cultivated  in  the  Paris  garden, 
has  done  so,  and  confirmed  Berg's  characters. 

As  to  the  E.  officinarum  of  Linnaeus,  though  it  was,  of  course, 
intended  to  apply  to  the  official  species,  yet,  as  it  was  founded  on 


240    EUPHORBIA  BESINIFEBA 

Tarions  figures  and  descriptions  (none  of  them  the  present  plant) 
apparently  representing  several  species^  it  is  not  possible  to 
determine  its  true  application.  The  localities  given  hj  Linnssns 
are  Ethiopia  and  the  warmer  parts  of  Africa.  E.  officinarum  of 
Boissier's  monograph  (1.  c.^  p.  84)  is  partly  the  E.  Bewumieriana 
above  noticed. 

Euphorbia  is  one  of  the  largest  known  genera;  the  floral 
stmctare  of  all  the  species  is  very  similar^  but  there  is  a  mar- 
vellous variety  in  their  habit  and  appearance.  It  should  be 
mentioned  that  there  is  great  difference  of  opinion  among  botanists 
as  to  the  structure  above  described  as  an  involucre.  Though  this 
is  the  opinion  generally  held^  others  consider  it  to  be  a  true 
perianth^  and  what  is  here  described  as  an  inflorescence  to  be  a 
single  flower. 

The  section  Diacanthium,  to  which  our  plant  belongs^  contains 
between  thirty  and  forty  species^  all  of  the  old  worlds  and  mostly 
African ;  many  are  very  imperfectly  known. 

J.  Q.  Jackson,  Aoooimt  of  Morooco,  ed.  2,  p.  134  (1811) ;  Berg 
and  Schmidt,  Darst.  and  Beschr.  Off.  Gew.,  34  d  (1863); 
CoBson,  in  Bull.  Soo.  Bot.  Belgiqne,  z,  p.  5  (1871),  and  Ball. 
See.  Bot.  France,  zzi,  p.  163  (1874) ;  Fliick.  &  Hanb.,  Pharma- 
cogr.,  p.  502. 

Part  Used  and  Na/me. — Ettfhobbium;  the  concrete  resinous 
juice^  or  gum-resin^  obtained  by  incision  in  the  green  fleshy 
branches  of  the  plant.  It  is  not  now  official  in  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia^  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India^  or  the  Pharmacopoeia 
of  the  United  States ;  but  it  was  formerly  recognised  in  the 
London^  Edinburgh^  and  Dublin  Pharmacopoeias. 

Extradition,  Collection,  and  Commerce, — Euphorbium  is  procured 
in  the  districts  lying  to  the  east  and  south-east  of  the  city  of 
Morocco,  as  follows : — Incisions  are  made  into  the  green  fleshy 
branches  of  the  plant,  when  an  abundance  of  milky  juice  exudes, 
which  is  so  acrid  that  it  excoriates  the  fingers  when  applied  to 
them.  This  exuded  juice  hardens  by  exposure  to  the  sun  as  it 
flows  down  the  stems,  which  it  encrusts,  and  some  of  it  also  drops 


240    EUPHORBIA  RESINIFERA: 

off;  it  is  collected  in  the  month  of  September,  and  forms  the 
euphorbium  of  commerce.  So  great  is  the  acridity  of  the 
exudation,  says  Mr.  Jackson,  that  the  people  who  collect  it,  are 
obliged  to  tie  a  cloth  over  their  mouth  and  nostrils  to  prevent  the 
small  dusty  particles  from  annoying  them,  as  they  produce 
incessant  sneezing.  The  drug  is  exported  from  Mogadore ;  but 
little  is  consumed  in  this  country. 

General  Cha/racters  and  Composition. — Euphorbium^  or  Oum 
Eupkorhium  as  it  is  commonly,  although  incorrectly,  termed, 
consists  of  irregular,  dull  yellow  or  yellowish-brown,  waxy- 
looking  tears  or  pieces,  the  largest  of  which  are  rarely  more  than 
an  inch  across,  among  which  we  commonly  find  mixed,  portions 
of  the  angular  spiny  stems  of  the  plant  from  which  they  have 
been  derived.  The  tears  are  usually  pierced  with  one  or  two 
holes,  and  encrust  a  tuft  of  spines,  or  a  flower-stalk ;  or  some- 
times they  are  hollow.  They  are  brittle  and  translucent;  and 
almost  odourless,  except  when  heated,  when  they  are  slightly 
aromatic;  but  their  dust  when  applied  to  the  olfactory  mem- 
brane acts  as  a  powerful  sternutatory.  Their  taste  is  at  first 
slight,  but  afterwards  acrid  and  burning. 

Euphorbium  has  been  frequently  analysed,  and  within  the  last 
few  years  both  by  Fllickiger  and  Buchheim.  The  analysis  of 
Fluckiger  show  the  drug  to  contain  in  100  parts,  88  of 
amorphous  resin  ;  22  of  a  substance  which  was  first  made  known 
by  him,  and  which  he  termed  euphorbon;  18  of  mucilage;  12  of 
malates,  chiefly  of  calcium  and  sodium ;  and  10  of  mineral 
constituents.  It  is  to  the  amorphous  resin,  which  is  soluble  in 
alcohol,  that  euphorbium  owes  its  intense  acridity.  The  sub- 
stance termed  euphorbon  is  soluble  in  ether  or  chloroform,  only 
sparingly  soluble  in  cold,  but  readily  in  boiling  alcohol,  and  quite 
insoluble  in  water.  Euphorbon  forms  colourless  crystals,  which 
when  pure  are  without  taste  or  odour.  Fluckiger  states  that 
euphorbon  is  allied  to  la^tucerin,  which  is  referred  to  by  us  under 
the  head  of  Lactucarium  when  treating  of  "  Lactuca  sativa.'' 

The  more  recent  analysis  of  Buchheim  also  shows  that  the 
activity  of  euphorbium  is  dependent  upon  its  acrid  resin  only,  and 


240    EUPHORBIA  BESINIFEBA 

not  upon  eaphorbon^  as  had  been  snggested  by  Hasemann.  The 
acrid  resin  seems  also^  by  the  analysis  of  Bachheim,  to  consist  of 
two  substances^  and  he  regards  it  as  the  anhydride  of  an  acid, 
which  he  has  called  eupJiorbic  acid. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — ^It  was  formerly  in  use  as  an 
Smetic  and  pnrgative ;  but  its  violent  and  dangerous  action  have 
now  led  to  its  disuse  as  an  internal  remedy.  It  is  sometimes 
employed  as  an  errhine  in  amaurosisj  deafnesSj  and  other 
obstinate  affections  of  the  brain ;  but  its  local  action  is  so  violent 
that  we  can  only  use  it  when  largely  diluted  with  some  mild 
powder^  as  starch  or  flour.  As  a  rubefacient  it  may  be  employed 
in  the  form  of  a  plaster  when  mixed  with  Burgundy  pitch  or 
resin^  in  chronic  affections  of  the  joints.  As  a  vesicant  it  is  also 
jaometimes  used  on  .the  Continent ;  and  in  this  country  and 
elsewhere  it  is  occasionally  employed  in  veterinary  practice  as  a 
vesicating  agent. 

The  authors  of  Pharmacographia  say  that  they  have  been  told 
''  that  it  is  now  in  some  demand  as  an  ingredient  of  a  paint  for 
the  preservation  of  ships^  bottoms.^ 


99 


Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  400;  Fharmacograpliiay  p.  502; 
U.  S.  DiBp.,  by  W.  k  B.,  p.  1592 ;  Jackson's  Morocco,  3rd  edit., 
p.  134;  Pharm.  Joam.,  ser.  3,  yoL  ii,  p.  1049;  Fl^ckiger,  in 
Wittstein's  Yieteljahresschrift  fiir  prakt.  Phannacie,  vol.  xrii 
(1868),  p.  82,  and  Amer.  Joum.  Pharm.,  Sept.,  1868,  p.  393 ; 
Bachheim,  in  Yieteljahresschrift  Ph.,  1873,  No.  3,  p.  325^  and 
Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  vol.  zzii,  p.  159. 


DESCBIPTIOH  OV  FLATS. 

Draivn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Economic  House  at  Kew  Gardens;  the 
details  added  from  Berg  and  Schmidt.  1.  Upper  portion  of  a  joung  plant. 
2.  Snmmit  of  a  branch  with  flower-heads.  3.  A  cluster  of  three  flower-heads. 
4.  A  male  flower-head.  5.  Vertical  section  of  the  same.  6.  A  monoscions 
flower-head.  7.  A  capsnle.  8.  The  same  seen  from  above.  9.  The  same 
dehiscent.    10.  A  single  valve.    11, 12.  Seeds.    (3-6,  8-12  enlarged.) 


SfaUNGlA 


SYLVAT1CA,J;=«^ 


241 

N.  Ord.  EirPHOKBIACBJE. 

Tribe  Hippomanea, 

Genus  StUlingia,*  Cfarden,  in  Irtim.  Mani,  MtUl.  Arg.,  1.  c, 
pp.  1155—1162 ;  BailL,  Hiai.  Fl.,  t,  p.  135.  Species  12, 
natiyes  of  tropical  regions  in  both  liemispliereB. 


24L   StUlingia  sylvatica,  Linn.,  Mcmt,  p.  126  (1767). 

Qy,een^s  Delight. 

Syn.— Sapitun  sylTaticiim,  IVrray. 
Not  previously  figured. 

Description. — Stems  namerouB  from  a  large  woody  root,  erect 
or  ascending^  1 — 3  feet  high^  herbaceous  or  slightly  woody 
below,  simple,  umbeUately  branched  above,  smooth,  terete,  with  a 
milky  juice.  Leaves  numerous,  alternate,  irregularly  scattered  or 
crowded,  nearly  sessile,  variable  in  form  from  narrow-lanceolate  to 
broad-oval,  tapering  at  base,  closely  crenate-serrate,  with  a  gland 
in  each  crenature,  rather  thick ;  stipules  minute,  setaceous,  deeply 
divided,  early  deciduous.  Inflorescence  arranged  upon  a  thick, 
terminal,  compressed,  yellowish  axis,  afterwards  exceeded  by  the 
two  or  more  branches  which  are  given  oS  from  below  its  base, 
2—4  inches  long.  Flowers  unisexual ;  the  male  flowers  in 
dense  clusters  of  8  or  10,  arranged  round  the  spike  for  nearly 
its  whole  length,  each  cluster  in  the  axil  of  a  thin,  broad,  acute 
scale  with  a  scarious  margin,  and  provided  on  either  side  with  a 
large,  circular,  shallow,  cup-shaped  gland  attached  by  its  centre ; 
the  female  flowers  very  few  (or  none)  at  the  base  of  the  spike, 
solitary,  in  the  axil  of  similar  bracts  to  those  of  the  male  clusters. 
Male  flowers  shortly  stalked,  consisting  of  2  stamens  on  long 
filaments  connected  for  half  their  length  and  surrounded  by  (at 
first   enclosed   in)    a   membranous,    cup-shaped,  two-cleft  calyx« 

*  Named  after  Dr.  Benjamin  Stillingfleet,  an  "Rnglish  botaniBt  of  the  18th 
eentmy,  aathor  of  '  MiscellaneouB  Tracts  relating  to  Natural  History,  Ac.' 
1759. 


241    STILLINGIA  SYLVATICA 

Female  flowers  ;  calyx  3-lobed ;  style  slender,  articulated  below, 
with  8  spreading  branches.  Capsule  roundish,  slightly  rough, 
greenish  brown,  3-c6lled,  with  a  single  seed  in  each  cell,  separating 
into  3  cocci,  which  open  down  their  dorsal  suture.  Seeds  nearly 
globular,  silvery  white,  roughish,  with  a  well-marked  caruncle. 

Habitat. — Common  in  dry  sandy  soil  in  the  Southern  United 
States  of  America  from  Virginia  to  Florida  and  westward  to 
Texas.  It  is  an  insignificant  weed-like  plant,  and  is  not  in 
cultivation  in  English  gardens. 

MiiU.  Arg.,  1.  c,  p.  1158;    A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot  U.  S.,  p.  391; 
Chapman,  M.  S.  States,  p.  404. 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Name. — Stillingia.  Qaeen^s  Root.  The  root 
of  Stillingia  sylvatica  (U.  S.  P.) — Not  official  in  either  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Composition, — Stillingia  has  been  fully 
described  by  Dr.  Wood  in  the  United  States  Dispensatory.  It 
occurs  in  long  cylindrical  pieces,  from  a  third  of  an  inch  to  more 
than  an  inch  thick,  wrinkled  from  drying,  of  a  dirty  yellowish- 
brown  colour  externally,  and,  when  cut  across,  exhibiting  an 
interior  soft,  yellowish,  ligneous  portion,  surrounded  by  a  pinkish- 
coloured  bark.  The  odour  is  slight,  peculiar,  and  somewhat 
oleaginous,  but  in  the  recent  root  is  said  by  Dr.  Frost  to  be 
strong  and  acrimonious.  The  taste  is  bitterish  and  pungent, 
leaving  an  impression  of  disagreeable  acrimony  in  the  mouth  and 
fauces.  Nothing  certain  is  known  of  its  composition,  but  the 
active  principle  is  said  to  be  volatile,  and  the  root  consequently 
loses  much  of  its  activity  when  kept.  Its  virtues  are  imparted  to 
both  water  and  alcohol. 

Medical  Properties  amd  l7«e«.-^Stillingia  is  emetic,  cathartic;, 
and  alterative.  It  is  regarded  by  Dr.  T.  Young  Symons,  of  the 
United  States,  who  iBrst  introduced  it  to  the  notice  of  the  profes- 
sion, as  a  valuable  alterative  in  syphilis  and  other  affections  where 
mercury  is  commonly  employed.  Other  physicians  have  also 
spoken  highly  in  favour  of  its  use,  and  from  their  testimony  its 
value  is  regarded  in  the  United  States  of  America,  as  established 


241    STILLINGIA  STL  VATIC  A 

in  secondary  syphilis,  scrofula,  varions  cutaneous  diseases,  chronic 
diseases  of  the  liver,  and  other  complaints  ordinarily  benefited  by 
alterative  medicines.  It  may  be  either  given  alone  or  combined 
with  sarsaparilla  and  other  alteratives.  So  far  as  we  know,  this 
remedy  has  not  been  used  in  this  country,  but  from  the  testis 
mony  given  of  its  value  by  medical  practitioners  in  the  United 
States  it  is  well  deserving  of  a  trial. 

United  States  Dispensatory,  by  Wood  and  Bache,  p.  838. 


DESCBIPTION   OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Brit.  Mns.  collected  by  Dr.  Garden  in  Carolina; 
the  fruit  added  from  a  Texan  specimen  collected  by  Idndheimer,  in  the  same 
herbarium. 

1.  Upper  part  of  a  flowering  stem. 

2.  Portion  of  spike  showing  male  dusters. 
8.  A  male  flower. 

!  4.  Pnut. 

'  5.  Transrerse  section  of  same. 

6,7.  A  seed. 

8.  The  same  seen  from  side. 

(2,  3,  7,  8  enlarged.) 


J 


«^ 


242 


N.  Ord.  PiPEBAOEA    LindL,  Veg.  K.,  p.  516 ;  BaiU.,  Hist.  PL,  iii ; 
Le  Maont  &  Dec.,  p.  728. 

Genua  Plpor,»  Unn.  BaiU.,  Hi«t.  PL,  iii,  p.  469 ;  DO.  Prod., 
xvi,  pt.  i,  pp.  240—388.  A  very  large  genus.  About  600 
species  are  known,  natives  of  tropical  regions  in  both 
worlds. 


242.  Piper  angUStifoliimif  Ruiz  ^  Pavon,  Fl.  Pemv.,  1,  p.  38 

(1798). 

Matieo. 

Syn.—'P.  graaulosum,  B.  &  P.  P.  elongatum,  Vahl,  Artantbe  elongata, 
MiqueL    Steffensia  elongata,  Kunth, 

Figwres. — Bniz  &  Par.,  Fl.  Peruv.,  i,  tt.  57  a  (cop.  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  iii, 
p.  472),  and  64b  (P.  granrdosum) ;  Miquel,  in  Fl.  BrasiL,  Piperaceee, 
1. 14. 

Description. — ^A  Bhmb  about  8  feet  high,  with  numerous  cylin- 
drical or  bluntly  quadrangular  slender  branches^  the  older  ones 
smooth^  the  younger  ones  densely  covered  with  shorty  soft  or  rough 
hairSj  all  considerably  thickened  at  the  joints.  Leaves  alternate^ 
very  shortly  stalked^  5 — 7  inches  long,  oblong-lanceolate,  with  a 
cordate  often  unsymmetrical  base  and  an  acuminate  blunt  apex, 
entire,  rather  stifE  and  thick,  with  the  whole  surface  traversed 
between  the  secondary  nerves  by  a  small  tessellated  reticulation 
of  veins,  sunk  on  the  upper  surface,  prominent  beneath,  glabrous 
above  when  mature,  more  or  less  densely  covered  with  un- 
branched,  tapering  hairs  beneath,  which  are  especially  abundant  on 
the  sides  of  the  prominent  veins,  bright  green.  Flowers  minute, 
hermaphrodite,  very  densely  packed  in  close  rings  round  a  strong 
slender  axis  so  as  to  form  a  solid,  cylindrical,  yellow,  spadix-like 
spike  4 — 7  inches  in  length,  containing  innumerable  flowers,  each 
one  of  which  has  beneath  it  a  scale-like  bract  with  a  filiform 
claw  expanded  at  the  end  into  a  circular  or  triangular  peltate 
scale   strongly  fringed   all  round  and   thickened  in  the  centre, 

*  Piper,  in  Qreek  iHrfpc,  the  classical  names  for  the  spice ;  originally  from 
the  Sanskrit  pippali. 


242    PIPER  ANGUSTIPOLIUM 

overlapping  the  summit  of  tlie  flower ;  the  spikes  are  blantish^ 
very  shortly  stalked^  and  come  off  one  at  a  node  on  the  opposite 
side  to  the  leaf.  Perianth  entirely  absent.  Stamens  2 — 4, 
hypogynous  ;  filaments  slender  ;  anthers  roundish,  2-Gelled, 
didymous,  readily  detached ;  ovary  top-shaped,  smooth,  as  long 
as  the  stamens,  one-celled,  with  a  single  erect  orthotropous  ovule ; 
style  short,  terminal;  stigmas  3,  spreading.  Fruit  very  small, 
dry,  indehiscent,  about  the  size  of  poppy-seed,  ovoid,  somewhat 
compressed,  faintly  punctate  in  lines,  hard,  black.  Seed  com- 
pletely filling  the  fruit ;  embryo  minute,  in  a  cavity  excavated  at 
the  summit  of  the  copious  mealy  endosperm. 

Habitat. — This  plant  grows  in  moist  forest-land  over  a  con- 
siderable range  of  tropical  America.  It  was  first  known  in  Peru, 
but  has  since  been  collected  in  Mexico,  Panama,  Venezuela,  New 
Grenada,  Columbia,  Ecuador,  Bolivia,  and  Brazil,  and  also  in  the 
island  of  Cuba.  It  is  cultivated  occasionally  in  some  of  these 
countries. 

There  is  considerable  difference  in  the  foliage,  both  in  the 
width  of  the  leaves  and  in  the  amount  of  rugosity  of  the  upper 
surface  and  hairiness  of  the  lower ;  the  amount  and  nature  of  the 
hairiness  of  the  branches  is  also  variable.  Two  varieties  are 
distinguished  in  the  ''  Prodromus  :'^  cordulatum  with  cordate-ovate 
leaves,  and  Ossanum  with  the  leaf -bases  narrowed. 

This  plant  may  be  seen  in  the  stoves  of  botanical  gardens  in 
this  country,  but  does  not  flower  there. 

The  late  Prof.  Miquel  divided  the  Linnean  genus  Piper  into  a 
number  of  smaller  genera,  but  Casimir  De  Candolle,  in  his  more 
recent  work,  has  again  united  them  under  the  old  and  compre- 
hensive one.  Artanthe,  in  which  the  present  species  was  placed 
by  Miquel,  is  characterised  by  its  hermaphrodite  flowers,  peltate 
bracts,  and  the  absence  of  a  style ;  it  contains  a  large  number  of 
species,  all  American. 

Gas.  DC,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  i,  p.  285.;  Buiz  &  Favon,  Fl. 
Femr.,  i,  p.  38 ;  Miquel,  Syst.  Piper.,  p.  434. 


242    PIPBE  ANGUSTIFOLIUM 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Names. — ^Maticje  Folia  ;  the  dried  leaves  of 
Artanthe  elongata^  Miqiiel  (B.  P.).  The  dried  leaves  (I.  P.). 
The  leaves  (U.  S.  P.). 

4 

Chneral  Gharacters  and  Gomposition. — ^Matico  leaves^  or  Matico  as 
the  drug  is  commonly  called^  are  usually  forwarded  to  this  country 
and  elsewhere^  packed  in  bales  and  serons^  by  way  of  Panama. 
As  thus  imported^  Matico  consists  of  the  dried  leaves^  stalks^  and 
spikes  of  flowers  and  fruits^  more  or  less  compressed  together  into 
a  coherent  brittle  mass,  which  has  a  greenish-yellow  colour.  The 
botanical  characters  of  the  leaves  and  other  parts  have  been  fully 
described  above;  those  of  the  leaves  are  briefly  given  in  the 
British  Pharmacopceia,  as  follows  : — ''  Prom  two  to  eight  inches 
long,  veined  and  tessellated  on  the  upper  surface,  downy  beneath, 
with  an  aromatic  slightly  astringent  warm  taste,  and  an  agreeable 
aromatic  odour. 

The  principal  constituents  of  matico  are  a  volatile  oil,  a  resin, 
a  crystallizable  acid,  called  artanihic  add,  and  a  little  tannic  add. 
It  was  formerly  supposed  to  contain  a  peculiar  bitter  principle, 
which  was  termed  matidn;  but  more  recent  experiments  have 
shown  that  no  such  substance,  nor  any  analogous  principle  to  the 
piperin  or  cubebin  of  the  other  official  species  of  Piper,  is  con- 
tained in  matico.  The  volatile  oil  is  described  as  of  a  light 
green  colour,  a  thickish  consistence,  feebly  dextrogyre,  and 
depositing  crystals  of  a  kind  of  camphor  in  the  winter  months. 
The  presence  of  tannic  acid  is  indicated  by  the  dark  greenish- 
brown  colour  which  the  infusion  assumes  on  the  addition  to  it  of 
perchloride  of  iron ;  but  the  infusion  undergoes  no  change  on  the 
addition  of  solution  of  gelatine,  tartarated  antimony,  or  corrosive 
sublimate,  hence  the  proportion  of  tannic  acid  is  but  small. 
According  to  Mr.  Snell,  the  medicinal  properties  of  matico  are 
due  to  the  volatile  oil  and  resin;  it  is  also  probable  that  the 
tannic  acid  has  some  effect. 

Substitutes, — Under  the  name  of  Matico,  the  leaves  of  several 
plants  are  employed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Central  and  South 
America,  for  arresting  both  external  and  internal  haemorrhages,  and 
for  other  purposes.     The  discovery  of  the  styptic  property  of  this 


242    PIPEE  ANGUSTIPOLIUM 

drug  is  said  to  liave  been  made  by  a  Spanish  soldier  named  Matico^ 
(hence  the  name^  which  is  not  a  native  one),  who  when  desperately 
wounded  dragged  himself  into  the  shade  of  the  plants  near  him^ 
and  in  his  agony  placked  some  of  their  leaves^  and  applied  them 
accidentally  to  his  wonnd,  when  to  his  great  surprise  and  delight  he 
found  in  a  short  time  that  the  bleeding  was  arrested^  and  the 
wound  soon  healed.  From  this  circumstance  Matico  has  also 
received  the  Spanish  names  of  '  yerba  soldado '  and  '  palo  del 
soldadoj^  signifying  ^  Soldier^s  herb '  and  '  Soldier's  tree/  Three 
plants  have  been  especially  mentioned  by  authors  as  having 
received  the  name  of  Matico  or  Soldier's  herb^  namely^  the  plant 
now  being  described,  which  is  alone  official ;  Eupatoriv/m  gluti- 
noswm,  Kunth ;    and  Waltheria  glom&rata,  Presl. 

In  1863,  just  before  the  issue  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia, 
matico  was  very  scarce  in  this  country ;  and  the  leaves  and  spikes 
of  fruit  of  another  pknt  were  therefore  imported  from  Central 
America^  and  sold  under  the  same  name.  This  kind  of  matico 
was  ascertained  by  one  of  us  to  be  derived  from  Artanthe  adunca, 
Miquel,  {Piper  aduncum,  L.).  A  similar  kind  of  matico  is  also 
still  occasionally  imported.  It  may  be  at  once  distinguished 
from  the  official  matico,  by  being  in  a  less  compressed  state,  by 
the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves  not  being  so  rough  and  tessellated, 
and  by  the  almost  entire  absence  of  pubescence  on  their  under 
surface.  The  chemical  characters  of  the  two  kinds  appear  to  be 
closely  analogous  ;  and  therefore  as  an  internal  remedy,  this 
matico  is  probably  equally  efficacious  as  that  of  the  official  kind. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Matico  is  regarded  as  a  mild 
aromatic  tonic  and  stimulant,  acting  more  especially  like  cubebs 
and  pepper  on  the  gonito-urinary  mucous  membranes  and  rectum. 
It  is  also  stated  to  be  a  valuable  internal  styptic  or  hemostatic ; 
and  in  Peru,  it  is  likewise  regarded  as  an  aphrodisiac.  It  has 
been  employed  in  leucorrhoea,  monorrhagia,  catarrh  of  the  bladder, 
atonic  diarrhoea,  dysentery,  epistaids,  haemoptysis,  haematemesis, 
hsBmaturia,  and  other  affections ;  but  it  is  not  much  esteemed  as 
an  internal  remedy  by  practitioners  in  this  country.  Dr.  John 
Harley  says  "  a  cup  of  tea  is  much  more  potent.''      Topically 


242    PIPER  ANGUSTIPOLIUM 

applied^  however,  to  superficial  wounds,  leech-bites,  or  after  the 
extraction  of  teeth,  &c.,  it  is  most  effectual  in  arresting  heemor- 
rhage;  for  this  purpose  the  under  surface  of  the  leaf  or  the 
powder  may  be  applied  to  the  bleeding  parts,  but  the  former 
is  the  best  form  of  application  in  such  cases. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  521 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  531 ; 
(J.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  555 ;  Gnibourt,  EEist.  des  Drogues 
(1869),  vol.  ii,  p.  278;  Boyle's  Mat.  Med.,  by  J.  Harley,  p.  436 ; 
Jeffery's  Remarks  on  Matico,  3rd  ed.  (1845);  Morson,  in 
Pharm.  Jonm.,  vol.  iii,  ser.  i,  p.  472 ;  Hodges,  Proc.  Ghem. 
Soc.,  Yol.  ii  (1844),  p.  123,  and  Pharm.  Joitm.,  toL  iv,  ser.  i, 
p.  286;  SteU,  in  Amer.  Jonm.  of  Pharm.,  Sept.,  1858,  p.  392; 
Bentley,  in  Pharm.  Jonm.,  vol.  ▼,  ser.  ii,  pp.  290 — 296 ;  Pock- 
ling^n,  in  Pharm.  Jonm.,  yoI.  t,  ser.  iii,  p.  301 ;  Gardeners' 
Chronicle,  toL  ii,  n.  s.,  p.  679. 


DSSCBIPTIOK   OF   PLATB. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  collected  by  Pavon  in  Peru. 

1.  A  branch  with  leaves  and  spikes  of  flowers. 

2.  Several  flowers  with  their  bracts  in  situ. 

3.  A  flower. 

4.  A  bract. 

5.  A  fruit. 

6.  A  section  of  the  same. 

(2-6  enlarged.) 


a48 

N.  Ord.  PiPiBACS^. 
Ctoiu  Fiper»  Linn, 


243.  Piper  Cabeba,^  Linn.JiL,  Supplem.  Plant,  p.  90  (1781). 

Cubehs. 

8yn, — Onbeba  officinalis,  Miquel.    P.  caudatom,  BouU.  non  Vahl. 

Fiffures.—Steph.  &  Ch.,  1. 175,  cop.  in  Woodville,  v,  5 ;  Hayne,  xir,  t.  8 ; 
Berg  &  Scb.,  t.  29  a;  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  iii,  fig.  508;  Miqnel,  Gomment. 
Phytogr.,  tt.  1,  2;  Descourt.,  M.  Antilles,  tI,  t.  429. 

Description. — A  climbing  shrub  with  cylindrical^  smooth^  zigzags 
striate  sterns^  somewhat  thickened  at  the  nodes.  Leaves  alternate, 
on  short  stout  petioles,  blade  about  6  inches  long,  lanceolate 
or  oval-oblongi  tapering  to  the  acute  apex,  usually  somewhat 
unequal  at  the  base,  quite  entire,  slightly  wavy,  glabrous  on 
both  surfaces,  somewhat  coriaceous,  deep  green,  rather  paler  and 
with  prominent  veins  beneath.  Flowers  unisexual,  dioecious, 
minute,  sessile,  each  with  a  bract  at  the  base,  densely  crowded 
in  small,  cylindrical,  stalked,  solid  spikes  coming  off  opposite  the 
leaves ;  the  male  spikes  slender,  tapering,  shortly  stalked,  about 
an  inch  long,  the  female  shorter,  blunt,  thick  and  fleshy,  on 
longer  stalks;  bracts  of  the  male  flowers  crowded,  imbricate, 
thin,  rhomboidal,  subacute,  of  the  female  flowers  peltate,  nearly 
circular,  slightly  hairy,  fleshy,  with  a  short  stalk.  Male  flower : 
perianth  absent ;  stamens  2  (or  3  f ),  anthers  short,  ovate,  2-celled. 
Female  flowers  ;  no  perianth,  ovary  sunk  in  the  substance  of  the 
spadix,  globular,  with  a  single  erect  ovule,  style  very  short, 
stigmas  3  or  4,  short,  recurved,  papillose.  Fruit  globular,  smooth, 
about  ^  inch  long,  with  a  blunt  apiculus  and  tapering  below  into 
a  stalk-like  base,  which  is  a  little  longer  than  the  round  extremity, 
projecting  horizontally  from  the  axis  and  together  forming  a  lax 

*  Ckibeba,  Koftfikfia  of  Actnarias,  a  name  dating  from  about  the  10th  century, 
doubUess  of  Arabic  origin. 


243    PIPER  OUBEBA 

raceme  (many  of  the  ovaries  becoming  abortive)  about  2  incbes 
long.     Seed  as  in  the  last. 

HabitaL — This  pepper  is  found  wild  in  Java,  Sumatra,  and 
Borneo,  and  is  cultivated  in  the  two  former  islands,  being  grown 
chiefly  in  coffee  plantations.  It  is  also  cultivated  in  some  of  the 
West  Indian  Islands.  The  native  cubebs  of  Mauritius  is  P. 
borbonense,  Cas.  DC,  and  that  of  West  Tropical  Africa  P.  Clusiiy 
Cas.  DC.  (P.  Afzelii,  Lindl.),  both  close  allies  of  P.  Gubebay  which, 
however,  does  not  occur  in  either  of  those  countries.  Cubebs  is 
cultivated  in  many  of  our  botanical  gardens. 

We  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  examining  male  plants ; 
the  leaves  of  these  are  said  to  be  narrower  and  with  the  lower 
veins  fainter  than  in  the  female.  MiquePs  genus  Oubeba  is 
characterised  by  being  dioecious,  the  male  flowers  with  2  to  5 
stamens  and  the  female  with  a  sessile  ovary,  the  fruit  contracted 
below  into  a  false  pedicel. 

P.  caninuWy  Dietr.,  affords  fruits  which  are  distinguished  from 
true  cubebs  by  their  smaller  size,  more  ovoid  form  and  somewhat 
shorter  stalks ;  it  is  a  native  of  Borneo  and  Java  and  is  figured  by 
Miquel  in  his  Comm.  Phytogr.,  t.  8. 

Miqnel,  Comment.  Phytograph.,  p.  10,  and  Fl.  Ind.-Bat.,  i,  pt.  2, 
p.  448;  Cas.  DC,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  1,  p.  340;  Lindl.,  Fl. 
Med.,  p.  813 ;  Fluck.  &  Hanb.,  Fharmacogr.,  p.  526. 

Official  Parts  and  N amies. — 1.  Cubeba;  the  dried  unripe  fruit 
of  Cubeba  officinalis,  Miquel :  2.  Oleum  CuBBKi: ;  the  oil  distilled 
in  Britain  from  Cubebs  (B.  P.).  The  dried  unripe  fruit  (I.  P.). 
Cubeba  ;  the  dried  unripe  fruit  (U.  S.  P.). 

1.  Cubeba. — Cultivation,  Oollection,  and  Commerce. — The  Cubeb 
plant  is  cultivated  in  Java  and  Sumatra  either  in  ground  specially 
reserved  for  the  purpose,  or  more  commonly  in  coffee  plantations. 
The  fruits  are  gathered  when  full  grown,  but  before  they  are  ripe, 
and  then  carefully  dried.  They  are  chiefly  exported  from  Java  to 
Singapore ;  and  in  1872  the  quantity  shipped  from  thence  to 
Great  Britain  was  1180  cwt.,  to  the  United  States  1244  cwt., 
and  to  British  India,  104  cwt. ;  but  the  quantities  forwarded  to 
different  countries  vary  much  in  different  years. 


248    PIPEB  CTJBEBA 

General  Characters  and  Oomposition. — In  size  and  form  cnbebs 
resemble  black  pepper^  but  tbey  are  readily  distingaislied  from  it 
by  being  fumislied  witb  a  stalky  from  which  circumstance  they  have 
received  the  name  of  tailed  pepper.  They  are  spherical  in  form,  and 
about  the  size  generally  of  black  pepper,  or  of  a  small  pea ;  their 
colour' is  blackish  or  greyish-brown ;  and  they  are  much  wrinkled 
on  the  surface  from  the  contraction  of  the  fleshy  portion  of  the 
pericarp  in  drying.  The  stalk  is  continuous  with  the  wrinkled 
pericarp,  and  therefore,  as  already  noticed,  remains  permanently 
attached  in  the  cubebs  of  commerce ;  this  stalk  is  commonly  a 
little  longer  than  the  fruit  itself,  or  rarely  it  is  nearly  twice  as  long. 
Within  the  shrivelled  skin  is  a  hard,  brown,  smooth  shell ;  contain- 
ing a  solitary,  whitish,  smooth,  oily  seed,  of  a  somewhat  flattened 
globular  form,  when  fully  developed,  but  in  commercial  cubebs 
the  seed  is  frequently  much  shrunken.  Cubebs  have  a  warm, 
camphoraceous,  somewhat  bitter  and  acrid  taste ;  and  a  peculiar, 
very  aromatic,  and  by  no  means  disagreeable  odour. 

The  most  important  constituents  of  cubebs  are  the  volatile  oil 
which  is  described  below,  cubeb{n,resi7i,  and  cubebic  a^sid,  Oubebin  is 
an  inodorous,  tasteless,  neutral,  and  inert  substance,  which  crystal- 
lises in  small  needles  or  scales.  It  is  insoluble  in  cold,  but 
slightly  BO  in  hot  water ;  it  is  soluble  in  about  30  parts  of  cold 
ether,  and  freely  in  boiling  alcohol.  The  amount  of  cubebin  has 
been  variously  estimated  at  from  0*40  to  2*5  per  cent.  There  are 
two  resinous  substances,  namely,  an  acid  resin,  termed  cubebic 
a/yid,  which  exists  in  the  proportion  of  about  1  per  cent,  in  the 
drug ;  and  a  neutral  or  indifferent  resin,  which  constitutes  about 
8  per  cent.  The  activity  of  the  drug  is  more  generally  supposed 
to  reside  essentially  in  the  volatile  oil ;  but  others  believe  that  the 
therapeutic  action  of  cubebs  is  entirely  due  to  the  neutral  resin 
and  cubebic  acid,  as  we  have  stated  below  in  describing  the  medical 
properties  and  uses  of  oil  of  cubebs. 

Medical  Properties  a/nd  Uses, — Cubebs  have  stimulant  and  diuretic 
properties.  Their  stimulant  effects  are  especially  manifested  on 
the  genito-urinary  mucous  membrane;  they  are  a  valuable 
remedy  for,  and  are  much   employed   in,  gonorrhoea  and  gleet. 


243    PIPER  OUBBBA 

Cabebs  are  bat  little  employed  except  in  these  affections^  bat 
they  have  been  also  found  asefal  in  broncorrhoea  and  cystitis.  In 
gonorrhoea  they  should  not  be  administered  until  the  active 
inflammatory  symptoms  have  subsided. 

2.  Olbuh  CuBEBiB. — Prepa/ration  and  Characters. — Oil  of  Cubebs 
is  obtained  in  this  country  by  distilling  the  powdered  fruit  with 
water^  by  steam  at  a  high  temperature ;  the  yield  varies  from  6 
to  15  per  cent.^  according  to  the  temperature  employed  and  other 
circumstances.  It  is  greenish-yellow  or  colourless^  with  the 
odour  of  cubebs^  and  a  warm,  aromatic,  camphoraceous  taste;  it 
is  laevogyrate,  boils  between  430°  and  482°,  and  is  polymeric  with 
oil  of  turpentine.  In  cold  weather  it  deposits  rhombic  octohedra, 
which  are  regarded  as  a  hydrate  of  the  oil,  and  hence  this 
stearoptene  is  termed  hydrate  of  cubebene  or  camphor  of  cubebs. 
Oil  of  cubebs  frequently  thickens  by  long  keeping,  but  retains  its 
odour ;  its  specific  gravity  is  0*929. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Oil  of  cubebs  has  until  within  the 
last  few  years  been  generally  regarded  as  the  essential  constituent 
of  the  fruits,  so  far  as  their  medicinal  activity  was  concerned,  but 
the  carefully  conducted  experiments  of  Bematzik  and  Schmidt, 
and  also  of  Heydenreich,  indicate  that  the  special  efficacy  of 
cubebs  depends  entirely  upon  the  resins,  the  essential  oil  being 
simply  stimulant  and  carminative.  In  this  country  and  elsewhere, 
however,  the  oil  is  frequently  administered  as  a  substitute  for  the 
fruit,  and  in  similar  cases.  The  experiments  above  alluded  to 
would,  however,  point  to  an  alcoholic  extract,  or  the  purified 
resins,  as  the  most  active  preparations  X)f  cubebs. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  392 ;  Per  Mat.  Med.,  by  6.  and 
B.,  p.  518 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  526 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  and 
B.,  pp.  349,  1306,  and  1316;  Heydenreich,  in  Amer.  Jonm. 
Pharmacy,  Jan.,  1868,  p.  42,  and  Pharm.  Jonm.,  ser.  2,  vol.  ix, 
p.  540 ;  Procter,  in  Amer.  Jonm.  Pharm.,  vol.  xviii,  p.  168 ; 
Wiggers  and  Hnsemann,  Jahresbericht,  1870,  p.  52 ;  Schulze, 
in  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy,  1874,  p.  60,  from  Pharm.  Gentral- 
halle,  1873,  No.  29,  p.  242 ;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  1874, 
vol.  xxii,  p.  165,  from  Arch.  Ph.,  1873,  p.  388 ;  Proc.  Amer. 
Pharm.  Assoc,  vol.  xxiii,  1875,  p.  330. 


243    PIPER  CUBEBA 


DE8CBIPTI0N    OF    PLATE. 

Brawn  from  a  plant  cnltiyaied  in  the  Royal  Gkirdens,  Kew;  the  male 
flowers  after  Hayne,  the  frait  from  a  specimen  in  the  Pharmaoeatical  Society's 
ICnseam. 

1.  Portion  of  a  female  plant. 

2.  Spike  of  flowers. 

3.  Section  of  the  same. 

4.  A  single  flower. 

5.  Bracts. 

6.  Raceme  of  ripe  fruit. 

7.  A  single  frnit. 

8.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 

9.  Spike  of  male  flowers. 

10.  Upper  port  of  the  same. 

11.  A  male  flower. 

(2-^,  8, 10, 11  enlarged.) 


/ 


844 

N.  Ord.  PiPBBJLCXiB. 
Genns  Piper*  Linn. 

244.  Piper  long^limy  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  29  (175S). 

Long  Pepper.     Pippul  (Bengal). 

Byn, — Ghavica  Boxbnrgliii,  MiqueiL 

Figwres, — Nees,  t.  23;  Hayne,  xiv,  t.  20;  Wight,  Ic.  Plant.  IncL,  ▼!, 
1. 1928 ;  Miqael,  Blast.  Pip.,  t.  30. 

DescfripHon. — ^A    small   shmb  with   a  large   woody   root   and 
numerous  creeping^  cylindricalj  smooth^  jointed  sterns^  thickened 
at  the  nodes,   young  shoots   quite   glabrous  or  slightly  downy. 
Leaves  alternate^  without   stipules,    spreading,    the   lower    ones 
stalked,  petioles    slender,  the  longest   2  inches  long,  the  upper 
leaves  sessile  or  nearly   so,   blade  varying  greatly  in   size,  the 
lowest  three  inches  long  and  nearly  as  wide,  the  uppermost  not 
more  than  1  inch  long  and  not  half  as  wide,  cordate  at  the  base, 
acute  and  often  somewhat  attenuate  at  the  apex,  entire,  smooth, 
somewhat  flaccid,  strongly  5-nerved,  dark   green,  paler  beneath. 
Flowers  unisexual,  dioecious,  minute,  the  male  in  rather  lax  spikes 
which  are  1 — 2  inches  long,  each  with  two  very  shortly  stalked  or- 
bicular bracts  at  the  base,  the  female  very  densely  packed  on  a  short 
fleshy  axis,  each  with  a  bract  at  its  base  consisting  of  a  circular 
entire  thin  scale  supported  by  a  short  thick  stalk  attached  to  its 
back  below  the  centre,  the  whole  forming  a  solid  dense  spadix  or 
spike  about  1  inch  long  j  spikes  all  stalked,  coming  off  opposite 
the   leaves.      Male    flowers  : — perianth   none ;    stamens    2,   with 
short  broad  filaments  and  anther-cells  separated  below.     Female 
flowers : — ^perianth  none  ;  stamens  wanting ;  ovary  as  in  the  last ; 
style  divided  into  4  recurved  stigmas.     Fruit  similar  in  structure 
to    the    last,    about    tJj    inch   long,    ovoid-compressed,    pointed, 
many  closely  packed  on  the  axis  and  fused  together  into  a  solid, 
cylindrical,  slightly  tapering,  reddish-brown,  spike-like  cone  about 
1^  inch  long  and  \  thick.     Seed  as  in  the  last. 

Habitat — This  sort  of  pepper  is  found  wild  on  the  borders  of 


244    PIPER  LONGUM 

streams  and  similar  places  growing  amongst  other  bushes  in 
many  parts  of  Southern  and  Eastern  India^  especially  the 
Malabar  and  Coromandel  coasts^  where  it  is  also  largely  culti- 
vated. It  grows  also  in  Ceylon,  Timor,  and  the  Philippine 
Islands.  August  and  September  are  the  flowering  period,  and 
in  Bengal,  where  the  plant  is  also  cultivated,  the  fruit  is  mature 
in  January.  There  is  a  specimen  in  cultivation  at  the  gardens  of 
the  Boyal  Botanic  Society,  Regent^s  Park. 

Long  Pepper  is  also  produced  in  Java,  the  species  which  is 
there  grown  being  P.  offidnarum,  Cas.  DC.  {Ghavica  offidnaruniy 
Miquel),  figured  in  MiquePs  '  Illust.  Pip.,'  tt.  34,  35,  &  Hayne, 
xiv,  t.  21.  This  is  a  native  of  many  of  the  Indian  islands,  and 
may  be  known  from  P.  longum  by  its  narrow  leaves,  attenuated 
at  the  base,  with  pinnate  venation. 

Miquel's  genus  Ghavica  is  characterised  by  its  dicecious  flowers, 
stalked  bracts,  and  sessile  fruits ;  the  species  are  all  Asiatic. 

Rozb.,  Fl.  Indica,  i,  p.  154 ;  Miqael,  Fl.  Ind.  Bat.,  i,  ii,  pp.  440 ; 
Gas.  DC,  in  DC.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  i,  p.  355 ;  Miquel,  in  Kova 
Acta  Leop.-Car.  Acad.,  xzi,  Supp.,  p.  33  (1846). 


Pcurt  Used  and  Name. — Pipbe  Longum  ;  the  dried  unripe  spike 
of  fruits.  It  is  not  now  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopceia,  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United 
States ;  but  it  was  formerly  recognised  in  the  London  and  Edin- 
burgh Pharmacopoeias. 

Prepa/raUon  and  Gommerce, — Long  Pepper  is  gathered  in 
January,  when  the  spikes  of  fruits  are  full  grown  but  yet  unripe, 
because  if  left  till  they  are  quite  ripe  their  pungency  is  to  a  great 
extent  lost.  It  is  then  dried  by  exposure  to  the  sun.  Long 
Pepper  is  chiefly  imported  from  Singapore,  whither  it  is  derived 
in  a  great  measure  from  Java,  but  to  some  extent  also  from  Rhio. 
By  far  the  larger  proportion  is  shipped  from  Singapore  to  British 
India,  about  500  cwt.  only,  out  of  an  average  of  4000  cwt.,  being 
annually  sent  to  the  United  Kingdom.  The  botanical  source  of 
the  pepper  from  Java  is  chiefly  Piper  offidnarum,    DC.     Long 


244    PIPER  LONQUM 

Pepper  is  also  largely  exported  from  Calcutta ;  its  soarce  being 
Piper  longum,  Linn.^  the  species  now  being  described. 

Oeneral  Oha/racters  and  Composition. — ^The  long  pepper  of 
English  commerce^  which^  as  just  noticed^  is  chiefly  the  produce 
of  Jaya^  is  cylindrical  in  form^  somewhat  tapering  above^  marked 
with  superficial  spirally  arranged  furrows^  from  an  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  lengthy  and  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 
It  has  a  brownish-white  colour  from  having  been  rubbed  in  lime 
or  some  other  earthy  powder^  but  when  washed^  its  natural  colour 
is  seen  to  be  deep  brownish-red.  It  has  an  agreeable^  somewhat 
aromatic  odour ;  and  a  yery  pungent  aromatic  taste.  It  is  more 
pungent  than  black  pepper.  Long  Pepper  consists  of  a  number 
of  minute  sessile  fruits^  each  being  crowned  with  the  remains 
of  the  stigma  in  the  form  of  a  small  point ;  and  the  whole  closely 
arranged  around  a  common  axis^  and  supported  on  a  short  stalk. 

The  constituents  of  long  pepper^  as  shown  by  Dulong  in  1825^ 
are  closely  analogous  to  those  of  black  pepper^  being  essentially 
volatile  oil,  resin,  and  piperin ;  no  more  recent  analysis  appears 
to  have  been  made.  These  constituents  are  described  under 
Fiper  nigrum* 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — The  properties  and  uses  of  long 
pepper  are  similar  to  those  of  black  pepper,  under  which-  they  are 
given  in  detail.  The  latter  has  now,  however,  almost  entirely 
replaced  the  former  in  medicine ;  but  long  pepper  is  still  used  to 
some  extent  in  veterinary  practice.  The  chief  consumption  of 
long  pepper  is  in  pickling,  and  for  culinary  purposes. 

The  root  of  the  long  pepper  plant  is  highly  prized  as  a  medicine 
by  the  Hindoos ;  and  is  also  in  use  by  the  Persians  and  Arabs. 
It  is  the  pipli-mul  or  peepla-mool  of  the  Taleef  Shereef.  Its 
properties  are  similar  to,  but  less  stimulant  than,  the  fruit. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  i,  p.  390;  Pharmaoographia,  p.  524 ; 
PharmacopoBia  of  India,  p.  208 ;  A.  Wynter  Bljth,  in  Ghem. 
News,  Oct.  9,  1874,  and  Pharm.  Joam.,  vol.  y,  ser.  3,  p.  342 ; 
Roxburgh,  Flora  Indica,  p.  155;  Ainslie's  Mat.  Med.  Ind. ; 
Joam.  de  Pharm.,  Fevrier,  1825. 


244    PIPER  LONGUM 


DfiSCBIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  collected  by  Koenig  on  the 
Coromandel  coast ;  the  male  flowers  added  from  Miquel. 

1.  Yonng  shoot  of  a  female  plant  with  half  ripe  fruit-spikes. 

2.  Portion  of  a  flower  spike. 

3.  4.  A  flower  bract. 

5.  Female  flower. 

6.  Bipe  fruit  spike. 

7.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 

8.  9.  A  fruit. 

10.  Spike  of  male  flowers. 

11.  Male  flower. 

12.  A  stamen. 

(2-5,  7,  9, 11, 12  enlarged.) 


T^IPER   L3IGRUM  , 


245 

N.  Ord.  PiPEBACE  Ji. 

Qenoa  Fiper»  Idnn, 


245.  Piper  nigrum,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  28  (1753). 

Black  Pepper,     Murich  (Bengal). 

8yn, — P.  trioicnm,  Booeib. 

IHgwres. — Miller,  Illustrations,  cop.  in  WoodviUe,  t.  246 ;  Nees,  t.  21 ; 
Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  174;  Hayne,  xir,  t.  6;  Bot.  Mag.,  t.  3139;  Miqnel, 
Illust.  Pip.,  tt.  50,  61 ;  Wight,  Ic.  PL  Ind.,  tt.  1935-6 ;  BaiU.,  Hist. 
PL,  iii,  figs.  497,  503-6. 

Description. — A  trailing  or  climbing  shrab^  reaching  a  height 
of  20 — 30  feet,  the  old  stems  woody,  rough,  the  younger  mnch 
branched  dichotomonsly,  smooth,  thickened  at  the  joints,  from 
which  arise  adventitious  rootlets  which  attach  themselves  to 
neighbouring  supports,  or  root  in  the  soil.  Leaves  alternate, 
without  stipules,  widely  spreading,  on  rounded  petioles  about 
4  inch  long;  blade  4 — 6  inches  long,  oval  or  ovate,  acute  at 
base  and  apex,  entire,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  leathery,  dark 
green  and  shining  above,  paler  beneath,  with  5  to  7  prominent 
nerves  from  the  base  connected  by  reticulations.  Flowers  usually 
unisexual,  and  either  monoecious  or  dioecious,  sometimes  herma- 
phrodite, sessile,  each  sunk  ii^  a  hollow  excavated  in  the  sub- 
stance of  slender  filiform,  stalked,  pendulous  spadices,  8 — 6 
inches  long,  coming  off  opposite  the  upper  leaves ;  the  female 
flowers  rather  laxly  arranged,  each  in  the  axil  of  a  small,  tongue- 
shaped,  entire,  fleshy,  spreading  or  reflexed  bract ;  the  males  more 
crowded.  Male  flowers  : — perianth  absent ;  stamens  2,  filaments 
very  broad  and  thick,  anthers  with  the  cells  widely  separated. 
Female  flowers : — ^perianth  absent,  ovary  nearly  spherical,  no 
style,  stigmas  3  (or  4),  sessile,  spreading.  Fruit  berry-like,  sessile, 
irregularly  and  somewhat  laxly  placed  on  the  slender  more  or  less 
pendulous  spikes,  nearly  globular,  less  than  J  inch  in  diameter, 
smooth,  marked  at  the  summit  by  the  remains  of  the  stigmas,  at 
first  green,  then  red,  yellow  when  quite  ripe ;   pericarp  fleshy. 


245    PIPER  NIGRUM 

thin.      Seed  solitary,  testa  thin,  brown,  embryo  as  in  the  other 
species. 

Habitat. — The  Black  Pepper  is  a  native  of  Southern  India, 
especially  the  Malabar  coast,  growing  in  rich  soil  in  the  shade  of 
trees,  to  the  trunks  of  which  it  adheres  by  means  of  its  ivy-like 
rootlets  (figured  in  the  '  Bot.  Mag/  plate),  though  it  does  not 
usually  climb  to  any  great  height.  It  is  also  met  with  in  other 
parts  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  and  in  Ceylon,  Singapore,  Penang, 
Borneo,  Luzon,  Java,  Sumatra,  and  the  Philippine  islands,  in  all 
of  which  places  it  is  considered  to  have  been  introduced.  Its 
cultivation  is  carried  on  in  all  these  countries,  but  especially  in 
South-Western  India  ;  it  has  been  also  tried  in  the  West  Indies. 
From  its  climbing  habit  it  has  received  the  name  of  Pepper 
Vine,  and  in  cultivation  the  plants  are  often  trained  on  artificial 
supports.  The  flowering  and  fruiting  take  place  irregularly,  the 
berries  taking  about  five  or  six  months  to  come  to  a  proper  state 
for  gathering,  which  is  before  they  are  fully  ripe.  Though  grown 
in  our  stoves,  having  been  introduced  in  1790,  it  has  not  produced 
flowers  in  this  country. 

The  P.  trioicum  of  Roxburgh  is  considered  to  form  a  variety 
only  by  0.  de  CandoUe.  It  bears  catkins  of  hermaphrodite  flowers 
or  of  hermaphrodite  and  female  flowers  mixed,  but  does  not  appear 
to  materially  differ  from  P.  nigrum  in  other  respects. 

Rozb.,  Fl.  Ind.,  i,  pp.  150, 151 ;  Oas.  DO.,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  i, 
p.  363 ;  Miqnel,  in  Nova  Acta  Leop.-Oar.  Acad.,  xzi,  Snpp., 
p.  50 ;  Lindl.,  M.  Med.,  p.  310;  Fluck.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr., 
p.  519. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Piper  Nigbum  ;  the  dried  unripe 
berries  (B.  P.).  The  dried  unripe  berries  (I.  P.).  Pipbb;  the 
unripe  berries  (U.  S.  P.). 

Preparation,  Commerce,  and  Varieties. — ^As  soon  as  the  fruits 
(berries)  at  the  base  of  the  spike  begin  to  change  in  colour  from 
green  to  red,  the  whole  spike  is  gathered;  for  if  allowed  to 
remain  until  fully  ripe,  the  berries  become  less  pungent,  and,  more- 
over, easily  fall  off.     The  day  after  the  berries  are  gathered  they 


245    FIPEB  NIGRUM 

are  separated  from  their  stalks  by  hand-rubbings  and  picked  clean  ; 
they  are  then  dried  by  exposure  to  the  sun,  or  more  frequently  by 
the  heat  of  a  gentle  fire. 

Pepper  (including  black  and  white)  is  chiefly  imported  into 
the  United  Kingdom  from  Siugapore,  and  is  essentially  the 
produce  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  but  some  comes  from  British 
India  and  other  parts.  In  1872,  the  former  districts  supplied  about 
25,000,000  lbs.,  the  latter  only  256,000  lbs.,  and  the  total  impor- 
tation from  all  parts  was  27,576,710  lbs.  Of  this  quantity  about 
two  thirds  were  again  exported  from  the  United  Kingdom  to 
Germany,  Italy,  Bussia,  Holland,  Spain,  and  other  countries, 
thus  leaving  about  10,000,000  lbs.  for  home  consumption.  The 
principal  varieties  of  black  pepper  are  Malabar,  Cochin,  Penang, 
Singapore,  and  Siam.     Malabar  is  the  most  esteemed. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Composition. —  The  black  pepper  of 
commerce  is  a  small  roundish  fruit  of  about  ^  of  an  inch  in 
diameter ;  it  has  a  blackish-brown  colour,  and  is  wrinkled 
on  its  surface.  The  thin  pericarp  encloses  a  single  hard 
smooth  roundish  seed,  which  has  a  brown  colour,  and  is  homy 
externally,  and  mealy  within.  Black  pepper  has  an  aromatic 
odour,  and  a  pungent,  somewhat  bitterish  taste.  The  heavier  the 
pepper,  the  more  it  is  valued;  the  heaviest  of  all  is  commonly 
called  shot  pepper. 

The  principal  constituents  of  black  pepper  are  resin,  volatile  oil, 
sjid  piperin  ovpiperia.  It  also  contains  a  MiWe  fatty  oil,  sta/rch,  and 
other  ingredients  ;  and  about  5  per  cent,  of  inorganic  matter  may 
be  obtained  from  it  by  incineration.  The  resin  is  a  soft  substance, 
with  a  very  acrid  pungent  taste,  and  to  its  presence  the  properties 
of  pepper  as  a  stimulant  are  more  particularly  due  ;  it  is 
contained  in  the  proportion  of  about  18  per  cent.  The  amount  of 
volatile  oil  is  from  about  1*6  to  2*8  per  cent.,  and  to  it  the  odour 
of  pepper  and  its  aromatic  taste  are  due.  In  composition  it  is 
isomeric  with  oil  of  turpentine.  Piperin  or  piperia  is  a  neutral  or 
feebly  alkaline,  crystalline  substance,  occurring  in  the  proportion 
of  from  2  to  3  per  cent.  It  is  identical  in  composition  with 
morphia ;  it  is  insoluble  in  water,  but  readily  soluble  in  alcohol ; 


245    PIPER  NIGRUM 

and  when  pare  is  colonrless^  and  without  taste  or  smell.  It  is 
resolvable  into  piperic  acid  and  piperidia  ;  the  latter  is  a  powerful 
liquid  colourless  alkaloid  with  an  ammoniacal  and  somewhat 
peppery  odour^  and  readily  forms  crystalline  salts  with  acids. 
Piperin  is  regarded  as.  the  constituent  to  which  the  supposed 
febrifuge  properties  of  pepper  are  due. 

Adulteration, — Black  pepper  is  not  liable  to  adulteration  in  its 
entire  state^  but  when  powdered^  it  is  frequently  mixed  with 
various  kinds  of  starchy  mustard  husks^  linseed^  capsicum^  &c. 
These  substances  are  readily  detected  by  careful  observation 
under  the  microscope  and  the  use  of  reagents.  It  should  be 
noticed^  however^  that  starch  is  one  of  the  natural  consti- 
tuents of  pepper^  but  its  small  size  at  once  distinguishes  it  from 
all  other  starches  except  that  of  rice,  the  granules  of  which, 
according  to  Evans,  are  very  nearly  the  same  size  as  those  of 
pepper  starch. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Black  pepper  is  an  aromatic 
carminative  stimulant ;  and  is  also  supposed  to  possess  febrifuge 
properties.  Its  action  as  a  stimulant  is  more  especially  evident 
on  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  rectum  and  urinary  organs. 
Externally  applied  it  is  rubefacient.  It  is  regarded  as  a  useful 
remedy  in  hsDmorrhoidal  affections,  and  in  relaxed  conditions  of  the 
rectum  attended  with  prolapsus ;  it  is  also  sometimes  employed 
as  a  substitute  for  cubebs  in  gonorrhoea,  &c.  It  is  likewise 
given  in  combination  with  aperients  to  facilitate  their  action  and 
prevent  griping.  Blaclf  pepper  has  long  been  a  popular  remedy 
in  this  country  and  some  other  parts  of  the  world  in  intermittent 
fevers.  Both  it  and  piperin,  to  which  its  reputed  febrifuge 
property  is  due,  have  also  been  largely  used  in  regular  medical 
practice  in  the  treatment  of  intermittent  fevers ;  but  rarely  with  any 
evident  benefit,  hence  they  are  now  but  very  little  employed. 
As  a  masticatory,  or  when  locally  applied  as  a  gargle,  pepper 
has  been  found  useful  in  relaxed  uvula,  paralysis  of  the  tongue, 
and  in  other  affections  of  the  mouth  or  throat. 

Black  pepper  .is,  however,  principally  employed  as  a  condi- 
ment,   partly   for    its    flavour,    and    partly   on    account   of    its 


245    PIPEB  NIGRUM 

Btimnlant  inflaence  oyer  the  stomachy  by  which  it  assists  diges- 
tion; it  is  consequently  of  especial  yalne  for  persons  suffering 
from  atonic  or  torpid  conditions  of  the  stomach. 

Wnm  Pbppbb. — Preparation  and  General  Characters. — ^White^ 
pepper  is  prepared  from  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  black  pepper 
plant.  The  process  yaries  somewhat  in  different  districts^  but 
the  spikes  of  ripe  fruit  are  commonly  left  for  two  or  three 
days  after  being  gathered;  they  are  then  washed  and  bruised 
with  the  hand  in  a  basket  or  some  other  suitable  receptacle^  till  all 
the  stalks  and  the  soft  dark  outer  layer  of  the  pericarp  are 
remoyed^  and  are  finally  dried.  Hence  white  pepper  is  the  fruit 
depriyed  of  the  greater  portion  of  the  pericarp,  in  fact,  is  but 
little  more  than  the  seed.  These  grains,  as  the  prepared 
fruits  are  then  commonly  called,  are  somewhat  larger  than  black 
pepper,  smooth,  nearly  round,  and  of  a  greyish  or  yellowish-white 
colour.  They  are  hard  and  homy  externally,  and  mealy  within ; 
their  taste  and  odour  are  similar  to,  but  less  marked  than,  black 
I)epper. 

Varieties. — Four  yarieties  of  White  Pepper  are  commonly 
distinguished  in  commerce,  namely,  Tellicherry,  which  is  the 
finest,  Penang,  Batayia,  and  Singapore.  It  is  principally  pre- 
pared in  the  Straits  Settlements,  from  whence  between  two 
and  three  millions  of  pounds  are  annually  exported,  and  chiefly  to 
China. 

The  white  peppers  of  commerce  are  frequently  bleached ;  and 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  conyert  black  to  white  pepper,  by 
depriying  it  of  the  outer  portion  of  the  pericarp  by  mechanical 
trituration.  The  pepper  formerly  known  as  Fulton's  decorticated 
pepper  was  thus  prepared,  but  the  loss  in  weight  was  so  great^ 
and  the  article  so  inferior  in  quality,  that  the  process  is  not  now 
carried  on. 

Composition,  Adulterations,  and  Uses. — In  its  chemical  constitu- 
tion white  pepper  contains  essentially  the  same  constituents  as 
black  pepper,  but  in  somewhat  different  proportions.  It  is  liable  to 
similar  adulterations  as  black  pepper,  and  these  may  therefore  be 
detected  in  like  manner.     Its  properties  and  uses  are  also  similar 


245    PIPER  NIGRUM 

to  those  of  black  pepper.  Black  pepper  is,  however,  commonly 
preferred  as  a  spice,  at  least  in  Europe  and  the  United  States, 
and  is  alone  official.  But  in  China,  white  pepper  is  highly 
esteemed. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  384;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  and 
R.,  p.  514 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  521 ;  Steph.  &  Churoh.,  by 
Burnett,  vol.  iii,  pi.  174;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  675; 
Hassall,  Adulterations  in  Food  and  Medicine,  2nd  edit.,  p.  356 ; 
Watts'  Diet,  of  Ohem.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  653 — 659 ;  Evans,  in  Pharm. 
Joum.,  vol.  i,  2nd  ser.,  p.  605 ;  Chem.  Gaz.,  Aug.,  1849,  p.  309, 
May  1, 1852,  p.  167,  and  Jan.  1,  1858,  p.  7 ;  Blyth,  in  Ohem. 
News,  Oct.  9,  1874,  and  Pharm.  Joum.,  voL  v,  ser.  3,  p.  342 ; 
Ainslie,  Mat.  Med.  of  Hindostan,  p.  34. 


DESCBIPTION  OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  collected  in  India  by 
Wallich  and  the  Straits  of  Sunda  by  Staunton;  the  hermaphrodite  flower 
added  from  MiqueL 

1.  A  spike  of  female  flowers, 

2.  Portion  of  the  spike. 

3.  A  branch  with  fruit. 

4.  A  fruit. 

5.  Section  of  the  same. 

6.  A  hermaphrodite  flower. 

7.  A  stamen. 

(2,  4-7  enlarged) 


,  c'£^:pf.ntaria,j 


246 


N.  Ord.  Abibtolochiacb^.    Lindl.  Yeg.  Kingd.,  p.  792  ;    Le 
Maoat  &  Dec.,  p.  705. 

Grenns  Aristoloohia*  Linn*  Dncbartre  in  DO.  Prod.,  xv,  pt.  i, 
pp.  432 — 498.  Species  over  180,  found  in  the  warmer 
eonntries  throughout  the  world. 


S46.  Aristolochia  Serpentaria^t  Linn.,  8p.    Plant,  ed.  I, 

p.  961  (1758). 

Virginian  Snakeroot. 

8yn, — A.  officinalis,  Nees.  A.  sagittata,  MvM,  A.  hastata,  Nutt.  £n- 
dodeca  Bartonii,  Klotzseh,    E.  Serpentaria,  Klotzach. 

Fiffwes, — Woodville,  t.  59;  Bigelow,  t.  49;  Barton,  t.  28,  copied  in 
Hajne,  ix,  t.  21;  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  180;  Nees,  t.  143;  Berg  &  Sch., 
t.  25  a. 

Description. — ^A  perennial  herb,  with  a  short  horizontal  rhizome 
giving  ofE  very  numerous  long,  slender,  crowded  roots  below. 
Flowering  stems  about  a  foot  high,  branched  at  the  base,  slender, 
cylindrical,  flexuous  or  ziczac,  pubescent,  purple  below.  Leaves 
few,  on  the  upper  part  of  the  stem,  alternate,  stalked,  without 
stipules,  two  or  three  inches  long,  usually  ovate-attenuate,  with  a 
cordate  base,  sometimes  narrower  and  oblong  or  even  linear 
entire,  minutely  pubescent,  especially  when  young.  Flowers 
few,  solitary,  not  an  inch  long,  on  rather  long,  filiform,  flexuous 
stalks,  which  come  off  horizontally  from  the  axils  of  small  scales 
at  the  lower  nodes  of  the  stem,  curved  downwards  at  the  ends, 
with  several  distant  bractlets  at  intervals.  Perianth  adherent  to 
the  ovary  (superior),  tubular,  hairy  on  the  outside,  smooth  within, 
tough,  dark  brownish-purple,  deciduous,  the  tube  cylindrical, 
inflated  above  the  ovary,  then  much  narrowed,  then  again  inflated, 
and  finally  narrowed  at  the  mouth,  which  is  turned  upwards,  the 


*  Aristolochia,  apio-roXoxf'o*  the  classical  name  for  A,  ClematUia  and  A, 
rotunda,  from  their  supposed  virtues. 

t  The  Serpentaria  virginiana  of  Plukenet  (1691),  from  its  use  in  snake- 
bites. 


246    ARISTOLOCHIA  SERPENTARIA 

limb  vertical,  flat,  obscurely  3-lobed.  Stamens  epigynous,  filaments 
fused  witb  the  style,  anthers  6,  2-celled,  apparently  sessile  and 
adnate  to  the  under  surface  of  the  stigma,  two  under  each  of  its 
lobes,  dehiscing  vei'tically.  Ovary  inferior,  ovoid-pyriform, 
bluntly  6-angled,  covered  with  short  reflexed  hairs,  8-celled,  with 
a  double  row  of  ovules  attached  to  the  axile  placentas ;  styles 
combined  into  a  short  thick  column ;  stigma  large,  divided  into 
3  broad,  flat,  truncate  lobes.  Fruit  a  small  dry  capsule,  partially 
dehiscent  septicidally,  flattened  above,  6-angled,  6-celled,  pericarp 
thin,  papery,  smooth,  dark  brown.  Seeds  several  in  each  cell, 
bluntly  triangular,  very  flat,  convex  and  somewhat  warted  on  the 
lower  surface  with  the  margin  inflexed,  hollowed  on  the  upper 
surface,  where  it  i&  traversed  across  the  centre  by  the  thick, 
white,  fleshy  raphe,  embryo  very  small  at  the  end  next  the  hilum, 
endosperm  abundant,  densely  fleshy. 

Habitat. — ^A  native  of  the  United  States  of  America  growing 
in  moist  fertile  woods  in  all  except  the  most  Northern  States, 
but  not  generally  a  very  common  plant.  It  flowers  in  June 
and  July,  the  singular  blossoms  being  more  or  less  buried  in  the 
loose  soil  and  dead  leaves  near  the  root ;  the  seeds  are  ripe  at 
the  end  of  September.  It  was  grown  in  an  English  garden  so 
far  back  as  1632.  There  is  a  plant  in  cultivation  at  Kew,  but  it 
has  not  flowered  there. 

The  genus  Endodeca  was  defined  by  Klotzsch  from  this  species, 
which  he  divided  into  three ;  it  possesses,  however,  no  characters 
distinguishing  it  from  Aristolochia. 

The  great  variation  in  the  form  of  the  leaves  has  caused  the 
creation  of  several  supposed  species.  Barton's  figure  above  quoted 
is  the  variety  Bartonii  of  Duchartre,  Endodeca  Bartonii,  Klotzsch, 
Aristolochia  officinalis,  Nees. 

An  allied  species,  A.  reticulata^  Nutt,  native  to  the  Western 
United  States,  yields  the  Texan  or  Red  River  Snakeroot. 

A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  N.  U.  St.,  p.  404;  Chapman,  Fl.  South. 
States,  p.  272 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  343 ;  Duchai-tre,  in  DO. 
Prod.,  XV,  i,  p.  433 ;  Klotzsch,  in  Monatsbericht  dcr  K.  Akad., 
Berlin,  1859,  pp.  575,  600. 


246    ARISTOLOOHIA  SERPENTAEIA 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Sbbpshtabi^  Badix;  the  dried 
rhizome  (B.  P.).  The  dried  root  (I.  P.).  Sbrpentaria;  the  root 
of  Aristolochia  Serpentaria,  of  Aristolochia  reticulata,  and  of  other 
species  of  Aristolochia  (U.  S.  P.). 

Collection  and  Commerce. — Serpentary  rhizome,  Serpentary  root, 
or  as  it  is  also  termed  Virginian  Snakeroot,  is  principally  col- 
lected in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  but  also  in  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Kentucky.  It  is  commonly  imported  into  this 
country  in  bales,  casks,  or  bags,  from  New  York  and  Boston. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — The  so-called  Snake-root 
or  Serpentary  root  of  commerce  consists  in  reality  of  the  rhizome 
and  of  a  tuft  of  numerous  small  roots  arising  from  its  lower  sur- 
face. The  rhizome  presents  a  twisted  and  knotty  appearance ;  it 
is  usually  about  an  inch  in  length,  by  about  one  eighth  of  an  inch 
in  thickness,  and  is  marked  on  its  upper  surface  by  the  short 
projecting  bases  of  the  aerial  stems  which  it  once  bore.  In  some 
cases  we  also  find  attached  to  the  rhizome  longer  portions  of  the 
herbaceous  stem,  together  with  leaves,  flowers,  and  fruit.  From 
the  under  surface  of  the  rhizome  numerous  slender  branched 
rootlets  arise,  varying  from  2  to  4  inches  long,  and  forming 
together  a  compact  interlacing  tuft.  Serpentary  has  a  yellowish 
or  brownish  colour ;  a  bitterish,  aromatic,  somewhat  valerianaceous 
and  camphoraceous  taste ;  and  a  strong,  aromatic,  not  unpleasant 
odour,  resembling  a  mixture  of  valerian  and  camphor. 

The  principal  constituents  of  serpentary  root  are,  a  volatile  oil 
in  the  proportion  of  about  |  per  cent,  and  a  bitter  principle.  The 
volatile  oil  has  the  odour  of  the  root,  and  the  bitter  principle 
{aristolochin),  which  was  first  made  known  by  Ohevallier,  is 
described  as  an  amorphous  substance  of  a  yellow  colour,  a  bitter 
and  slightly  acrid  taste,  and  as  soluble  in  both  water  and 
alcohol.  It  requires  further  investigation.  The  medicinal  pro- 
perties of  serpentaria  are  doubtless  essentially,  if  not  entirely,  due, 
to  these  two  substances.  But  serpentary  root  also  contains  tannic 
acid,  resin,  mucilage,  sugar,  and  some  other  unimportant 
ingredients. 

Substitutions   and  Adulterations. — In    the    United    States    the 


246    AttlSTOLOCHIA  SERPENTARIA 

rhizomes  and  rootlets  of  other  species  of  Aristolochia,  more  espe- 
cially those  of  Aristolochia  reticulata^  Nutt,  are  sometimes  sub- 
stituted for  the  serpentary  root  derived  from  Aristolochia 
Serpentaria;  indeed,  these  parts  of  Aristolochia  reticulata  are 
official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States.  This  serpentary 
root  closely  resembles  the  old  serpentary  root  in  odour  and  taste, 
although  it  is  somewhat  less  aromatic;  and  also  in  appearance, 
except  that  the  rhizome  is  a  little  thicker,  and  the  rootlets  less 
matted  together.  Should  any  of  the  leaves,  however,  be  mixed 
with  this  root  they  are  at  once  a  distinguishing  character,  being 
nearly  sessile,  leathery  in  texture,  and  evidently  reticulated  on 
their  lower  surface.  This  Serpentary  root  is  commonly  known 
as  Texan  or  Red  River  Snakeroot.  Examined  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Wiegand,  of  the  United  States,  it  was  found  to  have  essentially 
the  same  chemical  composition  as  the  true  serpentary  root.  The 
rhizomes  and  rootlets  of  other  species  of  Aristolochia,  as,  for 
instance,  those  of  A,  hirsuta,  Muhl,  are  also  said  to  be  sometimes 
mixed  with  the  rhizomes  and  rootlets  of  A,  Serpentaria. 

Various  other  roots  and  rhizomes  are  also  occasionally  substi- 
tuted for,  or  mixed  with,  serpentary  root,  either  fraudulently  or 
by  accident,  such  as  the  roots  of  Spigelia  marilandica,  L., 
the  rhizomes  of  Oypripedium  puhescens,  L.,  and  of  Hydrastis 
canadensis^  L. ;  and  the  roots  of  Pana^x  quinquefolvum,  L.  These 
are  all  readily  distinguished  from  Serpentary  root  if  only  ordinary 
care  be  exercised,  as  their  characters  are  very  different  from  it, 
and  need,  therefore,  no  further  notice  from  us. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — As  its  common  and  specific 
names  of  Snakeroot  and  Serpentaria  imply,  Serpentary  had 
formerly  a  high  reputation  for  the  cure  of  the  bites  of  venomous 
serpents;  indeed,  it  was  first  introduced  into  regular  medical 
practice  as  a  remedy  in  such  cases,  but  like  all  the  so-called 
specifics  of  vegetable  origin  which  have  been  introduced  for 
destroying  the  effects  caused  by  venomous  reptiles  it  is  no 
longer  regarded  as  of  any  remedial  value.  As  a  stimulant, 
tonic,  diaphoretic,  and  diuretic,  it  is,  however,  a  medicine  of  some 
repute ;  but  in  too  large  doses  it  causes  nausea,  flatulency,  griping 


246    ARISTOLOCHIA  SERPENTARIA 

pains  in  the  bowels,  and  tendency  to  diarrhoea.  It  has  been 
extensively  employed  in  typhus  and  typhoid  fevers ;  and  has  also 
been  highly  recommended  in  intermittent  fevers ;  but  in  the  latter 
it  is  commonly  given  as  an  adjunct  to  bark  or  sulphate  of  quinia, 
whose  effects  it  is  said  to  increase  in  a  marked  degree.  It  has 
likewise  been  employed  as  an  antidote  against  the  bite  of  a  mad 
dog,  but  it  has  no  more  value  in  destroying  the  effects  in  such  a  case 
than  as  a  remedy  in  the  bites  of  venomous  reptiles.  It  is,  however, 
Qsed  with  good  results  in  diphtheria,  chronic  rheumatism,  atonic 
dyspepsia,  and  in  exanthematoas  diseases  to  promote  eruption. 
A  strong  infusion  is  also  reputed  to  be  serviceable  as  a  gargle 
in  malignant  sore  throat.  Garrod  states,  that  from  observations 
made  during  many  years,  he  '^  is  inclined  to  think  that  serpentary 
is  a  remedy  of  some  considerable  power,  acting  in  a  manner  not 
unlike  Guaiacum  in  stimulating  the  capillary  circulation,  and 
promoting  recovery  in  chronic  forms  of  gouty  inflammation  ;  and 
as  it  does  not  disturb  the  bowels,  it  may  often  be  administered 
when  Guaiacum  is  not  easily  tolerated/' 

Gerarde's  Herball,  by  Johnson  (1632),  p.  849;  Dale's  Pbarma- 
cologia  (1693);  Steph.  &  Oburck,  Med.  Bot.  by  Burnett, 
yol.  ill,  pL  180;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  i,  p.  433 ;  Pbarma- 
cograpbia,  p.  <532 ;  Garr.  Mat.  Med.,  p.  345 ;  U.  S.  Disp.  by 
W.  &  B.,  p.803 ;  Chevallier,  Joum.  de  Pbarm.,  vol.  y\,  p.  365  ; 
Wiegand,  in  Amer.  Joarn.  Pbarm.,  vol.  x,  1845 ;  Maiscb,  in 
Am.  Joum.  Pbarm.  (1874),  p.  106 ;  Proc.  Amer.  Pbarm.  Ass. 
(1873),  p,  441 ;  Millemann,  in  Amer.  Joum.  Pbarm.,  4tb  ser., 
voL  iv,  p.  511,  and  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy  (1875),  p.  210. 


DESCRIPTION  OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  tbe  Britisb  Museum,  collected  in  Florida. 

1.  A  complete  plant. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  a  flower. 

3.  Flower  with  tbe  perianth  removed. 

4.  Transverse  section  of  tbe  ovary. 

5.  Fruit. 

6.  7.  Upper,  and --6.  Under  surface  of  tbe  seed. 
9  and  10.  Sections  of  tbe  same. 

(3,  4,  7,  8,  9, 10  enlarged.) 


247 

N.  Ord.  JuaL^KDSA.    Lindl.,  Yeg.  Kingd.,  p.  292 ;  Le  Maout  & 
De(v,  p.  711. 

Gentw  Jnglans  *  Linn.  Oaa.  DO.  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2, 
pp.  185 — ^139.  Species  8,  found  in  the  warm  and  tem- 
perate regions  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 


247.  Juglans  cinerea,  Unn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  2,  p.  1415  (1762)« 

Butter-nut,      Oil-nut.      Wliite-nuL 


Syik— J.  eathartioa, 

Figures. — Bigelow,  t.  32;  Michanx,  N.  Amer.  Sylra,  i,  t.  31 ;  Jaoquin, 
Ic.  Plant  Bar.,  i,  1. 172. 

Description. — ^A  tree  of  80 — 50  feet  high,  with  long  and  wide- 
spreading  branches  forming  a  large  flat  head;  bark  smooth, 
dark  grey;  bads  white,  densely  tomentose,  nsually  2  or  8 
superposed  above  the  leaf-axils,  young  twigs  covered  with  a 
reddish  tomentum.  Leaves  alternate,  large,  about  1  foot  long, 
without  stipules,  petiole  and  rachis  densely  pubescent,  impari-pin- 
nate,  leaflets  opposite  or  sub-alternate  in  7 — 10  pairs  and  an  odd 
one,  sessile,  ovate-lanceolate,  the  lower  ones  about  3  inches  long 
when  full  grown,  but  the  more  distal  ones  considerably  smaller, 
rounded  at  the  base,  very  acute  or  acuminate  at  the  apex,  finely 
serrate,  thin,  puberulous  above,  strongly  pubescent  below.  Flowers 
unisexual,  monoecious,  the  male  in  slender  catkins  8 — 5  inches 
long,  from  the  leaf -axils  of  the  previous  year,  the  female  8  or  4 
together  at  the  end  of  stout,  long,  hairy,  axillary  or  terminal 
peduncles  on  the  new  shoots.  Male  flowers  : — ^perianth  and  bract 
fused  to  form  a  horizontal,  rather  flat,  smooth  scale,  with  a  ter- 
minal lobe  and  4  or  5  lateral  ones,  and  bearing  the  stamens  on  ^ 
its  under  surface ;  stamens  8 — 12,  irregularly  arranged  on  the 
bract,  anthers  almost  sessile,  ovoid-oblong,  2-celled,  apiculate. 
Female  flowers  : — ^perianth  double,  the  tube  united  with  the  ovary, 
densely  glandular,   pubescent  externally,  the  outer  limb   (ealyx) 

*  JuglanSf  the  classical  name  for  the  walnut  tree,  /.  regia,  Linn.,  contracted 
from  Jotns  glcms,  Jupiter's  nut.  The  Greeks  called  it  Kopva  and  Kapva 
paatkixfi,  the  rojal  nut. 


247    JUGLANS  CINEBEA. 

cap-shaped^  3-  or  4-tootlied,  the  inner  (corolla)  4-tootlied,  rather 
longer  than  the  outer,  pubescent  on  the  outside ;  ovary  fused  with 
the  perianth-tube  (inferior),  1 -celled  with  a  single  sessile,  erect, 
orthotropous  ovule  on  a  columnar  basal  placenta,  style  very  short, 
stigmas  2,  large,  spreading,  linear-oblong,  flat,  fringed,  pink, 
deciduous.  Fruit  a  large  drupe,  about  2^  inches  long,  oblong- 
ovoid,  often  bluntly-pointed,  hairy  and  very  viscid,  at  first  yel- 
lowish-green,  afterward  brown,  pericarp  of  two  parts,  the  outer 
rind  or  epicarp  (formed  from  the  thickened  and  enlarged  perianth- 
tube)  fleshy,  tough,  indehiscent,  the  inner  nut,  stone,  or  endocarp 
(formed  from  the  altered  ovarian  walls)  very  hard  and  bony, 
united  with  the  rind,  ovoid,  pointed  at  both  ends,  its  surface  very 
rough  and  irregular  with  ridges,  of  which  8  longitudinal  ones  are 
more  prominent,  1 -celled  above,  incompletely  divided  into  2  cells 
below  by  2  ventral,  thick,  hard,  lacunose  dissepiments,  splitting 
into  2  valves  in  germination.  Seed  solitary,  large,  completely 
filling  the  cavity,  testa  membranaceous,  embryo  with  very  large, 
fleshy,  bifid,  lobed  cotyledons,  radicle  small,  pointed,  superior ;  no 
endosperm. 

Habitat. — A  common  tree  in  the  rich  woods  of  North  America, 
being  found  in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  and  in  most  of  the 
Northern  United  States,  and  extending  into  the  Southern  ones, 
on  the  hills.  It  is  grown  in  our  botanic  gardens  and  plantations 
here  in  England,  having  been  introduced  about  the  middle  of  the 
18th  century.  The  flowers  appear  in  April  or  May,  before  the 
leaves  are  fully  grown,  and  the  fruit  is  ripe  in  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember. 

The  common  walnut,  J,  regia,  Linn.,  is  a  native  of  Persia  and 
the  Himalaya,  and  perhaps  China,  but  was  cultivated  in  the 
Mediterranean  region  in  very  early  times,  whence  it  spread  to 
Northern  Europe.  In  this  country  it  was  cultivated  before  1562. 
It  is  figured  in  Hayne  xiii,  t.  17,  and  Berg,  and  Schmidt,  t.  86. 
All  the  other  species  of  the  genus  are  found  in  the  New  World. 

A.  Gray,  Man.  El.  N.  TJ.  States,  p.  477 ;  Hook.,  II.  Bor.-Am., 
ii,  p.  143;  Chapman,  Fl.  South.  States,  p.  419;  Gas.  DO.  in 
DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  137 ;  Lmdl.,  M.  Med.,  p.  307. 


247    JUGLANS  CINEREA 

Official  Part  and  Names, — JuaiANS ;  the  inner  bark  of  the 
root  (U.  S.  P.).  It  is  also  oalled  Butternut  in  the  PharmacopoBia 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharma- 
copoeia^ or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 

Collection. — The  inner  bark  is  the  only  part  nsed  in  medicine^ 
and  as  that  of  the  root  is  regarded  as  the  most  active^  it  is  alone 
official.     It  shonld  be  collected  in  May  or  June. 

General  Cha/racters  and  Oompositimu — ^When  the  outer  bark 
is  first  removed  the  inner  bark  is  pure  white,  but  on  exposure 
to  the  air  it  soon  becomes  of  a  fine  lemon  colour^  and  ultimately, 
when  dry,  as  seen  in  the  pharmacies,  it  is  deep  brown.  It 
is  in  thin  shreds,  or  pieces  of  varying  length,  which  are  tough 
and  fibrous,  and  therefore  powdered  with  difficulty.  It  has  a 
feeble  odour;  and  a  peculiar,  somewhat  acrid,  bitter  taste. 

It  has  been  examined  by  Bigelow,  Thibaud,  Wetherill,  and  E.  S. 
Dawson.  The  latter  found  it  to  contain  tannic  add,  glucose,  resin, 
volatile  oil,  and  a  volatile  add.  The  acridity  of  the  drug,  which  is 
observable  in  the  infusion,  but  not  in  the  decoction  of  the  bark,  he 
attributes  to  the  volatile  acid.  This  was  obtained  from  the  aqueous 
distillate  by  agitating  it  with  ether,  and  allowing  the  ethereal 
solution  to  evaporate  spontaneously,  when  an  orange-coloured 
residue  was  formed,  in  which  were  numerous  acicular  crystals. 
These  had  an  acid  reaction,  a  hot,  acrid  taste,  and  were 
coloured  deep  violet  by  the  action  of  solution  of  potash.  Dawson 
found  the  volatile  oil  to  have  a  peculiar  and  not  very  pleasant 
odour,  but  it  was  obtained  in  too  small  a  quantity  for  complete 
examination. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Butternut  or  white  walnut  bark, 
is  a  mild  cathartic,  resembling  rhubarb  in  its  action,  as  it 
operates  without  causing  griping  or  subsequently  debilitating  the 
intestines.  When  applied  to  the  skin  it  acts  as  a  rubefacient,  or 
even,  it  is  said  by  Still6,  as  a  vesicant.  In  the  United  States 
Pharmacopoeia,  the  only  official  formula  is  the  extract,  which  is 
given  in  doses  of  five  to  ten  grains  as  a  laxative,  and  from  twenty 
to  thirty  grains  as  a  purgative.  It  was  much  employed  in  the 
United  States  during  the  last  war  as  a  substitute  for  rhubarb ; 


247    JUGLAJNS  CINEBEA 

and  has  acqaired  much  repatation  as  an  aperient  in  habitual  con* 
stipation^  ''  since  it  does  not  tend  so  much  as  many  other 
purgatives  to  leave  the  bowels  in  a  confined  state.^'  It  has  also 
been  administered  with  success  in  dysentery ;  and  in  oonnection 
with  calomel.  Dr.  Wood,  of  the  United  States,  states  that  "  it 
has  sometimes  been  used  in  our  intermittent  and  remittent  fevers^ 
and  other  complaints,  attended  with  congestion  of  the  abdominal 
viscera/^ 

Besides  the  employment  of  the  bark  in  medicine,  it  is  also 
occasionally  used  in  dyeing  wool  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  although 
in  this  respect  it  is  said  to  be  inferior  to  that  of  the  common 
walnut  {Juglcms  regia).  The  wood  is  also  described  as  useful  '^  on 
account  of  its  durability  and  exemption  from  the  attacks  of 
worms/'  The  hi^-grown  fruit  is  likewise  employed  for  pickling ; 
and  the  ripe  seeds  are  eaten  like  those  of  the  common  walnut. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  2,  p.  708;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
pp.  505  &  1148;  Wood's  Therapeatios  and  Pharmacology, 
vol.  ii,  p.  494 ;  Still^'s  Therap.  k  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  p.  427 ; 
Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc,  for  1874,  vol.  zxii,  p.  158. 

Othbb    Medicinal    Spbcibs    op    Juglans. — ^Various   parts    of 

Juglans    regia,    L.,    the    common    walnut,   have    been    used    in 

medicine.     Thus,  the  green  rind  of  the  fruit  was  formerly  in  great 

repute  in  syphilis,  but  it  has   now  fallen  into  disuse ;  it  has  also, 

as  well   as   the  expressed  oil  of  the  fruit,  been   employed  as  an 

anthelmintic.     The  leaves  have  been  highly  extolled  as  a  remedy 

in   scrofula,  by  Professor  Negrier,  of  Angers,  both   for  internal 

administration  and  external  use,  and  appear  deserving  of  further 

trial. 

U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  505 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  iii, 
p.  444 ;  Waring,  Manual  of  Practical  Therapeutics,  p.  441 ; 
Negrier,  Archiv.  G6n.  de  M6d.,  8e  e^r.,  voL  x,  p.  899,  and 
vol.  ii,  p.  41,  also  5e  ser.,  yoI.  x,  p.  609 ;  Banking,  Abstr.  Med. 
Sci.,  vol.  xi,  p.  210. 

nSSCBIFTTON   OF   PLATB, 

Drawn  from  a  cultivated  epecimen  in  the  British  Museum.  1.  A  branch 
with  flowers  and  yonng  leaves.  2, 8.  A  male  flower.  4.  The  same  with  the 
anthers  removed.  5.  A  female  flower.  6.  Transverse  section  of  ovary.  7.  A 
fruit.    8.  Transverse  section  of  the  same.    (8,  4, 6  enlarged.) 


QUERCUS  ROBUR./.-. 


248 

N.  Ord.  GvTTTLir^RM.  Lindl.,  Yeg.  K.,  p.  290;  Le  Maont  &  Dec, 
p.  714;  BaiU.,  Hist.  PI.,  vi. 

Tribe  QuereinecB. 

Gleans  QuorcuB,*  Linn.  Baill.,  Hist.  PL,  vi,  p.  256.  Species 
300,  natives  of  both  henuspheres,  chiefly  in  temperate 
r^ons. 


248,  Qaercus  Bobnr^f  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  996  (1753). 

Oommon  Oak. 

8yn. — Q.  pedancnlata,  Ehrh.  Q.  sessiUflora,  SdHah.  Q.  intermedia, 
Don.    Q.  pabescens,  fVilld. 

Figwres. — Woodville,  t.  10;  Hayne,  vi,  t.  36;  Steph.  &  Ch.,  t.  151; 
Nees,  tt.  92,  93 ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  tt.  7  f,  8  a ;  Sy me,  E.  Bot,  viii,  tt.  1288, 
1289;  Beichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xii,  tt.  644, 64:8 ;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ. 

Description. — ^A  tree  often  reaching  the  height  of  80  or  100  feet, 
with  a  massive  trunk  and  thick,  wide-spreading,  much-divided 
twisted  branches;  bark  grey,  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  nume- 
rous, alternate,  spreading,  nearly  sessile  or  shortly  stalked,  with 
a  pair  of  rather  large,  strap-shaped,  blunt,  chaffy,  pale  brown 
stipules  at  the  base  which  are  quickly  deciduous,  blade  2^ — 5 
inches  long,  oblong-obovate,  blunt  at  the  apex,  usually  rounded 
at  the  narrow,  often  unsymmetrical  base,  irregularly  sinuate  with 
unequal,  obtuse,  rounded  lobes,  4 — 6  on  each  side,  which  do 
not  reach  half  way  to  the  midrib,  rather  stiff,  shining,  quite 
glabrous  and  dark  green  above,  paler  and  (when  young)  usually 
somewhat  downy  with  stellate  hairs  beneath,  plicately  folded  in 
the  bud.  Flowers  inconspicuous,  unisexual,  monoecious ;  the 
male  numerous,  sessile,  loosely  and  irregularly  arranged  on  the 
hairy  axis  of  very  slender,  pendulous  catkins  which  are  1 — 3 
inches  long,  without  bracts,  and  come  off  generally  2  or  3 
together  from  small  scaly  buds  in  the  axils  of  the  lowest  leaves, 
or  on  the  wood  of  the  previous  year.  Female  flowers  sessile, 
surrounded  by  an  involucre  of  several  rows  of  triangular,  acute, 

*  Qaercus,  the  Latin  name  for  some  species  of  oak. 

t  Rohur,  also  a  classical  name  for  the  oak,  but  applied  especially  to  its 
hard  timber. 


248    QUERCUS  ROBUR 

strongly  imbricated^  ciliate  reddish  bracts  forming  a  bud-like  cnp^ 
solitary,  or  two  or  three  at  the  extremity  of  erect  tapering 
peduncles  coming  from  the  axils  of  the  uppermost  leaves  and 
either  very  short  (so  that  the  flowers  themselves  seem  axillary), 
or  more  usually  nearly  half  an  inch  long,  each  flower  subtended 
by  a  deciduous,  acute,  ciliate  bract  about  its  own  length.  Male 
flowers : — perianth  cup-shaped,  very  deeply  cut  into  6 — 8  strap- 
shaped  segments  with  laciniate  ends ;  stamens  6 — 8,  inserted  on 
the  central  receptacle,  filaments  short,  slender,  anthers  2-celled, 
cells  rounded,  connate,  dehiscing  longitudinally,  lemon  yellow, 
becoming  brown.  Female  flowers : — perianth  completely  fused 
with  the  ovary,  the  limb  very  small,  usually  with  6  teeth ;  ovary 
inferior,  thick  and  fleshy,  3-celled,  with  2  erect  ovules  in  each 
cell ;  style  thick,  short ;  stigma  rather  fleshy,  with  3  spreading 
lobes.  Fruit  (glans)  surrounded  at  the  base  by  the  enlarged 
involucre  which  has  become  a  solid  ^hemispherical  cup  (cupule), 
extending  about  \  the  length  of  the  fruit,  with  an  entire  margin 
and  several  series  of  strongly  appressed,  bluntly  triangular  scales 
on  its  outer  surface,  solitary  or  two  or  three  in  a  cluster,  sessile  or. 
on  an  axillary  stalk  which  may  reach  3  or  4  inches  in  length,  about 
1  inch  long,  oblong-ovoid,  tipped  by  the  remains  of  the  perianth- 
limb  and  style,  readily  separating  from  the  cupule  when  ripe, 
1 -celled ;  pericarp  coriaceous,  thin,  smooth  and  shining,  often 
faintly  furrowed  longitudinally,  yellowish  orange,  indehiscent. 
Seed  solitary  (the  rest  abortive),  completely  filling  the  pericarp, 
testa  thin,  rather  lax;  embryo  with  very  large  thick  plano- 
convex cotyledons  and  a  short  superior  included  radicle,  no 
endosperm. 

Habitat. — One  of  the  commonest  British  trees,  and  forming 
the  greater  part  of  original  woodlands  in  this  country,  throughout 
the  whole  of  which  it  occurs.  It  is  equally  abundant  and  forms 
large  forests  in  the  rest  of  Europe  and  in  Western  Asia, 
extending  into  the  far  north,  but  stopping  short  of  the  Arctic 
districts ;  it  also  grows  in  North  Africa  and  Syria.  As  a  timber 
tree  also  it  is  very  frequently  planted,  but  in  this  country  to  a 
far  less  extent  than  was  formerly  the  case. 


248    QUERCUS  ROBUR 

The  flowers  appear  with  the  young  foliage  in  April  or  May^ 
and  the  male  catkins  are  sufficiently  abundant  to  be  conspicuous 
in  spite  of  their  small  size;  they  fall  off  entire  soon  after  the 
pollen  is  shed.  The  little  scaly  cup  surrounding  the  stamens  is 
above  described  as  a  perianth,  but  may  be  with  equal  propriety 
considered  to  be  an  involucre  of  bracts. 

Botanists  are  not  in  accord  as  to  whether  Q.  aessilijlora  and 
Q.  pedunculata  are  distinct ;  A.  De  CandoUe  treats  them  as 
subspecies.  The  latter  is  the  more  common  tree  in  England  and 
is  the  form  figured.  From  this  Q.  sessilijlora  differs  technically 
in  the  want  of  a  stalk  to  the  acorns  and  the  greater  length  of  the 
leaf -petiole ;  the  leaf  is  also  more  elongated  and  the  mode  of 
growth  of  the  tree  more  erect;  intermediate  forms,  however, 
occur,  yet  foresters  generally  consider  the  two  abundantly 
distinct.  The  latter  is  often  called  the  Durmast  Oak.  There 
are  besides  an  immense  number  of  varieties  and  local  forms, 
many  of  which  have  been  described  as  species ;  in  De  CandoUe's 
'Prodromus'  thirteen  varieties  are  described  under  the  subspecies 
pedunculata,  and  nineteen  under  the  subspecies  sessiliflora. 

Hook,  f.,  Stad.  Fl.,  p.  d44;  Sjme,  E.  Bot.,  yiii,  p.  145;  Watson, 
Comp.  Oyb.  Br.,  p.  310;  Gren.  &  Qodr.,'PL  France,  iii,  p.  116; 
Ledebonr,  Fl.  Rossica,  iii,  p.  589 ;  A.  DC,  in  DC.  Prod.,  xvi, 
2,  p.  4;  Willk.  ALange,  Prod.  FL  Hisp.,  i,  p.  238;  Lindl., 
Fl.  Med.,  p.  291. 

Official  Part  a/nd  Name. — Quercus  Cortex  ;  the  dried  bark  of 
the  small  branches  and  young  stems  of  Quercus  pedunculata, 
Willd.  (B.  P.).  The  dried  bark  of  the  small  branches  and  young 
stems  (I.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the 
United  States ;  the  inner  barks  of  Quercus  alba  and  of  Quercus 
tinctoria  being  there  substituted  for  it ;  these  are  described  under 
those  two  plants. 

Collection  and  Preparation. — In  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  the 
bark  is  directed  to  be  collected  in  spring,  from  trees  grown  in 
Britain.  The  Pharmacopoeia  of  India  also  directs  the  bark  to  be 
collected  in  the  spring.  This  direction  should  be  carefully 
attended   to,   because   at   this    season    the   bark    contains    more 


248    QUERCUS  ROBUR 

astringent  matter,  and  is  more  easily  separated  from  the  wood 
than  at  any  other  period  of  the  year.  In  practice,  however,  in  this 
country,  the  usual  time  of  barking  is  from  the  beginning  of  May 
to  about  the  middle  of  July ;  and  the  process  is  as  follows  : — The 
barkers  make  a  longitudinal  incision  with  a  mallet  furnished  with 
a  sharp  edge,  and  a  circular  incision  by  means  of  a  barking  bill. 
The  bark  is  then  removed  by  the  peeling  irons;  the  separation 
being  promoted,  when  necessary,  by  beating  the  bark  with  the 
square  end  of  the  mallet.  It  is  then  carefully  dried  in  the  air  by 
setting  it  on  what  are  called  lofts  or  ranges,  and  is  afterwards 
stacked. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Oomposition. — Oak  bark  is  usually  found 
in  pieces  of  from  one  to  two  feet  long,  and  it  varies  very  much 
in  appearance  according  to  the  age  of  the  stem  or  branch  from 
which  it  has  been  obtained.  The  bark  of  the  small  branches  and 
young  stems,  which  is  alone  official,  occurs  in  quills  which  are 
usually  about  a  tenth  of  an  inch  or  less  in  thickness.  It  is  nearly 
smooth  externally,  and  of  a  shining  silvery  or  ash-grey  colour, 
variegated  with  brown.  Internally  it  is  cinnamon-coloured  or 
brownish-red,  and  longitudinally  striated.  The  fracture  is 
fibrous  and  tough ;  its  taste  very  astringent ;  and  its  odour  is 
very  feeble  except  when  moistened,  when  it  resembles  tan.  The 
bark  of  old  stems  is  in  thick,  more  or  less  flattened  pieces,  which 
are  very  rough  externally  from  the  presence  of  numerous  deep 
cracks  and  wrinkles.  It  is  very  inferior  in  its  medicinal 
properties  to  the  young  bark,  and  should  not  be  substituted 
for  it. 

The  most  important  constituent  of  oak  bark  is  a  peculiar  kind 
of  tannic  acid,  which  was  first  noticed  by  Stenhouse  in  1843,  and 
then  proved  by  him  to  be  different  from  the  tannic  acid  of  nut- 
galls  ;  it  is  termed  querci-tannic  acid,  and  according  to  Neubaer 
it  exists  in  young  oak  bark  in  the  proportion  of  from  7  to  10  per 
cent.  A  solution  of  gelatine  is  precipitated  by  an  aqueous 
solution  of  oak  bark ;  and  the  latter  solution  becomes  dark  blue 
or  purple  on  the  addition  of  perchloride  of  iron.  A  solution  of 
tartarated  antimony  causes  no  precipitate  with  a  watery  solution 


248    QUERCUS  EOBUR 

of  oak  bark.  The  bitter,  colourless,  crystallizable,  neatral  sub- 
stance, described  by  Gerber,  in  1843,  and  named  quercin,  requires 
further  examination ;  the  recent  experiments  of  Eckert  failed  to 
detect  it  in  young  oak  bark.  Besides  qtierci^tannic  acid,  oak 
bark  also  contains  a  small  quantity  of  gallic  acid,  pectin,  and 
other  vegetable  and  inorganic  constituents. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^The  effects  of  oak  bark  are 
similar  to  those  of  other  vegetable  astringents  containing  tannic 
acid.  It  is,  however,  but  little  employed  as  an  internal  remedy, 
although  in  the  form  of  a  decoction  it  has  been  found  very  useful 
in  chronic  diarrhoea,  in  the  advanced  stages  of  dysentery,  and  in 
alvine  haemorrhages,  &c.  But  the  decoction  is  chiefly  used  as  a 
local  astringent  in  the  form  of  a  lotion,  gargle,  or  injection,  for 
various  purposes,  as  in  indolent  ulcers,  relaxed  sore  throat, 
leucorrhoea,  &c.  Poultices  of  the  powdered  bark  have  also  been 
applied  with  advantage  to  gangrenous  and  ill-conditioned  ulcers. 

The  chief  use  of  oak  bark  is  not  for  medicinal  purposes,  but 
for  tanning  leather,  for  which  purpose  it  has  always  been  largely 
employed.  It  has  also  been  used  for  the  preparation  of  inks,  and 
for  other  purposes. 

Besides  the  bark  the  wood  of  this  tree  is  well  known  as  forming 
most  valuable  timber;  and  the  fruits  (acorns)  have  been  also  recom- 
mended as  food  for  cattle,  but  recent  experience  would  seem  to 
show  that  in  some  cases  at  least,  they  act  injuriously. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  492;  Pharmacographia,  p.  534; 
Bentl.,  Man.  Bot.,  p.  634 ;  Steph.  &  Church.,  Med.  Bot.,  by 
Burnett,  pi.  151;  Watts'  Diet.  Chcm.,  vol.  v,  p.  8;  Bloxain's 
Chemistry,  3rd  edit.,  p.  585. 

DESCBIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  tree  in  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew. 

1.  A  young  branch  with  male  and  female  flowers. 

2.  Portion  of  male  catkin. 

3.  An  anther. 

4.  Female  flowers. 

5.  Section  of  ovary. 

6.  Ripe  fruit. 

7.  Acorn  removed  from  the  cup. 

8.  Seed,  with  one  cotyledon  removed. 

(2-5  enlai'ged.) 


iirFLSiuiiiB 


QUERCUS  IMFECTORIA,r!;ii', 


249 

N.  Ord.  QjTPUUWMRM. 
Tribe 
Genoa  Qaaroii8»  Linn. 


249.  QuercUB  infeetoriay  Olivier,  Voy.  dans  VEinp.  0th.,  a,  p.  64 

(1800). 

8yn. — Q.  Insitanica,  yar.  infectoria,  A.  DC.  Q.  rigida,  C.  Koch.  Q. 
petiolaiis,  Baiat. 

JV^uret.— Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  152;  WoodriUe,  vol.  t  ;  Olivier,  Voy.  dans 
TEmpire  Othoman,  Atlas,  tt.  14, 15,  cop.  in  Nees,  t.  94,  and  Hajne, 
xii,t.  45;  B.  &  S.,  t.  296. 

Deseription. — ^A  shrab  or  rarely  a  small  tree,  erect,  with  irregular 
spreading  branches,  bark  brownish-grey,  the  young  twigs  usually 
woolly  or  downy.  Leaves  alternate,  stalked,  the  petioles  varying 
from  very  short  to  }  inch  long,  blade  usually  2 — 8  inches  long, 
broadly  oval-  or  obovate-oblong,  rounded  at  both  ends,  rather 
shallowly  cut  into  large,  acute  or  obtuse  rounded  teeth  or  lobes, 
stiff  and  thick,  smooth  above,  usually  with  minute  scattered 
stellate  hairs  chiefly  on  the  nerves  beneath ;  stipules  as  in  Q. 
Bobur.  Flowers  as  in  the  last,  but  the  male  catkins  shorter,  with 
the  axis  more  hairy,  the  perianth  in  4 — 7  divisions.  Fruit  much  as 
in  Q.  Bobur ^  sessile  or  stalked,  the  cup  deeper,  slightly  constricted 
at  the  mouth,  the  scales  very  much  adpressed,  ovate-lanceolate, 
covered  with  a  dense  grey  tomentum,  the  glans  usually  somewhat 
longer  and  narrower,  reaching  as  much  as  1^  inch  in  length. 

Habitat. — This  kind  of  Oak  grows  in  many  parts  of  Asia  Minor 
abundantly,  especially  in  Syria ;  the  same  form  occurs  in  Greece, 
Southern  Turkey,  and  Cyprus.  Though  we  have  for  the  sake  of 
distinction  retained  Olivier's  specific  name,  we  cannot  regard 
Q.  infectoria  as  other  than  a  form  of  the  very  variable  Q.  lusitanica 
under  which  indeed  all  recent  writers  place  it,  and  which  in  one 
or  other  of  its  varieties  (twelve  are  enumerated  by  De  CandoUe) 
ranges  through  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  extends  throughout  the 
Mediterranean  region.     It  is  almost  as  polymorphic  as  Q.  Robur, 


249    QUBROUS  INPBOTORTA 

from  which  it  is  chiefly  distinguished  by  its  smaller  size,  less 
indented  leaves  and  longer  acom^  with  a  rather  difierently-shaped 
cup.  The  leaves  vary  from  small^  subspinous^  and  oval  to  almost 
entire  and  rounded ;  the  amount  of  hair  on  the  under  surface 
is  also  very  variable.  It  is  in  cultivation  at  Kew  with  other 
species. 

The  flowers  appear  in  May  and  the  fruit  is  ripe  in  September, 
the  foliage  is  persistent  till  the  spring,  or  sometimes  even 
longer. 

There  seems  no  doubt  that  the  bulk  of  the  best  Aleppo  cr 
Turkey  galls  are  the  production  of  this  kind  of  oak,  but  other 
varieties  of  Q.  lusita/nica  as  well  as  allied  species  also  afford  them. 

Webb,  Iter  Hispan.,  p.  11 ;  A.  DO.,  in  DO.  Prod.,  ivi,  2,  p.  17; 
Willk.  &  Lange,  Fl.  Hisp. ;  lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  291 ;  Flack,  and 
Hanb.,  Pharmacogr.,  p.  536. 

Official  Part  and  Name, — Galla;  excrescences  on  Quercns 
infectoria,  Olivier,  caused  by  the  punctures  and  deposited  ova  of 
Diplolepis  Gallffi  tinctoriss.  Lair.  (B.  P.).  Excrescences  caused 
by  the  punctures  and  deposited  ova  of  Diplolepis  Grallaa  tinctorial 
(L  P.).     Galla;  a   morbid    excrescence    on    Quercus   infectoria 

(U.  S.  P.). 

Production. — Galls  are  morbid  excrescences  or  tumours,  formed 
of  hypertrophied  vegetable  tissues,  the  result  of  their  puncture 
by  the  homy  ovipositors  of  female  Hymenopterous  insects  and  the 
deposit  in  them  of  an  egg  or  eggs.  In  the  present  case  the  insect 
is  the  Oynipa  Gallce-tinctoria,  Olivier  (beautifully  figured  by  C. 
Curtis  in  Steph.  and  Church.,  t.  152),  the  female  of  which 
deposits  her  eggs  in  the  young  leaf -buds ;  these  latter  then 
undergo  great  enlargement,  and  ultimately  form  the  galls.  On  a 
section  of  one  of  these  galls  there  is  found  a  soft  somewhat 
spongy  tissue  in  which  are  several  scattered  vascular  bundles; 
the  exact  centre  being  occupied  by  the  ovum  which  is  surrounded 
by  very  juicy  tissue  the  cells  of  which  contain  starch.  It  is  not 
until  the  gall  has  attained  its  full  development  that  the  egg  is 
hatched  and  the  larva  or  grub  commences  to  feed  on  the  juices  of 
the  central  tissue  ;  the  cavity  of  the  gall  is  never  more  than  just 


249    QXJEROUS  INFEOTORIA 

large  enoagH  to  contain  the  larva^  and  soon  becomes  lined  with 
a  wall  of  hard  cells,  the  tissue  of  the  whole  gall  gradually  becoming 
harder.  As  soon  as  the  grub  has  reached  its  full  development 
it  passes  into  the  pupa  or  chrysalis  stage,  and  in  process  of  time 
is  transformed  into  a  small  four-winged  fly  about  ^  inch  in 
length ;  this  cuts  with  its  mandibles  a  passage  to  the  surface  and 
escapes  by  a  circular  orifice  near  the  middle  of  the  gall.  Hence 
if  we  examine  those  galls  from  which  the  insect  has  thus  escaped 
we  observe  externally  a  small  round  hole  leading  to  a  cylindrical 
canal  which  passes  to  the  centre  of  the  gall ;  but  on  those  galls 
from  which  the  insect  has  not  escaped  we  find  no  opening 
externally. 

Varieties  and  Commerce, — There  are  several  varieties  of  oak 
galls,  which  vary  much  in  size,  shape,  weight,  character  of  surface, 
and  other  particulars;  but  the  ordinary  galls  of  commerce  are 
known  as  Aleppo,  Turkey,  or  Levant  Oalls,  and  will  be  alone 
described.  Formerly  these  galls,  or  nutgalls  as  they  are  also 
termed,  formed  a  very  important  commercial  product  from  the 
province  of  Aleppo,  but  of  late  years,  in  consequence  of  the 
increased  use  of  some  other  dyeing  and  tanning  substances, 
the  trade  in  nutgalls  has  considerably  declined.  These  galls  are 
exported  from  Trebizond,  and  from  Smyrna,  Bassorah,  and  other 
Turkish  ports.* 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — In  commerce  two  kinds 
of  Aleppo  galls  are  distinguished,  namely.  Hue  or  green  galls,  and 
white  galls,  the  former  of  which  are  the  most  esteemed,  and  are 
alone  official.  Blue  or  green  galls,  or,  as  they  are  Sometimes  called, 
bUick  galls,  are  those  which  are  gathered  before  the  insect  has 
escaped,  and  are  consequently  imperforate.  They  are  hard,  heavy, 
globular  bodies,  varying  in  diameter  from  nearly  half  an  inch  to 
about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  or  more;  they  are  somewhat 
tuberculated  on  their  surface,  the  tubercles  and  the  intervening 

*  The  insect  which  forms  the  common  hard  gall  of  English  oaks  is  Cynips 
KoUarif  Giraud,  for  description  of  which,  and  of  other  British  species,  refer- 
ence may  be  made  to  the  Bev.  T.  A.  Marshall's  papers  in  the  Entomologists' 
Monthly  Mag.,  iv  (1867),  pp.  6,  and  seq. 


249    QUEROUS  INPEOTORIA 

spaces  being  usually  smooth ;  they  have  a  dark  blueish-green  or 
olive-green  colour  externally,  and  are  yellowish  or  brownish  white 
within,  and  have  a  small  cavity  in  their  centre,  in  which  may  be 
found  the  remains  of  the  larva  or  the  more  or  less  developed 
insect,  according  to  the  period  at  which  the  galls  have  been 
gathered.  They  have  no  odour,  but  an  intensely  astringent  and 
somewhat  acidulous  taste,  which  is  ultimately  followed  by  some 
degree  of  sweetness.  White  galls  are  those  from  which  the  fly 
has  escaped,  hence  they  are  perforated  from  the  surface  to  the 
central  cavity  (which  is  here  sometimes  as  much  as  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  in  diameter)  by  a  small  circular  canal.  They  are  larger 
than  the  blue  galls,  lighter  coloured,  being  pale  yellowish  brown, 
less  compact,  less  heavy,  and  are  not  so  astringent ;  they  are  of 
inferior  value. 

The  most  important  constituent  of  nutgalls  is  that  kind  of 
tannic  acid  which  from  having  been  first  distinguished  in  them  is 
called  gallo'tannic  acid.  The  best  galls  yield  from  60  to  70  per 
cent,  of  this  tannic  acid,  although  in  some  cases  not  more  than 
about  80  per  cent,  is  obtained.  Galls  also  contain  3  or  more  per 
cent,  of  gallic  acid,  together  with  sugar,  resin,  and  other  unimport- 
ant substances.  Infusion  of  galls  reddens  litmus  paper,  forms  an 
inky  compound  on  the  addition  of  a  persalt  of  iron,  and  a 
yellowish-white  precipitate  with  a  solution  of  gelatine. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Galls  are  the  most  powerful  of 
known  vegetable  astringents,  hence  they  are  applicable  in  all  cases 
where  astringent  medicines  are  required.  In  their  crude  state 
they  are,  however,  but  little  used,  except  externally,  but  the 
official  tannic  and  gallic  acids  which  are  obtained  from  them, 
are  much  more  largely  employed  medicinally.  In  the  form  of 
decoction  or  when  powdered,  galls  have  been  recommended  as 
an  antidote  in  poisoning  by  emetia  and  the  vegetable  alkaloids 
generally ;  also  in  that  of  those  vegetable  products  as  opium, 
colchicum,  nux  vomica,  &c.,  the  activity  of  which  depends  on  an 
alkaloid ;  and  in  poisoning  by  tartarated  antimony.  The  powers 
of  galls,  however,  as  an  antidote,  require  further  investigation. 
The   official   tincture    of   galls  when  diluted  with  water  forms  a 


249    QUEBCFS  INPEOTORIA 

Tery  nsefal  and  convenient  astringent  gargle  and  wash ;  and  the 
official  ointment  of  galls^  and  the  ointment  of  galls  with  opiam^ 
more  especially  the  latter,  are  valuable  applications  to  haemor- 
rhoids after  the  inflammatory  stage  has  passed.  The  dilated 
tincture  or  ointment  of  galls  may  be  also  employed  to  give  tone  to, 
and  lessen  discharges  from,  mucous  membranes,  as  in  gleet,  leucor- 
rhoea,  &c. 

The  tincture  of  galls  is  also  used  as  a  test  for  the  alkaloids, 
gelatine,  and  the  persalts  of  iron.  If  kept,  however,  for  some 
time,  it  no  longer  forms  precipitates  with  solutions  of  gelatine  and 
the  vegetable  alkaloids,  as  its  tannic  acid  becomes  by  keeping 
converted  into  gallic  acid ;  it  still,  however,  serves  to  detect  iron 
salts. 

The  principal  use  of  galls  is  for  the  preparation  of  the  official 
tannic  and  gallic  acids ;  for  dyeing  and  tanning  purposes ;  for 
the  preparation  of  ink ;  and  for  other  purposes  in  the  arts. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  343 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B., 
p.  493 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  536 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &.  B., 
p.  415;  Gaibourt,  Hist,  des  Drogues,  yoL  ii  (1869),  p.  292; 
Lacaze-Dutfaiers  in  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.,  ser.  3,  vol.  xix  (1853)^ 
p.  273,  with  4  plates,  and  Pharm.  Joum.,  ser.  1,  vol.  ziii,  p.  16 ; 
Prillieux  in  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.,  ser.  6,  vol.  iii  (1876),  p.  113; 
Gmelin's  Chemistry,  vol.  xv  (1862),  p.  449 ;  Watts'  Diet.  Chem., 
vol.  ii,  p.  762 ;  Schorlemmer,  Ohemistiy  of  the  Carbon  Com- 
pounds, 1874,  p.  463 ;  Garr.,  Mat.  Med.,  p.  356. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  collected  in  Asia  Minor  by  P.  BnsseU,  Kotscby,  and 
Balansa,  in  the  British  Museum. 

1.  Young  branch  with  male  catkins. 

2.  Male  flower. 

3.  Anthers. 

4.  Section  of  the  same. 

5.  Branch  in  fruit  with  a  gall. 

6.  Section  of  glans. 

7.  Seed,  with  one  cotyledon  removed. 

8.  Section  of  a  gall. 

(2-4  enlarged.) 


250 

N.  Ord.  GupuuFSBiE, 
Tribe  Quercinea. 
Qeana  Querouui,  Linn. 


250.  Quercns  alba,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant.,  ed.  1,  p.  996  (1753). 

White  Oak.      Valley  Oak. 

JV^tirM.—Hichans,  Hist.  OliSiies  de  TAmeriqae,  t.  5;  Michaiix  f.,  K. 
American  Sylra,  i,  t.  1 ;  Brendel,  Oaks  of  lUinois,  t.  29. 

Description. — A  large  tree  reacliing  80  feet  in  height^   with 
many  long^  wide-spreading  branches ;  bark  pale  or  white,  often 
marked  with  large  black  spots,  yonng  twigs  glabrous.     Leaves 
stalked,  the  petiole  varying  from  J — |  inch  in  length,  3 — 6  inches 
long,  oval-  or  obovate-oblong,  tapering  at  the  base,  more  or  less 
*  deeply  pinnatifid,  with  few   (4 — 6)  ascending,   obtuse,   rounded, 
entire  lobes,  smooth  on  both  surfaces  when  mature,  thickly  downy 
when  young,  bright  light  green  above,  glaucous  and  with   the 
veins  prominent  beneath;   stipules  linear,  pubescent,   caducous. 
Male  catkins  1 — 3  inches  long,  slender,  the  rachis  nearly  glabrous ; 
the  perianth  irregularly  cut  into  4 — 6  lobes ;  stamens  8.      Fruit 
solitary  or  2  together  at  the  extremity  of  a  stout  peduncle,  which 
varies  in  length  from  nearly  an  inch  to  scarcely  a  line,  cup  broadly 
hemispherical,  rather  shallow,  grey,  the  scales  ovate,  acute,  hard, 
becoming  tubercular,  strongly  imbricate,  pubescent ;  nut  about  an 
inch  long,  twice  or  thrice  as  long  as  the  cup,  ovoid. 

Habitat. — This  fine  tree  is  found  over  a  very  large  extent  of 
North  America,  extending  from  the  Red  River,  Lake  Winnipeg, 
and  Maine,  in  the  north,  to  Texas  and  Florida  in  the  south.  It  is 
especially  abundant  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and 
grows  by  preference  in  rather  moist  ground.  In  England  it  is 
occasionally  planted,  having  been  first  grown  here  in  1724. 

It  is  of  all  the  American  oaks  the  kind  most  like  tiie  British 
species  (Q.  Bobur),  and,  like  it,  presents  much  variability  in  the 
length  of  the  petioles  and  of  the  stalks  supporting  the  acorns ; 


260    QUBROUS  ALBA 

there  is  also  mucli  range  in  the  depth  of  the  lobes  of  the  leaves^ 

and  a  form  is  described  with  a  very  small  acorn. 

The  flowers  appear  in  springs  as  in  other  oaks^  and  the  acorns 

fall  in  October,     The  leaves  in  autumn  acquire  a  bright  violet 

colour. 

MichaoXy  N.  American  Sylva,  i,  p.  8 ;  A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  N.  U. 
States,  p.  450 ;  Chapman,  Fl.  South.  States,  p.  423 ;  A.  DO.  in 
DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  22 ;  Hook.,  PI.  Bot.-Amer.,  i,  p.  258. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Qubrcus  Alba  ;  the  inner  bark 
(IT.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  The  bark  of  Quercua  peduncvXata  is 
alone  recognised  in  the  two  latter  pharmacopoeias  ;  it  is  described 
under  Quercua  Bobur. 

Collection. — For  medicinal  and  other  purposes  this  bark  should 
be  gathered  in  the  springs  as  at  this  season  it  contains  most  astrin- 
gent matters.  When  gathered^  the  outer  layers  of  the  bark 
should  be  removed^  and  the  inner  bark  dried.  The  bark  of  the 
young  stem  and  small  branches  is  to  be  preferred. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — ^White  Oak  bark^  when 
divested  of  its  outer  layers^  in  which  state  it  is  alone  official^  has 
a  light  brown  or  somewhat  reddish-brown  colour,  a  coarse  fibrous 
texture,  so  that  it  is  powdered  with  difficulty,  a  feeble  tan-like 
odour,  and  an  astringent,  bitter  taste. 

Its  chief  ingredients  are  tannic  add  and  gallic  add.  Its  pro- 
perties, which  are  extracted  both  by  water  and  alcohol,  are  essen- 
tially due  to  tannic  acid,  and  as  this  is  most  abundant  in  the 
spring,  as  already  mentioned,  the  bark  is  most  active  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  The  kind  of  tannic  acid  it  contains  is  pro- 
bably the  same  as  that  found  in  our  official  oak  bark,  which  we 
have  referred  to  under  Quei-ciis  Bobur.  It  probably  also  contains 
the  substance  called  qtverdn. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — White  Oak  bark  possesses  simi- 
lar properties,  and  is  used  for  like  purposes  as  the  official 
Oak  bark  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia ;  these  are  therefore  de- 
scribed under  Quercus  Bobur.  In  the  United  States,  white  oak 
bark    is    preferi'ed  for    medicinal   purposes  to  the   bark  of    the 


250    QUEBCUS  ALBA 

Quercus  tinctoriay  whioh   is  there  also  official;  this  is  described 

after  that  of  the  present  species. 

Besides  its  use  in  medicine  white  oak  bark  is  also  employed  in 

tanning;   and  the  timber  of  this  tree  is  highly  valued  in  the 

United  States.     It  is  used  in  shipbuildings  and  by  wheelwrights^ 

coopers^  and  others. 

IT.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  722 ;  Wood,  Therap.  &  Pharm., 
▼ol.  i,  p.  117 ;  Stills,  Therap.  &  Mat.  Med.,  yoL  i,  p.  216 ;  Per. 
Mat.  Med.,  toI.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  360 ;  Qerber,  Archiy  der  Pharm., 
Tol.  xzxiy,  p.  167. 


DESCBIFTION    01   PLATS. 

Drawn  from  a  speciiiien  in  the  BritiBh  Maseum. 

1.  A  branch  with  full-grown  leaves  and  ripe  fruit. 

2.  An  acorn. 

3.  iBmbryo. 


351 

Tribe  Quercinea. 

Qewaa  Queroos,  Linn, 


261.  Quercns  tinctoria,  Bartram,  Travels,  p.  87  (1791). 

Blade  Oak.      Yellow-Ba/rhed  Oak.      Quercitron. 

8yn. — Q.  coccinea,  rar.,  DC.  Q.  ambigaa,  Mich.  fit.  Q.  discolor,  Willd.  f 

Figwes.^'MichtMXt  Hist.  Chines  de  TAmer.,  t.  24,  cop.  in  Hajne,  xii, 
t.  46 ;  Michanz,  f .,  N.  American  Sylva,  i,  t.  24 ;  lb.,  t.  25  (Q.  coecinea), 
and  t.  26  (Q.  ambigtia). 

Description. — ^A  large  tree  of  80  op  90  feet  high^  the  bark  thick^ 
rough,  dark  grey  or  black  externally,  yellow  or  orange  within, 
young  branches  smooth.  Leaves  on  slender  petioles  which  are 
i — 1  inch  long,  spreading,  8 — 6  inches  long,  oval  or  somewhat 
obovate  in  ontline,  abrupt  at  the  base,  acute  at  the  apex,  more  or 
less  deeply  pinnatifid,  with  few,  spreading,  acute,  triangular  seg^ 
ments  each  tipped  with  a  hair-like  bristle  and  often  sparingly 
toothed,  membranous,  bright  green,  smooth  and  shining  above, 
paler,  glabrous  or  slightly  pubescent  beneath  when  mature,  strongly 
pubescent  when  young.  Male  catkins  long,  slender ;  perianth  2 — 5 
-parted ;  stamens  8 — 5.  Fruit  in  clusters  of  2  or  3  on  the  wood 
of  the  previous  year,  sessile  or  nearly  so ;  cup  hemispherical  or 
somewhat  top-shaped  with  a  conical  base,  the  scales  laxly  adpressed, 
velvety,  nut  small,  i — f  inch  long,  globular-ovoid,  often  apiculate, 
not  more  than  as  long  again  as  the  citp. 

Habitat. — The  Black  Oak  is  found  throughout  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  is  able  to  grow  on  poorer  soil  than  Q.  alha.  It 
is  especially  abundant  in  the  Middle  States,  and  is  rare  in  the 
North-eastern  ones.  The  acorns  are  not  ripe  till  the  autumn  of 
the  second  year.     This  tree  is  grown  in  English  Arboretums. 

The  name  Q.  tinctoria,  published  by  Bartram  without  any  descrip- 
tion, has  been  adopted  here  without  the  intention  of  claiming  for  the 
form  specific  rank.  Botanists,  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  puzzling 
varieties  of  the  American  oaks,  are  agreed  in  placing  the  name  as 


251    QUEROUS  TINOTORIA 

that  of  one  of  the  numerons  forms  of  Q.  coccvnea,  Wang.,  the  Scarlet 
Oak^  from  the  typical  form  of  which  it  differs  in  its  less  deeply-cut 
leaves^  less  top-shaped  cup  to  the  fruit,  and  the  dark  thick  bark. 
The  foliage  also  in  the  autumn,  instead  of  turning  bright  red  (as  the 
name  of  the  Scarlet  Oak  indicates),  becomes  dull  red,  orange,  or 
brownish.  Another  variety,  the  Grey  Oak,  Q.  amhigva,  Mich,  f., 
which  is  found  in  the  North-eastern  States  and  Canada,  has  a 
longer  acorn, 

A.  Gray,  Man.  H.  N.  U.  States,  p.  454;  Hook.,  Fl.  Bor.-Amer., 
ii,  p.  168 ;  A.  DO.  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi^  pt.  2,  p.  61 ;  Mich,  f .,  N. 
American  Sjlva,  i,  p.  46 ;  Ohapman,  Fl.  South.  States,  p.  422. 

Official  Part  and  Name, — Queecus  Tinctobia  ;  the  inner  bark 
(XJ.  S.  P.).  It  is  distinguished  as  Black  Oak  Bark.  It  is  not 
official  in  the  British  PharmacopcBia,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India, 
for,  as  already  noticed  in  describing  Quercus  Robur  and  Quercus 
alba,  the  inner  bark  of  the  latter  plant  and  that  of  the  present 
species  is  used  in  the  United  States  as  a  substitute  for  that  of  the 
official  plant  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  and  of  the  Pharma- 
copoeia of  India. 

Collection. — It  should  be  collected  at  the  same  period  of  the 
year,  and  prepared  for  use  in  like  manner,  as  the  bark  of  Quercvs 
alba,  already  described. 

General  Characters  am^d  Composition, — The  bark  of  this  species, 
when  entire,  has  a  black  or  dark  brown  colour,  hence  its  common 
name  of  black  oah  ba/rh.  When  obtained  from  the  trunk  it  is  thick, 
and  marked  externally  with  fissures  and  furrows ;  internally  it  has 
a  deep  reddish-brown  coloui:  when  dried.  The  bark  of  the  small 
branches  and  young  stem,  like  that  of  similar  parts  of  our  common 
oak,  is  smoother  than  that  of  the  trunk ;  it  is  also  more  active 
than  it.  The  inner  bark  is  alone  official.  This  has  a  deep  reddish- 
brown  colour,  fibrous  texture,  rough  fracture,  strong  odour,  bitter 
astringent  taste^  and  when  chewed  it  tinges  the  saliva  yellow.  It 
is  readily  distinguished  from  white  oak  bark  by  its  more  bitter 
taste,  and  by  the  yellow  colour  it  communicates  to  the  saliva  when 
chewed.  When  deprived  of  its  external  rough  portion  and  re- 
duced to  shreds,  or  a  coarse  powder,  it  is  larger  exported  from 


261    QUERCUS  TINOTORIA 

the  United  States  to  Europe^  under  the  name  of  quercitron 
ba/rk. 

Besides  tannic  add  and  gallic  a^nd,  to  which  its  medicinal 
properties  are  dne^  bat  more  especially  to  the  former^  it  also  con- 
tains a  peculiar  colouring  principle^  termed  querdtrin,  which  renders 
it  valuable  as  a  dye-stnS.  Qusrdtrin  is  a  yellow  crystallizable 
substance^  which  has  been  nsaally  regarded  as  a  glacoside^  nnder 
the  assumption  that  by  the  action  of  acids  it  was  split  into  glucose 
and  quercetrin^  but  it  has  been  recently  found  by  Lowe  not  to  be 
a  glucoside.  Quercttrin  is  soluble  in  solutions  of  the  caustic 
alkalies  with  the  production  of  a  golden-yellow  colour. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — The  medical  properties  and 
uses  are  the  same  as  our  o£Bcial  oak  bark  and  of  white  oak  bark^ 
and  are  described  under  Quercus  Rohur  and  Quercus  alba.  It  is 
said  to  be  more  tonic  in  its  action  than  that  of  white  oak  bark^ 
but  usually  it  is  considered  in  the  United  States  as  inferior  to 
that  bark,  in  consequence  of  its  greater  disposition  to  irritate  the 
bowels. 

Quercitron  bark  is  sometimes  employed  for  tannings  but  it  is 
less  used  than  the  other  oak  barks  for  that  purpose,  in  consequence 
of  the  colour  it  imparts  to  leather.  It  is  chiefly  used  in  Europe 
for  dyeing  silk  and  wool  of  a  yellow  colour. 

TJ.  S.  Diep.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  724;  Wood,  Therap.  and 
Pharmacol.,  toL  i,  p.  117;  Still6,  Therap.  and  Mat.  Med., 
ToL  i,  p.  216 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  toI.  y,  p.  6 ;  Per  Mat.  Med., 
Yol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  360 ;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc,  for  1876, 
▼ol.  xxiv,  p.  870,  from  Zeitschr.  Anal.  Oh.,  Nos.  3  &  4, 1875, 
p.  233 ;  Amer.  Joum.  Pharm.,  May,  1860,  p.  222. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  Canadian  specimens  in  the  British  Museum,  collected  by 
Douglas. 

1.  Young  twig  witH  male  and  female  inflorescence.     ^ 

2.  Male  flowers. 

3.  Female  flowers. 

4.  Vertical  section  of  female  flower. 

5.  Branch  with  fnlly  grown  leaves  and  ripe  fruit. 

6.  An  acorn. 

(2-4  enlarged.) 


a-rr^^iLUM  albuu.i-c/^ 


252 


N.  Old.  SastaIsLC^m.    Lindl.,  Veg.  K.,  p.  787 ;  Le  Maout  &  Dec., 
p.  722. 

Genus  Santalum,*  l^inn.  DO.  Prod.,  xiv,  pp.  681— 686.  About 
20  species  are  known,  natives  of  Australia,  the  Pacific 
Islands,  and  India. 


252.  SantalfUU  album,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,,  ed.  l,p.  349  (1753). 

Sandal  Wood,      Yellow  {or  white)  Sanders  Wood,      Ohandan  ; 

Ohandal  (India). 

8fn, — Sjrium  myrtifolium,  Boxb.  * 

Figures, — Woodyille,  t.  99  (drawn  fi*om  a  specimen  in  Herb.  Banks)  ,* 
Hajne,.x,  1. 1 ;  Nees,  1. 127 ;  Bumpli.,  Herb.  Amboin.,  ii,  1. 11 ;  Bot. 
Mag.,  t  3235 ;  Boxburgb,  Ooromandel  PL,  t.  2 ;  Beddome,  Fl.  Sjlv., 


i  t.  256. 


Description, — ^A  small  tree,  20 — 30  feet  high,  with  numerous, 
opposite,  slender,  drooping  branches;  bark  rather  smooth,  grey- 
brown  ;  young  twigs  glabrous.  Leaves  opposite,  without  stipules ; 
petiole  slender,  about  \  inch  long;  blade  1^ — 2^  inches  long, 
oval,  ovate-oral  or  lanceolate,  acute  or  obtuse  at  the  apex, 
tapering  at  the  base  into  the  petiole,  entire,  smooth  on  both 
sides,  glaucous  beneath.  Flowers  small,  numerous,  shortly 
stalked,  in  small,  pyramidal,  erect,  terminal  and  axillary,  tricho- 
tomous,  paniculate  cymes,  panicle-branches  smooth,  bracts  small, 
but  passing  into  the  leaves  below.  Perianth  campanulate, 
smooth,  about  \  inch  long,  divided  into  4  (rarely  5)  triangular, 
acute,  spreading  segments,  valvate  in  the  bud,  rather  fleshy, 
at^  first  straw  coloured,  afterwards  changing  into  deep  reddish- 
purple,  provided  at  the  mouth  with  4  erect,  fleshy,  rounded  lobes 
(staminodes  ?).  Stamens  4,  opposite  the  perianth-segments; 
filaments  very  short,  inserted  in  the  mouth  of  the  perianth  and 
alternating  with  the  erect  lobes ;  anthers  short,  2-celled,  introrse. 
Ovary  half -inferior,  tapering,  1 -celled,  with  an  erect  central 
placenta  rising  from  the  base  and  not  reaching  the  top,  to  the 

*  Sofidalum,  cavreXov^  tbe  classical  name ;  from  tlie  Sanskrit  Chandaiia  (see 
also  no.  82,  Fteroearpus  santalinus).    The  word  Sandal  is  Arabic. 


252    SANTALUM 

Bnmmit  of  wliicli  are  attACbed  3  or 
the  usual  cOTerings  ;  style  filiform ; 
on  a  level  with  the  anthers.  Frait  | 
pea,  spherical,  crowned  by  the  rim-li 
tube,  smooth,  somewhat  Seshy,  nearly 
hard  and  bony,  with  three  equidista 
down  from  the  apex.  Seed  solitary,  i 
with  small  cotyledons  and  a  long  ni 
axis  of  abundant  fleshy  endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  true  Sandal-wood  i 
neighbouring  districts  of    the   soutbf 

mandel  coast,  Madura,  &c.  It  prefe...  —j  ^...^j  ^...^^^  .-  ^.l.^ 
districts,  growing  up  to  4000  feet  elevation,  and  .as  a  garden 
plant  is  met  with  through  the  Indian  peninsula,  as  far  north  as 
Sahamnpore.  Government  plantations  of  the  tree  have  been 
formed  in  the  Madras  presidency  and  in  Mysore.  It  is  an 
evergreen,  and  produces  flowers  and  fruit  abundantly  nearly  all 
the  year  round,  but  chiefly  from  March  to  July.  It  is  also  met 
with  in  Eastern  Java,  Timor,  Sumba  (called  also  Sandal-wood 
Island),  and  probably  other  islands  of  the  Malay  archipelago. 
The  Sandal-wood  tree  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  our 
collections  in  1804,  and  may  now  be  seen  at  Eew  and  elsewhere. 

The  change  of  colour  in  the  flowers  is  remarkable,  and  accounts 
for  the  variety  in  the  published  figures,  which  are  violet,  red, 
pink,  or  yellow  in  different  cases ;  they  have  no  scent. 

For  details  of  the  singular  and  anomalons  structure  of  the 
ovule  in  Santalum  reference  must  be  made  to  the  memoir  of 
Henfrey  quoted  below. 

It  is  probable  that,  as  is  certainly  the  case  with  Thegium  and 
some  other  members  of  this  natural  order,  the  species  of  Santaiwm 
are  parasitic  upon  the  roots  of  other  plants,  at  least  when  young. 

Sandal-wood  is  also  obtained  from  the  Fiji  and  other  Pacific 
Islands.  The  species  affording  it  here  are  S.  Yogi,  Seem.,  figured 
in  Seemann's  '  Fl.  Yitiensis,'  t.  56,  and  some  others. 

Hoibut^h.  PI.  Ind.,  i,  p.  442 ;  DC.  Prod.,  xi»,  p.  683 ;  Brandis, 
Foi'e8tFl.,p.  398;  Seemann.Pl.  TitiensiH,  p.  210;  Henfrey,  in 


[■ALtlU  AliBUH 

'rnsa.  Linn.  Soc.,  xxii,  p.  69;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Ued.,  p.  323;  Tlnck. 
and  HEtnb.,  Pharmaco^.,  p.  &40. 

Part  Used  and  Name. — LiaNnK  Santali  ;  the  wood.  It  is  not 
official  in  the  Bntish  PharmacopGeia,  the  Phamiacop<Bia  of  India, 
or  the  PfaarmacopcBia  of  the  United  States.  Bat  it  was  formerlj^ 
official  in  the  Edinbui^h  Pharmacopceia  nnder  the  name  of 
Santalvm  citrinutn. 

Production. — In  India,  where  the  best  Sandal  wood  is  obtained, 
the  trees  are  considered  to  be  in  perfeation  when  from  20  to  30 
years  of  age,  at  which  period  their  trunks  are  about  a  foot  in 
diameter.  The  trees  are  then  either  felled  or  dng  up  bj  the  roots, 
or,  in  other  cases,  the  roots  are  dng  np  cfter  the  tmnk  has  been  cut 
down.  The  branches  which  are  worthless  are  then  lopped  oft,  and 
the  main  trunk  is  left  lying  on  the  ground  for  several  months, 
in  order  that  the  sap  wood,  which  is  also  valueless,  may  be  nearly 
eaten  away  by  the  white  ants,  after  which  it  is  trimmed  and  sawn 
into  billets  of  from  2  to  2^  feet  long,  and  subsequently  it  is  taken 
to  the  depots  in  the  forests,  where  it  is  again  more  carefully 
trimmed  and  sorted  into  its  different  qualities.  The  quantity  of 
Sandal  wood  now  raised  in  India  is  abont  1300  tons  annually, 
representing  a  value  of  about  £50,000. 

Varieties. — Formerly  three  kinds  of  Sandal  wood  were  distin- 
guished nnder  the  names  of  white,  yellow,  and  red,  the  two  former 
of  which  were  derived  from  the  same  tree — the  yellow  being  the 
heart  wood,  and  the  white  the  sap  wood — bnt  the  red  was,  in 
most  cases  at  least,  probably  the  wood  which  is  described  by  ns 
nnder  Pterocarpue  sanialinus,  although  not  always,  for  as  stated 
by  Fluckiger  and  Hanbury,  the  Indian  traders  still  recognise 
three  shades  of  real  Sandal  wood,  that  is,  white,  yellow,  and  red ; 
and  Milbnm  says,  "  the  deeper  the  colour,  the  higher  is  the 
perfume ;  and  hence  the  merchants  sometimes  divide  sandal  into 
red,  yellow,  and  white,  but  these  are  all  different  shades  of  the 
same  colour,  and  do  not  arise  from  any  difference  in  the  species  of 
the  tree." 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — Sandal  wood  occurs 
commonly  in  billets  from  which  the  bark  and  sap  wood  have  been 


252    SANTALUM  ALBUM 

removed  in  the  manner  described  above;  but  in  rare  cases  tbe 
bark  has  been  alone  separated  from  the  wood  beneath.  These 
billets  vaiy  usually  in  length  from  2  to  4  feet,  and  in  diameter 
from  3  to  8  inches ;  they  are  somewhat  cylindrical  in  form,  and 
very  heavy.  When  the  sap  wood  has  been  removed,  the  colour  of 
a  transverse  section  of  the  heart  wood  is  yellowish-brown,  with 
darker  coloured  concentric  zones ;  the  odour  when  rubbed  or 
ground  is  very  agreeable,  approaching  to  that  of  the  rose,  and 
very  persistent ;  and  the  taste  strong,  aromatic,  and  bitterish. 
The  sap  wood  is  whitish,  and  almost  odourless  and  tasteless. 

The  most  important  constituent  of  sandal  wood  is  an  essential 
oil,  which  is  procured  from  the  heart  wood  after  it  is  cut  into 
small  chips,  by  distillation  with  water.  Pliickiger  and  Hanbury 
state  the  yield  at  about  1  per  cent. ;  but  Dr.  G.  Bidie  gives  it  at 
2*5  per  cent.  The  latter  observer  also  says,  that  the  roots  yield 
the  largest  quantity,  and  the  finest  quality,  of  oil.  This  oil  is  a 
transparent,  thick,  pale  yellow  liquid ;  varying  in  specific  gravity, 
according  to  different  experimenters,  of  from  0*963  to  0*980 ;  and 
having  the  odour  of  the  wood.  The  quality  of  the  oil  varies  much 
according  to  the  wood  from  which  it  has  been  derived.  The  other 
constituents  of  sandal  wood  have  not  been  specially  examined. 

Othsr  Kinds  of  Sandal  Wood  and  Commerce, — Besides  the 
sandal  wood  described  above  from  Santalum  album,  other  sorts 
of  sandal  wood  are  also  derived  from  species  of  Santalum  ;  thus, 
in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  from  Santalum  Freycinetiannm,  Gtiud. 
and  /8,  pyrularium,  A.  Gray;  in  the  Fiji  Islands  from  S.  Tad, 
Seem. ;  in  Western  Australia  from  S.  spicatum,  DC,  and 
8.  cygnorum,  Miq.  {Fuaa/nus  spicatua,  Br.) ;  and  in  New  Cale- 
donia from  8.  avstrO'Caledonicum,  Vieill.  The  supplies  from  these 
districts  are,  however,  uncertain,  as  no  care  is  taken  in  preserving 
the  trees  ;  and,  indeed,  in  some  cases,  appear  to  be  no  longer  found 
in  commerce. 

The  different  kinds  of  sandal  wood  also  vary  much  in 
quality;  and  fetch  various  prices.  In  the  commercial  houses 
of  China  three  kinds  are  specially  mentioned,  namely.  South 
Sea  Island,  Timor,  and  Malabar.     The  latter,  which  is  the  one 


252    SANTALUM  ALBUM 

we  have  particularly  described^  being  three  or  four  times  the  value 
of  either  of  the  other  varieties.  In  China  alone^  the  quantity 
of  all  kinds  of  sandal  wood  imported^  averages  over  5000  tons^ 
representing  a  value  of  not  less  than  £100^000. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Sandal  wood  has  long  had  a 
reputation  in  the  East^  as  a  remedy  in  fevers,  indigestion,  palpi- 
tations, and  many  other  affections.  At  the  present  day,  the 
powdered  wood,  made  into  a  paste  with  water,  is  a  common  appli- 
cation in  India  amongst  the  natives,  in  inflammatory  affections, 
and  in  skin  diseases,  &c.  The  volatile  oil  has  also  lately  been 
recommended  as  a  remedy  in  gonorrhoea,  by  Dr.  T.  B.  Henderson, 
of  Glasgow.  He  regards  it  "  as  equal,  and  frequently  superior,  to 
Copaiba  and  Cubebs,  having  found  it  sometimes  to  succeed  when 
both  these  remedies  had  previously  failed.  Its  comparatively 
pleasant  taste  and  smell  also  give  it  a  great  advantage  over 
Copaiba.'' 

The  principal  use  of  sandal  wood  is  not,  however,  for  medicinal 
purposes,  but  for  consumption  as  incense  in  the  Chinese  temples ; 
and  in  India  in  the  celebration  of  sepulchral  rites,  where  pieces  of 
sandal  wood  are  placed  by  the  wealthy  Hindoos  in  the  funereal 
pile.  Sandal  wood  is  also  largely  used  in  India,  &c.,  by 
cabinet  makers,  in  the  manufacture  of  caskets,  jewel-boxes, 
deed-cases,  &c. ;  and  likewise,  to  some  extent,  as  a  perfume. 

The  oil  of  sandal  wood  is  also  greatly  esteemed  as  a  perfume, 
and  is  much  employed  by  perfumers  in  this  country  and  else- 
where wherever  it  can  be  obtained. 

Qerarde's  HerbaU.,  by  Johnson  (1686),  p.  1585;  Woodville's 
Med.  Bot.  (Supplement),  1794,  p.  136 ;  Miller's  Gard.  Diet., 
vol.  ii,  pt.  ii;  Pharmaoographia,  p.  540;  U.  S.  Disp.,  byW. 
and  B.,  p.  1689 ;  Milbum,  Oriental  Commerce  (1813),  vol.  i, 
p.  291 ;  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  pp.  197  and  461 ;  Piease,  Art 
of  Perftimeiy,  3rd  ed.,  138;  Fbarm.  Joom.,  ser.  iii,  vol.  i, 
p.  938 ;  Henderson,  in  Med.  Times  and  Gaz.,  June,  1865,  p.  571. 


252    SAKTALUM  ALBUM 


DSSCBIPTION    OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Britisli  Museum  collected  at  Tranquebar ;  tlie 
fruit  added  from  Henfr^y. 

1.  A  flowering  branch. 

2.  A  flower. 

3.  Perianth  laid  open. 

4.  Yertical  section  of  the  flower. 

5.  Transyerse  section  of  ovary. 

6.  Fruit. 

7.  Yertical  section  of  the  same. 

8.  Embryo. 

(2-8  enlarged.) 

[By  an  oversight  the  artist  has  represented  the  perianth  as  5-lobed  in  figs 
1  and  2 ;  in  3  and  4  it  is  correctly  drawn  4-lobed.] 


li 


253 


"0 


w  \ 


"XJ 


268 

N.  Ord.  OoNiTERJB.    Le  Maoat  &  Dec.,  p.  739. 

Tribe  TaannM.    UadL,  Yeg.  K.,  p.  230  (N.  Ord.). 

Qeniu  TaxuB,*  Lmn,  Parkbtore,  in  DC.  Prod.,  xvi,  2,  p.  499. 
Species  6,  natiyeB  of  temperate  parts  of  the  northern 
hemisphere. 


248.  TazOB  baccata,  Lmn.,  8p.  Plant.,  ed.  1,  p.  1040   (1753). 

Yew, 

Icon,— "Seen,  t.  88;  Richard,  Gomm.  de  Conif,  t.  2;  Schnitzlein, 
Iconog.,  t.  78;  Sjme,  E.  Bot.,  viii,  1. 1384;  Eeichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ., 
xi,  t.  538;  Nees,  G^.  FL  Qerm, 

Description. — ^An  evergreen  tree,  usually  20 — 30  feet  high,  but 
sometimes  much  taller,  with  a  very  large  and  thick  trunk  and 
widely-spreading  horizontal  branches,  bark  dark-brown,  furrowed, 
shredding  off  in  fibres,  young  twigs  green.  Leaves  very  nume- 
rous and  closely  placed,  alternate,  with  a  very  short  petiole  which 
is  continued  as  a  raised  band  down  the  stem,  articulated,  ^ — 1 
inch  long,  somewhat  curved,  linear-strap-shaped,  sharp-pointed 
but  not  prickly,  entire,  rather  thick,  dark  shining  green  above, 
pale  beneath,  midrib  prominent,  all  pointing  somewhat  upwards 
right  and  left  by  a  twist  in  the  petioles ;  buds  very  small,  axillary, 
clothed  with  little  scales.  Flowers  dicecious ;  the  male  in  catkins, 
the  female  in  cones ;  all  axillary.  Male  catkins  ovoid,  scarcely  ^ 
inch  wide,  consisting  of  a  rather  thick  axis  with  several  closely 
placed,  thin,  imbricated,  yellowish  gradually  diminishing  scales 
on  its  lower  half,  and  on  its  upper  half  about  10 — 20  closely  placed 
nearly  sessile  sulphur-yellow  anthers,  forming  a  subglobular 
head ;  anther-connective  peltate,  lobed,  with  4 — 7  cells  att^hed  to 
its  under  surface,  and  dehiscing  longitudinally,  poUen  globose. 
Female  cones  reduced  to  very  small  bud-like  bodies  consisting  of 
several  rows  of  small,  imbricated  scales  surrounding  a  single^ 
terminal,  erect,  urceolate  ovule,  with  a  small  annular  '^ariP' 
at  its  base,  coect  of  the  ovule  prolonged  above  into  a  nipple- 
shaped  tube  which  projects  beyond  the  topmost  bracts  of  the  cone. 

*  TaxtLB,  the  classical  name. 


263    TAXUS  BACCATA 

Fruit  (galbnlus)  consisting  of  a  small  seed  (''  nut  ^^),  closely  sur- 
rounded and  covered  except  at  the  summit  by  the  greatly  enlarged 
''aril''  which  has  become  a  berry-like  fleshy  cup,  the  whole 
supported  on  a  small  circular  base  formed  of  the  cone-scales,  from 
which  the  ''  berry  "  is  readily  separated ;  cup  somewhat  exceeding 
the  nut,  with  a  sharp  edge  above,  skin  thin  but  strong,  coral-red, 
filled  with  a  thick,  glutinous,  nearly  colourless  juice ;  "  nut "  loosely 
attached  to  the  axis  by  a  broad  base,  about  ^  inch  long,  roundish 
ovoid,  bluntly  pointed  and  obtusely  8  or  4  angled  above,  dark  ruddy 
brown,  smooth,  minutely  pitted  under  a  lens,  covered  with  a  thin 
papery  pale  brown  skin  and  a  very  thin  layer  of  brown  semifluid 
pulp,  inner  coat  hard,  bony,  pale  yellow ;  embryo  small  straight, 
with  2  short  cotyledons  and  a  superior  radicle,  lying  in  the  axis 
of  the  tough  endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  yew  is  chiefly  familiar  as  a  planted  tree,  espe- 
cially in  churchyards,  but  it  grows  wild  in  many  parts  of  England, 
principally  on  chalk  and  limestone,  where  it  sometimes  forms 
small  woods  or  groves.  On  the  chalk  downs  of  the  southern 
counties  are  found  trees  of  undoubtedly  very  great  antiquity.  It 
is  a  native  of  the  whole  of  Central  and  Southern  Europe,  and 

• 

extends  to  North  Africa,  Asia  Minor,  the  Amur  district  to  the 
Himalaya,  ascending  in  Sikkim  to  an  elevation  of  7000 — 10,000 
feet.  There  are  many  garden  varieties  cultivated,  of  which  the 
best  known  are  T,  fastigiata,  Lindl.,  with  an  upright  pyramidal 
habit  of  growth,  and  T.  hibemica,  Mack.,  with  yellow  "  berries.'' 
Some  botanists  consider  that  there  is  but  one  kind  of  yew,  and  that 
the  American  and  Japanese  species  should  all  be  referred  to  T. 
hOiCcata. 

What  are  above  described  as  anthers  are  perhaps  better 
considered  to  be  antheriferous  bracts,  and  the  anther-cells  as 
anthers.     Some  authors  describe  the  stamens  as  monadelphous. 

Syme,  E.  Bot,  viii,  p.  276;  Hook,  f.,  Stud.  Fl.,  p.  348;  Watson, 
Comp.  Oyb.  Brit.,  p.  320;  London,  Arb.  et  Frut.  Brit.,  iv, 
p.  2066;  Parlatore,  1.  c,  p.  600. 

Parts   Used  and  Names. — Taxus,  Tew ;   the  leaves  and  fruits. 


253    TAXUS  BACOATA 

It  is  not  official  in  the  Britisli  Pharmacopoeia^  or  the  Pharmacopoeia 
of  India^  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States. 

Oeneral  Characters  amd  GomposiHon. — The  leaves  have  an  acrid^ 
bitter^  disagreeable  taste^  and  an  unpleasant  odour.  The  red 
succulent  cup  of  the  fruit  has  a  sickly  taste^  but  it  is^  however^ 
frequently  eaten  by  children^  and  also  by  birds^  wasps^  &c. ;  it 
has  no  marked  odour. 

The  leaves  contain  a  volatile  oil,  tannic  and  gallic  acids,  and  a 
resinous  substance  called  taaein.  Two  pounds  of  the  leaves^ 
according  to  Lucas^  yield  about  3  grains  of  tazin.  This  substance 
is  but  little  soluble  in  water^  but  readily  so  in  alcohol,  ether,  and 
dilute  acids.  The  active  properties  of  yew  are  probably  due  to 
the  taxin  and  volatile  oil,  but  on  this  point  we  have  no  positive 
evidence. 

Medical  Properties  amd  Uses. — ^Yew  leaves  and  fruits  have  been 
given  for  their  emmenagogue,  sedative,  and  antispasmodic  effects. 
Pereira  says  that  therapeutically  the  yew  appears  to  hold  an 
intermediate  position  between  savin  and  digitalis,  being  allied  to 
the  former  by  its  acrid,  diuretic,  and  emmenagogue  properties, 
and  to  the  latter  by  the  giddiness,  irregular  and  depressed  action 
of  the  heart,  convulsions,  and  insensibility,  which  it  produces. 
Yew  is,  however,  reported  to  have  one  decided  advantage  over 
digitalis  by  its  effects  not  accumulating  in  the  system ;  so  that  it 
is  a  much  more  manageable  remedy  than  it.  Besides  its  use  as 
an  emmenagogue  and  sedative  in  the  same  cases  as  savin  and 
digitalis  are  administered,  it  has  also  been  employed  as  a  lithic  in 
calculous  complaints ;  and  as  an  antispasmodic  in  epilepsy  and 
convulsions.  According  to  Dr.  Taylor,  yew-tree  tea  is  sometimes 
used  by  ignorant  persons  to  cause  abortion.  At  the  present  time, 
however,  yew  is  never  used  in  regular  medical  practice,  the 
principal  interest  attached  to  it  having  reference  to  its  poisonous 
properties.  Thus  the  leaves  and  young  branches  act  as  a 
narcotico-acrid  poison,  both  to  the  human  subject  and  some  other 
animals,  but  more  especially  to  horses  and  cows.  Fatal  cases  of 
poisoning  have  also  occurred  from  swallowing  the  fruit.  It  is 
frequently  stated  that  animals  may  feed  upon  the  young  growing 


253    TAXUS  BAOOATA 

shoots  with  impunity^  but  that  when  these  have  been  cat  off^  and 
left  upon  the  ^ound  for  a  short  time^  they  are  then  poisonous. 
This  is^  however^  an  entirely  erroneous  notion^  for  yew  shoots  and 
leaves  are  poisonous  both  in  a  dried  and  fresh  state.  It  seems 
certain,  however,  that  the  red  succulent  cup  of  the  fruit  is 
harmless,  for  a  fatal  case  of  poisoning  has  been  recorded  of  a  child 
from  swallowing  the  entire  fruit  with  its  contained  seed ;  whilst 
other  children  who  had  partaken  of  the  fruit  at  the  same  time, 
but  who  had  rejected  all  but  the  fleshy  cup,  sujB!ered  no  ill  effects. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  334;  Lind.,  Mora  Medica,  p.  558 ; 
Bentl.,  Man.  Bot.,  p.  646;  Miller,  Gard.  Diet,  vol.  ii,  pt.  2nd; 
Watte,  Diet.  Ohem.,  voL  v,  p.  702;  Lancet.  Oct.  17,  1868, 
p.  530 ;  Pharm.  Joam.,  vol.  i,  2nd  ser.,  p.  294,  and  yol.  vi,  p.  489. 


DESCBIPTION  OF  FLATS. 

Drawn  from  trees  in  Kew  Gardens;  the  female  flower  copied  from  Nees. 

1.  Twig  of  male  plant  with  catkins. 

2.  A  catkin. 

3.  Yertical  section  of  the  same. 

4.  The  same  after  the  pollen  is  ahed. 

5.  The  connective. 

6.  An  anther. 

7.  Small  branch  of  female  tree  with  fruit. 

8.  A  female  inflorescence. 

9.  The  ovule. 

10.  Section  of  the  same. 

11.  Half  ripe  fruit. 

12.  Ripe  fruit. 

13.  Same  with  half  the  "  aril "  removed. 

14.  Section  of  seed. 

15.  Insertion  of  the  leaves. 

(2-6,  8-10, 14, 15  enlarged.) 


D 


» 


MiN-HanharliTO 


JUNIPEF.US  3ABlNA,i-!^iit- 


264 

N.  Ord.  O0NIFSB.B. 
Tribe  Ouprettem. 

Qenna  Jimipenu,*  Linn.  Parlatore,  in  DO.  ProcL,  xvi, 
pi.  2,  pp.  475—498.  Spedes  27,  natives  of  temperate  and 
oold  regions  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 


254.  Jiinipenis  Sabina,t  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  1039  (1753). 

Savin. 

Syn.^^.  foBtida,  Spaeh.    J.  Ijcia,  PaUaa.    J.  prostrata,  Pers. 

^jpufvt.— Woodville,  tt.  5  &  (/.  lyda)  7;  Neee,  t.  87;  Berg  &  Sch., 
t.  30  a;  Pallas,  Ic  FL  Bossies,  ii,  t.  56;  Beichenb.,  lo.  FL  Qerm., 
xi,t.536. 

Description. — A  small  or  large  bush  (occasionally  even  becoming 
a  small  tree)^  usually  very  compact  and  spreading  horizontally^ 
witb  very  nnmerons,  slender^  much  divided  branches^  bark  pale 
reddish-brown^  scaling  off.  Leaves  opposite  or  in  threes^  closely 
placed,  small,  numerous,  evergreen,  and  very  persistent,  glabrous, 
of  two  forms,  those  on  the  elongated  branchlets  more  distantly 
placed,  triangular-subulate,  adnate  to  the  axis  or  decurrent  for  the 
greater  part  of  their  length,  free  and  spreading  at  the  apex, 
those  on  the  smaller  lateral  shoots  rhomboidal  and  scale-like, 
closely  imbricate,  and  wholly  adpressed,  subacute  at  the  apex, 
with  a  large  oval  gland  in  the  centre.  Flowers  unisexual, 
dioecious,  very  small,  the  male  in  catkins,  the  female  in  small 
cones,  both  situated  at  the  extremity  of  short  lateral  branches, 
erect  in  the  male,  recurved  in  the  female.  Male  catkins  as  in 
/.  communis.  Female  cones  consisting  of  several  overlapping, 
broad,  thick,  empty  scales  below,  and  4  (rarely  6)  very  broad, 
thick,  fleshy,  spreading  ones  above,  decussately  arranged  in 
pairs.  Ovules  minute,  flask-shaped,  1  to  4,  arranged  solitarily 
or  in  pairs  in  the  axils  of  the  lower  pair  of  thickened  scales. 
Fruit  berry-like,  formed  by  the  enlargement  and  coalescence  of 

*  Jun^perus,  the  classical  name  (in  Greek  dpKtvGo^)  for  /.  eommnnia. 
t  Sabina,  the  Latin  name  for  the  plant ;  the  Greek  was  fipdOv. 


254    JUNIPERUS  SABINA 

the  thick  scales^  the  points  of  which  are  still  visible^  abont 
the  size  of  a  pea^  on  shorty  curved^  nodding  stalks^  spherical, 
dark  blueish  purple  with  a  whitish  bloom,  soft,  enclosing 
1  to  3  seeds.  Seed  somewhat  variable  in  form,  nsaally  ovoid, 
compressed,  with  two  or  three  large  ''  glands ''  running  down  the 
surface,  testa  very  hard,  rough ;  embryo  straight  in  axis  of  the 
endosperm,  radicle  superior. 

Habitat. — The  Savin  is  found  through  a  large  portion  of  the 
colder  temperate  regions  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  It  is  an 
Alpine  species  in  Central  and  Southern  Europe,  growing  in  the 
mountain  regions  of  Switzerland,  Germany,  Prance,  Austria, 
Spain,  Italy,  and  Greece,  but  not  extenditig  into  Scandinavia,  or 
the  British  Islands ;  in  the  Alps  it  grows  to  an  elevation  of  5000 
feet.  In  Asia  this  shrub  is  found  in  the  Caucasus,  where  it 
reaches  to  12,000  feet,  the  Caspian  districts,  the  Altai,  and  the 
whole  of  Siberia,  and  in  America  it  occurs  in  Newfoundland  and 
on  the  borders  of  Canada  and  the  United  States. 

As  might  be  expected  from  this  extensive  range,  it  is  a 
variable  species.  In  the  colder  regions  it  is  a  small,  depressed, 
spreading  bush  or  even  (var.  procumbens)  a  prostrate  or  creeping 
one,  but  in  more  favorable  localities  it  becomes  a  good-sized 
shrub.  Sir,  "W.  J  Hooker  and  Hanbury,  indeed,  have  considered 
the  Red  Cedar  of  the  United  States,  /.  virgmia/na,  L.,  which  not 
unfrequently  in  the  west  reaches  a  height  of  80  feet,  to  be  the 
same  species.  It  differs  chiefly  in  habit,  in  the  rather  smaller 
erect  fruit,  and  in  the  leaves  being  somewhat  more  acute.  There 
is  a  figure  in  Bigelow,  t.  45. 

Savin  was  grown  in  English  gardens  in  the  middle  of  the  16th 

century,  and  was  formerly  much  more  frequently  cultivated  than 

is  now  the  case.     It  flowers  in  May  and  June. 

Gren.  &  Godr.,  Fl.  France,  iii,  p.  169 ;  Willk.  and  Lange»  Prod. 
Fl.  Hisp.,  i,  p.  21 ;  Farlatore,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  483 ; 
Ledebonr,  FL  Boss.,  iii,  p.  682;  Hook.,  Fl.  Bor.-Amer.,  ii, 
p.  166  J  A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  North  U.  S.,  p.  474 ;  Lindl.,  FL 
Med.,  p.  557. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — 1 .   Sabin-E  Cacumina  ;  the  fresh  and 

dried  tops  :     2.  Oleum  Sabinj:  ;  the  oil  distilled  in  Britain  from 


254    JUNIPERIS  SABINA 

fresh  savin  (B.  P.).  1.  The  fresh  and  dried  tops:  2.  The 
volatile  oil  obtained  by  distillation  from  the  fresh  tops  (I.  P.). 
Sabina;  the  tops  (TJ.  S.  P.). 

1.  Sabinje  Cacumina,  or  Sabina. — Collection,  Oeneral  Characters, 
and  Composition. — For  medicinal  purposes  savin  or  savine  tops 
should  be  collected  in  the  springs  and  the  yoang  green  shoots 
should  be  separated  from  the  hard  woody  branches  from  which 
they  arise.  When  thus  obtained^  the  twigs  are  densely  covered 
with  minute,  imbricated,  adpressed,  dark  green  leaves.  When 
rabbed  or  bruised  they  have  a  stroug,  peculiar  odour,  which  is 
generally  regarded  as  unpleasant;  and  a  bitter,  acrid,  disagree- 
able taste. 

The  dried  tops  are  yellowish-green,  and  have  less  odour  than 
the  fresh  ones.  When  in  very  coarse  powder,  or  in  fragments, 
the  microscope  shows  the  presence  of  the  bordered  pits  so 
characteristic  of  the  wood-cells  of  the  Gymnospermia ;  and  as 
savin  is  sometimes  given  for  criminal  purposes,  the  microscope 
may  afford  important  aid  in  detecting  it  under  such  circum- 
stances. 

The  essential  constituent  of  savin  is  the  official  volatile  oil, 
which  is  described  below.  It  also  contains  resin,  tannic  acid,  and 
other  substances  of  no  importance. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Savin,  both  when  administered 
internally,  or  locally  applied,  is  an  irritant ;  its  effects  are  most 
manifest  upon  the  uterus,  hence  it  is  a  powerful  emmenagogue. 
In  large  doses  it  is  an  energetic  poison,  producing  gastro* 
enteritis,  collapse,  and  death.  It  is  said  to  be  serviceable  in 
amenorrhcea  and  chlorosis,  when  unattended  with  congestion  of 
any  of  the  pelvic  viscera.  It  should  not  be  given  in  pregnancy, 
as  it  is  a  powerful  abortifacient ;  hence  in  large  doses,  it  has 
often  been  given  criminally  to  produce  abortion,  and  has  not 
nnfrequently,  in  such  cases,  caused  the  death  both  of  mother  and 
child.  It  is  rarely  administered  internally;  but  is  frequently 
used  externally  in  the  form  of  the  official  ointment,  as  a  dressing 
to  blisters  when  it  is  desired  to  keep  up  the  discharge,  and  also 
as  an  application  to  issues  and  setons  to  promote  their  discharge. 


^-      J 


254    JUNIPERIS  SABINA 

Savin  is  likewise  applied  externally  to  syphilitic  warts^  and  in 
psora  and  other  skin  diseases. 

2.  Oleum  Sabine. — General  Characters. — Oil  of  Savin  is 
directed  to  be  distilled  from  the  fresh  tops^  which  yield  from  2 
to  3  per  cent.  This  oil  is  colourless  or  pale  yellow,  limpid,  with 
the  characteristic  odour  of  the  plant,  and  a  bitter,  extremely 
acrid  taste.  It  is  dextrogyrate,  its  specific  gravity  is  0*915, 
boiling  point  815^,  and  its  composition  is  the  same  as  that  of  oil 
of  turpentine.  It  is  but  moderately  soluble  in  alcohol,  but 
freely  so  in  ether.  Oil  of  Savin  is  official  in  the  British  Pharma- 
copceia,  and  in  the  Pharmacopoeias  of  India  and  the  United 
States. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Its  effects  and  uses  are  the  same 
as  those  of  the  tops ;  and  it  is  by  far  the  most  convenient  and 
certain  preparation  of  savin  for  internal  administration. 

Substitute. — In  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  the 
tops  of  Juniperus  virginiana,  L.,  the  Red  Cedar,  or  American 
Savin,  a  common  plant  in  the  United  States,  are  also  official  in 
the  Secondary  List  of  the  Materia  Medica.  They  have  a  power- 
ful, bitterish,  somewhat  acrid  taste;  and  a  peculiar,  not  un- 
pleasant odour.  They  have  a  strong  resemblance  to  oar  savin 
tops,  but  are  readily  distinguished  from  them  by  their  difference 
of  odour. 

Bed  Cedar  tops  owe  their  properties  to  a  volatile  oil,  which  is 
said  to  be  sometimes  substituted  for  the  official  oil  of  savin  in 
the  United  States.  They  contain,  however,  a  far  less  proportion 
of  oil  than  true  savin  tops. 

In  their  properties  and  uses  they  closely  resemble  the  ordinary 
savin  tops,  and  in  the  form  of  corresponding  preparations  they 
are  sometimes  employed  as  a  substitute  for  them.  They  are, 
however,  much  less  active. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  329;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B  &  B., 
p.  486 ;  Pbarmacographia,  p.  567 ;  IT.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
pp.  608,  762,  and  1312 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  v,  p.  201 ; 
Amer.  Joum.  of  Pharm.,  vol.  xiii,  p.  16. 


254    JUNIPEBUS  SABINA 


DSSCBIPTION    or   FLATS. 

Brawn  from  a  apedmen  collected  by  Pallas  in  the  Altai,  in  the  Britiah 
Mnseiui^  the  female  flower  (figs.  2  &  3)  added  from  Berg  &  Sch. 

1.  A  branch  of  a  female  tree  with  fruit. 

2.  Female  cone,  with  2  oynleB. 

3.  y ertical  eecticm  of  the  same. 

4.  The  fame  somewhat  further  adranced. 
5, 6.  Fruit. 

7.  Vertical,  and — 8.  Transrerse  section  of  a  fruit. 
9.  A  seed. 

10.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 

11.  Portion  of  ultimate  branchlet  with  leares. 

(2-5,  7-11  enlarged.) 


D  Blur  la  11.1  i.:  elidi,  MA  iJitctlrt  mip 

JUNIPERUS    COMMUNIS,  i(^(«-. 


265 

N.  Ord.  OoNirEBJC. 
Tribe  Ot^prenetB, 
Gknna  JtiziipeniB,  Linn. 


256.  Jnnipenifl  communis,  Linn.,  8p.  PL,  ed.  1,  p.  1040 

(1753). 

Jumper. 


Figures. — Woodville,  t.  6;  Bigelow,  t.  44;  Nees,  t.  86;  Steph.  &  Ob., 
t.  141 ;  Berg  &  Scb.,  t.  8  e ;  Sjme,  E.  B.,  yiii,  1. 1382  (bad) ;  Nees, 
Gen.  Fl.  Gkrm.,  Apet. ;  B«icb,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xi,  t.  535 ;  Scbnitzlein, 
Iconogr.,  t.  76. 


Description.— A  dwarf,  procumbent,  bushy  evergreen  shrub,  or  a 
neat  bush  2 — 5  feet  high  with  upright  branches,  or  a  small  tree 
reaching  80  feet  high ;  bark  chocolate-brown,  coming  away  in  flakes 
on  the  old  branches,  young  twigs  divaricate.  Leaves  very  nu- 
merous, persistent,  arranged  mostly  in  threes,  spreading  at  right 
angles  and  rigid ;  when  full-grown,  about  ^  inch  long,  linear,  taper- 
ing to  a  sharp  prickly  point,  articulated  on  stem,  with  a  prominent 
knob  at  the  base  above,  channeled,  glaucous  or  pinkish,  with  green 
margins,  above,  bluntly  keeled  and  bright  green  beneath ;  shorter 
and  more  concave  at  the  base  of  the  branches.  Flowers  dicecious, 
the  male  in  small  catkins,  the  female  in  little  cones;  all 
axillary.  Male  catkins  with  a  few  small  scales  at  base,  ovoid  or 
globose,  about  I  inch  long,  consisting  of  several  whorls  of  decus- 
sate horizontal  stamens,  each  with  three  or  four  anther- cells 
attached  to  the  base  of  the  lower  surface  of  the  connective, 
dehiscing  vertically.  Female  cones  about  ^  inch  long,  consisting 
of  about  12 — 16  green,  ovate,  acute,  fleshy  scales,  closely  placed 
in  8  to  5  rows  on  a  short  axis  and  overlapping,  the  lower  empty ; 
the  uppermost  3  surrounding  the  naked  ovules,  thinner,  pinkish. 
Ovules  erect,  3,  alternating  with  the  scales,  in  close  contact  and 
terminating  the  axis  of  the  cone,  flask-shaped,  micropyles  prolonged 
and  projecting  slightly  beyond  the  uppermost  scales.     Fruit  berry- 


255    JUNIPERUS  COMMUNIS 

like  (a  galbulus)  from  the  growth  of  the  three  uppermost  bracts  of 
the  cone,  which  become  greatly  enlarged,  fleshy,  and  completely 
coalescent  except  at  their  tips,  and  arching  over  the  top  enclose 
the  seeds,  at  first  green,  and  not  ripening  till  the  second  year, 
when  ripe  purplish-black,  soft,  and  covered  with  a  whitish- 
blue  '^  bloom,^^  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  surrounded  at  the  base 
with  the  empty  scales  of  the  cone.  Seeds  small,  3  in  each  fruit, 
close  together,  their  upper  half  conical  and  triangular,  the  lower 
rounded ;  testa  very  hard,  with  several  large  glands  or  sacs  on  its 
lower  part;  embryo  straight,  in  scanty  endosperm,  cotyledons 
2,  small ;  radicle  superior. 

Habitat. — The  juniper,  under  one  or  other  of  its  varieties 
(5  are  described  by  Parlatore),  has  a  very  extensive  distribution, 
extending  throughout  Europe  and  North  Africa,  Asia  north- 
wards from  the  Himalayas,  Japan,  and  North  America  ;  the  dwarf 
form  reaches  far  into  the  arctic  regions,  occurring  in  Greenland 
and  Kamtschatka.  In  England  it  grows  in  hilly  places,  and  is 
a  widely  diffused  though  not  very  common  species ;  in  the  south 
it  especially  prefers  chalk  downs,  but  also  occurs  on  dry  sandy 
heaths. 

Some  botanists  consider  the  three  uppermost  scales  of  the  cone 
as  open  carpels ;  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  ovules  alternate 
with  these  and  do  not  stand  in  their  axils. 

Parlatore,  in  DO.  Prod.,  p.  479;  Syme,  E.  B.,  viii,  p.  273;  Hook, 
f.,  Stud.  PL,  p.  348;  WatB.,  Oomp.  Oyb.  Brit.,  p.  319;  A.  Gray, 
Man.  Bot.  U.  S.,  p.  473;  Hook.,  PI.  Bor.  Am.,  ii,  p.  165 ;  Eoxb., 
PI.  Ind.,  iii,  p.  839 ;  Brandis,  For.  PI.,  p.  536 ;  Lindl.,  PI.  Med., 
p.  556. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Oleum  Junipeei.  The  oil  distilled 
in  Britain  from  the  unripe  fruit  (B.  P.).  The  fruit  {Juniperi 
Fructus)  (I.  P.).     JuNiPBRUS.     The  fruit  (U.  S.  P.). 

1.  The  Fruit. — The  fruit  is  commonly  called  a  berry,  although 
properly  a  galbulus.  Juniper  fruits  are  largely  collected  in 
Savoy,  and  also  in  the  South  of  Prance,  in  Austria,  and  Italy. 
They  are    principally   exported    from    Trieste  and    some    Italian 


256    JUNIPBRUS  COMMUNIS 

ports.  In  this  country,  however,  the  oil,  which  is  alone  official,  is 
directed  to  be  distilled  from  the  unripe  fruit  in  Britain. 

The  juniper  fruits  of  commerce  are  round,  about  the  size  of  a 
pea  or  a  black  currant,  of  a  deep  purplish-black  colour,  and 
covered  hj  a  glaucous  bloom.  They  are  marked  at  the  summit 
with  three  radiate  furrows,  and  below  with  stell  t  ely  arranged 
minute  scales.  Each  fruit  contains  three  bony  seeds  enveloped 
in  a  brownish-yellow  pulp.  The  fruits  have  an  agreeable 
aromatic  odour  when  bruised ;  and  a  warm,  somewhat  spicy, 
sweetish,  slightly  terebinthinate  taste. 

Their  properties  are  essentiaUy  due  to  a  volatile  oil  (see 
Oleum  Juniperi).  They  also  contain  a  large  quantity  of  suga/r, 
some  resiuy  and  a  very  small  proportion  of  an  uncrystallisable 
substance  named  junvp^n. 

2.  Oil  op  Juniper. — This  is  readily  obtained  by  submitting  the 
fruit  to  distillation  with  water.  The  volatile  oil  is  most  abundant 
in  the  full-grown  green  fruit,  as  in  the  course  of  ripening  some  of 
the  oil  becomes  converted  into  resin.  The  amount  of  oil  obtain- 
able varies  from  1  to  2  per  cent.  The  oil  is  a  colourless  or  pale 
greenish-yellow  liquid,  of  a  sweetish  odour,  and  warm  aromatic 
taste.  It  is  limpid,  transparent,  levogyrate,  and  has  a  specific 
gravity  varying  from  0*839  to  about  0*900.  It  is  a  mixture  of 
two  oils. 

Juniper  tops  were  formerly  official,  and  possess  similar  properties 
to  the  fruit.  Both  the  tops  and  juniper  wood  yield  a  volatile 
oil,  which  is  frequently  distilled  abroad.  It  is  sometimes  substi- 
tuted in  this  country  and  the  United  States  of  America  for  the 
official  oil  of  juniper.  It  is  sold  at  a  much  lower  price  than  the 
true  oil  of  juniper ;  and  in  its  characters  closely  resembles  oil  of 
turpentine. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses  of  Juniper  Fruit  and  OiL — Juniper 
fruit  and  oil  possess  carminative,  stimulant,  and  diuretic  pro- 
perties ;  their  action  closely  resembling  terebinthinate  substances. 
They  communicate  a  violet  odour  to  the  urine  of  those  taking 
them;  and  in  large  doses  sometimes  occasion  irritation  of 
the  bladder  and  urinary  passages.     They  have  been  found  espe- 


255    JUNIPEBUS  COMMUNIS 

cially  useful  in  difEerent  forms  of  dropsies,  either  administered 
alone,  or  in  combination  with  other  diuretics,  more  especially 
digitalis.  They  have  been  also  employed  in  mucous  discharges, 
as  gonorrhoea,  gleet,  and  leucorrhoea;  and  in  some  cutaneous 
diseases.  Sir  James  Simpson  considers  oil  of  juniper  an  ej£cient 
diuretic  when  administered  through  the  lungs,  and  he  recommends 
for  this  purpose  a  teaspoonful  of  the  oil  to  be  put  into  a  vessel  of 
hot  water,  and  the  patient  directed  to  inhale  the  vapours. 

Formerly  juniper  fruits  were  '^  employed  as  a  spice  to  food ;  and 
a  spirit,  of  which  wormwood  was  an  ingredient,  was  obtained 
from  them  by  fermentation  and  distillation.  This  spirit,  called 
in  French  Oenisvre,  became  known  in  English  as  Geneva,  a  name 
subsequently  contracted  into  Gin.''  At  the  present  time  the  gin 
distilled  in  Scotland  is  slightly  flavoured  with  juniper  berries,  two 
pounds  of  berries  being  used  to  100  gallons  of  gin;  but  the  gin 
ordinarily  distilled  in  England  is  flavoured  with  oil  of  turpentine. 

The  wood  has  been  regarded  as  sudorific  in  its  action,  and 
according  to  Burnett,  has  been  substituted  for  guaiacum  and 
sassafras.  !We  have  never  met  with  such  a  substitution,  and 
except  by  accident,  it  is  scarcely  likely  to  occur. 

Per.  Mat  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  327;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B., 
p.  483;  Pharmacogp-aphia,  p.  565;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
pp.  507  and  1308 ;  Garr.,  Mat.  Med.,  p.  368 ;  Steph.  &  Ohnrch., 
Med.  Bot.,  by  Burnett,  pi.  141,  voLliii. 


DESCRIPTION  OV  PLATA. 

Brawn  from  a  plant  collected  at  Mickleham,  Surrey,  in  June,  with  the 
male  flowers  added  from  Berg  and  Schmidt.  1.  A  branch  of  a  female  bush, 
with  flowers  and  fruit  in  Tarious  stages.  2.  A  female  cone.  8.  Yertical 
section  of  the  same.  4,  5.  Bipe  fruit.  6.  Yertical,  and  7.  Transrerse  section 
of  same.  8.  A  seed.  9.  Vertical  section  of  same.  10.  Male  catkin. 
11.  Section  of  same.    12.  A  single  stamen.    (2,  3,  5 — 12  all  enlarged.) 


256 

N.  Ord.  CONIVBB^. 

Tribe  Pinea.    Lindl.,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  226  {N.  Ord,), 

Genus  Piniis,*  Linn,  (includes  Abies,  Lairix,  &c.).  There  are 
over  100  species,  natives  of  the  northern  hemisphere  in 
the  Old  and  New  Worlds. 


266.  FinilS  FinaBter^t  Solander,  in  Ait  Hort.  Kew,,  iii,  p.  367 

(1789). 

Maritime  Pine/    Cluster  Pine,     Pinaster, 

Syn, — ^P.  maritima,  Poir, 

Figures, — Nee8»  tt.  76, 77 ;  Lamb.,  111.  Gen.  Finns,  ed.  2,  tt.  9, 10 ;  Sjme, 
E.  Bot.,  viii,  t.  1381 ;  Beich.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xi.  t.  525. 

Description. — A  large  tree,  attaining  sixty  feet  in  height^  with 
an  irregular,  rounded,  dense  head,  trunk  thick,  bare  below,  with 
many  stout,  rather  verticillate  branches  above,  bark  red-brown, 
thick,  fissured  yet  rather  smooth,  flaking  off  in  layers,  scales 
beneath  the  leaf-fascicles  persistent  on  the  young  branches, 
recurved.  Leaves  in  twos,  the  fascicle  surrounded  at  the  base 
by  a  close  sheath  which  is  about  ^  inch  long,  thin  brownish 
ash-coloured  and  scarcely  fimbriated,  4 — 8  inches  long,  linear, 
erect,  rigid,  sharply  pointed,  deeply  channelled,  convex  beneath, 
serrulated  on  margins,  bright  green.  Flowers  very  small,  uni- 
sexual, monoecious,  the  female  with  membranous  bracts  at  the 
base,  the  male  without  bracts,  all  closely  arranged  in  small  cat- 
kins. Male  catkins  numerous,  crowded  at  the  base  of  a  young 
'Tbranch,  stamens  (flowers)  closely  placed,  with  very  short  fila- 
ments,   anthers     2 -celled,    the    scale-like    connective    prolonged 

beyond  the  cells  to  form  a  large,  rounded,  denticulate,  erect  crest. 
Females  cones  usually  in  whorls  of  3 — 7,  small,  globose-ovoid, 
crimson,  carpeUary  scales  closely  imbricated,  thick,  spreading, 
roundish,  with  two  ovules  on  the  upper  surface  at  the  base,  struc- 
ture as  in  P,  sylvestris.     Ripe  cones  sessile,  in  whorls  of   several, 

*  Pinus,  in  Greek  vtvKti,  the  classical  name  for  P.  Pinea,  Linn.,  the  Stone 
Pine, 
t  Pinaster  was  the  name  given  by  Pliny  to  the  wild  form  of  the  Stdne  Pine. 


256    PINUS  PINASTER 

recurved  or  spreading^  4 — 6  inches  long,  conical-ovoid,  somewhat 
tapering  at  the  apex,  bright  brown,  polished,  scales  very  numerous, 
their  exposed  ends  (apophysis,  escutcheon)  much  thickened,  widely 
rhomboidal,  |— 1  inch  wide,  with  a  prominent  transverse  ridge, 
elevated  in  the  centre  into  a  large,  straight,  pyramidal,  rigid,  more 
or  less  sharp  point.  Seed  about  IJ  inch  long,  the  terminal,  oblong, 
truncate,  membranous,  brown  or  striped  wing  occupying  |  of  the 
length,  structure  as  in  P.  sylvestris. 

Eahitat.— This  handsome  Pine  is  a  native  of  South-western 
Europe,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea  coast  in  Spain  and 
Portugal,  Southern  and  Western  France ;  it  extends  eastwards  in 
the  Mediterranean  basin  to  Algeria,  Corsica,  Southern  Italy,  Sicily, 
and  Greece.  It  is  thought  to  have  been  formerly  native  also  in 
Ireland.  The  tree  has  been  very  extensively  spread  by  long- 
continued  sowing  on  several  barren  tracts  of  loose  sand  in  many 
parts  of  the  world,  and  especially  on  the  west  coast  of  France, 
where  it  now  forms  large  forests.  In  this  country  a  large  portion 
of  the  bare  sandy  district  called  the  Poole  basin,  on  the  confines  of 
Hants  and  Dorset,  was  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  planted  with 
this  Pine,  and  the  tree  has  in  consequence  become  semi-naturalised 
in  that  district.  The  flowers  appear  in  spring,  and  the  cones 
ripen  in  the  autumn  of  the  second  year.  It  was  cultivated  in 
England  in  1596. 

Syme,  E.  But.,  viii,  p.  270 ;  Gren.  &  Godr.,  Fl.  France,  iii,  p.  154 ; 
Parlatore,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  2,  p.  382 ;  London,  Arbor,  et  Prut. 
Brit.,  p.  2213 ;  LindL,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  554. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — 1.  Oleum  Tebebinthinj:  ;  the  oil 
distilled  from  the  oleo-resin  (turpentine)  obtained  from  Pinus 
palustris.  Miller's  Diet.,  Pinus  Tadda,  Linn.,  and  sometimes  Pinus 
Pinaster,  Aiton :  2.  Besina  ;  the  residue  of  the  distillation  of  the 
turpentines  from  various  species  of  Pinus,  Linn.,  and  Abies,  Lam. 
(B.  P.).  1.  Oleum  TBREBiNTHiNiE ;  the  oil  obtained  by  distillation 
of  the  oleo-resin  of  Pinus  palustris.  Lam.,  Pinus  Taeda,  Linn.,  and 
sometimes  from  Pinus  Pinaster,  Aiton :  2.  Besina  ;  the  residue  of 
the  distillation  of  the  turpentines  from  various  species  of  Pinus, 
Linn.,  and  Abies,  Lam.  (I.  P.).     This  plant  is  not  mentioned  by 


256    PINUS  PINASTER 

name  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States^  and  is  therefore 
only  included  generally  in  that  volume  as  an  official  source  of  Oil 
of  Turpentine  and  other  products  under  the  words  ''  other  species 
of  Pinus/' 

This-  species  yields  the  commercial  variety  of  oil  of  turpentine 
known  as  Bordeaux  Turpentine;  but  the  General  Characters, 
Varieties y  Composition,  Medical  Properties,  Uses,  and  all  other 
particulars  in  reference  to  ''  Oleum  TerebinthinsB  '*  and  ^'  Resina,'* 
are  given  by  us  under  "  Pin  us  australis/'  which  is  their  principal 
botanical  source. 

This  tree  also  yields  tar  and  pitch,  which  substances  are 
described  under  Pinus  sylvestris. 

Galipot. — This  term  is  applied  in  France  to  the  turpentine  which 
concretes  upon  the  trunk  of  this  tree ;  it  is  also  known  under  the 
name  of  Barras,  and  was  formerly  termed  Oaripot.  It  is  not 
official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India^ 
or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States ;  but  it  corresponds  to 
the  official  Thus  Americanum  which  is  described  under  Pinus 
australis. 

Extraction. — Galipot  is  obtained  in  the  Landes  Department  of 
France  when  the  collection  of  ordinary  turpentine  for  the  summer 
is  completed.  At  that  period  the  oleo-resinous  juice  (turpentine) 
still  runs  from  the  wounds  made  in  the  trunk  of  the  tree  for  its 
extraction  ;  but  as  the  temperature  is  not  then  sufficiently  high  to 
cause  it  to  run  quickly  down  to  the  foot  of  the  tree^  or  because 
the  oil  is  present  in  it  in  less  quantity^  it  dries  on  the  trunk  in 
whitish  stalactitic  tears.  It  is  collected  in  winter.  Mathieu 
describes  galipot  as  the  pure  concrete  turpentine^  which  is 
detached  in  pieces  without  being  mixed  with  fragments  of  the 
bark,  &c. ;  and  reserves  the  name  of  harras  for  the  solidified 
turpentine  which  cannot  be  obtained  without  scraping  the  trunk ; 
the  latter  is,  therefore,  impure  galipot,  as  it  is  mixed  with  frag- 
ments of  bark,  chips,  and  other  extraneous  substances.  Guibourt 
distinguishes  by  the  name  of  galipot  fondu  the  concrete  turpentine 
melted  and  strained  so  as  to  free  it  from  impurities. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — As  found   in  commerce. 


2S6    PIVU8  FIKASTEB 

galipot  IB  a  concrete  sabstance^  grannlar  in  t€-xtare^  yellowisli- 
whiUs  in  colour^  of  a  stroDg  terebinthinons  odour,  and  with  a 
bitter  and  aroumtic  Uikte.  It  is  cotnpletelj  sc'loble  in  alcoLol. 
It  in  compof^^^  like  other  turpentines^  of  an  amorphons  r^x-iVi,  and 
an  e*Hential  <ni,  bat  the  hitter  is  in  very  small  qoantitj;  in  this 
respect  being  intermediate  between  common  resin,  which  contains 
no  oil,  and  Borgnndy  pitch,  in  which  the  oil  exists  to  bnt  a  small 
amount,  as  we  have  described  in  treating  of  that  substance  under 
Ftnus  AhieSs  The  granular  appearance  of  galipot  is  due  to  the 
presence  of  minute  crystals  of  abietic  acid,  as  may  be  seen  when 
it  is  examined  under  the  microscope.  Sometimes  the  galipot  is 
soft  from  containing  a  larger  quantity  of  oil ;  in  which  case  it  is 
distilled  with  water,  and  the  volatile  oil  thus  obtained  is  known 
as  hutle  de  rase. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Gralipot  has  similar  properties  to 
Thus  Americanum,  and  is  employed  like  it  in  the  preparation  of 
certain  plasters. 

In  Germany  it  is  frequently  used  to  mix  with  Burgundy  pitch, 
as  noticed  in  our  description  of  that  substance,  in  the  preparation 
of  IJrauerpech  or  brewers*  pitch,  for  coating  beer  casks. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  toL  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  SOO;  Pharmacographia,  pp.  547 
and  549 ;  Gtiiboart,  Hist,  dea  Drog ,  vol.  ii,  p.  263;  IT.  S.  Disp., 
by  W.  Sl  B.,  p.  865 ;  Morel,  in  Pharm.  Journ.,  toL  viii,  ser.  Z, 
pp.  81  and  344. 


BESCBIPTIOK    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  cultivated  specimen  in  the  Bntish  MuseTim;  the  female 
flowers  added  from  Lambei*t. 

1.  A  branch  with  male  catkins. 

2.  A  single  male  catkin. 

3.  An  anther. 

4.  Female  catkin. 

5.  A  ripe  cone. 

6.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 

7.  A  separate  scale,  with  ripe  seeds  in  iii^* 

8.  A  single  seed. 

0.  Section  of  the  same. 

(2,  3,  9  enlarged.) 


DEUadJaatdelet 


PINUS    S-iXVESTRIS,  Lui 


I 


257 

N.  Ord.  OoNiFEBA. 
Tribe  Pinea, 
Grenus  Pinus,  Linn. 


267.  PinuB  sylyestris,  Lmn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  1000  (1753). 

Scotch  Fir. 

Figures.— WoodYme,  1. 1 ;  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  78 ;  Nees,  t.  80 ;  Berg  and 
8chM  t.  8  d ;  Hayne,  ziv,  t.  9 ;  Syme,  E.,  Bot.,  viii,  1. 1380;  Beicbenb., 
Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xi,  t.  521 ;  Lambert,  Pinos,  1. 1 ;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ. ; 
Richard,  Comm.  de  Conif.,  1. 11. 

Description. — A  tall  tree  reaching  under  favorable  conditions 
70  or  80  feet  in  height^  with  a  rounded  or  rather  flat  spreading 
somewhat  dense  head  ;  trunk  rather  slender^  usually  simple^  rarely 
reaching  10  or  12  feet  in  circumference^  branches  numerous^ 
irregular,  spreading,  tortuous,  bark  reddish-grey,  deeply  fissured, 
breaking  off  in  flaky  pieces.  Leaves  in  twos,  the  fascicle  sur- 
rounded at  the  base  by  a  sheath  of  scales  which  become  torn  and 
fimbriated,  evergreen,  2 — 3  inches  long,  linear-subulate,  stiff, 
sharply  pointed,  minutely  serrulate  on  the  margin,  channelled 
above,  convex  beneath,  slightly  glaucous,  smooth.  Male  catkins 
small,  about  g  inch  long,  ovoid,  shortly  stalked,  with  a  few 
papery,  orange-coloured  bracts  at  the  base,  crowded  upon  the 
lower  part  of  a  young  branch  which  is  terminated  by  a  leaf-bud 
afterwards  growing  out  into  a  shoot ;  anthers  numerous  in  each 
catkin,  very  shortly  stalked,  closely  placed  on  the  slender  axis, 
2-celled,  cells  placed  on  the  lower  surface  of  the  connective  which 
is  slightly  prolonged  beyond  them  into  a  membranous  tongue, 
dehiscing  by  wide  longitudinal  openings,  pollen-grains  bright 
yellow,  globose  with  two  protrusions,  giving  the  appearance  of 
being  in  threes.  Female  cones  usually  2  or  3  together,  each 
terminating  a  young  shoot,  and  surrounded  at  the  base  by  scales 
and  whorls  of  young  leaf -fascicles  in  their  sheaths,  roundish-ovoid, 
about  i  inch  long,  at  first  erect ;  bracts  membranous,  roundish, 
deciduous,  carpellary  scales  exceeding  the  bracts,  fleshy,  thick- 


257    PINUS  STLVESTBIS 

ened  at  the  end^  and  provided  at  the  top  with  a  projecting  point; 
ovules  2,  inverse,  bottle-shaped,  placed  obliquely  on  the  base  of 
the  scale,  the  open  mouths  with  longish  teeth.  Ripe  cones 
shortly  stalked,  usually  solitary,  reflexed,  ovoid-conical  before 
opening,  1 — 1^  inches  long,  brownish  ash-colonred,  scales  not 
numerous,  woody,  linear-oblong,  imbricated,  the  ends  much 
thickened,  their  exposed  part  (apophysis)  oblique,  rhomboidal, 
with  a  transverse  ridge  and  central  tubercle,  the  lower  ones 
shorter  and  empty,  the  upper  ultimately  widely  separating  and 
spreading.  Seeds  over  half  an  inch  long,  the  membranous  wing 
occupying  over  f  of  the  length,  testa  woody,  embryo  polycoty- 
ledonous  in  the  axis  of  somewhat  fleshy  endosperm. 

Habitat — ^The  Scotch  Fir  forms  vast  woods  in  many  parts  of 
Northern  Europe  and  Asia,  extending  into  the  arctic  regions ;  it 
is  also  a  native  of  the  Central  European  chains,  reaching  up  to 
6000  feet  in  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees,  and  its  range  extends  into  the 
Caucasus,  Armenia,  and  Cappadocia.  In  Britain  there  is  no 
doubt  it  was  at  one  time  common,  but  it  is  now  only  met 
with  in  the  native  state  in  a  few  of  the  Highland  forests  of 
Scotland;  it  is,  however,  extensively  planted  in  heathy  and 
sandy  districts,  and  has  become  semi-naturalised  in  such 
localities. 

The  cone  takes  two  years  to  ripen,  and  undergoes  consider- 
able changes  in  form  and  colour  during  that  period. 

Hook,  f.,  StncL  Fl.,  p.  348;  Syme,  E.,  Bot.,  viu,  p.  264;  Watson^ 
Gomp.  Cjh.  Br.,  p.  319 ;  Parlatore,  in  DC.  Prod.,  xvi,  2,  p.  560 ; 
Lindl.,  El.  Med.,  p.  553. 

Official  Parts  a/nd  Names, — ^Pix  Liquida,  Ta/r ;  a  bituminous 
fluid  obtained  from  the  wood  of  Pinus  sylvestris,  Linn*  and  other 
pines  by  destructive  distillation  (B.  P.).  A  bituminous  liquid 
{Liqvdd  or  Wood  Ta/r),  obtained  by  destructive  distillation 
(I.  P.),  Pix  Liquida  ;  the  impure  turpentine  from  the  wood  of 
Pinus  palustris,  and  of  other  species  of  Pinus,  procured  by 
burning  (U.  S.  P.). 


257    PINUS  SYLVBSTRIS 

Preparation  and  Commerce. — The  official  pine*wood  tar  is 
procured  by  the  destructive  distillation  of  fir  timber  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Europe^  and  in  America^  and  is  known  in 
commerce  as  Archangel  tar,  Stockholm  tar,  and  American  tar. 
The  great  bulk  of  that  used  in  Europe  and  known  as  Archangel 
or  Stockholm  tar^  is  prepared  in  Finland^  Sweden^  and  Northern 
and  Central  Bussia^  and  is  procured  to  a  large  extent  from  Pinus 
sylvestris^  Linn.;  that  used  in  America  is  said  to  be  chiefly 
obtained  from  Pinus  palustris^  Mill.  (Pinus  australis^  Mich.). 
The  tar  obtained  in  Europe  is  generally  considered  to  be  superior 
to  American  tar. 

The  process  now  usually  followed  for  obtaining  tar  is  essen- 
tially the  same  as  that  practised  by  the  Macedonians^  and 
described  by  Theophrastus.  It  is  a  kind  of  downward  distillation 
of  the  roots  and  lower  portions  of  the  trunks  of  the  old  pines ;  the 
more  valuable  parts  of  the  trees  being  used  as  timber.  The 
process  as  carried  on  in  Bothnia  has  been  thus  described  by  Dr. 
Clarke : — The  situation  most  favourable  to  the  process  is  in  a 
forest  near  to  a  marsh  or  bog,  because  the  roots  of  the  fir,  from 
which  tar  is  principally  extracted,  are  always  most  productive  in 
such  places.  A  conical  cavity  is  first  made  in  the  ground 
(generally  in  the  side  of  a  bank  or  sloping  hill) ;  and  the  roots  of 
the  fir,  together  with  logs  and  billets  of  the  same,  being  \ieatly 
trussed  in  a  stack  of  the  same  conical  shape,  are  let  into  this 
cavity.  To  prevent  the  volatile  parts  from  being  dissipated,  the 
whole  is  then  covered  by  turf,  which,  by  means  of  a  heavy 
wooden  mallet  and  wooden  stamper,  worked  separately  by  two 
men,  is  beaten  down,  and  rendered  as  firm  as  possible  about  the 
wood.  The  stack  of  billets  is  then  kindled,  and  a  slow  com* 
bustion  of  the  fir  takes  place,  without  flame,  as  in  making 
charcoal.  During  this  combustion  the  tar  exudes,  and  a  cast- 
iron  pan  being  at  the  bottom  of  the  funnel,  with  a  spout  which 
projects  through  the  side  of  the  bank,  barrels  are  placed  beneath 
this  spout  to  collect  the  fluid  as  it  comes  away.  As  fast  as  the 
barrels  are  filled,  they  are  bunged  and  ready  for  immediate  exporta- 
tion.    The  time  required  for  this  slow  combustion  varies  according 


257    PINUS  STLYESTRIS 

to  circnmstances  (more  especially  from  the  size  of  the  stacks), 
from  one  to  four  weeks ;  and  the  amount  of  tar  thus  obtained 
by  this  rude  process  is  from  7  to  8  per  cent.  An  improved  and 
more  rapid  method  for  obtaining  tar  by  distillation  in  properly 
constructed  stills,  has  recently  been  introduced  into  Russia,  by 
which  more  than  twice  this  amount  of  tar  can  be  obtained. 

The  amount  of  tar  imported  into  Great  Britain  in  1872  was 
189,291  barrels,  of  which  145,483  barrels  were  shipped  from 
Russian  ports.      A  barrel  usually  contains  about  30  gallons. 

Oeneral  Oha/racters  and  Composition, — Tar  is  a  viscid,  semi- 
liquid,  brownish-black  substance,  with  a  peculiar  aromatic  odour. 
Its  viscidity  is,  however,  destroyed  by  heat.  When  examined 
by  a  magnifying  lens,  colourless  crystals  of  Pyrocatechin  may  be 
commonly  observed  in  tar,  although  in  some  varieties  they  cannot 
be  detected.  Tar  is  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  or  chloroform,  and 
in  the  fixed  and  volatile  oils.  Water  agitated  with  it  acquires  a 
pale  brown  colour,  sharp  empyreumatic  taste,  and  acid  reaction. 
This  acid  reaction  is  due  to  the  presence  of  pyroligneous  acid. 
The  vapour  of  tar  is  highly  inflammable. 

Tar  is  a  very  complex  substance ;  but  consists  principally  of 
empyreumatic  resin,  acetic  acid,  various  liquid  hydroca/rbons,  resin, 
and  oil  of  turpentine. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Tar  acts  both  locally,  and 
internally,  as  a  stimulant.  It  is  also  regarded  as  diuretic,  and 
diaphoretic.  Externally  in  the  form  pf  tar  ointment  or  tar 
water,  it  has  a  well-established  reputation  in  some  chronic  skin 
diseases,  as  eczema,  psoriasis,  lepra,  ringworm,  and  others. 
Tar  ointment  has  also  been  found  a  useful  application  to  foul  and 
indolent  ulcers.  Tar  has  likewise  been  employed  successfully 
as  an  internal  remedy  in  chronic  bronchitis,  typhoid  fever,  and 
habitual  constipation.  The  vapour  from  heated  tar  has  been 
also  advantageously  used  in  phthisis,  chronic  bronchitis,  and 
other  pulmonary  affections.  Tar  is  also  much  employed  in 
veterinary  practice,  in  the  treatment  of  thrush  in  the  horse ;  foot- 
rot  in  sheep ;  and  various  skin  affections,  &c. 

But  a  very  small  quantity  of  tar  is,  however,  used  in  medicine. 


257    PINUS  STLVESTRIS 

Its  chief  consumption  is  in  ship-buildings  and  for  the  preservation 
of  fences^  &c. 

Othbb  Products  of  Pinus  SYLVXSTEis.-^Besides  the  official  tar 
as  above  described,  several  other  sabstances  are  also  obtained 
from  this  tree.  Thus  oil  of  turpentine  is  an  important  product ; 
this  is  described  under  Pintis  cmstralis  and  Pinus  Tada. 

Pitch,  Black  Pitch,  or  Pix  a/rida,  which  was  formerly  official  in 
our  pharmacopoeias,  is  another  valuable  product.  It  is  obtained 
by  submitting  tar  to  distillation,  when  the  residuum  left  in  the 
still  is  pitch.  At  ordinary  temperatures,  pitch  is  an  opaque, 
black,  solid  substance,  breaking  with  a  sbining  conchoidal 
fracture.  It  softens  by  the  heat  of  the  hand,  and  is  readily 
soluble  in  alcohol  and  the  other  liquids  already  mentioned  as 
solvents  of  tar.  It  has  very  little  taste,  but  a  disagreeable  odour. 
Pitch  consists  of  resin,  combined  with  various  other  empyreu- 
matic  resinous  substances  which  are  commonly  known  under  the 
name  of  pyretin.  Pitch  is  very  largely  imported  into  this  country 
from  Bussia,  and  also  to  some  extent  from  other  tar-producing 
countries;  it  is  also  manufactured  here  from  tar.  The  chief 
consumption  of  pitch  is  for  similar  purposes  as  tar,  but  it  is  also 
occasionally  used  like  it  in  medicine.  Thus  externally  in  the  form 
of  an  ointment,  as  an  application  to  obstinate  skin  diseases,  and  to 
foul  and  indolent  ulcers ;  but  tar  is  generally  preferred  in  such 
cases.  It  has  likewise  been  recommended  as  an  internal  remedy 
in  skin  diseases  and  in  piles.  It  is  also  used  in  veterinary  practice, 
more  especially  as  a  mild  stimulant  application  in  thrush  and 
canker  in  horses  ;  and  foot-rot  in  sheep. 

Pinus  sylvestris  also  yields  the  valuable  timber  known  as 
Dantzic  or  Biga  Fir,  and  Bussian  Deal.  The  inner  bark  is  likewise 
used  in  Norway  for  making  Bark  Bread.  From  the  leaves  of  this 
species  of  Pinus  the  substance  called  Pine- wool  or  Fir- wool  is  also 
chiefly  prepared.  This  wool  is  used  for  stuffing  mattresses,  &c., 
and  is  said  to  be  repulsive  to  vermin.  Wadding  for  medical  use, 
and  cloth  for  numerous  articles  of  dress,  &c.,  are  also  manufactured 
from  these  leaves.  An  oily  substance  called  fir- wool  oil  or  fir- 
wool  spirit   has    also    been    introduced   into    this    country   from 


257    PINTJS  STLVBSTBIS 

Germany,  and  recommended  for  external  use  in  rheumatism, 
neuralgia,  &c.  Paper  of  good  quality,  is  now  also  manufactured 
from  the  wood  of  this  and  some  other  species  of  Finns  and  Abies, 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  il,  pt.  1,  p.  321 ;  Pbarmacographia,  pp.  560 
and  564 ;  Steph.  &  Church.,  Med.  Bot.,  by  Burnett,  vol.  ii,  pi. 
73;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  679;  Garr.,  Mat.  Med.,  p.  368; 
Tu8on*B  Veterinary  PharmacopoBia,  p.  199 ;  Bentl.,  Man.  Bot., 
p.  645 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Ghem.,  vol.  v,  p.  669. 


DESCRIPTION    OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Boyal  Gkurdens,  Kew. 

1.  A  branch  with  male  and  female  flowers,  and  an  immature  and  ripe  fruit', 

2.  A  female  cone. 

3.  Vertical  secition  of  the  same. 

4.  Under,  and — 5.  Upper  surface  of  a  carpellary  scale. 

6.  A  male  catkin. 

7.  A  stamen  seen  from  below  and  from  the  side. 

8.  A  scale  of  ripe  fruit  showing  the  two  seeds  in  situ. 

9.  Lower  surface  of  the  same. 
10.  Section  of  seed. 

(2-7  and  10  enlarged.) 


258 

N.  Ord.  CoNiFVBA. 
Tribe  Pinea. 
Gknus  FinuB,  Linn. 


268,  FinOB  australis,  Michaiix,  Arbres  Forest,  de  VAmer.  %  p.  62 

(1810). 

Broom  PinCj  Pitch  Tine,  Yellow  Pine,  Long-leaved  Pine. 

8yn. — P.  palustris,  Mill, 

Figures, — Lamb.,  IlL  Gen.  Pinus,  ed.  2,  t.  20 ;  Mich,  f.,  N.  American 
Sjlya,  iii,  1. 141. 

Description, — A  tree  of  60 — 70  feet  in  height,  with  an  erect 
strcdght  thick  trunk,  and  a  wide  head  of  horizontally  spread- 
ing whorled  branches,  bark  somewhat  farrowed  and  detaching 
itself  in  thin  sheets,  bads  very  large,  white,  fringed;  scales 
beneath  the  leaf  fascicles  very  long.  Leaves  numerous,  in  threes, 
each  cluster  surrounded  with  a  tough,  yellowish,  wrinkled  laciniated 
sheath  an  inch  long,  closely  arranged  at  the  extremities  of  the 
branches,  about  a  foot  long,  spreading  or  pendulous,  very  narrow, 
compressed-triquetrous,  sharp  at  the  point,  finely  scabrous  on  the 
margin,  bright  green.  Male  catkins  rather  long,  many,  cylindrical, 
spreading,  about  two  inches  long,  violet,  pollen  yellow ;  anthers 
with  a  large  rounded  crest.  Ripe  cone  pendulous,  large,  7  or  8 
inches  long,  oblong,  slightly  conical  and  tapering  to  a  blunt  point, 
cylindrical,  straight  or  somewhat  curved,  pale  brown,  carpellary 
scales  much  thickened  and  woody,  with  the  exposed  part  rhom- 
boidal,  elevated  in  the  centre,  wfth  a  prominent  transverse  keel, 
and  a  short  sharp  incurved  central  spine.  Seeds  white,  with  a 
very  large  wing. 

Habitat, — The  oldest  name  for  this  species  has  been  generally 
discarded  for  that  here  employed,  as  it  was  thought  to  be  inapplic- 
able, the  tree  never  growing  in  marshes.  The  Pitch  Pine  forms 
almost  the  whole  growth  of  the  extensive  dry  and  sandy  wastes 
called    the    "Pine    barrens,''    which,    commencing    at    Norfolk, 


258    PINUS  AUSTRALTS 

Virginia,  extend  southward  for  600  miles  through  Carolina, 
Georgia,  and  Florida,  with  a  width  from  the  coast  of  100  miles. 
There  it  forms  vast  woods  and  attains  a  great  size,  and  a  peculiar 
habit.  It  flowers  in  April  (when  the  vast  quantities  of  pollen  pro- 
duced covers  the  surface  of  the  country  with  a  yellow  dust),  and 
the  large  cones  are  ripe  in  October.  Prom  the  Northern  States 
it  is  quite  absent. 

P.  australis  is  almost  too  delicate  a  species  for  this  country, 
where,  however,  it  is  occasionally  grown,  but  does  not  produce 
fruit.     It  was  introduced  in  1730. 

Ohapman,  Fl.  South.  States,  p.  434;  Farlatore,  in  DO.  Prod., 
xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  392. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — 1.  Thus  Americakuh  ;  the  concrete 
turpentine  of  Pinus  Tssda,  lAnn,,  and  Pinus  palustris.  Miller's 
Diet.  :  2.  Oleum  TEBBBiNTHiNiE ;  the  oil  distilled  from  the  oleo- 
resin  (turpentine)  obtained  from  Pinus  palustris.  Miller's  Diet,, 
Pinus  Tasda,  Linn,,  and  sometimes  Pinus  Pinaster,  Aiton  :  3. 
Besina;  the  residue  of  the  distillation  of  the  turpentines  from 
various  species  of  Pinus,  Linn.,  and  Abies,  Lam.  (B.  P.).  1.  The 
concrete  turpentine  of  Pinus  palustris,  Lambert,  and  Pinus  Tasda, 
Linn.  :  2.  The  oil  obtained  by  distillation  of  the  oleo-resin  (tur- 
pentine) of  Pinus  palustris,  Lambert,  Pinus  Taeda,  Linn.,  and 
sometimes  Pinus  Pinaster,  Aiton :  3.  Besina  ;  the  residue  of  the 
distillation  of  the  turpentines  from  various  species  of  Pinus,  Linn,^ 
and  Abies,  iamt.  (I.  P.)«  !•  Terebinthina  ;  the  concrete  oleo- 
resin  obtained  from  Pinus  palustris,  and  from  other  species  of 
Pinus  :  2.  Oleum  Tebebinthin^  ;  the  volatile  oil  distilled  from  the 
turpentine  of  Pinus  palustris,  aad  of  other  species  of  Pinus  :  3. 
Besina;  the  residue  after  the  distillation  of  the  volatile  oil,  from 
the  turpentine  of  Pinus  palustris,  and  of  other  species  of  Pinus. 

Nature  of  Turpentine. — The  name  of  turpentine  is  applied  to  the 
liquid  or  soft  solid  oleo-resinous  juice  of  several  coniferous  plants, 
as  Pinus  australis  {palustris),  P.  Tada,  P.  Pinaster,  P.  sylvestris, 
Pinus  {Abies)  balsamea,  Pinus  {Abies)  Picea,  Pinus  La/rix,  and  some 
others ;  as  also  to  the  similar  juice  of  the  Pistacia  Terebinthus,  a 


258    PINUS   AUSTRALIS 

plant  of  the  order  Anacardiacead.  A  description  of  the  different 
turpentines  obtained  from  these  plants  may  be  found  in  this  work^ 
under  their  proper  names.  By  distillation  these  oleo-resins  are 
resolved  into  volatile  oil  and  resin.  At  first  they  are  fluids  but 
by  age  and  exposure  to  the  air  they  become^  more  or  less  speedily^ 
solid ;  a  change  which  is  partly  due  to  the  volatilisation^  and  partly 
to  the  resinification^  of  their  volatile  oil. 

Varietiea  and  Commerce. — As  noticed  under  Pinus  Tada,  there 
are  three  varieties  of  the  crude  oleo-resin  or  common  turpentine 
known  in  commerce^  namely,  American  Turpentine,  Bordeaux 
Turpentine,  and  Russian  Turpentine ;  the  first  being  chiefly 
obtained  from  Pinna  australis^  but,  to  some  extent,  also,' from 
P.  Tada ;  the  second  from  P.  Pinaster;  and  the  latter  from 
P.  sylvestris.  The  two  former  kinds  are  those  alone  which  are 
specially  referred  to  in  the  British,  Indian,  and  United  States 
Pharmacopoeias,  and  of  these,  by  far  the  larger  proportion  used  in 
Great  Britain  is  the  American  kind.  But  the  Russian  variety  is 
also  now  coming  into  considerable  use  in  this  country. 

American  turpentine  reaches  Europe  from  the  United  States, 
chiefly  by  way  of  Boston,  hence  it  is  known  in  Prance,  as  "  Boston 
Turpentine.''  It  is  principally  extracted  in  Virginia  and  the 
Garolinas.  Bordeaux  Turpentine,  which  is  collected  in  the  Landes 
Department,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bordeaux,  in  France, 
is  imported  chiefly  from  Bordeaux.  Russian  Turpentine  is  ob- 
tained in  Russia  and  Finland,  and  is  usually  imported  into 
Oreat  Britain  from  Russia. 

Extraction  and  General  Cha/racters. — The  method  of  obtaining  tur- 
pentine in  a  crude  state  varies  somewhat  in  different  countries.  The 
mode  by  which  American  Turpentine  is  extracted  in  North  Caro- 
lina is  fully  given  by  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  in  Pharmacographia, 
and  the  following  is  an  extract  of  the  process.  In  the  winter 
months  the  negroes  in  a  Turpentine  Orchard^  as  the  district  of  the 
forest  to  be  worked  is  called,  are  occupied  in  making  cavities  in 
the  trunks  of  the  trees,  which  are  commonly  known  as  boxes. 
These  boxes  are  made  from  6  to  12  inches  above  the  ground,  and 
each  BO  constructed  as  to  hold  about  a  quart.     From  one  to  four 


268    PINUS  AUSTRALIS 

boxes  are  made  in  eacli  tree^  a  few  inches  of  bark  being  left 
between  them.  The  greater  number  of  trees  from  which  the 
turpentine  is  obtained  are  from  12  to  18  inches  in  diameter^  and 
have  three  boxes  each.  The  boxes  haying  been  made^  the  bark 
and  a  little  of  the  wood  immediately  beneath  it^  which  are  above 
the  box^  are  hacked  ;  and  from  this  excoriation  the  sap  begins  to 
flow  about  the  middle  of  March^  gradually  filling  the  box.  Each 
tree  requires  to  be  freshly  hacked  every  eight  or  ten  days^  a  very 
slight  wound  above  the  last  being  all  that  is  needed.  The 
hacking  is  carried  on  year  after  year^  until  it  reaches  12  to  15  feet 
or  more  up  the  tree.  The  turpentine^  which  is  called  dip,  is  re- 
moved from  the  boxes  by  a  spoon  or  ladle  of  peculiar  form^  and 
placed  in  barrels.  The  first  year's  flow  of  a  new  tree,  having  but 
a  small  surface  to  travel  before  it  reaches  the  box,  is  of  special 
goodness  and  is  termed  Vvrgi/n  dip  or  Virgin  turpentine.  An 
orchard  will  ordinarily  remain  productive  for  fifty  years.  Some  of 
the  turpentine  thus  extracted  is  exported ;  but  the  larger  propor- 
tion is  distilled  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  turpentine  orchards. 

When  thus  imported  American  turpentine  is  a  yellowish- white, 
viscid,  honey-like  fluid,  which  is  at  first  somewhat  opaque,  but  it 
becomes  transparent  by  exposure  to  the  air;  it  has  an  aromatic, 
agreeable  odour ;  and  a  warm,  bitterish  taste.  In  cold  weather  it 
thickens,  and  its  consistence  is  then  that  of  a  soft  solid.  After 
long  keeping  in  a  bottle  it  may  be  seen  to  have  separated  into 
two  layers :  the  lower  being  more  or  less  opaque  or  turbid,  from 
the  presence  of  crystals  of  abiotic  acid,  which  are  readily  observ- 
able under  the  microscope ;  and  the  upper  layer  clear  and  slightly 
fluorescent.  American  turpentine  usually  contains  various  impuri- 
ties, as  leaves,  twigs,  chips,  &c.,  hence  it  is  melted  and  strained, 
and  in  this  state  it  is  sometimes  termed  refined  turpentine. 

Bordeaux  or  French  turpentine  is  also  obtained  by  incising  the 
trees,  but  instead  of  making  deep  cavities  in  them  in  order  to  collect 
the  oleo-resin,  a  suitable  vessel  is  placed  for  that  purpose  below 
the  lowest  incision.  It  agrees  essentially  in  its  characters  with 
American  turpentine,  but  it  has  a  less  agreeable  odour  and  ta^te. 

Russian    turpentine    is    remarkable    for    its    fragrant    odour. 


258    PmUS  AUSTRALIS 

Tilden  says  ''that  there  is  no  doabt^  from  the  presence  of  empy- 
reumatic  products  in  it^  that  it  is  not  procured  by]exudation  from 
the  living  trees^  but  obtained  in  the  distillation  of  tar  from  the 
wood  of  various  Coniferae.^' 

These  oleo-resins  are^  as  their  name  implies^  mixtures  of  resin 
and  volatile  oil^  the  latter  varying  in  proportion  in  different  speci- 
mens^ from  about  15  to  30  per  cent.  Bordeaux  turpentine  yields 
more  volatile  oil  than  the  American  variety.  Their  two  consti- 
tuents will  be  presently  described  under  the  heads  of  "  Oleum 
Terebinthinae,''  and  "  Resina,^' 

1.  Thus  Ameeicanum,  or  Tbebbinthina. — This,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  the  concrete  oleo-resin  or  turpentine  of  Pinus  Tada  and  Pinua 
paluatris  ;  the  analogous  product  from  Pinua  Pinaster  is  termed 
Galipot,  and  is  fully  treated  of  by  us  in  our  description  of  that 
plant.  Under  Pinus  Abies,  we  have  also  specially  distinguished 
the  original  Thus,  which  was  obtained  from  this  plant,  from  the 
present  official  Thus  Americanum;  which  derives  its  distinctive 
name  from  being  imported  from  the  Southern  States  of  North 
America. 

Nature  and  General  Characters, — This  oleo-resin,  which  is 
usually  known  as  Common  Frankincense  or  Ghim  Thus,  is  the 
turpentine  which  concretes  spontaneously  upon  the  sur&ce  of  the 
pines  during  the  collection  of  ordinary  American  turpentine. 
It  is  scraped  ofE  the  trees,  and  put  into  separate  barrels,  and 
hence  is  distinguished  in  the  market  as  scrape.  But  very  little 
is,  however,  collected.  Like  other  turpentines  it  is  composed  of 
an  amorphous  resin  and  a  volatile  oil,  but  the  latter  is  generally  in 
very  small  quantity. 

When  fresh  it  is  a  softish,  bright  yellow,  opaque,  tough,  solid, 
with  the  same  odour  as  crude  American  turpentine;  but  by 
keeping  it  becomes  dry  and  brittle,  and  of  darker  colour,  and 
milder  odour.  As  imported  it  is  more  or  less  contaminated  with 
pine  leaves,  chips  of  wood,  and  other  impurities ;  from  which  it 
should  be  separated  before  it  is  used  by  straining.  When  exa- 
mined under  the  microscope  it  is  seen  to  consist  chiefly  of  minute 
crystals  of  abietic  acid. 


258    PINUS  AUSTRALIS 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — It  is  only  used  externally  as  a 
stimulant  application^  when  mixed  with  other  ingredients^  in  the 
form  of  a  plaster.  In  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  it  is  an  ingre- 
dient of  Pitch  plaster,  where,  besides  its  stimulant  action,  it  serves 
to  improve  the  consistence  and  colour.  It  was  formerly  em- 
ployed in  this  country  instead  of  olibanum  in  the  preparation  of 
incense. 

2.  Oleum  Tbebbinthin^. — Oil  of  Turpentine  is  also  commonly 
called  spirits  or  spirit  of  turpentine  and  essence  of  turpentine. 

Preparation, — Oil  of  turpentine  may  be  distilled  from  the 
oleo-resin  either  with  or  without  water ;  but  in  the  latter  case 
a  much  higher  temperature  is  required,  and  the  product  is  liable 
to  be  empyreumatic.  It  may  be  procured  quite  pure  if  redistilled 
from  a  solution  of  potash.  In  this  country  oil  of  turpentine  is 
usually  obtained  by  distilling  a  mixture  of  American  turpentine, 
which  has  been  melted  and  strained,  and  water;  but  a  large 
quantity  is  also  imported  from  North  Carolina,  where  it  is  dis- 
tilled in  copper  vessels  without  water.  The  oil  derived  in  a 
similar  way  from  Bordeaux  turpentine  has  a  more  disagreeable 
odour,  and  the  residue  (resin)  which  is  left  in  the  still  is  of 
inferior  quality  to  that  obtained  from  American  turpentine. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — Oil  of  turpentine  when 
pure,  is  a  limpid,  colourless,  very  inflammable  liquid;  with  a 
strong  peculiar  odour,  which  varies  in  the  different  varieties ;  and 
a  pungent,  bitterish  taste.  Its  specific  gravity  also  varies  from 
0*856  to*0'870,  and  its  boiling  point  ranges  from  about  305°  to 
341°  in  the  different  kinds.  It  likewise  exhibits  differences  in  its 
optical  properties ;  thus  American  oil  of  turpentine  is  dextro- 
gyre,  and  Bordeaux  turpentine  levogyre.  It  is  almost  insoluble 
in  water;  soluble  in  about  seven  parts  of  rectified  spirit,  and 
readily  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  ether,  and  benzol.  It  is  an 
excellent  solvent  for  caoutchouc,  sulphur,  and  phosphorus ;  and  it 
also  dissolves  the  volatile  and  fixed  oils,  and  resins,  forming  with 
the  latter  varnishes.  Oil  of  turpentine  essentially  consists  of  a 
mixture  of  various  hydrocarbons,  all  of  which  have  the  formula 
Qiogie .  j^jj^  jjj  some  cases  the  action  of  metallic  sodium  indicates 


258    PINUS  AUSTRALIS 

the  presence  also   of    some  oxygenated  oils,  although    none  of 
these  have  been  isolated. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — In  small  doses  oil  of  turpentine 
becomes  absorbed^  and  acts  as  a  general  stimulant^  antispasmodic, 
and  astringent;  its  action  being  principally  directed  to  mucous 
surfaces,  more  especially  influencing  the  genito-urinary  organs, 
and  thus  increasing  the  quantity  of  urine,  to  which  it  communi- 
cates an  odour  resembling  that  of  violets.  Its  action  resembles 
that  of  copaiba  on  the  genito-urinary  organs.  In  large  doses  it 
acts  as  a  purgative  and  anthelmintic ;  under  which  circumstances 
when  not  removed  by  the  bowels  it  sometimes  causes  strangury 
and  a  kind  of  intoxication.  Locally  applied  it  is  a  valuable  rube« 
facient  and  counter-irritant. 

As  a  general  stimulant  oil  of  turpentine  has  been  found  useful 
in  low  forms  of  fever,  as  in  cases  of  typhus  and  typhoid,  and  in 
other  circumstances  where  the  vital  powers  are  much  depressed. 
As  an  astringent  it  is  frequently  of  service  in  passive  forms  of 
uterine  and  intestinal  haomorrhage.  As  an  antispasmodic  it  is 
frequently  a  valuable  remedy  in  hysterical  affections,  when  it  is 
usually  administered  as  an  enema.  As  a  diuretic  it  is  occasionally 
prescribed  in  chronic  forms  of  dropsy ;  but  its  use  is  contra- 
indicated  in  dropsies  attended  with  irritation  of  the  urinary 
organs.  As  a  purgative  it  has  been  highly  extolled  as  a  remedy 
in  tympanitis  and  obstinate  constipation,  when  it  may  be  given 
by  the  mouth,  or  employed  in  the  form  of  an  enema.  It  has 
also  been  used  with  varying  success  in  dysentery,  purpura,  some 
forms  of  iritis,  chronic  rheumatism  in  old  and  debilitated  per- 
sons, sciatica  and  other  neuralgic  affections,  and  in  other  dis- 
eases. But  as  a  remedy  it  is  probably  most  valuable  as  an  anthel- 
mintic, in  cases  where  taenia,  ascarides,  or  other  entozoa  are 
present  in  the  intestines ;  indeed,  as  a  remedy  for  tapeworm,  it  is 
regarded  by  many  practitioners  as  the  most  effectual  remedy  we 
possess. 

Externally,  in  the  form  of  the  official  liniments  or  ointments,  or 
as  a  stupe  or  fomentation,  it  is  frequently  a  most  serviceable 
application  in  chronic  rheumatism^   sprains,   and   neuralgic  and 


"     "  258    PINUS  AUSTRALIS 

otlier  chronic  painful  affections  ;  also  to  indolent  and  ill-conditioned 
ulcers,  in  tympanitic  conditions  of  the  abdomen  resalting  from 
peritoneal  inflammation,  and  as  a  local  stimulant  in  cases  of  burns 
and  scalds. 

Oil  of  Turpentine  is  also  very  extensively  used  in  the  arts  in 
the  preparation  of  varnishes,  and  for  many  other  purposes  ;  as  also 
are  various  preparations  from  it ;  but  the  consideration  of  these 
is  not  within  our  province.  A  purified  oil  of  turpentine  has  also 
been  much  used  under  the  name  of  Camphene,  for  illuminating 
purposes ;  but  it  is  now  scarcely  ever  employed  in  this  way. 

3.  Rbsina. — Preparation  and  Varieties, — Besin  is  the  residue 
left  after  the  distillation  of  the  oil  of  turpentine  from  the  crude 
oleo-resin  (turpentine).  It  is  also  termed  rosin  and  colophony. 
While  liquid  the  resin  is  received  into  metallic  receivers  coated 
with  whiting  to  prevent  adhesion,  and  from  these  it  is  ladled  into 
moulds  or  casks.  In  this  state  it  contains  a  little  water,  and  con- 
stitutes the  official  resin  of  the  British,  Indian,  and  United  States 
Pharmacopoeias;  this  resin  is  also  termed  yellow  resin.  When 
freed  from  water  by  fusion,  the  resin  becomes  transparent  and  is 
then  known  as  transparent  resin*,  or  if  exposed  long  to  heat  it 
acquires  a  deeper  colour,  and  forms  Hack  resin  ;  or  if,  when  in  a 
state  of  fusion,  it  is  strongly  agitated  with  water,  it  becomes  of  a 
whitish  colour  and  opaque,  and  is  then  termed  white  resin.  Crude 
turpentine  contains  from  about  70  to  85  per  cent  of  resin. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — The  official  resin  is  a 
translucent,  yellowish,  compact,  solid  substance;  which  is 
brittle  and  pnlverisable,  and  breaks  with  a  shining  fracture ;  its 
odour  and  taste  are  faintly  terbinthinate ;  and  it  is  readily 
fusible,  and  burns  with  a  dense  yellow  flame  and  much 
smoke.  When  boiled  with  the  caustic  alkalies  it  forms  soaps 
which  are  soluble  in  water,  and  are  commonly  known  as  resin^ 
soaps, 

Brosin  is  essentially  composed  of  the  anhydride  of  ahietic  acid  ; 
thus,  from  80  to  90  per  cent,  of  this  acid  in  a  crystalline  state  has 
been  obtained  from  it.  Various  other  acids  have  also  been  indi- 
cated by  different  chemists  as  constituents ;   for  instance,  sylvic, 


268    PINUS  AUSTRALIS 

pimaric,  and  pinicy  but  their  origin  and  nature  require  further 
inyestigation. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — The  principal  value  of  resin  in 
pharmacy  is  in  the  pi^eparation  of  plasters  and  ointments^  to 
which  it  communicates  great  adhesiveness^  and  slightly  stimulant 
properties.  Hence  these  are  used  as  stimulant  applications  to 
indolent  and  ill-conditioned  ulcers^  especially  those  arising  from 
burns  and  scalds ;  to  blistered  surfaces  to  keep  up  a  discharge ; 
and  also  as  a  support  to  injured  parts  in  surgery.  Besin  is  not 
employed  as  an  internal  remedy.  It  is  also  said  by  Olmsted  to  act 
as  a  preservative  agent  to  ointments  by  preventing  the  oxidation 
of  their  constituent  fatty  substances. 

Besides  its  employment  in  medicine^  it  is  far  more  important 
for  its  economical  uses^  as  in  the  preparation  of  soaps^  sealing- 
wax,  varnishes,  cements,  &c. 

Other  Uses  of  Pinus  australis. — Besides  the  official  sub- 
stances obtained  from  this  tree,  the  timber  known  to  builders  as 
Georgia  Pitch  Pine  is  derived  from  it,  as  well  as  tar,  pitch,  and 
other  valuable  products. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  pp.  302  &  308 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by 
B.  &  B.,  p.  468 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  546 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by 
W.  &  B.,  pp.  726  &  864;  Guibourt,  Hist,  des  Drog.,  vol.  ii 
(1869),  p.  259;  Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  v,  p.  920;  Amer. 
Joum.  Pharm.,  vol.  xxii,  p.  325;  Morel,  in  Pharm.  Jonm., 
ser.  3,  vol.  viii,  pp.  81,  543,  725,  &  982 :  Tilden,  in  Pharm. 
Jonm.,  ser.  3,  vol.  viii,  p.  447;  Postans,  in  Pharm.  Joam., 
vol.  viii,  ser.  3,  p.  448. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATB. 

Drawn  from  a  cultivated  specimen  in  the  British  Museum. 

1.  Extremity  of  a  branch  with  male  catkins. 

2.  A  cone. 

3.  A  cone-scale. 


m^mmmmmtmmmmmm 


I— i 


PINUS  T^DA.ZiTin-- 


259 

N.  Ord.  CoNiFEBJS. 
Tribe  Pincig. 
GemiB  FinuB,  Linn. 


259.  PinUsTsBda,*  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,,  ed.  l,p.  1000  (1753). 

Loblolly.     Oldfield  Pine.     Frankincense  Pine. 

Figwres, — Lambert,  111.  Genns  Pinus,  ed.  2,  it.  17,  18;  Michaux,  N. 
American  S/lva,  iii,  1. 143. 

Description. — A  large  tree,  50  to  100  feet  in  height^  with  a 
wide  spreading  summit ;  bark  very  thick  and  much  furrowed^  the 
younger  branches  with  lanceolate-acuminate  scales  beneath  the 
leaf-fasicles^  with  recurved  points  and  fimbriate  margins.  Leaves 
arranged  in  threes^  each  fascicle  surrounded  at  the  base  by  a  close 
thin  sheath  about  i  inch  long  and  torn  at  the  top'^  rigid,  erect, 
linear,  acute,  6 — 10  inches  long,  bright  green,  smooth.  Male 
catkins  numerous,  crowded,  forming  a  dense  mass,  erect  or 
curved,  cylindrical,  about  an  inch  long ;  connective  with  a  large 
tongue.  Cones  about  3  inches  long,  sessile,  arranged  2 — 5  in  a 
whorl,  and  spreading  or  deflexed,  ovate-oblong,  ■  blunt,  pale 
brown;  scales  numerous,  woody,  the  apophysis  narrowly  depressed, 
rhomboidal,  with  an  acute  transverse  ridge,  elevated  in  the  centre 
into  a  strong,  wide,  short,  sharp,  spreading,  straight  or  curved 
spine.     Wing  of  the  seed  three  or  four  times  its  length. 

Habitat. — This  fine  Pine  is  found  in  the  Southern  United 
States.  It  is  abundant  in  the  swamps  which  intersect  the  ''  pine- 
barrens  "  of  Virginia  and  is  very  common  near  Charleston,  but 
does  not  occur  north  of  Delaware,  nor  far  from  the  coast. 

It  is  in  cultivation  in  this  country,  but  is  not  a  very  frequent 
species  nnder  such  conditions. 

A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  N.  U.  States,  p.  469 ;  Chapman,  Fl.  South. 
States,  p.  433 ;  Parlatore,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  393 ; 
Michaux,  N.  Am.  Sylva,  iii,  p.  156. 


*  Tada  or  Teda,  the  classical  Latin  name  for  some  resiniferous  tree. 


259    PINUS  T^DA 

Official  Parts  and  Names, — 1.  Thus  Ajibricanum  ;  the  concrete 
turpentine  of  Pinus  Tasda^  Linn.,  and  Finns  palustris,  Miller^s 
Diet. :  2.  Oleum  Terebinthinj:  ;  the  oil  distilled  from  the  oleo- 
resin  (turpentine)  obtained  from  Pinus  palustris,  Miller^s  Diet, 
Pinus  -Tasda,  Linn.,  and  sometimes  Pinus  Pinaster,  Aiton :  3. 
BssiKA ;  the  residue  of  the  distillation  of  the  turpentines  from 
various  species  of  Pinus,  Linn.,  and  Abies,  Lam.,  (B.  P.).  1. 
The  concrete  turpentine  :  2.  The  oil  obtained  by  distillation  of  the 
oleo-resin  of  Pinus  palustris.  Lam.,  Pinus  TaDda,  Linn.,  and  some- 
times from  Pinus  Pinaster,  Aiton  :  3.  Besina  ;  the  residue  of  the 
distillation  of  the  turpentines  from  various  species  of  Pinus,  Linn., 
and  Abies,  Lam.  (I.  P.).  1.  Tbeebimthina  ;  the  concrete  oleo- 
resin  obtained  from  Pinus  palustris,  and  from  other  species  of 
Pinus  :  2.  Oleum  Tebebinthinj:  ;  the  volatile  oil  distilled  from 
the  turpentine  of  Pinus  palustris,  and  of  other  species  of  Pinus : 
3.  Besina  ;  the  residue,  after  the  distillation  of  the  volatile  oil, 
from  the  turpentine  of  Pinus  palustris,  and  of  other  species  of 
Pinus  (U.  S.  P.). 

Varieties. — There  are  two  principal  varieties  of  the  crude  oleo- 
resin  or  common  turpentine  known  in  commerce,  namely, 
American  Turpentine  and  Bordeaux  Turpentine;  a  third  variety 
is  also  now  coming  into  use,  namely  Russian  Turpentine,  The 
botanical  source  of  the  first  is  Pinus  australis,  Michaux  (P. 
palustris.  Mill.),  and  P.  Tada,  L. ;  that  of  Bordeaux  is  from  P. 
Pinaster  ;  and  that  of  Bussian  from  P.  sylvestris,  L.  By  far  the 
larger  proportion  used  in  this  country  is  the  American  kind,  and 
is  principally  procured  from  P.  a/ustralis. 

The  General  Characters,  Composition,  Properties,  Uses,  and  all 
other  particulars  in  reference  to  "  Thus  Americanum,''  ^^  Oleum 
TerebinthinsB,'^  and  "Besina,^' are  given  under  ^^Pinus  australis. 


}} 


Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  302 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B., 
p.  468 ;  Pbarmacogp-aphia,  p.  545 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  864  ;  Julius  Morel,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  ser.  3,  vol.  viii, 
pp.  81,  344,  543  &  725 ;  Tilden,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  viii, 
ser.  3,  p.  447;  Postans,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  ser.  3,  vol.  viii, 
p.  448. 


r 


259    PINUS  TMDJL 


DI8CBIPTI0N  OF  PIATX. 

Drawn  from  a  cnltiyated  specimen  in  the  Britiah  Moseam. 

1.  A  branch  with  male  catkins. 

2.  A  catkin. 

3.  An  anther. 

4.  Bipe  cones. 

(3  enlarged.) 


260 

N.  Ord.  COKITEBA. 

Tribe  Fvmem., 
Geniis  Finiu,  lAnn, 


260.  PiniW  Laiix,*  Lmn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  I,  p.  1001  (1753). 

Larch. 


8yn. — ^Abies  Lariz,  Lam.    Larix  europsa,  DC.    L.  decidna,  Mitter. 

Figures, — WoodTille,t.  4;  'Sees,  t.  84;  Berg  &  Sch.,t.  11  b;  Beichenb., 
Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xi,  t.  531;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  G^m. ;  Lambert,  111.  Gen. 
Finns,  ed.  3,  t.  48. 

Description. — ^A  tall  tree^  reaching  80  feet  or  fnore  in  height, 
with  a  straight  trunk  and  spreading  whorled  branches,  the 
smaller  branchlets  slender  and  elegantly  pendent;  bark  flaky, 
whitish-  or  pinkish-grey,  rosy-red  beneath.  Leaves  deciduous, 
appearing  in  spring  in  spreading  brush-like  tufts,  each  con- 
taining numerous  (80 — 40)  leaves,  from  perennial  permanent 
rounded  buds  projecting  horizontally  from  the  slender  branchlets 
with  a  cup-shaped  mouth;  when  full  grown  about  an  inch 
long,  linear,  rather  blunt,  entire,  smooth,  bright  green.  Fls. 
monoecious.  Male  catkins  sessile,  ovoid,  reaching  ^  inch  long, 
surrounded  at  the  base  by  a  cup  formed  of  persistent  adnate 
bracts,  and  by  some  inner  deciduous,  reflexed,  fringed,  brown 
scales;  stamens  numerous,  crowded,  anthers  almost  sessile 
on  the  thick  central  column,  with  a  short  recurved  crest  at  the 
summit,  2-celled,  opening  longitudinally,  pollen  globose,  pale 
yellow.  Female  cones  shortly  stalked,  }  inch  long,  erect,  ovoid, 
surrounded  at  the  base  with  spreading  linear  leaves ;  bracts  mem- 
branaceous, oblong  or  oval,  blunt  with  a  sharp  central  point, 
bright  dark  pink,  the  midrib  and  point  green ;  carpellary  sciales 
not  I  the  length  of  the  bracts,  and  adnate  to  their  base,  rounded ; 
ovules  2,  inverse,  bottle-shaped,  with  a  large  papillose  mouth. 
Ripe  cones  erect,  light,  1  or  li  inch  long,  broadly  ovoid,  pale 
greyish-brown,    axis   solid   and  woody,    carpellary    scales  hard, 

*  LarisB,  Fliny,  from  Xapcca,  the  name  of  the  resin  in  the  time  of  Diosoorides. 


260    PINUS  LARIX 

woody,  and  tough,  greatly  enlarged  to  twice  the  length  of  the 
bracts,  orbicular,  striate,  spreading,  somewhat  wavy  at  the  margin 
where  they  become  thin.  Seeds  2,  in  the  hoUowed-out  base  of 
each  scale,  somewhat  triangular,  with  a  large  thin  wing,  straight 
along  inner  margin,  and  rounded  on  the  outer,  embryo  straight 
in  axis  of  the  endosperm,  polycotyledonous. 

Habitat. — This  well-known  tree  forms  extensive  woods  in  the 
mountain  regions  of  Central  Europe,  where  it  ascends  to  an 
altitude  of  over  5000  feet  above  the  sea :  in  the  Apennines  it  is 
always  a  cultivated  tree.  In  this  country  the  Larch  is  largely 
grown  in  plantations,  and  is  very  ornamental  in  the  spring,  the 
young  leaves  being  of  an  intensely  bright  green.  It  flowers  in 
April  and  May. 

Farlatore,  in  DO.,  1.  c,  p.  411 ;  London,  Arboret.  Brit.,  iv,  p.  2350 ; 
Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  554. 

Official  Part  and  Na/me. — Labicis  Cortex  ;  the  bark,  deprived 
of  its  outer  layer,  of  Larix  europaea,  DO.  (B.  P.  Additions,  1874). 
It  is  not  official  in  either  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  or  the  Phar- 
macopoeia of  the  United  States. 

Prepa/ration. — Larch  bark  should  be  obtained  in  spring;  and 
after  the  external  rough  portion  has  been  removed,  the  remainder, 
consisting  of  the  inner  bark,  middle  bark,  and  a  variable  portion 
of  the  outer  bark,  should  be  quickly  dried.  This  constitutes  the 
official  bark  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia. 

General  Ohara^ters  and  Oomposition. — Larch  bark  is  generally 
found  in  flattish  pieces,  or  sometimes  in  quills.  The  pieces  and 
quills  vary  much  in  length  and  thickness.  The  outer  surface 
has  a  dark  red  or  rosy  colour,  with  frequently  intervening  whitish 
portions  of  liber,  and  presents  a  more  or  less  uneven  character ; 
the  inner  surface  is  smooth,  yellowish-white  in  colour  in  the 
larger  pieces,  and  pinkish-red  in  the  smaller  quills,  and  may  be 
readily  separated  into  layers.  Larch  bark  breaks  with  a  close 
fracture,  except  as  regards  the  liber,  which  is  somewhat  tough 
and  fibrous;  and  the  fractured  surface,  except  that  of  the  liber, 
has  a  deep  carmine-red  colour.  It  has  a  slightly  balsamic  tere- 
binthinous  odour ;  and  an  astringent  taste. 


260    PINUS  LABIX 

The  principal  constituents  of  larch  bark  are  tannic  add,  a 
volatile  crystallizable  principle  called  larixin  or  larixinic  dctd,  and 
a  little  turpentine,  which  is  described  below. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Larch  bark  is  regarded  as 
stimulant^  astringent^  and  diuretic^  and  is  supposed  to  have  a 
direct  tendency  to  the  mucous  membranes.  It  has  been  especially 
recommended  as  an  internal  remedy  to  check  profuse  passive 
expectoration  in  cases  of  chronic  bronchitis ;  in  hasmoptysis^  and 
other  forms  of  internal  hsamorrhage ;  and  in  cystitis  and  purpura. 
It  has  also  been  used  as  an  external  application  in  chronic  eczema^ 
psoriasis^  and  some  other  cutaneous  affections. 

Besides  its  medical  properties^  larch  bark  is  sometimes  used  in 
tanning. 

Othss  Pboducts  of  thb  Larch  Tree. — ^A  kind  of  turpentine 
which  is  commonly  known  as  Larch  or  Venice  Turpentine,  is 
obtained  as  follows  : — In  the  spring  a  narrow  hole  is  bored  to  the 
centre  of  the  stem  of  the  larch  tree^  at  about  a  foot*  from  the 
ground ;  the  hole  is  then  stopped  up^  and  in  the  autumn  of  the 
same  or  following  year,  the  oleo-resin  which  has  then  exuded,  is 
collected  with  an  iron  spoon.  It  is  chiefly  contained  in  the  heart- 
wood,  and  is  principally  obtained  in  the  Tyrol ;  but  occasionally 
in  parts  of  Switzerland,  Piedmont,  and  Prance. 

Venice  turpentine  is  a  thick,  honey-like,  slightly  turbid  fluid. 
It  has  a  pale  yellowish  colour ;  an  odour  which  resembles  common 
turpentine,  but  weaker  and  not  so  agreeable;  and  an  aromatic, 
somewhat  acrid,  bitter  taste.  It  thickens  but  very  slowly  when 
exposed  to  the  air,  and  does  not  harden  when  mixed  with  mag- 
nesia. It  dissolves  entirely  in  alcohol.  It  consists  of  volatile 
oil  and  resin. 

Venice  turpentine  is  common  on  the  Continent,  but  that  sold  in 
England  and  in  the  United  States,  is  almost  always  spurious ; 
being  a  mixture  of  common  resin  and  oil  of  turpentine ;  and  dis- 
tinguished readily  from  the  genuine  drug  by  its  stronger 
turpentine  odour,  and  by  drying  into  a  hard  varnish  when  spread 
out  on  a  piece  of  paper. 

Its    properties    and    uses    appear   to   be    the    same   as    other 


260    PINUS  LARIX 

tnrpentines.     It  is  not  now  used  in  this  country,  except  in  reteri- 
nary  practice. 

The  substance  called  Briangon  Manna,  or  Manna  of  the  La/rch, 
also  exudes  in  the  height  of  the  summer  from  the  leaves  of  the 
larch  tree.  It  is  a  white  saccharine  substance,  occurring  in  small, 
opaque,  sometimes  crystalline,  usually  oblong  tears,  enclosing  the 
needle-like  leaves ;  and  without  any  very  marked  odour,  but  having 
a  sweet  taste.  It  contains  a  peculiar  sugar  called  Melezitose.  It 
was  formerly  used  in  medicine,  but  has  now  disappeared  from 
commerce. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  1070 ;  Pbarmacographia,  pp.  373, 
549,  and  551 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  803;  Stenhoase,  in 
Phil.  Trans.,  vol.  clii  (1862),  p.  53 ;  Mohl,  in  Botanische  Zeitung 
(1859),  p.  329;  Greenhow,  in  Medical  Times,  Feb.  20,  1864.; 
Dublin  Hosp.  Gaz.,  April  15,  1858,  and  Jan.  15, 1859 ;  Amer. 
Joum.  Pharm.,  Jan.,  1859,  p.  61,  and  Nov.,  1862,  p.  555;  Gai- 
bourt,  in  Joum.  de  Pharm.,  voL  xxv,  p.  500. 


DESCBIFTION   OF    PLATS. 

Drawn  from  a  tree  in  Kew  Gardens  in  April. 

1.  A  branch,  with  cones  and  male  and  female  flowers. 

2.  A  male  catkin. 

3.  Section  of  the  same. 

4.  A  stamen. 

5.  Section  of  female  cone. 

6.  A  bract,  with  the  carpellary  scale  and  ovules. 

7.  Upper  view  of  ripe  scale  with  the  two  seeds. 

8.  Outer  view  of  same. 

9.  A  seed. 

10.  Section  of  the  same. 

(2-10  enlarged.) 


361 

N.  Ord.  COKIFBBJB. 

Tribe  Tinea. 

Genus  PinuB,  Linn, 


261.  Finns  Pioea,*  Du  Boi,  Observ.  Botan.,  p.  37  (1771). 

Spruce  Fir.     Norway  Spruce. 

8yn. — ^P.  Abies,  Linn.  &  Atiet.  plwr.  F.  ezcelsa.  Lam.  Ficea  vulgaris. 
Link.    Abies  Ficea,  MiU.    A.  excelsa,  DC. 

JVwre*.— Woodville,  t  2 ;  Nees,  t.  81  (bad) ;  Lambert,  lU.  Gen.  Finns, 
ed.  2,  t.  27,  cop.  in  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  75 ;  Berg.  Sl  Seh.,  1. 11  c. ;  Beich., 
Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  xi,  t.  532 ;  Nees,  Qen.  Fl.  Germ. ;  Micbaux,  K.  Amer. 
Sylya.,  iii,  t.  liQ. 

Description. — A  large  tree,  attaining  a  height  of  150  feet  in 
favorable  situations^  with  an  erect,  tapering,  central  stem,  and 
nnmerons  horizontal,  somewhat  drooping  branches  from  base  to 
summit,  forming  a  pyramidal  tapering  head,  bark  rough,  reddish, 
scaling  off  in  flakes.  Leaves  numerous,  solitary,  closely  placed 
and  overlapping,  usually  curved  upwards,  but  not  spreading,  in 
two  ranks,  i — }  inch  long,  readily  disarticulating  at  the  base 
which  is  not  dilated,  and  leaving  behind  rigid,  persistent,  hard, 
truncate,  projecting  scars,  stiff,  linear,  bluntly  pointed,  obscurely 
tetragonous,  smooth,  dark  green.  Male  catkins  numerous,  shortly 
stalked,  near  the  ends  of  the  branches,  with  empty  bracts  at  the 
base ;  anthers  crowned  with  a  triangular  or  truncate,  dentute,  scarlet 
crest,  2 -celled,  dehiscing  longitudinally.  Female  cones  solitary, 
terminal,  erect,  nearly  sessile,  broadly  oblong,  crimson;  bracts 
small,  lanceolate,  with  a  serrate  or  denticulate  margin ;  carpellary 
scales  more  than  twice  as  long  as  the  bracts,  ovate,  obtuse,  or 
emarginate,  denticulate,  spreading.  Bipe  cone  pendulous  or 
drooping,  4 — 6  inches  long,  ovoid-oblong,  cylindrical,  blunt  at 
both  ends,  purplish  brown,  scales  numerous,  very  much  exceeding 
the  small  bracts  which  scarcely  increase  in  size,  very  persistent, 
tough  and  woody,  densely  imbricated,  roundish-obovate  or  rhom- 


*  Picea,  in  Greek,  ir/rvc,  the  classical  name. 


261    PINUS  PIOEA 

boidal*oyal^  rounded  or  obtuse  or  shallowly  emarginate  at  tbe 
apex^  thic^  in  the  centre  and  bevelled  off  to  the  sharp  edges^ 
slightly  undulated^  faintly  striated,  deeply  excavated  at  the  base 
for  the  seeds.  Seed  small,  wing  oval  abont  3  times  the  length  of 
the  seed  itself. 

Habitat. — This  familiar  tree  is  one  of  the  chief  constituents  of 
the  great  forests  of  Europe.  It  is  especially  abundant  in  the 
north,  extending  within  the  arctic  circle  in  Lapland  and  Finland, 
and  forming  extensive  woods  in  Russia  and  Scandinavia.  It  is 
found  on  all  the  mountain  ranges  of  Europe,  but  is  rare  in  the 
Pyrenees ;  in  the  Alps  it  extends  to  an  elevation  of  about  5500 
feet.  The  tree  is  absent  from  Spain,  Greece,  and  the  Caucasus, 
nor  does  it  occur  in  the  British  Isles  as  a  native.  Cones  are  said 
to  have  been  found  in  the  bogs  of  Ireland,  but  there  seems  to  be 
some  doubt  as  to  the  fact.  It  is  very  common  in  plantations 
here,  having  been  commonly  planted  for  certainly  over  350  years. 
The  flowers  appear  in  May.  There  is  considerable  variety  in  the 
length  of  the  cones,  which  are  often  considerably  more  elongated 
than  as  above  described. 

The  names  of  this  and  the  following  species  (P.  Abie^)  afford  an 
example  of  the  very  rare  case  in  which  it  appears  desirable  to 
set  aside  the  nomenclature  of  Linn»us  in  favour  of  later  appella- 
tions. It  is  certain  that  he  determined  incorrectly  the  trees 
called  by  the  Romans  Ahies  and  Picea,  and  in  fact  transposed 
them  in  his  specific  names.  We  have  followed  Endlicher  and 
Parlatore  in  adopting  the  correction  made  by  Du  Roi. 

Gren.  &  Godr.,  Fl.  France,  iii,  p.  155 ;  Ledebonr,  Fl.  Ross.,  iii, 
p.  670 ;  Parlatore,  in  DO.  Prod.,  zvi,  pt.  2,  p.  415. 

Official  Part  and  Names, — Pix  BuBanimiCA ;  a  resinous  exuda- 
tion from  the  stem  of  the  Spruce  Fir,  Abies  excelsa,  DO. ;  melted 
and  strained  (B.  P.).  The  resinous  exudation  from  the  stem 
(Abietis  Besina)  ;  melted  and  strained  {Pix  Burgundica)  (I.  P.). 
The  prepared  resinous  exudation  from  Abies  excelsa  (U.  S.  P.). 

In  the  London  Pharmacopoeia  of  1809  it  was  termed  Pix  arida. 
In  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  the  United  States,  and  France,  the 


261    PINUS  PICEA 

term  Fix  Burgundica  is  restricted  to  the  official  resinoas  exuda- 
tion of  the  Spruce  Fir;  but  in  other  parts  of  the  Continent^ 
excluding  France,  the  name  is  not  simply  applied  to  this  purified 
exudation,  but  also  includes  the  similar  products  of  other  Coni- 
ferous plants,  and  is  used  synonymously  with  Resina  alba. 

Until  the  appearance  of  the  British  Pharmacopcsia  in  1864,  the 
official  Thus  was  also  always  stated  to  be  the  spontaneous  exuda- 
tion of  Abies  excelsa  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  was  a 
correct  description  of  the  original  Thus  of  the  Materia  Medica, 
but  this  has  long  ceased  to  be  imported  under  that  name,  though 
it  still  comes  to  us,  after  being  melted  and  strained,  as  Burgundy 
Pitch.  The  substance  now  known  under  the  name  of  Thus  in  this 
country,  is  concrete  American  Turpentine,  which  is  official  in  the 
British  Pharmacopooia  under  the  name  of  'Thus  Americanum,' 
and  is  described  under  Pimis  a/ustralia. 

Production,  Extraction,  and  Prepa/ratian. — ^According  to  the 
authors  of  Pharmacographia,  Burgundy  Pitch  is  produced  on  a 
very  large  scale  near  Helsingfors,  in  Finland,  and  also  in  the  Black 
Forest  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  Austria,  and  Switzerland. 
The  name  of  Burgundy  Pitch  applied  to  this  substance  is  a  com- 
plete misnomer,  as  no  such  substance  has  ever  been  produced  in 
Burgundy.  In  Finland  it  is  termed  reaine  jaune,  and  in  Switzer- 
land poix  blaiiche. 

In  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden  the  crude  resin  {abietis  resina)  is 
extracted  by  making  longitudinal  channels  in  the  stems  of  the  firs 
at  equal  distances,  one  and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  the  same  in 
depth.  The  resin  which  then  exudes  is  scraped  off  with  an  iron 
instrument,  and  purified  by  being  melted  in  hot  water  and  strained. 
The  product  thus  obtained,  which  contains  much  moisture  and  is 
opaque,  is  termed  Wa^serha/rz ;  this,  by  further  straining  and 
evaporation  of  a  portion  of  the  water,  has  its  quality  improved. 
In  Finland,  Burgundy  Pitch  is  prepared  from  the  crude  resin 
obtained  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  where  it  appears  to  exude 
spontaneously,  by  melting  it  in  contact  with  the  vapour  of  water 
and  subsequent  straining. 

Oeneral   Characters   and   Composition. — Pure    Burgundy  Pitch 


261    PINUS  PICBA 

18  hard  and  brittle  when  cold^  yet  gradaally  taking  the  form 
of  the  yessel  in  which  it  is  kept ;  somewhat  opaque ;  yellowish- 
brown  in  colonr;  fracture  clear  and  conchoidal;  odour  agpreeable 
and  aromatic^  especially  when  heated ;  taste  sweety  aromatic^  and 
without  bitterness ;  and  readily  soluble  in  glacial  acetic  acid  or 
alcohol^  but  its  solubility  is  very  much  modified  when  it  contains 
water  or  essential  oil^  or  even  more  so  when  it  contains  abiotic 
acid.  The  crystalline  texture  frequently  noticed  in  the  crude 
resin  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  official  Burgundy  Pitch. 

As  shown  by  Maly^  the  composition  of  Burgundy  Pitch  is  like 
that  of  most  other  exudations  from  the  OonifersB^  that  is,  of  an 
amorphous  resin,  C^^Hg^O^^,  and  essential  oils,  represented  by  the 
formula  O^q^ib*  -^^  their  natural  state,  these  pinic  juices  con- 
stitute commercial  tv/rpentine;  or  when  deprived  of  a  variable 
proportion  of  their  volatile  oil,  they  are  represented  by  such  pro- 
ducts as  Burgundy  Pitch ;  or  if  entirely  deprived  of  their  volatile 
oil,  by  Colophony,  Biosin,  or  Bosin.  The  amorphous  resin  yields 
by  hydration  ahvetic  dcidy  and  hence  Burgundy  Pitch  varies  in 
its  degree  of  opacity  according  to  the  quantity  of  water  it  con- 
tains. 

Adulteration  and  Substitution. — But  little  true  Burgundy  Pitch 
is  sold  in  this  country,  in  the  United  States,  or  on  the  Continent, 
an  artificial  compound  being  generally  sold  instead  of  it.  Thus 
Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  state  : — "  No  drug  is  the  subject  of  more 
adulteration  than  Burgundy  pitch,  so  much  so  that  the  very  name 
is  understood  by  some  pharmacologists  to  be  that  of  a  manu- 
factured compoilnd.  The  substance  commonly  sold  in  England 
is  made  by  melting  together  colophony  with  palm  oil  or  some 
other  fat,  water  being  stirred  in  to  render  the  mixture  opaque. 
In  appearance  it  is  very  variable,  different  samples  presenting 
different  shades  of  bright  or  dull  yellow  or  yellowish-brown. 
Many  samples^  when  broken,  exhibit  numerous  cavities  containing 
air  or  water ;  all  are  more  or  less  opaque,  becoming  in  time  trans- 
parent on  the  surface  by  the  loss  of  water.  Artificial  Burgundy 
pitch  is  offered  for  sale  in  bladders ;  it  has  a  weak  terebinthons 
odour,  and  is  devoid  of  the  peculiar  fragrance  of  the  genuine  sub- 


261    PINUS  PIOEA 

stance.  The  presence  of  a  fatty  oil  is  easily  discovered  by  treat- 
ment with  doable  its  weight  of  glacial  acetic  acid^  which  forms  a 
turbid  mixture^  separating  by  repose  into  two  layers^  the  upper 
being  oily/' 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — When  applied  to  the  skin  it  acts 
as  a  slight  stimulant ;  hence^  when  used  in  the  form  of  a  plaster^  as 
in  the  official  pitch  plaster  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  it  is  a 
useful  application  to  the  chest  in  chronic  coughs  and  other  pul- 
monary aSectionSj  to  the  loins  in  lumbago^  to  the  joints  in  chronic 
articular  affections^  and  to  other  parts  to  relieve  chronic  local 
pains  of  a  rheumatic  character.  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  say^  that 
in  Oermany,  it  has  also  some  economic  applications^  one  of  which 
is  in  the  preparation  of  what  is  termed  Brauerpech  (brewers' 
pitch)^  made  by  mixing  it  with  colophony  or  galipot^  and  which 
is  used  in  the  coating  of  beer  casks. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  yol.  ii,  pt.  1,  pp.  306  &  320 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by 
B.  &  B.,  p.  479 ;  Pharmaoographia,  p.  557 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by 
W.  &  B.,  p.  678 ;  Hanbury,  in  Pharm.  Journ.,  toI.  iz,  ser.  2, 
p.  162 ;  Morel,  in  Pharm.  Journ.,  vol.  yiii,  ser.  3,  p.  342. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    FULTX. 

Drawn  fifom  a  specimen  gathered  at  Ohamounix,  Savoy ;  the  flowers  added 
from  Berg  and  Sohmidt. 

1.  A  brancblet  with  cones. 

2.  Lower,  and — 3.  Upper  surface  of  mature  cone-soale. 

5.  A  seed. 

4.  Section  of  the  same. 

6.  A  twig  with  male  catkins. 

7.  An  anther. 

8.  A  female  flower-cone. 

9.  Garpellary  scale  and  bract. 
10.  The  tree  (veiy  much  reduced). 

(4  and  7  enlarged.) 


28?.. 


DBU^Fl-SiJMt  . 


PINU8  ABIES,  in. 9« 


263 

N.  Ord.  OONIFEBJB. 

Tribe  Pinetf. 
Q-enos  Finns,  Linn. 


262.  Finns  Abies,*  Du  Boi,  Observ,  Botan.,  p.  89  (1771). 

Silver  Fir.     Sapin. 

Byn. — P.  Pioea,  Linn.  A  aud.  plur.  P.  pectinata,  Lam,  Abies  Tulgaris, 
Poir.    A.  alba^JkriU.    A.  pectinata,  DC. 

J^i^wTM.— Woodville,  t.  3;  Nees,  SuppL;  Berg,  Ohacterist.,  1. 19,  fig.  166; 
Berg  ft  Sch.,  t.  17  d;  Lambert,  UL  Oen.  Finos,  ed.  2,  t.  32;  Beioh., 
lo.  Fl.  Germ.,  xi,  t.  533;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ. 

De8criptio7i. — ^A  large  tree,  attaining  a  height  of  90,  100,  or 
even  more  feet,  with  a  very  straight  trunk  and  a  pyramidal  bnt 
rounded  head,  with  very  numerous  whorled  branches  which  spread 
horizontally  but  do  not  droop  downwards ;  bark  smooth,  grey  or 
white,  shining  and  silvery  on  the  smaller  branches.  Leaves 
numerous,  solitary,  closely  set  on  all  sides  of  the  branches,  but 
spreading  more  or  less  completely  in  two  ranks  horizontally,  and 
many  thus  curved  or  twisted  at  the  base,  ^ — 1  inch  long,  linear, 
flat,  obtuse  and  generally  emarginate  at  the  apex  (the  young  ones 
sometimes  acute),  smooth,  the  upper  surface  dark  green  and 
polished  (bright  green  when  young),  the  under  surface  with  two 
longitudinal  white  lines,  persistent.  Male  catkins  numerous  in 
the  axils  of  the  leaves  of  the  previous  year  and  slightly  exceeding 
them,  shortly  stalked,  surrounded  at  the  base  with  empty  bracts ; 
anthers  crowned  with  a  broad  pointed  crest,  2 -celled,  dehiscing 
by  a  transverse  fissure.  Female  flower-cones  very  shortly  stalked 
or  sessile,  few,  on  the  branchlets  of  the  previous  year,  axillary  or 
rarely  terminal,  erect,  oblong  ;  bracts  roundish,  with  a  denticulate 
edge  and  a  long  terminal  linear-subulate  sharp  spreading  point, 
green  ;  carpellary  scales  about  half  as  long  as  the  rounded  portion 
of  the  bracts,  broad,  with  an  entire  rounded  margin.  Ripe  cone 
erect,  large,  5  or  6  inches   long,  often  somewhat  curved,  oblong, 

*  Abies,  iu  Greek  iXaVi;,  the  classical  name. 


262    PDTUS  ABIES 

blnnt  at  both  ends^  cylindrical,  pale  greyish  or  reddish-green/axis 
woody,  persistent,  carpellary  scales  much  enlarged  and  dilated, 
densely  imbricated,  thin,  scarcely  woody,  flat,  not  excavated  at 
the  base,  deciduous  from  the  axis  when  ripe  with  the  adherent 
persistent  bracts  which  project  considerably  beyond  them.  Seeds 
with  a  large  triangular  wing. 

Habitat. — The  Silver  Fir  has  not  so  extensive  a  range  as  the 
Spruce  and  does  not  reach  the  northern  countries  of  Europe.  In 
the  mountain  ranges  of  France,  Switzerland,  Spain  and  Italy  it  is 
common,  but  does  not  attain  to  such  high  elevations  as  P.  Picea^ 
It  is  particularly  abundant  in  the  Yosges  mountains,  where  it 
forms  large  forests.  Towards  the  south-west  the  Silver  Fir 
extends  to  Ghreece,  Turkey,  and  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor  and 
the  Caucasus.  It  is  frequently  grown  in  England,  having  been 
introduced  here  before  the  year  1608. 

A  variety  is  known  to  arboriculturists  with  pendulous  branches* 

The  tree  flowers  in  May,  and  the  cones,  which  are  produced 
very  sparingly  in  most  localities,  are  ripe  in  October  of  the  same 
year.  After  the  scales  and  seeds  have  fallen  away,  the  persistent 
woody  axis  of  the  cone  remains  as  an  erect  spine. 

On  the  confusion  and  crossing  of  the  names  Abies  and  Picea 
see  under  the  last  species. 

Gren.  &  Godr.,  El.  France,  iii,  p.  155 ;  Ledebour,  Fl.  Boss.,  iii, 
p.  669;  Parlatore,  in  DO.  Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  420;  Lindl.,  Fl. 
Med.,  p.  554. 

Part  Used  and  Names. — Tbeebinthina  Argkntoratensis  ;  the 
turpentine  obtained  by  incision  from  the  stem.  It  is  not  official 
in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  or  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States.  It  was,  however,  formerly 
recognised  in  the  London  Pharmacopoeia,  but  omitted  from  that 
volume  as  far  back  as  1788.  It  is  commonly  termed  Stra^sburg 
Tv/rpentine  ;  and  by  the  French  Terebinthine  a/ti  citron. 

Extraction. — The  turpentine  of  this  plant,  like  that  from  Abies 
balsamea,  which  is  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  under  the 
name  of  Terebinthina  Canadensis,  is  contained  in  irregular-shaped 


262    FINUS  ABIES 

lacunsB  or  receptacles  which  are  formed  in  the  bark  of  the 
stem  and  branches^  and  which  bj  distending  cause  swellings  in 
the  snberous  layer.  The  peasantry  collect  it  by  puncturing  or 
incising  these  receptacles  with  sharp-pointed  hooks,  and  receiving 
the  oleo-resinouB  juice  which  then  escapes,  in  bottles ;  they  sub- 
sequently purify  it  by  filtration  through  a  rude  kind  of  bark 
funnel.  As  each  of  the  receptacles  only  contains  one  or  two 
drops,  the  process  is  a  tedious  one.  At  the  present  day  it  is  only 
collected  to  a  very  limited  extent ;  and  principally  in  the  Vosges, 
and  the  Bernese  Jura. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — As  seen  in  commerce,  it 
is  a  pale  yellow  transparent  liquid,  very  much  resembling  the 
official  Canada  turpentine  or  balsam,  but  without  the  fluorescent 
appearance  of  that  substance.  Its  odour  is  very  agreeable  and 
citron-like,  hence  the  French  name  of  Terebinthvne  au  citron;  its 
taste,  although  very  slightly  acrid  and  bitterish,  is  less  so  than 
that  of  Canada  turpentine.  It  is  levogyre ;  and  has  the  specific 
gravity  of  distilled  water.  It  is  soluble,  like  Canada  turpentine, 
in  ether,  chloroform,  and  benzine,  each  of  the  solutions  having 
an  acid  reaction.  When  spread  out  in  thin  layers  and  exposed 
to  the  air,  it  completely  solidifies  into  a  transparent  varnish ;  and 
when  mixed  with  about  one  sixth  of  its  weight  of  magnesia,  it 
acquires  a  pilular  consistence. 

Strassburg  turpentine  is  an  oleo-resin,  but  the  proportion  of 
volatile  oil  it  contains,  like  that  of  Canada  turpentine,  would  appear 
to  be  very  variable.  A  sample  examined  of  late  years  by  Fliickiger, 
yielded  72*4  per  cent,  of  a  brittle  transparent  resin,  soluble  in 
glacial  acetic  acid;  and  24  per  cent,  of  essential  oil.  The  oil 
boils  at  about  325° ;  and  although  when  recent  it  is  levogyre,  after 
keeping  for  some  time  it  becomes  dextrogyre.  It  has  the  same 
odour  as  the  oleo-resin. 

Bochleder  found  in  the  leaves  of  this  Fir,  a  peculiar  sugar, 
closely  resembling  mannite,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  abietite  ; 
and  when  the  cones  are  distilled  with  water,  a  very  fragrant 
volatile  oil  is  obtained,  which  is  called  in  France  essence  de 
iempline.     Its  composition  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  oil  derived 


262    PINUS  ABIES 

from  the  crude  oleo-resin  or  Strassburg  turpentine  of  the  stem ; 
but  unlike  that  oil  it  is  powerfully  levogyre. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — In  its  properties  it  closely 
resembles  common  turpentine^  over  which  it  has  the  advantage  of 
an  agreeable  odour.  It  is,  however,  but  very  little  employed  at 
the  present  day,  although  formerly  highly  esteemed. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1^  p.  305 ;  Pharmacog^phia,  p.  555 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  pp.  863  and  866 ;  Morel,  in  Pharm. 
Joum.,  vol.  viii,  ser.  3,  p.  21. 


DBSCEIPTION  OP  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  the  specimen   cultiYated  in  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens, 
Regent's  Park ;  the  fruit  added  from  a  specimen  in  the  Kew  Museum. 

1.  A  female  cone. 

2,  3.  Bract  and  carpellary  scale. 

4.  A  nearly  ripe  cone. 

5.  Bract  and  scale. 

6.  Upper  surface  of  scale. 

7.  A  seed. 

8.  A  branchlet  with  leaves. 

9.  A  leaf. 
10.  A  tree. 

(2,  3,  9,  enlarged.) 


863 

N.  Ord.   COKIFBBiB. 

Tribe  Finea. 
G^enns  Pinus,  Linn. 


263.  Piuns  balsamea,  £tnn.,  Sp.  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  1002  (1753)» 

Balsam  Fir,     Balm  of  Oilead  Fir.     American  Silver  Fir. 

8yn, — ^Abies  balsamea,  MiU.  A.  balsamifera,  Mich,  Picea  balsamea. 
Loud. 

Figwres. — ^Lambert,  DL  Gen.  Pinas,  ed.  2,  t.  33,  cop.  in  Siepb.  &  Ob. 
t.  74,  and  Woodville,  vol.  v ;  Nees,  t.  82 ;  Mlcbaox,  N.  Amer.  Sylva, 
iii,  1. 150. 

Description. — TTsnally  a  small  tree  about  20—40  feet  higb^  but 
sometimes  considerably  taller^  with  a  slender  trunk  and  numerous 
horizontally  spreading  branches  which  form  a  pyramid;  bark 
smooth^  reddish-grey  when  young.  Leaves  numerous^  rather 
crowded,  somewhat  spreading,  sessile,  solitary,  about  |  inch  long, 
linear,  blunt,  entire^  flat,  stiff,  smooth,  bright  green  above, 
whitish  beneath,  with  the  midrib  very  prominent,  persistent  but 
articulated  to  the  stem  by  a  circular,  flattened  base  placed 
obliquely  to  the  upper  surface.  Male  catkins  in  the  axils  of  the 
leaves  of  the  previous  year  and  shorter  than  them,  somewhat 
drooping,  fusiform,  blunt,  pollen  bright  yellow.  Anthers  ter- 
minated by  an  acute  or  bifid  appendage.  Female  cones  solitary, 
erect,  nearly  sessile,  bracts  roundish- oval,  entire  or  denti- 
culate, furnished  at  the  apex  with  a  long  straight  point.  Car- 
pellary  scales  suborbicular,  much  shorter  than  the  bracts.  Cones 
about  4  inches  long,  oblong,  cylindrical,  blunt,  erect,  scales  as 
long  as,  or  longer  than,  the  unchanged  bracts,  rounded,  puberu- 
lous,  purplish-blue.      Seeds  with  a  large  wing. 

Habitat. — The  Balsam  Fir,  or  "  Balsam  '*  as  it  is  often  called, 
is  a  well-known  inhabitant  of  the  cold  and  swampy  districts  of 
Labrador,  Nova  Scotia,  and  other  parts  of  Canada,  as  far  north  as 
62^ ;  it  extends  in  the  northern  and  western  States,  as  far  south  as 
Pennsylvania,  and  along  the  mountains  even  to  Virginia.    The  tree 


263    PINUS  BALSAMEA 

does  not  form  woods  of  itself,  but  occurs  abundantly  scattered  over 

the  country  amongst  other  species  ;  it  is  especially  found  near  the 

coast.     When  young  it  is  a  very  handsome  conifer,  but   it  soon 

decays   and   becomes   unsightly ;    it  is,  however,'  very  hardy  and 

much  cultivated    in    arboretums    in    this    country.     The    Abies 

Hvdsonia  of  gardeners  is  a  dwarf  stunted  form.     The  cones   are 

invariably  directed    vertically  upwards,  and    the    bracts    never 

exserted  beyond  the  scales. 

Hook.,  Fl.  Bor.-Amer.,  ii,  p.  163 ;  A.  Gh»y,  Man.  N.  U.  States, 
p.  471 ;  Michanx,  N.  Amer.  Sylva,  iii,  p.  52 ;  Parlatore,  in  DC. 
Prod.,  xvi,  pt.  2,  p.  423 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  554. 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Names, — Tebebinthika  Canadensis;  the 
turpentine  obtained  by  incision  from  the  stem  of  Abies  balsamea, 
Aiton  (B.  P.).  The  turpentine  obtained  from  the  stem  by 
incision  (I.  P.).  Tebebinthina  Canadensis;  the  liquid  oleo- 
resin  obtained  from  Abies  balsamea  (IT.  S.  P.).  It  is  commonly 
known  under  the  names  of  Canada  Balsam,  Canada  Turpentine, 
Balsam  of  Fir,  and  Balsam  of  Gilead.  It  is  improperly  called 
Canada  Balsam  and  Balsam  of  Fir,  as  it  contains  neither  benzoic 
nor  cinnamic  acid,  the  presence  of  one  of  which  is  regarded  by 
nearly  all  pharmacologists,  and  by  the  authors,  as  a  necessary 
constituent  of  a  balsam.  The  name  of  Balsam  of  Gilead  has  been 
applied  to  it  on  account  of  its  agreeable  odour,  but  this  term  is 
altogether  incorrect,  as  the  true  Balsam  of  Gilead  is  derived  from 
a  species  of  BaUamodend/rum,  probably  B.  Opobalsamum,  as 
described  by  us  in  treating  of  that  plant.  It  is  properly 
designated  Canada  Turpentine,  as  the  name  of  turpentine  is 
commonly  applied  to  a  liquid  or  solid  vegetable  secretion,  which 
consists  of  a  resin  combined  with  the  peculiar  essential  oil,  called 
oil  of  turpentine. 

Extraction  and  Commerce, — Canada  turpentine  is  contained  in  re- 
ceptacles, which  are  formed  under,  and  in,  the  bark  of  the  trunk  and 
branches  of  the  tree,  and  which  by  distending  cause  protuberances 
in  the  suberous  layer.  The  turpentine  is  collected  by  puncturing  or 
incising  these  receptacles,  when  the  oleo-resinous  juice  runs  out, 
and  is  collected  in  a  bottle  or  other  suitable  vessel ;  this  is   sub- 


263    PINUS  BALSAMEA 

sequently  filtered  to  remove  impurities.  The  mode  in  which  it  is 
largely  collected  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  has  been  recently 
described  by  Mr.  Brunet,  from  whose  account  the  following 
details  are  taken  : — The  whole  family  of  balsam  gatherers  go  into 
the  woods  in  the  Laurentine  mountains  at  a  distance  of  from 
seven  to  ten  miles  from  the  villages.  There  they  encamp  for 
two  months ;  the  mother  remains  in  the  camp  to  do  the  cooking 
and  strain  the  turpentine,  and  it  is  she  who  transports  it,  upon 
her  back,  in  canisters  of  five  gallons  each  to  the  village,  where  she 
sells  it  in  exchange  for  flour  and  pork,  which  she  carries  back  with 
her  when  she  returns  to  the  camp.  The  father,  with  his  boys,  goes 
to  pierce  the  trees,  each  furnished  with  a  small  can  like  an  ordinary 
pewter  pot,  and  having  a  tube  proceeding  from  it  at  the  top. 
This  tube  is  of  iron,  sharpened ;  and  with  this  portion  of  the 
instrument  the  receptacles  of  turpentine  are  pierced,  one  by  one, 
the  liquid  flowing  down  the  interior  of  the  tube  until  the  vessel  is 
full.  The  children  mount  into  the  branches  while  the  father  works 
about  the  lower  part  of  the  tree.  A  large  tree  will  yield  as  much 
as  a  pound  of  turpentine ;  but  one  with  another  the  yield  of  each 
tree  is  not  usually  more  than  eight  ounces.  The  father,  with  the 
help  of  two  children,  can  gather  from  sunrise  to  sunset  about  a 
gallon  of  turpentine,  but  the  man  who  works  alone  has  done  a  good 
day^s  work  when  he  has  collected  half  a  gallon.  One  cannot  gather 
the  turpentine  when  it  rains,  or  even  on  the  same  day  in  which  rain 
falls,  for  the  branches  then  let  fall  drops  of  water,  which,  mixing 
with  the  turpentine,  render  it  milky  and  unsaleable.  The  collec- 
tion is  made  from  the  15th  of  June,  or  about  the  time  the  snow 
disappears  from  the  mountains,  up  to  the  15th  of  August  or  1st  of 
September,  the  date  when  the  snow  usually  begins  to  fall,  or  the 
weather  turns  cold,  and  the  turpentine  no  longer  flows.  Near  the 
villages  and  upon  partially  cleared  land  it  is  gathered  in  May, 
but  at  this  time  only  in  small  quantities.  It  is  only  the  poorest 
inhabitants  and  the  Indians  who  do  this  business.  The  average 
amount  collected  annually  appears  to  be  about  3000  gallons, 
but  as  much  as  5000  gallons  have  been  obtained  in  one 
year.      A  tree  should  not  be  pierced   two  years  in  succession. 


263    PINUS  BALSAMEA 

indeed,  it  requires  rest  for  two  or  three  years  before  being  tapped 
again,    and    then    it   always    yields    very   much    less    than    the 

first  time. 

Canada  turpentine  is  principally  obtained  in  Lower  Canada, 
and  is  exported  from  Quebec  and  Montreal  in  kegs  or  large 
barrels.  Some  also  is  said  to  be  collected  in  the  State  of 
Maine. 

Oeneral  Oharaeters  and  Oomposition, — When  quite  fresh 
Canada  turpentine  is  turbid,  but  by  exposure  to  light  it  soon 
becomes  clear  and  transparent.  As  seen  in  commerce  when 
freshly  imported,  its  colour  is  pale  yellow  with  a  greenish  tinge ; 
it  is  transparent,  of  the  consistence  of  thin  honey,  with  a  peculiar, 
agreeable,  aromatic  odour,  and  a  slightly  bitter,  feebly  acrid,  but 
not  disagreeable  taste.  By  keeping  it  gradually  thickens,  and 
becomes  somewhat  darker  in  colour,  but  it  retains  its  trans- 
parency; and  by  exposure  to  the  air  for  some  time,  it  dries 
slowly  into  a  solid,  transparent,  adhesive  varnish.  When  heated 
to  a  temperature  of  about  392^,  and  examined  in  direct  sun- 
light, it  exhibits  a  greenish  fluorescence,  like  other  turpentines,  and 
copaiva.  The  same  greenish  fluorescence  may  also  be  noticed, 
although  to  a  slighter  extent,  if  it  be  examined  at  ordinary  tem- 
peratures. Its  specific  gravity  is  0*998  at  about  58°.  When 
mixed  in  the  proportion  of  four  parts  of  the  turpentine  to  one  of 
benzine,  it  is  dextrogyre.  It  is  readily  soluble  in  chloroform, 
benzine,  ether,  and  amylic  alcohol,  each  of  the  solutions  having  an 
acid  reaction.  It  is  only  partially  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  or 
glacial  acetic  acid.  When  mixed  with  about  a  sixth  of  its  weight 
of  magnesia,  it  becomes  of  a  pilular  consistence. 

Canada  turpentine  is  an  oleo-resin,  but  the  proportion  of 
volatile  oil  and  resin  which  it  contains  varies  in  different  samples. 
A  recent  analysis  of  Fliickiger,  indicates  24  per  cent,  of  volatile 
oil,  59'8  per  cent,  of  resin  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  and  16'2 
per  cent,  of  resin  insoluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  but  soluble  in 
ether.  Bonastre  found  only  18*6  per  cent,  of  volatile  oil ; 
and  Wirzen  but  16  per  cent.  The  latter  chemist  also  ob- 
tained from  it  three  amorphous  resins,    of   which  one  had   the 


263    PINUS  BALSAMBA 

composition  of  abiotic  acid.  Fliickiger  also  found  that  while 
Canada  turpentine  is  feebly  dextrogyre^  its  constituent  volatile 
oil  ifl  IflBvogyre,  while  its  resin  is  dextrogyre.  Pereira,  however, 
states  that  both  the  resin  and  volatile  oil  are  IsBvogyre. 

Substitution. — In  the  United  States  market,  during  a  time 
of  scarcity  of  true  Canada  turpentine^  a  kind  of  oleo-resin  from 
Oregon  was  sometimes  substituted  for  it,  but  it  did  not  meet 
with  a  ready  sale,  and  its  botanical  source  is  unknown. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — In  its  properties  it  resembles  the 
other  turpentines.  It  is,  however,  but  little  employed  ;  although 
occasionally,  and  then  generally  in  the  form  of  a  pill,  in  mucous 
discharges  from  the  genito-urinary  organs,  in  chronic  catarrh,  and 
in  chronic  rheumatism.  In  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  and  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  it  is  used  as  an  ingredient  in  blistering 
paper  and  flexible  collodion.  It  is  highly  valued,  and  is  much 
employed  as  a  menstruum,  for  mounting  microscopic  objects,  as  it 
always  remains  uncrystalline  and  transparent.  It  is  also  used  by 
varnish  makers ;   and  by  opticians  as  a  cement. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  481 ;  Phormacographia,  p.  553 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  865  ;  Pereira,  in  Pharm.  Joam., 
ser.  1,  vol.  V,  p.  67 ;  Julias  Morel,  in  Pharm.  Joam.,  ser.  3, 
vol.  yiii,  p.  22 ;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  vol.  xx,  p.  119, 
vol.  xxi,  p.  433,  and  vol.  xxiv,  p.  337. 


DSSCBIPTION     OF      PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  cultivated  specimen  in  the  British  Museum;   the  male 
flowers  and  cone  added  from  Lambert. 

1.  A  twig  with  male  catkins. 

2.  A  single  catkin. 

3.  An  anther. 

4.  A  branch  with  female  flowers. 

6.  Upper— and  6.  Under  surface  of  a  bract. 

7.  A  ripe  cone. 

8.  9, 10.  Scales  of  the  cone  with  seeds. 

11.  A  seed. 

12.  Base  of  leaves.  * 

(3,  5,  6, 12,  enlarged.) 


.rrLS.j>,.i  w« 


PiTlUS  CA3Ar)ENSlS.^i^^ 


264 

N.  Ord.  GoKiFBBjE. 
Tribe  Pinea. 
GennB  Piniui,  Linn. 


s 


264.  FiniiB  eanadensiB,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,   ed.    2,   p.  1421 

(1762). 

Hemlock  Spruce, 

Byn. — Abies  canadensis,  Mich. 

Figures. — ^Nees,  t.  83;  LamK,  UL  Gen.  Finns,  ed.  2,  t.  S5;  Micbaox  f., 
N.  American  Sylya,  iii,  1. 149. 

Description, — ^A  large  tree  attaining  a  beigbt  of  70 — 80  feet, 
pyramidal  in  form  with  a  straight  trunk  and  horizontal  branches, 
the  upper  ones  pendulous  at  the  apex,  the  young  twigs  slender, 
with  longish  spreading  hairs,  bark  grey,  smooth.  Leaves  numer- 
ous, solitary,  irregularly  crowded,  but  with  a  tendency  to  spread 
in  two  ranks,  i — f  inch  long,  with  a  very  short  slender  petiole, 
linear,  flat,  obtuse  at  both  ends,  stifE,  green  and  shining  above, 
whitish  beneath,  downy  when  young.  Male  catkins  very  small, 
solitary  in  the  leaf -axils,  stalked,  globose ;  anthers  with  a  reniform 
apiculate  crest.  Ripe  cones  small,  pendulous  at  the  extremity 
of  the  branches,  about  |  inch  long,  broadly  ovoid,  blunt,  pale 
brown,  carpellary  scales  much  enlarged  and  dilated,  few,  large, 
strongly  imbricated,  oval-roundish,  very  obtuse,  thin  but  woody  or 
leathery,  sharp  at  the  edge,  convex  on  the  bark ;  bracts  broadly 
ovate,  truncate,  ciliate-denticulate,  3  or  4  times  shorter  than  the 
scales.     Seeds  pale  with  a  long  thin  wing. 

Sabitat, — This  species  of  Spruce  Fir  is  a  native  of  a  very 
extensive  area  in  North  America,  extending  from  Nova  Scotia, 
Hudson's  Bay,  and  New  Brunswick,  through  Canada  and  the 
United  States,  as  fer  south  as  North  Carolina.  It  forms  with 
P.  nigra  vast  forests.  When  well  grown  it  is  a  very  graceful  tree, 
but  the  lower  branches  are  liable  to  be  broken  ofE  from  the  weight 
of  snow  they  bear  in  the  winter ;   it  is   particularly  beautiful  in 


264    PTNUS  CANADENSIS 

spring.  The  habit  is  not  nnlike  that  of  the  yew,  but  lighter  and 
more  lax  ;  it  flowers  in  May,  and  the  small  cones,  like  hop-catkins, 
are  ripe  in  October.  It  is  grown  in  many  arboretams  in  England, 
having  been  introduced  about  a  century  ago  by  Peter  Collinson. 

Farlatore,  in  DC.  Prod.,  x^i,  pt.  2,  p.  428 ;  A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot. 
N.  XJ.  States,  p.  471 ;  Hook.,  FL  Bot.  Amer.,  ii,  p.  164. 

Official  Part  and  Names, — ^Pix  Canadensis  ;  the  prepared  resin- 
ous exudation  from  Abies  Canadensis  (Michaux)  (XJ.  S.  P.)  It  is 
commonly  known  as  Canada  Pitch,  Hemlock  Pitch,  and  Hemlock 
6nm.  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 

Collection  and  Preparation. — The  concrete  turpentine,  which  is 
official  under  the  name  of  Canada  Pitch,  is  either  obtained  by 
making  incisions  into  the  trunk  of  the  tree  yielding  it,  and  after- 
wards collecting  the  exuded  juice  when  it  has  concreted  on  the 
bark ;  or,  as  but  little  juice  exudes  from  incisions  thus  made,  the 
more  usual  mode  is  to  collect  the  hardened  juice,  which  exudes 
spontaneously  from  the  full-grown  trees,  when  .they  are  about  or 
have  begun  to  decay.  In  the  latter  case  the  bark  thus  encrusted 
is  torn  from  the  trees,  and  after  having  been  broken  into  pieces, 
boiled  in  water ;  and  the  melted  pitch  as  it  rises  to  the  sur- 
face is  skimmed  off,  and  afterwards  purified  by  again  heating 
it  in  water  and  straining.  As  thus  prepared  and  brought  to  the 
shops,  it  is  in  dark-coloured  masses,  which  still  contain  diffused 
through  their  substance  a  variable  proportion  of  small  pieces  of 
bark  and  other  impurities,  from  which  it  is  subsequently  purified 
by  melting  and  straining,  and  it  then  constitutes  the  official 
Canada  Pitch  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States, 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — Canada  pitch,  as  thus 
prepared,  varies  in  consistence  at  different  seasons ;  thus,  in  cold 
weather  it  is  hard  and  brittle,  but  in  warm  seasons  it  softens  and 
takes  the  shape  of  the  vessel  in  which  it  is  contained.  It  is 
also  readily  softened  by  the  warmth  of  the'  body,  and  becomes 
adhesive ;  it  melts  at  198°.  It  has  n  dark  yellowish-brown  colour 
when  first  obtained,  but  by  exDosure  to  the  air  the  colour  deepens. 


264    PINUS  CANADENSIS 

and  becomes  almost  black.  It  bas  very  little  taste^  and  only  a 
slight  peculiar  odoar. 

It  consists  of  resin  and  a  minute  quantity  of  volatile  oil.  It  is 
supposed  to  be  of  a  similar  nature  to  Canada  Turpentine  obtained 
from  Pinu8  haUamea,  but  at  present  nothing  definite  is  known 
respecting  it^  as  it  has  not  been  sufficiently  examined. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — When  applied  locally,  it  is  slightly 
stimulant,  like  Burgundy  Pitch,  and  is  therefore  employed  for 
similar  purposes.  The  objection  to  its  use  is,  that  it  softens  so 
readily  as  to  render  it  inapplicable  at  some  seasons ;  and  even 
when  used  in  cold  weather  as  a  plaster,  the  heat  of  the  body  often 
prevents  it  being  well  retained  in  its  place. 

Other  Pboducts  oi  Praus  canadensis. — In  the  County  of  New 
York  a  volatile  oil  is  obtained  by  distillation  from  its  leaves ;  this 
is  known  as  Oil  of  Spruce  or  Oil  of  Hemlock.  It  has  been  used 
to  procure  abortion  ;  and  like  some  other  volatile  oils  from 
coniferous  plants  it  is  capable  of  producing  dangerous  effects  on 
the  life  of  the  female. 

The  inner  bark  is  a  powerful  astringent,  and  it  is  sometimes 

employed   on    this    account    medicinally  in    the    United    States. 

From  the  same  cause  it  forms  a  valuable  tanning  material,  which 

is  much  used  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  United  States.     An 

extract  obtained  from  it  is  said  to  have  similar  properties  and 

effects  to  that  of  extract  of  rhatany,  and  therefore  applicable  as 

a  medicine  to  like  purposes. 

U.  S.  Diap.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  678 ;  Wood's  Ther.  &  Pharm.,  vol.  ii, 
p.  749;  Joum.  Phil.  Col.  of  Pharm.,  vol.  ii,  p.  18;  Amer. 
Jonm.  Pharm.,  Jan.,  1860,  p.  29,  and  May,  1866,  p.  214 ;  New 
Tork  Joum.  of  Med.,  vol.  viii,  p.  184. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  collected  bj  Rugel  in 
Carolina ;  the  fruit  added  from  Lambert. 

1.  A  twig  with  male  catkins. 

2,  3.  Male  catkins. 

4.  A  branch  with  ripe  cones. 

5.  Outer ;  and  6.  Inner  side  of  a  cone- scale. 

7.  A  seed. 

(3  enlarged.) 


MASANTA  ARUNDWACEA.Zam^ 


N.  Ord.  CAJStHAOMM.  Lindl.,  Yeg.  Kingd.,  p.  168 ;  Le  Maout  &  Dec., 
p.  757. 

Oenns  ICaranta*  Linn.  Eadlicher,  Gen.  Plant.,  p.  266. 
Komicke,  in  Ball.  Soc.  Imp.  Nat.  Mosooa,  xzxv  (1862), 
pp.  1 — 73.  Species  aboat  40,  natives  of  tropical  America 
and  (rarely)  Asia. 


265 


S6&  Haranta  amndinacea,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  I,  p.  2  (1753). 

ArrotorooL 

Syn, — M.  indica,  Tuasac.    M.  ramosissima,  Wall, 

Figures, — ^Bedont^,  Liliac.,  i,  t.  57,  cop.  in  Hajne,  ix,  t.  25 ;  Tassac, 
Fl.  Antilles,  i,  t.  26  (JIf.  indica),  cop.  in  Hajme,  ix,  t.  26;  Nees, 
tt.  69,  70 ;  Bot.  Mag.,  t.  2307 ;  Boscoe,  Scitamine»,  t.  25 ;  Wall., 
Plant  Asiat  Bar.,  t.  286. 

DescriptioTu — ^An  herbaceous  perennial,  with  a  creeping,  definite 
rootstock,  giving  off,  beneath  the  terminal  bnds,  lateral,  solid, 
fleshy,  cylindrical,  thickened  branches  (tubers),  curving  upwards, 
covered  with  large,  imbricated,  thin,  pale  brown  or  white  scales,  and 
afterwards  ringed  with  their  scars.  Flowering  stem  reaching  5  or 
6  feet  in  height,  slender,  much  branched,  smooth,  compressed, 
swollen  at  the  nodes,  mostly  covered  with  the  sheaths  of  the  leaves, 
branches  wide  spreading.  Leaves  numerous,  with  long  sheaths, 
split  completely  down  one  side,  and  either  enveloping  the  stem  or 
standing  a  little  away  from  it,  smooth,  striate,  with  somewhat 
membranous  margins,  and  terminating  above  in  two  prominent, 
blunt,  purple  auricles,  blade  spreading,  set  on  a  short,  thick, 
hard,  rounded,  finely  pubescent  petiole,  ovate-oblong  or  ovate- 
lanceolate,  the  lower  reaching  10  inches  in  length,  the  upper  2—4 
inches,  acute  or  acuminate,  entire,  glabrous  or  nearly  so  on  both 
surfaces,  with  a  prominent  thick  midrib  which  ceases  before  the 
apex,  and  very  numerous  slender,  curved,  quite  parallel  lateral  veins, 
pale  green,  somewhat  glaucous  beneath,  convolute  in  vernation. 
Flowers    shortly    stalked,    slightly  nodding,    pedicels    somewhat 

*  Named  by  Plnmier  in  honour  of  Bartolommeo  Maranta,  a  physician  of 
Yenosa  in  Basilicata,  who  died  at  Naples  in  1559. 


265    MARANTA  ARUNDINACEA 

thickened  beneath  the  flower^  arranged  in  pairs  at  the  ends  of  the 
rather  long^  slender^  divaricate  branches  terminating  the  long 
peduncles,  which  are  given  off  opposite  the  axils  of  the  upper 
leaves ;  bracts  long,  sheathing,  blunt,  at  the  base  of  the  branches. 
Sepals  3,  superior,  equal,  oval-oblong,  subobtuse,  membranous^ 
delicately  veined.  Petals  and  stamens  combined  below  into  a 
tube,  which  is  about  half  as  long  again  as  the  sepals,  curved  and 
gibbous  on  the  back,  nearly  straight  in  front,  divided  at  the  end 
into  3  equal,  broadly  oval-oblong,  blunt  outer  segments  (corolla), 
and  5  inner  unequal  divisions  (petaloid  staminodes)  exceeding  the 
corolla  and  arranged  in  two  whorls,  the  outer  whorl  of  2  nearly  equal, 
large,  labelliform,  bifid  staminodes,  the  inner  whorl  of  3  much 
smaller,  unequal  ones,  of  which  the  2  smaller  are  partially  united, 
recurved,  and  the  larger  one  somewhat  spathulate,  erect,  bearing 
on  one  side  a  free,  erect,  small,  one-celled  anther.  Ovary 
inferior,  very  bluntly  trigonous,  smooth,  1 -celled,  with  a  single 
erect  ovule  seated  on  a  thick  stalk-like  placenta,  style  united 
with  the  upper  surface  of  the  flower-tube  for  nearly  its  whole 
length,  the  terminal  part  free,  somewhat  triangular,  curved  over 
into  a  hook,  stigma  truncate,  slightly  dilated,  perforated  in  the 
centre,  with  a  prominent  lip  round  the  mouth.  Fruit  small,  not  J 
inch  long,  crowned  with  the  remains  of  the  sepals,  smooth,  oblong- 
ovoid,  pericarp  leathery,  dehiscing  from  the  top  into  8  valves. 
Seed  solitary,  erect,  ovoid,  irregularly  pointed  or  shortly  beaked 
at  the  top,  slightly  compressed,  testa  very  hard,  smooth,  mottled, 
a  small  hollow  canal  runs  up  the  centre  of  the  seed  from  the  base 
for  about  |  of  its  length ;  embryo  long,  strongly  doubled  over  at 
its  centre  in  a  horse-shoe  shape,  the  radicle  at  the  hilum,  the 
cotyledonary  end  somewhat  shorter ;  endosperm  abundant,  homy. 
Habitat. — In  the  West  Indian  Islands,  especially  in  Jamaica, 
Dominique,  St.  Vincent,  and  Haiti,  the  Arrowroot  is  doubtless 
indigenous,  and  perhaps  also  in  Mexico  and  other  parts  of  central 
America.  It  is  largely  cultivated  in  parts  of  Brazil,  in  Georgia, 
and  in  the  Bermudas,  but  is  very  doubtfully  native  to  those 
countries.  In  the  old  world  the  plant  grows  in  Bengal,  Java,  the 
Philippines,  &c.,  either  wild  or  cultivated,  and  in  Mauritius,  at 


265    MARANTA  ABUNDINAGEA 

Natal^  and  on  the  west  ooast  of  Africa.  The  Indian  plant  has 
been  described  as  a  distinct  species  (ilf.  mdica)^  bat  except  that 
the  leaves  are  said  to  be  narrower  and  sharper  and  always  smooth, 
characters  of  very  slight  importance,  no  difference  can  be  found  to 
distinguish  it. 

Arrowrioot  was  introduced  into  England  by  Houston  about  1732  ; 
it  is  a  stove  plant  now  grown  in  all  our  botanic  gardens,  and 
flowering  sparingly  in  autumn. 

Grisebach,  FL  W.  Indies,  p.  605 ;  Lunan,  Hort.  Jamaic,  i,  p.  30 ; 
Komicke,  1.  c,  p.  34 ;  Lindley,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  569. 

Official  Pari  and  Name, — ^Mabakta  ;  the  fecula  of  the  rhizome 
(IJ.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopceia,  or  the 
Pharmacopceia  of  India. 

Origin  of  Name, — This  starch  is  commonly  known  under  the  name 
of  Arrowroot,  a  term  which,  according  to  Sloane,  was  originally 
applied  to  it  from  the  employment  of  the  mashed  rhizomes  of  the 
plant  from  which  it  is  obtained,  by  the  native  Indians,  as  an 
application  to  wounds  produced  by  poisoned  arrows ;  but  Martins 
states  that  the  name  is  derived  from  that  of  the  Aruac  or  Aroaquis 
Indians  of  South  America,  who  call  the  finest  fecula  they  obtain 
from  the  Mandioc  plant  {Mcmihot  utilissima,  Pohl.)  Aru-aru,  The 
authors  of  the  Pharmacographia  dispute  this,  and  say,  although  it 
is  true  that  Mwranta  cutundvnxicea  is  known  at  the  present  day  in 
Brazil  as  Ararutay  the  name  is  a  corruption  of  the  English  word 
arrowroot^  the  plant,  according  to  general  report,  having  been 
introduced.  Others  regard  the  explanation  of  Martins  as  very 
probable,  ''  the  word  '  am '  signifying  meal  or  flour,  and  they 
are  of  opinion  that  'ara-ruta,^  which  means  mealy  root,  is  the 
word  from  which  arrowroot  is  derived."  The  term  arrowroot 
is  also  now  frequently  used  to  indicate  other  starches,  as,  for 
instance,  Brazilian  arrowroot  from  Manihot  utilissima,  Tahiti 
arrowroot  from  Tacca  oceanica,  Portland  arrowroot  from  Arum 
maculatum,  and  East  Indian  arrowroot  from  Curcuma  angusti- 
foUa  and  other  species  of  Curcuma.  The  latter  kind  is  described 
by  us  under   Curcuma  longa.     It  should  be  noticed  in  reference 


265    MARANTA  ARUNDINACBA 

to  this  that  the  West  Indian  plant  {Ma/rcmta  arundindcea),  now 
being  treated  of^  is  also  cultivated  in  the  East  Indies^  and  as  the 
starch  obtained  therefrom  is  occasionally  exported^  it  might  with 
equal  propriety  be  called  East  Indian  arrowroot^  hencCj  to  avoid 
confusion,  the  original  West  Indian  arrowroot  is  now  commonly 
designated  Maranta  Starch  or  Maranta  Arrowroot,  or  simply 
arrowroot. 

Extraetionf  Commerce,  and  Kinds. — The  starch  is  extracted  from 
the  rhizomes  when  they  are  about  ten  or  twelve  months  old,  and 
the  process  adopted  in  Jamaica,  is  given  by  Pereira,  as  follows  :— 
The  rhizomes  are  dug  up,  well  washed  in  waiter,  and  then  beaten  in 
large  deep  wooden  mortars  to  a  pulp,  which  is  then  thrown  into  a 
large  tub  of  clean  water.  The  whole  is  then  well  stirred  and  the 
fibrous  part  wrung  out  by  the  hands  and  thrown  away ;  the  milky 
liquor  is  afterwards  passed  through  a  hair-sieve  or  coarse  cloth,  and 
suffered  to  settle,  and  the  clear  water  is  then  drained  off.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel  there  is  then  left  a  white  mass  of  starch,  which 
is  again  mixed  with  clean  water  and  drained ;  and  lastly,  the  mass 
is  dried  on  sheets  in  the  sun,  and  is  pure  starch.  In  other  parts  the 
rhizomes  are  first  deprived  of  the  scales  which  cover  them,  then 
washed  and  crushed  in  a  mill,  or  grated  by  a  rasping  machine  to  a 
pulp,  after  which  the  pulp  is  well  washed  on  sieves,  or  in  properly 
constructed  machines,  in  order  to  remove  the  starch.  The  starch  is 
then  mixed  with  pure  water,  and  allowed  to  settle,  after  which  it 
is  dried  with  a  gentle  heat.  In  drying,  the  greatest  care  is  taken 
to  exclude  dust,  insects,  or  anything  which  will  impart  colour  or 
taste  to  the  starch,  and  thus  deteriorate  its  quality.  The  rhizomes 
yield  about  one  fifth  of  their  weight  of  starch. 

Arrowroot  is  imported  from  several  of  the  West  Indian  Islands, 
as  Bermuda,  St.  Vincent,  Jamaica,  &c.,  and  also  from  Natal,  Sierra 
Leone,  Brazil,  East  Indies,  Sac,  It  is  usually  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  the  island,  or  place,  or  country,  from  whence  obtained,  as, 
for  instance,  Bermuda  arrowroot,  St.  Vincent  arrowroot,  Jamaica 
arrowroot.  Natal  arrowroot,  Ac.  Bermuda  arrowroot  is  the  most 
esteemed  kind,  and  fetches  the  highest  price,  but  of  late  years  the 
production  has  been  declining,  and  is  now  but  very  limited.     The 


265    MABANTA  AEUNDINAOEA 

prodaction  of  arrowroot  has  also  declined  of  late  years  in  the 
West  Indian  Islands  generally,  except  in  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent, 
from  which  our  supplies  are  now  chiefly  derived ;  bat  a  consider- 
able proportion  is  also  imported  from  Natal.  The  latter  kind, 
which  has  been  fully  described  by  Greenish,  differs,  however,  ''  in 
its  appearance  under  the  microscope  from  the  produce  of  any 
other  Maranta  known  in  commerce,''  and  hence,  although  its 
source  is  said  to  be  from  Maranta  arundinacea,  this,  as  yet,  has 
not  been  positively  determined. 

General  Cha/racters  and  Composition, — Arrowroot  or  Maranta 
•  starch  is  white,  odourless,  and  tasteless,  and  is  either  found  in  the 
form  of  a  powder,  or  of  more  or  less  aggregated  masses,  which 
rarely  exceed  a  pea  in  size.  When  pressed  between  the  fingers 
it  feels  firm,  and  when  rubbed  it  emits  a  faint  crackling  sound. 
When  viewed  by  a  magnifying  lens  it  is  seen  to  consist  of 
glistening  granules;  these  when  examined  by  the  microscope 
are  described  by  Pereira  as  "  convex,  more  or  less  elliptical,  and 
moderately  uniform  in  size.  Their  shape  is  more  or  less  irregular, 
but  often  oblong,  or  usually  somewhat  ovate-oblong,  frequently 
obscurely  triangular,  or  oyster-shaped,  or  mussel-shaped.  The 
rings  are  very  evident,  though  fine.  The  nucleus  or  hilum  is 
usually  most  distinct,  and  generally  placed  towards  one  end  of 
the  granule ;  it  is  normally  circular,  but  frequently  cracked  in 
a  linear  or  stellate  manner.'' 

Arrowroot  has  a  similar  composition  to  that  of  other  starches. 

Suhsiiisutions  and  Admit erations. — Prom  the  high  price  of 
Maranta  starch,  other  cheaper  starches  are  sometimes  substituted 
for,  or  mixed  in  variable  proportions  with  it,  as,  for  instance,  sago 
meal,  potato  starch,  rice  starch,  Brazilian  arrowroot,  &c.  Accord- 
ing to  the  German  Pharmacopoeia,  the  presence  of  foreign  starches 
in  arrowroot  is  detected  by  the  formation  of  a  jelly  upon  agitating 
the  sample  with  ten  parts  by  weight  of  a  mixture  of  two  parts  of 
hydrochloric  acid  (sp.  gr.  1'12)  and  one  part  of  water.  Oalmberg, 
and  subsequently  E.  Schaer,  have,  however,  shown  that  this  test 
cannot  be  relied  on,  as  many  samples  of  genuine  arrowroot  will 
yield  a  jelly  when  thus  treated.     Schaer,  however,  states  that  the 


266    MARANTA  AKUNDINAOEA 

test  never  fails  in  the  detection  of  potato  Btarch,  from  whicli  the 
acid  develops  a  very  characteristic  odour,  resembling  that  of 
French  beans.  The  microscope  in  the  hands  of  a  skilfol  observer, 
however,  never  fails  to  detect  these  frands. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Arrowroot  possesses  demulcent 
and  nutritious  properties.  It  is  very  well  adapted  for  the  diet  of 
the  sick  and  convalescent,  and  is  also  much  used  as  a  food  for 
infants  when  weaned.  It  is  a  valuable  demulcent  in  bowel  com- 
plaints and  diseases  of  the  urinary  organs.  The  jelly  formed 
by  boiling  arrowroot  in  water  is  more  tenacious  than  that  of  any 
of  the  other  starches,  except  Tons  les  Mois,  which  is  described 
under  Canna  edulis.  Arrowroot  is  also  an  agreeable  article  of 
food  in  the  form  of  pudding  or  blanc  mange. 

The  mashed  rhizomes  of  the  arrowroot  plant  have  been  em- 
ployed by  the  South  American  Indians  and  others  to  counteract 
the  effects  of  wounds  caused  by  poisoned  arrows.  The  expressed 
juice  of  the  rhizomes  has  al^  been  stated  to  be  an  antidote  to 
poisons  taken  into  the  stomach,  and  to  the  bites  of  venomous 
insects  and  reptiles. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  225 ;  Fharmacographia,  p.  569 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  550 ;  Proo.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc., 
vol.  vii  (1858),  p.  332,  and  vol.  xxiy,  pp.  125,  310,  and  739 ; 
Simmonds,  in  Pharm.  Jonm.,  vol.  iii,  ser.  3,  p.  834,  from 
Jonmal  of  the  Society  of  Arts ;  Greenish,  in  Year  Book  of 
Pharmacy  (1875),  p.  529;  Joum.  de  Pharm.,  ser.  3,  vol.  ii, 
p.  246;  Tear  Book  of  Pharm.  (1876),  p.  197;  Calmberg, 
Archiv  der  Pharm.,  1875  (3),  p.  352;  Schaer,  Archiv  der 
Pharm.,  1875  (4),  p;  97 ;  Greenish,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  vii, 
ser.  3,  p.  169. 

DESCBIPTIOK    OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  in  Kew  Gardens ;  the  fruit  added  from  a  specimen  in 
the  British  Museum  from  Formosa;  the  rhizome  from  one  in  the  museum  of 
the  Pharmaceutical  Society.  1.  Portion  of  a  flowering  plant.  2.  A  sepal. 
3.  Front  yiew  of  flower.  4.  Portion  of  flower-tube  with  the  innermost  stami- 
nodes.  5.  The  anther-bearing  staminode.  6.  The  anther.  7.  Vertical, 
and — 8.  Transverse  section  of  ovary.  9.  Stigma.  10.  Fruit.  11, 12.  Seeds. 
13.  Vertical — and  14.  Transverse  section  of  a  seed.  15.  Base  of  the  flower- 
ing-stem and  branch  of  the  rhizome.  16.  Portion  of  mature  rhizome. 
(2,  4r-9, 12—14  enlarged.) 


I 


CAM:JA  EDIILIS.ai'- 


266 

N.  Old.  Cahhacsjb. 

Oeiiii8Can2ia,*Iirifin.  Boncb^,  in  Limuea,  xviii,  p.  483.  Species 
aboat  60  or  more,  natives  chiefly  of  the  tropical  and  warmer 
parts  of  America. 


866.  Canna  ednliSt  Ker,  in  Bot.  Register,  ix,  t.  775  (1823). 

Achira  (Pern).     Meeru  (Brazil). 

8yn, — 0.  indica,  BwU  A  Pav.  (non  Linn.),    0.  discolor,  Lindl,  ? 

Fiffures,— Bot  Beg.,  t.  775  and  P  1231;  Bot.  Mag.,  t  2198;  Boscoe, 
Scitamineffi,  5th  plate. 

Descript'Un.^—Aji  herbaceous  perennial  with  a  large^  creeping, 
fleshy,  branched,  definite  rhizome,  with  thick,  nodolar,  tnberiform 
joints,  ringed  with  the  brown  fibroas  remains  of  the  leaves  of 
preyiooB  years.     Boots  long,  cylindrical,  rather  thick,  nnbranched, 
fibrons.     Flowering  stems  terminal,  erect,  8  feet  high,  somewhat 
compressed,  smooth,  solid,  green,  triang^ar  in  the  upper  part. 
Leaves  very  large,  alternate,  lower  ones  on  long  stalks,  upper  ones 
riieathing,  broadly  oval-  or  ovate-oblong,  attenuate  at  both  ends, 
smooth,  bluish-green,  with  a  broad  strong  midrib,  and  numerous, 
curved,  parallel,  prominent,  secondary  nerves.     Flowers  few,  in 
pairs,  nearly  sessile,  erect,  arranged  in  a  rather  close,  short,  race- 
mose inflorescence  at  the  end  of  the  stem ;  a  single  bract  below 
each  pair  of  flowers,  ovate,  blunt,  membranous  and  crumpled, 
purplish-pink,  persistent,  and  two  small  opposite  ones  below  the 
ovary  of  one  of  the  flowers.     Sepals  8,  superior,  slightly  unequal, 
ovate,  blunt,  imbricate,  greenish.    Petals  3,  superior,  alternate  with 
the  sepals,  and  three  times  as  long  as  them,  erect,  lanceolate,  con- 
cave, very  acute,  red.   Androecium  of  5  superior  petaloid  staminodes 
exceeding  the  true  petals,  and  appearing  to  constitute  the  corolla, 
imbricated  in  (irregularly)  2  rows,  unequal,  bright  scarlet,  yellowish 
below;  the  3  outer  at  the  back  of  the  flower,  erect,  the  longest 
nearly  3  inches  long,  all  oblong-spathulate,  blunt,  entire ;   the  2 
inner  dissimilar,  one  curved  over  the  front  of  the  flower,  forming 
a  sort  of  lip,  and  internally  constituting  the  floor  of  the  flower, 

*  Cawna,  Greek  raVya,  a  reed  or  cane. 


266    OANNA  EDULIS 

the  other  bearing  an  anther  on  one  side  in  contact  (in  the  bud) 
with  the  front  of  the  style,  round  which  this  staminode  is  folded, 
the  upper  part  recurved,  the  base  fused  with  the  posterior  surface 
of  the  style ;  anther  apparently  1 -celled,  dehiscing  down  the 
centre,  pollen  yellowish-white.  Ovary  inferior,  oblong-ovoid, 
green,  papillose,  3-celled,  with  numerous  axile  ovules  in  two  rows 
in  each  cell ;  style  2^  inches  long,  horizontally  flattened,  sub- 
petaloid,  scarlet,  erect  in  the  posterior  part  of  the  flower ;  stigma 
terminal,  truncate,  linear.  Fruit,  a  roundish  capsule  about  ^  inch 
long,  crowned  with  the  withered  remains  of  the  flowisr,  pericarp 
thin,  membranous,  greyish-brown,  muricated  with  deciduous 
filiform  processes,  dehiscing  loculicidally  into  8  valves.  Seeds 
several,  nearly  globular,  dark  brown;  testa  thin,  marked  with 
minute  distant  punctuations ;  embryo  club-shaped,  the  narrower 
radicle  at  the  hilum  in  contact  with  the  testa  and  covered  for  a 
short  way  down  with  a  sheath  prolonged  from  the  inner  seed-coat. 

Habitat, — 0.  edulis  is  cultivated  in  Peru,  where  it  was  originally 
observed  by  Euiz  and  Pavon;  it  was  first  grown  in  England  in 
1823  from  seed  collected  by  them  30  years  before.  It  is  also 
supposed  to  be  the  species  cultivated  in  the  West  Indian  Islands 
(especially  St.  Kitts)  for  the  starch  of  its  rhizomes,  but  this  has 
not  been  made  out  with  certainty. 

The  species  of  Oanna  have  been  as  yet  little  studied,  and  their 
limits  are  ill-defined ;  they  are  also  said  to  vary  much  under  culti- 
vation. The  plant  figured  and  above  described  has  been  grown 
at  Chelsea  Gardens  under  the  above  name  for  many  years,  but  it 
cannot  be  said  to  agree  well  with  the  authentic  specimens  of 
0.  edulis  in  the  Lambertian  herbarium  (now  in  the  British 
Museum).  These  have  smaller  (and  paler?)  flowers  and  narrower 
staminodes,  the  bracts  are  much  larger,  and  the  habit  of  the  plant 
more  slender.  We  have  not,  however,  been  able  to  refer  the 
Chelsea  Gardens  plant  with  more  certainty  to  any  other  described 
species,  though  0.  Lamberti  Lindl.  (figured  in  Bot.  Reg.  t.  470,  and 
Boscoe^s  2nd  plate)  appears  to  have  several  characters  in  common 
with  it. 

Buiz  &  Pavon,  Fl.  Peruviana,  i,  p.  1;  Roscoe,  Scitaminesd ; 


266    CANNA  EDULIS 

Botanical  Begister,  vii,  Appendix;   Grisebach,  FL  Brit.  W. 
Indies,  p.  603 ;  LindL,  FL  Med.,  p.  570. 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Name. — Canna  ;  the  f ecula  prepared  from  the 
rhizome  of  an  undetermined  species  of  Canna  (U.  S.  P.).  It  is 
not  official  in  either  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or  the  Pharma- 
copceia  of  India. 

This  starch  is  commonly  known  under  the  name  of  Tons  les 
Mois.  It  is  principally  imported  from  St.  Kitts^  but  nothing  is 
known  of  its  botanical  source^  except  that  it  is  derived  from  one 
or  more  species  of  Canna. 

Extraction. — In  order  to  extract  the  starchy  the  rhizomes  or 
tubers  are  first  rasped  by  means  of  a  machine  into  a  pulp ;  and 
from  this  pulp  the  starch  is  obtained  by  washings  strainings 
decantation  of  the  supernatant  liquor^  and  desiccation  of  the 
deposited  starch. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — Canna  starch  or  Tous  les 
Mois,  as  seen  by  the  naked  eye^  is  a  white  powder^  having  a 
peculiar  satiny  or  glistening  appearance  on  account  of  the  large 
size  of  its  constituent  granules.  The  sparkling  or  glistening 
appearance  of  the  granules  is  very  obvious  when  viewed  by  a 
magnifying  lens.  When  examined  by  the  compound  microscope 
the  granules  are  seen  to  be  very  large^  exceeding  in  this  respect 
all  other  known  starches^  being  from  the  200th  to  the  300th  of  an 
inch  in  length.  They  have  a  somewhat  flattened  appearance^  and 
an  ovate  or  oblong  form ;  the  hilum^  which  is  not  very  con- 
spicuous^  is  at  one  end  of  the  granule^  and  is  encircled  with 
numerous^  regular^  distinct^  unequally  distant  rings. 

Tous  les  Mois  has  the  same  composition  as  that  of  other 
starches. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Tous  les  Mois  has  all  the  properties 
of  starch,  and  is  nutritious  and  demulcent.  It  may  be  used  as  a 
demulcent  in  urinary  and  bowel  complaints.  It  affords,  when 
boiled  with  twenty  times  its  weight  of  water,  a  more  tenacious  jelly 
than  that  of  West  Indian  Arrow-root  or  Maranta  Starch,  and  is 
well  ddapted  to  form  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  food  for  infants. 


266    OANNA  EDTJLI8 

convalescents,  and  invalids.     It   is,  however,  bat  little  used  in 
this  country,  or  elsewhere. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  k  B.,  p.  450;  Pharmacographia,  p.  573; 
U.  S.  Bisp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  208. 


DISCBIFTION    or   PLA.TB. 

Brawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Garden  of  the  Apothecaries'  Oompany, 
Chelsea,  in  flower  in  September. 

1.  Inflorescence. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  flower. 

3.  Transverse  aection  of  ovary. 

4.  Bipe  fruit. 

5.  Seed. 

6.  Section  of  the  same. 

7.  Embryo. 

8.  Diagram  of  flower. 

9.  Bhizome. 

(3  enlarged.) 


/  \ 


(3 


-"V/O         r\^ 


ELETTARIA  CARDAMOMUM,^ 


267 

N.  Ord.  ZiNOiBBBACE^.    Lindl.,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  165 ;  Le  Maout 
and  Dec.,  p.  760. 

Genus  Elettaria,*  MaUm,    Endlicher,  (Jen.  Plant.,  p.  223. 
Species  about  8,  natives  of  tropical  Asia. 


267.  Elettaxia  CardamomiUIIyt  Maton  in  Trans.  Linn.  Soc,  Xy 

p.  254  (1811). 

Malabar  Cardamom.      Oa/rdamom.     Ailum  (Malabar). 

8yn. — Amomam  repens,  Sonnerai.  A.  Cardamomum,  WkUe,  non  Linn. 
Alpinia  Cardamomum,  Boxb.    Matonia  Cardamomum,  Smith. 

FigwreM. — Woodville,  t.  231 ;  Trans.  Linn.  Soc,  x,  t.  4,  6,  cop.  in  Steph. 
and  Ch.,  t.  106 ;  Nees,  t.  64 ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  34  c ;  Bheede,  Hort. 
Malabar,  zi,  tt.  4,  5 ;  Boxb.,  Fl.  Coromandel,  iii,  t.  226. 

Description. — ^A  large  perennial  herb,  with  a  thick  fleshy  or  woody 
rhizome  giving  off  fibrous  roots  below  and  ringed  with  the  scars  of 
the  attachment  of  previons  leaves,  branched  and  sending  up  flower- 
ing stems  6—12  feet  in  height,  which  are  erect,  smooth,  gradually 
tapering,  shining  and  covered  with  the  leaf-sheaths.  Leaves  large, 
alternate  and  distichously  arranged,  sheathing,  sheaths  very  long, 

* 

half  surrounding  the  stem  and  overlapped  by  those  below, 
terminating  above  in  a  short  rounded  ligule,  blade  spreading 
1 — 2^  feet  long,  convolute  in  vernation,  lanceolate  or  narrowly 
lanceolate,  very  acute  at  the  apex,  tapering  at  the  base  into  a  very 
short  footstalk,  quite  entire,  firm,  smooth  and  dark  green  above, 
pale  glaucous-green  and  finely  silky  beneath,  midrib  strong,  very 
prominent  beneath,  lateral  veins  very  numerous,  parallel,  coming 
off  at  an  acute  angle.  Flowering- stems  given  off  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  rhizome-branches  and  spreading  horizontally  near  the 
ground,  from  a  few  inches  to  2  feet  long,  jointed,  flexuous,  with 
numerous  large  distichous  blunt  oblong  bracts  at  the  nodes, 
persistent,  dry,  and  withered    in  fruit.      Flowers    rather    small, 

*  EhsUari  is  the  native  name  of  the  plant  in  Malabar, 
t  Gardamomwniy  KapidfAWfiov;  the  name  of  some  Indian  spice  in  classical 
times. 


267    ELETTARIA  CARDAMOMUM 

stalked^  laxly  arranged  about  4  together  in  small  racemes  coming 
from  the  axils  of  the  large  bracts ;  a  similar  bract  of  smaller  size 
stands  opposite  the  base  of  each  pedicel.  Calyx  superior,  tubular, 
narrowly  oblong,  very  delicate  and  transparent,  cut  into  3  short 
triangular  teeth  at  the  apex.  Corolla  with  a  slender  delicate  tube 
extending  considerably  beyond  the  calyx,  divided  above  into  3 
nearly  equal,  oblong,  obtuse,  concave  membranous  pale  green 
segments,  the  anterior  one  rather  the  larger.  Andrcecium  of  6 
portions  in  2  rows ;  the  outer  row  consisting  of  3  unequal  stami- 
nodes  inserted  at  the  mouth  of  the  corolla  tube,  two  being  small, 
horizontal,  horn-like,  somewhat  twisted  opposite  bodies,  and  the  third 
large,  petaloid  (the  labellum),  rhomboidal-spathulate  from  a  narrow 
base,  obscurely  3-lobed  and  with  the  margin  undulated,  white, 
with  pink  or  purple  veins ;  the  inner  row  also  of  3  unequal  parts, 
two  being  small,  barren,  acicular  staminodes  inserted  on  the  top  of 
the  ovary  (epigynous),  and  the  third  a  fertile  stamen  inserted  at 
the  mouth  of  the  corolla  between  the  horn-like  staminodes  of  the 
outer  row;  filament  rather  short,  connective  thick  and  fleshy, 
anther  2-celled,  adnate,  introrse,  the  cells  contiguous  but  separated 
by  the  style  which  passes  up  between  them.  Ovary  inferior, 
smooth,  ovoid,  3-celled,  style  very  slender  and  thread-like,  thickened 
above,  stigma  capitate,  small,  hairy,  occupying  the  space  between 
the  summits  of  the  two  anther-cells.  Fruit  oblong-ovoid, 
i — f  inch  long,  bluntly  triangular,  smooth,  striate,  pale  yellowish- 
grey,  pointed,  tipped  with  the  withered  perianth,  pericarp  thin, 
dehiscing  loculicidally  into  3  valves.  Seeds  several  in  each  cell, 
closely  packed,  angular,  obtusely  wedge-shaped,  dark  brown, 
slightly  rough  or  wrinkled,  with  a  small  hilum,  attached  by  their 
sharp  angle  to  the  axis,  embryo  straight,  axile,  small,  with  the 
radicle  towards  the  hilum  and  projecting  beyond  the  farinaceous 
endosperm,  from  which  it  is  also  separated  by  an  investment  of 
fleshy  substance  (the  vitellus). 

nahitat — A  native  of  Southern  India,  growing  abundantly  in 
rich  humid  forests  at  an  elevation  of  2500 — 5000  feet  above  the 
sea  in  the  hills  of  North  Canara,  Coorg  and  Wynaad.  It  is 
cultivated  in  the  same  districts.      The   flowers   are  produced   in 


267    ELETTARTA  0ABDAM0MI7M 

April  and  May^  and  the  frait  ripens  in  October  and  November. 
A  variety  occurs  wild  in  Ceylon  {E.  major,  Sm.)  with  a  larger  and 
more  elongated  capsule.  The  plant  has  been  introduced  into 
Java.  In  England  the  plant  is  grown  at  the  Kew  and  Regent's 
Park  gardens^  but  it  does  not  flower  here. 

There  appears  to  be  considerable  variety  in  the  form  of  the 
corolla ;  the  colour  of  the  labellum  is  also  difEerently  described 
by  Bozburgh^  White  and  Berg. 

Bozb.,  Fl.  Indica,  i,  p.  70 ;  White,  in  Trans.  Linn.  Soo.,  x,  p.  229 ; 
Maton,  ib.,  p.  249;  Blame,  Enum.  PI.  JavsB,  i,  p.  51;  Lindl., 
Fl.  Medica,  p.  565;  Fliiclr.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmaoogr.,  p.  582 
Boxbnrgh,  Cor.  Plants,  iii,  p.  19. 

Official  Parts  and  Na/ine, — Cabdamomuic  ;  the  dried  seeds  of  the 
Malabar  Cardamom  (B.  P.).  The  dried  capsules  (I.  P.).  Gabda- 
MOMUM;  the  fruit  (U.  S.  P.). 

CtUUvation,  Production,  and  Preparation, — Cardamoms  are  the 
produce  of  Southern  India^  where  the  plant,  which  is  commonly 
called  llachi,  grows  wild  in  the  forests;  but  the  fruits  are  also 
largely  obtained  from  cultivated  plants.  The  authors  of  Pharma- 
cographia  have  described  the  mode  of  cultivation  as  pursued  in 
the  forests  of  Travancore,  Coorg,  and  Wynaad ;  also  on  the  lower 
range  of  the  Pulney  Hills,  near  Dindigul,  and  in  Northern  Canara 
and  Western  Mysore,  for  particulars  of  which  we  must  refer  our 
readers  to  that  volume.  The  gathering  of  the  fruits  commences 
in  October,  and  continues  during  dry  weather  for  two  or  three 
months.  The  fruits  are  dried  in  different  ways,  thus,  in  some 
cases  the  whole  scape  of  fruits  is  gathered  at  once  and  dried, 
although  all  the  fruits  are  not  ripe  at  the  same  time ;  or  the 
fruits  as  they  are  collected,  are  carried  to  the  houses,  and  partially 
dried  ''  for  a  few  days  on  mats,  they  are  then  stripped  from  their 
scapes,  and  the  drying  completed  by  a  gentle  flre-heat.  In  Coorg 
the  fruit  is  stripped  from  the  scape  before  drying,  and  the  drying 
is  sometimes  effected  wholly  by  sun-heat.^'  The  seeds  are  best 
kept  in  their  pericarps,  in  which  condition  they  are  imported,  but 
when  required  for  medicinal  use  the  seeds  should  be  separated 
from  them,  and  the  pericarps  rejected. 


267    ELETTARIA  OARDAMOMUM 

Oeneral  CJharacters^  Varieties,  Commerce,  and  Oomposition, — ^The 
fmit  of  commerce  is  ovoid  or  oblong  in  form^  S-sided^  and  3- 
celled ;  eacli  cell  contains  from  5  to  7  seeds^  which  are  arranged  in 
two  rows.  Its  base  is  roanded^  and  has  frequently  the  remains 
of  a  stalk ;  and  its  apex  terminates  in  a  short  beak-like  process. 
The  pericarp  is  yellowish-grey  or  brownish-yellow  in  colour, 
longitudinally  striated,  of  a  papery,  and  somewhat  coriaceous 
texture,  and  without  taste  or  odour.  Two  varieties  of  Malabar 
Cardamoms  are  distinguished  in  commerce  from  characters  afforded 
by  their  fruits,  as  shorts  and  short-longs,  Pereira  notices  a  third 
variety  under  the  name  of  long-longs,  but  this  kind  is  now  but  very 
rarely  or  ever  imported.  The  shorts  are  plump,  heavy,  ovoid,  or 
somewhat  rounded  in  form,  from  about  ^^  to  ^  of  an  i^ich  in  length, 
and  from  ^  to  ^  of  an  inch  in  breadth.  The  short-longs  are  more 
tapering  at  each  end,  from  about  ^  to  nearly  an  inch  long,  and 
about  the  same  breadth  as  the  shorts.  They  are  distinguished 
from  the  shorts  not  only  by  their  greater  length  and  more  tapering 
character,  but  also  by  being  of  a  paler  colour,  and  more  finely 
ribbed. 

Cardamoms  are  also  further  known  in  commerce  by  the 
districts  from  whence  derived,  as  Malabar,  Madras,  and  Aleppy. 
The  Malabar  Ga/rdamoms,  which  are  commonly  brought  to  Europe 
by  way  of  Bombay,  are  of  the  highest  commercial  value,  being 
plump,  heavy,  and  of  dark  colour.  They  are  found  in  the  two 
forms  of  shorts  and  short-longs.  The  Madras  Oa/rdamoms,  which 
are  paler  coloured  and  usually  in  the  form^  of  short-longs,  are 
exported  from  Madras  and  Pondicherry ;  and  those  known  as 
Aleppy  Ga/rdamoms  are  shipped  from  Calicut  or  Aleppy,  and  are 
usually  shorts.  The  value  of  cardamoms  is  estimated  by  their 
plumpness,  heaviness,  and  by  the  soundness  and  ripeness  of  their 
seeds.  These  conditions  are  generally  most  evident  in  the  shorts 
of  each  commercial  variety.  One  hundred  parts  of  the  fruit  yield 
on  an  average  seventy-four  parts  of  seeds,  and  twenty-six  of 
pericarp,  that  is,  the  seeds  constitute  about  three  fourths  of  their 
weight. 

The  seeds,  which  are  alone  official,  are  about   \  of    an  inch 


267    ELETTARIA  OARDAMOMUM 

long,  irregularly  angular,  transversely  wrinkled,  dark  brownish- 
red  externally,  and  whitish  internally.  They  have  an  agreeably 
warm,  aromatic  taste  and  odour. 

Cardamoms  owe  their  properties  essentially  to  the  presence  of  a 
volatile  oil  of  which  good  shorts  yield  about  4*6  per  cent.  This 
volatile  oil  has  the  odour  and  flavour  of  the  seeds  in  a  concen- 
trated degree.  Its  sp.  gr.  is  about  0*93 ;  it  is  colourless  when 
fresh,  but  by  keeping  it  becomes  yellow,  thicker,  and  loses  in  a 
great  measure  its  peculiar  taste  and  smell.  It  is  said  to  consist 
of  a  liquid  volatile  oil,  and  a  crystalline  camphor  identical  with 
turpentine  camphor.     It  is  strongly  dextrogyre. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — The  effects  of  cardamoms  are 
those  of  a  very  agreeable  aromatic ;  they  are  used  partly  on 
account  of  their  flavour,  and  partly  for  their  carminative  and 
stimulant  properties.  They  are,  however,  rarely  prescribed  alone, 
but  commonly  either  as  adjuvants  or  correctives  of  cordial,  tonic, 
and  purgative  medicines.  In  Great  Britain  and  in  the  United 
States,  cardamoms  are  but  little  used,  being  only  employed  in 
medicine,  and  to  a  very  limited  extent  as  an  ingredient  in  the 
preparation  of  the  condiment  known  as  curry  powder.  But  in 
the  Bast  Indies,  besides  their  medicinal  use,  they  are  largely 
consumed  as  a  condiment  and  for  chewing  with  betel,  as  de- 
scribed by  us  under  '  Areca  Catechu.'  In  Russia,  Norway, 
Sweden,  and  parts  of  Germany,  cardamoms  are  also  much  in 
demand  for  flavouring  cakes  and  in  the  preparation  of  liqueurs,  Ac. 

Other  Kinds  of  Caedamom. — Besides  the  Malabar  or  Official 
Cardamoms  above  described,  a  number  of  other  zingiberaceous 
fruits  have  been,  or  are  now,  employed  in  pharmacy,  and  for 
other  purposes,  under  the  common  name  of  Cardamoms,  For  a 
description  of  these  we  must,  however,  refer  to  special  works  on 
Materia  Medica,  and  more  particularly  to  Pereira's  'Materia 
Medica '  and  PlUckiger  and  Hanbury's  '  Pharmacographia.' 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  258 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  & 
R.,  p.  457 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  583 ;  Elliot,  Experience  of 
a  Planter  in  the  Jungles  of  Mysore,  London,  vol.  ii  (1871), 
pp.  201  &  209;  U.  S.  Disp.,  bv  W.  &  B.,  p.  226;  Amer. 


267    ELETTARIA  CARDAMOMUM 


Jonm.  Pbarm.,  vol.  ni,  p.  116;   Phar 
vol.  iii,  p.  208;  Amer.  Jonrn.  Phann.  (18 


DESCRIPTION    OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  apecimen  m  the  hecbarium  of  the  late  D. '. 
a  India  by  Wight. 

1,  Portion  of  a  flowering  branch. 

2.  A  flower. 

3.  Tertical  section  of  base  of  flower  showing  the  two  a 

4,  5,  6,  Side,  front,  and  hack  view  of  anther  and  style. 

7.  Transverae  section  of  ovary. 

8.  Base  of  stem  with  a  fruit-bearing  branch. 

9.  TrftnsTerBe  section  of  f nut. 
10,11.  Seeds. 

12.  Section  of  the  same. 
IS.  A  leaf. 

(2-7,  9,  II,  12  enlarged.) 


268 

K.  Ord.  ZlNQIBBRACEJE. 

Genua  Amomum,*  Linn.  Endlicher,  Gen.  Plant.,  p.  223.  A 
g^ns  of  oyer  30  species,  natives  of  tropical  countries 
in  the  Old  World. 


268.  Amomam  Melegneta^t  Itoscoe,  Monandrian  Plants,  no.  98 

(1828). 

flfyn. — A.  Grannm-Paradisi,  Afzelitis  ?  non  Smith. 

Figures, — Nees,  t.  65  (excl.  flowers)  (A,  Oranum-Paradisi) ;  Eoscoe, 
Monandrian  Plants,  dSth  plate,  copied  (fls.)  in  Berg,  Gharacterist., 
t.  xiii,  fig.  137 ;  Pereira,  Mat.  Medi,  ii,  p.  246  (fruit). 

Description. — ^A  herbaceous  perennial,  with  a  long,  slender, 
twisted,  branched,  horizontal  rhizome,  surrounded  with  numerous, 
large,  loose,  persistent,  blunt  sheathing  bracts.  Leaf -bearing  barren 
stems  3 — 6  feet  high,  erect,  straight,  slender,  completely  enclosed 
in  the  very  long  leaf -sheaths.  Leaves  large,  alternate,  distichous, 
sheathing,  sheaths  split  throughout,  very  long,  close,  striate,  quite 
smooth,  rounded  at  the  top,  and  terminating  in  a  short  rounded 
ligule  j  blade  (wanting  in  the  lower  leaves)  6 — 9  inches  long,  lanceo- 
late-oblong, attenuated  at  the  apex,  narrow  at  the  base,  entire, 
convolute  in  vernation,  midrib  narrow  and  prominent,  lateral  veins 
very  fine.  Flowers  very  large,  solitary,  on  very  short  peduncles, 
coming  off  directly  from  the  rhizome  and  covered  with  strongly 
imbricated  brownish  bracts  becoming  larger  upwards.  Calyx 
superior,  split  down  one  side  and  spathe-like,  membranous,  pale- 
green,  veined.  Corolla  large,  delicate,  white  or  pale  pink  or  purplish, 
with  a  funnel-shaped  tube,  which  exceeds  the  calyx,  and  three  un- 
equal, deeply-cut  lobes,  the  posterior  one  much  the  largest,  erect, 

*  Amomwn,  afiuftov,  the  classical  name  of  some  undetermined  Eastern  spice- 
bearing  plant. 

t  Melegueta  or  Malaguetta  is  said  by  Hanbury  to  be  the  African  name  of 
the  seeds,  but  it  is  more  probably  of  Spanish  origin.  It  was  in  use  for  them  in 
Europe  in  the  middle  ages,  and  Baahin  (Pinaz,  p.  314)  derives  it  from  Melica 
(now  Sorghum),  from  the  resemblance  of  the  seeds  to  that  grain.  The  fruits 
of  Xylopia  cethiopica,  A.  Rich.,  of  Senegal,  have  also  been  called  "  Melegueta 
Pepper.''  In  modem  Spanish  the  word  Malagueta  is  applied  to  various  small 
pungent  spices. 


268    AMOMUM  MELBGUETA 

concave^  almost  helmet- shaped^  broad  and  blant^  the  two  lateral 
spreading^  much  shorter^  linear.  Andro6ciam  of  6  portions ;  the 
outer  row  of  3  very  unequal  staminodes  inserted  at  the  month 
of  the  corolla-tube,  of  which  two  are  very  small  and  subulate,  and 
the  other,  the  labellum,  petaloid,  very  large,  about  2  inches  long, 
broadly  obovate,  narrow  at  the  base,  much  undulate-plicate  at  the 
margins,  very  delicately  veined,  very  pale  pink  or  purplish,  with  a 
darker  border  and  yellowish  at  the  base ;  the  inner  row  also  of  3 
very  unequal  portions,  of  which  two  are  narrow,  oblong,  yellow, 
erect,  epigynous  bodies,  and  the  third  the  fertile  stamen;  this 
latter  is  inserted  at  the  mouth  of  the  corolla-tube  between  the 
two  subulate  staminodes  of  the  outer  row,  erect ;  filament  flat, 
wider  above,  and  beyond  the  anther  expanding  into  broad,  flat, 
red  appendage,  ^  inch  wide,  with  a  spreading  tooth  on  either  side 
and  a  bifid  central  portion;  anther  2 -celled,  the  cells  adnate, 
oblong,  separated  by  the  style.  Ovary  inferior,  3-celled.  Style 
slender,  about  two  inches  long,  smooth,  stigma  thickened,  flat  on 
the  top,  occupying  the  space  between  the  upper  ends  of  the  anther- 
cells.  Fruit  ovate-oblong,  cylindrical,  about  3  inches  long,  smooth, 
orange  or  red,  surrounded  at  the  J^ase  by  sheathing  bracts  and 
crowned  by  the  remains  of  the  calyx  and  corolla,  pericarp  thick, 
fleshy,  indehiscent,  imperfectly  3-celled,  with  the  numerous  seeds 
loosely  attached  or  imbedded  in  a  colourless  pulp.  Seeds  about 
i  inch  in  diameter,  rather  variable  in  shape,  usually  somewhat 
wedge-shaped,  pointed  at  the  hilum,  rounded  or  flat  on  the  back, 
more  or  less  angular,  with  flattened  sides,  covered  with  a  thin 
bright  brown  aril  (?)  much  paler  at  the  hilar  end ;  testa  rather 
thick,  hard,  black,  granulated,  embryo  oblong,  straight,  axile,  the 
radicle  exserted,  surrounded  by  the  vitellus,  which  separates  it 
from  the  hard,  radiate,  snow-white,  farinaceous  endosperm. 

Habitat. — This  beautiful  plant  is  a  native  of  the  coast  regions 
of  West  Tropical  Africa,  extending  from  Sierra  Leone  southwards 
to  the  Congo,  through  Liberia  and  the  Gold  Coast,  and  of  Princes 
and  St.  Thomas'  Islands  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  The  '^  Grain 
Coast ''  or  "  Pepper  Coast "  itself  lies  to  the  immediate  east  of 
Liberia,  between  it  and  Cape  Palmas.     The  Melegueta  Pepper  has 


268    AMOMUM  MELEGUETA 

been  carried  to  other  tropical  coantries,  and  is  grown  in  Gnaiana 
(Demarara)^  whence  the  seeds  came  which  famished  the  plant 
figured  and  described  by  Roscoe.  It  is  readily  cnltivated  in  our 
hothouses,  and  even  ripens  fruit  in  this  country. 

A  small  narrow-leaved  variety  occurs  at  Sierra  Leone ;  and  the 
plant  varies  much  in  height,  colour  of  flowers,  size  of  fruit,  and 
other  points  in  different  localities. 

The  name  Amomum  Qranum^Paradisi,  Linn.,  has  been  abandoned 
by  many  authors.  LinnsBus's  species  was  probably  a  combination. 
Under  the  same  name,  Afselius  in  1815  gave  a  full  description  of 
the  plant  affording  Ghrains  of  Paradise  in  Sierra  Leone,  and  A. 
dranwrn^Pa/radisiy  Afz.,  is  perhaps  the  name  that  should  be 
adopted.  Smith,  however,  has  referred  this  name  to  a  species 
(also  collected  by  Afzelius)  which  is  not  A,  Melegueta,  and  he  has 
been  followed  by  others;  amid  so  much  confusion,  the  name  is  better 
dropped,  and  Boscoe's  one,  about  which  there  is  no  doubt,  adopted. 

The  plate  in  Nees,  t.  65,  under  the  name  A,  Qranum-Paradisiy 
is  probably  our  plant,  the  flowers,  however,  are  copied  from  the 
figure  of  A.  exscapum,  Sims,  in  the  Annals  of  Botauy,  vol.  i,  1. 13. 

Afzelius,  Bemedia  Gnineensia,  p.  71  (1815) ;  Smith,  in  Bees' 
Oycloprodia ;  Boscoe,  loc.  cit. ;  Hook,  fil.,  in  Hook.  Jonm. 
Bot.,  ?i,  p.  293 ;  Lindl.,  FL  Med.,  p.  565 ;  Fliick.  &  Hanb., 
Pharmacogr.,  p.  590. 

• 

Part  Used  and  Names. — Gbana  Pabadisi  ;  the  seeds.  They  are 
not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  the  PharmacopoDia  of 
India,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States.  But  they  were 
formerly  official  in  the  pharmacopoeias  of  this  country.  These 
seeds  are  commonly  known  under  the  names  of  Orains  of  Paradise, 
Guinea  Orains,  and  Melegueta  Pepper. 

Commerce. — Grains  of  Paradise  are  almost  entirely  exported 
from  that  part  of  the  coast  of  Guinea  in  Western  Africa,  which  is 
known  as  the  Gold  Coast,  and  principally  from  the  stations  of 
Cape  Coast  Castle  and  Accra.  The  exports  average  nearly  2000 
cwt.  annually,  nearly  half  coming  to  Great  Britain. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — Orains  of  Paradise,  as  seen 
in  commerce,  are  about  jq  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  roundish,  ovoid. 


268    AMOMUM  MELEGUETA 

or  somewhat  wedge-sliapedj  in  form^  and  blantly  angalar.  They 
hare  a  hard  texture^  a  shining  golden-brown  or  reddish-brown 
oolonr^  and  are  marked  with  a  somewhat  beak-shaped  hilam  of 
paler  colour  than  the  rest  of  the  seed.  Their  snrface  is  rongh  from 
the  presence  of  small  granulations  and  wrinkles ;  and  internally 
they  are  white.  When  crashed  and  rubbed  between  the  fingers, 
their  odour  is  feebly  aromatic;  and  their  taste  is  somewhat 
aromatic,  and  very  pungent  and  burning.  The  pungent  taste 
resides  in  the  integuments. 

The  principal  constituents  of  grains  of  paradise  are  volatile  oil, 
resin,  and  starch ;  and  their  properties  are  due  to  the  resin  and 
volatile  oil,  which  are  essentially  contained  in  the  seed-coats. 
The  proportion  of  volatile  oil,  according  to  the  authors  of 
Pharmacographia,  is  only  about  0*30  per  cent.,  53  lbs.  yielding  but 
2\  fluid  ounces.  It  has  a  yellowish  colour,  an  aromatic  odour 
resembling  the  seeds,  and  an  aromatic  taste.  Its  specific  gravity 
is  0*825  at  60^,  and  it  boils  at  456^.  From  its  optical  behaviour 
it  is  supposed  by  Fluckiger  and  Hanbury,  to  be  homogeneous. 
The  pungency  of  grains  of  paradise  depends  upon  the  resin. 

Properties  amd  Uses. — Their  properties  are  analogous  to  those 
of  pepper.  They  were  formerly  regarded  in  this  country  as  very 
injurious,  but  this  idea  is  quite  erroneous ;  and  in  Africa  they  are 
esteemed  as  the  most  wholesome  of  spices,  and  generally  used  by 
the  natives  to  season  their  food.  Their  principal  consumption  in 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  is  in  the  preparation  of  cattle 
medicines,  and  to  give  pungency  to  cordials,  and  also  for  com- 
municating an  artificial  strength  to  spirits,  wine,  beer,  and  vinegar. 
The  spiced  wine  called  hippocras,  in  use  during  the  14th  and  15th 
centuries,  was  flavoured  with  grains  of  paradise,  cinnamon,  and 
ginger. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  244 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  590 ; 
Danielle  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  xdv,  ser.  1,  pp.  312  &  356; 
Pereira,  in  Pharm.  Joam.,  vol.  ii,  ser.  1,  p.  443;  Sandrock, 
Archiy  der  Pharm.,  Jan.,  1853,  p.  18. 


268    AMOMUM  MELEGUETA 


DESCRIPTION   OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  speoimen  in  the  herbarium  of  the  late  D.  Hanbniy,  cnlti- 
▼ated  bj  him  at  CQapham,  the  frait  added  from  a  specimen  in  spirit  in  the 
British  Museum. 

1.  Portion  of  rhizome  with  a  flower. 

2.  Pistil  with  part  of  the  coroUa-tabe  showing  all  the  staminodes  except 

the  labellum. 
8.  Part  of  the  corolla,  with  the  antheriferoos  staminode  in  situ, 

4.  A  fruit. 

5.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 

6.  7.  Seeds. 

8.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 

9.  A  leaf. 

(7,  8  enlarged.) 


CURCUMA    LCi'^jA, 


r" 


269 

N.  Ord.  ZiNOiBssACiA. 

G^nns  Curcuma,*  Linn.    Endlicber,  Gen.  Plant,  p.  223.  Species 
about  25,  natiyes  of  the  tropical  East  Indies. 


269.  Cnrcnma  longa,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  2  (1758). 

TunuenCm 

8yn, — ^Amomum  Curcuma,  J<»cq.    Curcuma  rotunda,  Linn. 

Figwres.^WoodYme,  t.  252 ;  Bheede,  Hort.  Malab.,  xi,  t.  11 ;  Jacq., 
Hort.  Yindob.,  iii,  t.  4;  Bot.  Register,  xi,'t.  886. 

Description. — ^A  perennial  herb  with  a  permanent,  irregularly 
rounded  or  ovate  root-stock,  whicli  gives  off  lateral,  elongated, 
cylindrical  branches,  wrinkled  externally,  often  swelling  into 
fusiform  tubercles  and  emitting  numerous  roots,  when  mature 
brownish  externally,  deep  yellow  or  orange  on  section.  Leaves 
all  radical,  convolute  in  vernation,  when  full  grown  over  three 
feet  long,  including  the  long,  rather  slender  petioles  which 
sheath  at  the  base,  obovate-lanceolate  or  -oval,  very  acute  at  the 
apex,  gradually  attenuated  into  the  petiole,  entire,  smooth,  thin, 
bright  uniform  green;  midrib  very  strong  and  prominent 
beneath ;  the  lateral  nerves  slender,  close,  nearly  straight,  coming 
off  the  midrib  at  a  very  acute  angle.  Flowering  stems  from  the 
centre  of  the  tuft  of  leaves,  and  appearing  before  the  latter  are 
full  grown,  about  a  foot  high  including  the  inflorescence  which 
occupies  about  half  its  length,  cylindrical,  stout,  solid,  pale 
green,  with  a  few  pale  sheathing  bracts,  the  upper  one  larger  and 
somewhat  leafy.  Flowers  sessile,  usually  in  pairs,  in  the  axils  of 
large,  concave,  spreading  bracts,  and  exceeding  them,  imbricated  in 
a  rather  dense  spike ;  the  lower  bracts  ovate,  blunt,  saccate  at  the 
base,  pale  green,  sometimes  tinged  with  purplish  red ;  the  upper 
ones  empty,  forming  a  terminal  tuft  (coma),  narrower,  undulated, 
white  tinged  with  bright  pink  (brighter  before  the  inflorescence 

*  Curcuma  is  said  to  be ."  from  the  Persian  Kurhum,  a  name  applied  also  to 
Saffron." 


269    OUBOdMA  LONG  A 

has  expanded)^  each  flower  provided  with  2  small^  ovate^  scaly  bracts 
at  the  base.  Calyx  superior^  very  shorty  funnel-shaped,  bluntly 
3-lobed,  membranoas,  gamosepalous,  yellowish.  Corolla  gamo- 
petalons,  consisting  of  an  infundibuliform  tube  more  than  twice 
the  length  of  the  calyx,  and  three  ovate-lanceolate,  acute,  erect,' 
rigid,  orange-coloured  segments,  about  as  long  as  the  tube,  the 
posterior  slightly  hooded,  rather  larger  than  the  two  lateral  ones, 
which  are  approximated  in  front.  Androecium  of  6  portions  in 
two  rows  ;  the  three  outer  petaloid,  bright  yellow  (often  described 
as  an  inner  series  of  corolla-segments)  arising  from  the  summit  of 
the  tube  of  the  corolla,  the  two  lateral  equal,  obovate-oblong, 
bifid  or  lobed  at  the  end,  overlapping  the  anterior  one,  which 
forms  the  lip  of  the  flower,  and  is  rounded,  deeply  bifid,  and 
spreading ;  the  three  inner  not  petaloid,  the  two  lateral  reduced 
to  two  small  filiform  staminodes  inserted  at  the  very  base  of  the 
corolla-tube,  the  posterior  one  antheriferous,  with  a  broad  fila- 
ment inserted  on  the  corolla-tube  between  the  two  lateral 
staminodes  of  the  outer  row  and  opposite  and  at  the  base  of  the 
posterior  corolla-segment.  Anther  distinctly  two-celled,  oblong, 
tailed  at  the  base,  minutely  hairy  outside,  introrse,  connective 
prolonged  into  a  short  beak  curved  over  above  the  anther. 
Ovary  inferior,  globose,  8-celled,  with  numerous  ovules  in  several 
rows ;  style  very  long,  slender,  the  upper  part  passing  between 
the  lobes  of  the  anther  and  concealed  by  them  ;  stigma  capitate, 
standing  immediately  above  the  anther  and  beneath  the  process 
of  the  connective.  Fruit  not  seen  :  of  the  genus,  a  dry  3-celled 
capsule,  loculicidally  3-valved,  with  numerous  seeds ;  the  seeds 
roundish,  with  a  short  arillus  and  a  small  straight  embryo,  with 
the  radicle  exserted  beyond  the  radiated  endosperm. 

Habitat. — This  handsome  plant  is  cultivated  extensively  about 
Calcutta  and  throughout  Bengal ;  also  in  Ceylon,  many  of  the 
East  Indian  Islands,  and  the  Fijis.  We  have  seen  a  specimen 
from  the  Cape  of  Grood  Hope.  Its  native  country  is  probably 
some  part  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  but  cannot  now  be  determined. 
It  was  introduced  into  our  stoves  so  long  back  as  1759  by 
P.  Miller,  and  may  be  seen  in  most  botanic  gardens ;    it  flowers 


269    OUBGUMA  LONGA 

in  the  early  snmmer.     We  have  not  met  with  any  account,  of  the 
fruit. 

Many  species  of  this  fine  genus  are  figured  in  Boscoe's  great 
work  on  the  Scitaminea,  but  the  present  is  not  included  in  it. 
0.  a/romaticay  Salisb.  (0.  Zedocuria,  Boxb.  .  non  Bosc.)^  is  the 
subject  of  an  excellent  plate  in  Berg  &  Schmidt^  t.  34  a. 

Betsins,  Obeerr.  Bot.,  fasc.  iii,  p.  72  (1783) ;  Boxb.,  Ei.  Indica, 
i,  p.  32 ;  Seemann,  FL  Yitienais,  p.  291. 

Official  Part  and  Names, — Tusmebio;  the  rhizome  (B.  P. 
Appendix),  The  Boot-stock  or  Tubers  (Ov/reuma,  Ttmneric) 
(I.  P.).     Curcuma;  the  rhizome  (U.  S.  P.  Secondary). 

Oeneral  Charactera,  Varieties,  and  Composition. — There  are  two 
sorts  of  turmeric  seen  in  commerce — ^the  round  and  the  long,  but 
both  are  the  produce  of  the  same  plant;  the  central  rhizomes  or  root- 
stocks  constituting  the  rounds  and  the  lateral  or  secondary  rhizomes 
{Uihers)  the  long;  the  latter  are  the  more  abundant.  The  former  are 
it)undiBh  or  somewhat  ovate^  usually  from  about  one  inch  and  a  half 
to  two  inches  in  lengthy  and  one  inch  in  diameter^  pointed  at  one 
end^  and  marked  externally  with  annular  ridges.  They  are  often 
found  cut  into  halves.  The  loiter  are  somewhat  cylindrical^  more 
or  less  curved,  pointed  at  the  two  extremities,  frequently  haying 
on  their  sides  one  or  more  short  knobs  or  shoots,  about  the  thick- 
ness of  the  little  finger,  two  or  three  inches  long,  and  marked 
externally  with  annular  ridges.  Both  sorts  are  yellowish  exter- 
nally, very  hard  and  firm,  and  when  broken  having  a  waxy-resinous 
appearance,  and  an  orange-yellow  or  reddish-brown  colour.  The 
powder  is  orange  yellow.  Turmeric  has  an  aromatic  taste  and 
odour  somewhat  resembling  ginger,  but  peculiar.  When  chewed 
it  tinges  the  saliva  yellow. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  turmeric  known  in  commerce,  as 
China,  Bengal,  Madras,  Bombay,  Java,  and  Cochin.  The  latter 
variety  is  the  produce,  however,  of  another  species  of  Ov/rcuma. 
The  China  kind  is  the  most  esteemed,  but  is  rarely  met  with  in 
Europe.  The  Java  is  of  low  commercial  value.  A  rhizome 
called  ''  African  Turmeric  '^  has  also  been  described  by  Dr.  Daniell, 


269    CURCUMA  LONGA 

which  resembles  in  appearance  and  properties  the  other  kinds  of 
commercial  turmeric.  It  is  said  to  be  the  produce  of  Oanna 
spedosa  of  Boscoe^  but  this  riBquires  further  investigation. 

Turmeric  contains  about  one  per  cent,  of  a  volatile  oil  to  which 
its  odour  is  due^  some  sta/rch,  a  yellow  colouring  matter  called  cur- 
cumvrtj  and  other  unimportant  substances*  The  alkalies  change  the 
colour  of  curcumin  to  reddish  brown ;  and  boracic  acid  produces 
an  orange  tint ;  hence  paper  tinged  with  tincture  of  turmeric  is 
largely  employed  as  a  test  of  the  presence  of  alkalies. 

Properties  a/nd  Uses, — Turmeric  is  not  now  used  as  a  remedial 
agent ;  but  is  introduced  into  the  pharmacopoeias  as  a  test  of  the 
presence  of  alkalies^  its  action  on  which  has  just  been  noticed. 
For  this  purpose  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  directs  unsized  white 
paper  to  be  steeped  in  tincture  of  turmeric^  and  dried  by  exposure 
to  the  air. 

Turmeric  is  also  employed  as  a  condiment^  and  is  a  constituent 
of  the  well-known  Curry  Powder,  and  of  many  other  articles  of 
Indian  cookery. 

Turmeric  is  likewise  used  for  dyeing  wool,  silk,  Ac,  but  the 
colour,  though  a  fine  yellow,  is  not  durable.  It  is  also  occa- 
sionally employed  in  pharmacy  in  colouring  ointments  and  other 
preparations. 

Curcuma  Starch.  East  Indun  Arrowroot. — The  starch  known 
under  the  names  of  Curcuma  Starch,  Tikor,  and  East  Indian 
Arrowroot,  and  which  is  a  favorite  article  of  diet  among  the  natives 
in  some  parts  of  India,  is  obtained  from  the  colourless  rhizomes 
of  certain  species  of  Curcuma,  but  principally  of  those  of  (7.  angus^ 
iifolia,  Roxb.,  and  0.  l&ticorrhiza,  Boxb.  Its  properties  are  similar 
to  those  of  West  Indian  Arrowroot  or  Maranta  starch.  It  is 
sometimes  met  with  in  this  country,  but  the  starch  commonly 
sold  here  as  East  Indian  Arrowroot  is  Maranta  starch. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  i,  pp.  237  and  240 ;  Pharmacographia, 
pp.  574  and  578;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  and  B.,  p.  357;  Joum. 
Ohem.  Soc.,  vol.  xi  (18731,  p.  504;  Drury,  Useful  Plants  of 
India,  1873,  2  edit.,  p.  168 ;  Pbarm.  Joum.,  vol.  i,  2nd  ser., 
p.  258. 


269    CURCUMA  LONGA 


DESCEIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Royal  Gardens,  Eew. 

1.  Base  of  a  yonng  plant  showing  early  condition  of  the  rhizome- 

branches. 

2.  Flowering  stem  with  spike  of  flowers. 

3.  Upper  part  of  leaf  before  expansion. 

4.  Yertical  section  of  flower  to  show  fertile  stamen  and  two  lateral 

petaloid  staminodes. 
5, 6, 7.    Front,  side,  and  back  view  of  anther. 

8.  Transverse  section  of  ovary. 

9.  Vertical  section  of   the  same,  also  showing   the  two  filiform 

staminodes. 

(6-9  enlarged.) 


ZINGIBER  OFFICINALE, &»a;». 


270 

N*.  Ord.   ZlNOIBEBACE^. 

Qenus  Zingiber,*  Oaertn.     Endlicher,  Gen.  Plant.,  p.  222. 
Species  about  20,  natives  of  Tropical  Asia. 


270.  Zingiber  officinale^  Roscoe,  m  Trans.  lAnn.  8oc.,  viii,  p.  848 

(1807). 

Ginger. 

8yn. — Amonmrn  Zingiber,  lAnn. 

Fiffwes.—WoodyiWe,  t.  250 ;  Steph.  &  Ob.,  t.  96 ;  Jaoquin,  Hftrt.  Bot. 
Yindob.,  i,  t.  75,  cop.  in  Nees,  t.  61 ;  Berg.  &  Scb.,  t.  34  b  ;  Bamph., 
Herb.  Amboin.,  y,  t.  66 ;  Eoscoe,  Monandrian  Plants,  83rd  plate. 

Description. — ^A  perennial  herb,  with  a  large,  solid,  tough, 
horizontal  rhizome,  consisting  of  a  series  of  many  persistent 
roundish  joints,  pale  yellow  within,  covered  with  pale  silvery- 
brown  skin,  ringed  with  leaf-scars,  and  each  marked  at  the 
summit  by  a  large,  circular,  flat  scar,  much  branched,  the  new 
joints  coming  off  below  the  terminal  scars ;  roots  numerous, 
large,  cylindrical,  fleshy,  thick,  brittle,  semitransparent,  yellow. 
Barren  leafly  stems  erect,  8  or  4  feet  high,  entirely  covered  by 
the  leaf-sheaths.  Leaves  alternate,  distichous,  sheaths  long, 
lax,  standing  away  from  the  stem,  terminating  in  two  small, 
rounded  auricles,  smooth,  pale  green;  blade  absent  or  nearly 
so  in  the  lower  leaves,  in  the  upper  about  8 — 12  inches  long, 
spreading,  lanceolate-linear,  tapering  at  both  ends  often  much  so 
at  the  apex,  very  shortly  petiolate,  smooth,  bright  green,  paler 
and  with  a  prominent  midrib  beneath.  Flowering- stems  shorter 
than  the  leafy  ones,  6 — 12  inches  high,  erect,  slender,  surrounded 
with  a  few  loose,  blunt  leaf- sheaths  the  upper  ones  sometimes  with 
a  short  blade ;  flowers  few,  rather  small,  sessile,  soon  withering, 
each  surrounded  by  a  smooth,  thin,  convolute  bract,  and  placed 
in  the  axils  of  large,  concave,  smooth,  striate,  greenish-yellow 
obtuse  bracts   with    membraneous    margins,   which    are    closely 

•  Zingiber,  in  Greek  Ziyyifiipi,  the  classical  name  for  the  spice,  derived  from 
the  Sanscrit. 


270    ZINGIBBB  OFFICINALE 

plaeed  at  the  sammit  of  the  flowering  stenij  strongly  imbricated^ 
and  collectively  form  an  ovate-oblong,  blunt,  dense,  cone-like 
terminal  spike,  aboat  2  or  3  inches  long.  Calyx  tabular,  split 
half  way  down  one  side,  membranous,  superior.  Corolla  orange- 
yellow,  speckled,  the  tube  much  exceeding  the  calyx,  divided 
above  into  three  nearly  equal,  spreading  or  reflexed,  linear-oblong, 
blunt  segments,  the  posterior  one  rather  the  largest.  Staminodes 
6,  in  two  rows,  the  outer  row  of  3  inserted  at  the  mouth  of  the 
corolla,  the  posterior  2  small  and  horn-like,  the  anterior 
(labellom)  petaloid,  rather  shorter  than  the  corolla-lobes,  purple 
with  paler  spots,  divided  into  3  blunt,  rounded  lobes,  the  central 
one  much  the  largest ;  the  inner  row  of  staminodes  represented 
by  2  elongated  filiform  bodies  on  the  top  of  the  ovary,  and  a 
fertile  stamen  inserted  at  the  mouth  of  the  corolla,  filament  very 
short,  connective  prolonged  above  the  anther  into  an  entire  horn- 
like process  wrapped  round  the  end  of  the  style,  anther- cells  in 
contact,  oblong-linear.  Ovary  inferior,  3-celled,  with  numerous 
ovules ;  style  passing  up  behind  and  between  the  anther-cells  and 
extending  beyond  them  ;  stigma  tufted  ;   fruit  not  seen. 

Habitat, — The  ginger  is  not  known  in  a  truly  wild  state,  but 
only  in  cultivation  or  escaped  from  it.  It  is,  however,  without 
doubt,  a  native  of  tropical  Asia,  whence  the  root  has  been 
exported  to  Europe  from  very  early  times.  From  Asia  the  plant 
was  carried  to  the  West  Indies,  and  at  the  present  day  is  abundant 
there,  and  is  indeed  cultivated  in  all  the  warmer  regions  of  both 
Worlds.  It  appears  to  flower  but  rarely,  and  we  have  not  met 
with  specimens  or  descriptions  of  the  fruit  and  seeds.  It  has 
been  grown  as  a  curiosity  in  England  since  the  beginning  of  the 
17th   century,  and  is  common    in  botanic   gardens,  but  it  does 

not  flower. 

Bozburgh,  Fl.  Jndica,  i,  p.  47 ;  Grisebach,  Fl.  Brit.  W.  Indies, 
p.  602 ;  Boscoe,  Monandrian  Plants,  1.  c. ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Medica, 
p.  659. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Zingiber;  the  scraped  and  dried 
rhizome  (B.  P.).  Zingiberis  Eadix;  the  dried  decorticated  rhizome 
(I.  P.).     Zingiber;  the  rhizome  (TJ.  S.  P.). 


270    ZINGIBER  OFFICINALE 

Preparation. — The  dried  rhizomes,  caUed  ginger,  are  known  in 
two  forms,  wliich  are  respectively  termed  uncoated  or  scraped 
ginger,  and  coated  or  unscraped  ginger  ;  the  latter  is  alone  official 
in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  and  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 
For  the  preparation  of  the  uncoated  or  scraped  ginger  the 
rhizomes  are  dag  up  when  about  a  year  old;  they  are  then 
washed  and  scraped  so  as  to  remove  their  cortical  integument 
or  skin,  and  are  afterwards  dried  in  the  sun.  This  kind  of  ginger 
has  been  sometimes  termed  white  ginger.  The  coated  or  un-^ 
scraped  ginger  is  prepared  in  a  similar  manner,  except  that  the 
rhizomes  are  not  scraped,  hence  they  are  covered  by  a  dry, 
wrinkled,  or  shrivelled  integument.  This  kind  is  sometimes  called 
black  ginger. 

General  Characters,  Varieties,  and  Oommerce. — Uncoated  or 
scraped  ginger  occurs  in  flattish  irregularly-branched  pieces,  which 
are  called  by  the  spice  dealers  races  or  hands,  from  their  present- 
ing a  somewhat  palmate  form.  Each  branch  is  marked  by  a 
depression  at  its  summit,  which  indicates  the  former  attachment 
of  a  leafy  stem.  The  pieces  vary  in  length,  but  are  commonly 
from  about  three  to  four  inches.  The  external  surface  presents 
a  pale  buff  colour,  and  is  somewhat  fibrous  and  striated.  They 
break  readily  with  a  short  mealy  fracture,  and  the  fractured 
surfaces  present  numerous  projecting  bristle-like  fibres.  When 
cut  the  younger  terminal  portion  of  the  rhizome  is  found  to  be 
soft,  pale  yellow,  bright  and  mealy ;  while  the  older  portion  is 
flinty,  darker  coloured,  and  resinous.  This  kind  of  ginger, 
especially  when  of  inferior  quality  and  dark  coloured,  is 
often  bleached,  either  by  immersion  for  a  short  time  in  a  solu- 
tion of  chlorinated  lime,  or  by  exposure  to  the  fumes  of  burning 
sulphur.  Ginger  thus  treated  acquires  a  chalky- white  character, 
hence  it  is  then  sometimes  termed  whitewashed  ginger.  Indeed, 
sometimes,  it  is  really  washed  in  whiting  and  water  under 
the  pretence  of  preserving  it  from  insects,  in  which  case  it  is 
coated  with  carbonate  of  lime.  In  other  instances,  again,  it  is 
found  coated  with  sulphate  of  lime.  Coated  or  unscraped  ginger, 
or  that  which   has  been  dried    without  the  removal  of  the  skin. 


270    ZINGIBER  OmOINALE 

is  at  once  distinguislied  by  being  covered  with  a  wrinkled,  brown, 
somewhat  striated  integamenti  It  is  also  generally  of  a  darker 
colour  and  harder  internally,  and  is  regarded  as  inferior  to  un- 
coated  ginger.  Ginger  has  an  agreeable  aromatic  odour,  and  a 
strong  pungent  taste.     Its  powder  has  a  yellowish-white  colour. 

Several  varieties  of  ginger  have  been  distinguished  by  pharma- 
cologists ;  those  now  commonly  found  in  British  commerce  are 
Ja/maica,  Cochin,  Bengal,  and  Africa/ti.  The  African  is  a  coated 
ganger;  but  the  three  others  are  scraped  or  uncoated.  These 
several  kinds  vary  in  themselves  very  much  in  quality ;  but  as  a 
rule  the  Jamaica  is  most  valued,  and  after  it  the  Cochin  kind. 
The  best  ginger  is  that  which  is  in  large  fine  pieces,  uncoated, 
pale  bufE  in  colour,  and  which  cut  soft,  bright,  and  pale  coloured. 
At  the  present  day  ginger  is  chiefly  imported  into  Great  Britain 
from  the  East  and  West  Indies,  Sierra  Leone,  and  Egypt. 

Composition, — The  principal  constituents  of  ginger  are  starch, 
volatile  oil,  and  resin.  The  odour  of  ginger  is  due  to  the  volatile 
oil,  and  its  pungent  taste  to  the  resin.  The  latter  requires 
further  investigation  j  but  the  former  has  been  recently  examined 
by  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury,  who  obtained  it  by  distillation  of 
Jamaica  ginger  with  water  in  the  usual  way,  in  the  proportion  of 
about  i  per  cent.  They  describe  it  as  a  pale  yellow  liquid,  of 
specific  gravity  0*878,  with  the  odour  of  ginger,  dissolving  but 
sparingly  in  spirit  of  wine,  and  levogyre. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Ginger  possesses  stimulant, 
aromatic,  and  carminative  properties,  when  taken  internally ;  and 
when  chewed  it  acts  as  a  sialagogue.  Externally  applied  it  is 
rubefacient.  The  stimulating,  aromatic,  and  carminative  proper- 
ties render  it  of  much  value  in  atonic  dyspepsia,  especially  if 
accompanied  with  much  flatulence;  and  as  an  adjunct  to  purga- 
tive medicines  to  correct  griping.  When  chewed  it  is  frequently 
serviceable  in  relaxed  conditions  of  the  uvula  and  tonsils.  As  a 
rubefacient  it  will  frequently  relieve  headache  and  toothdche. 

Ginger  is  also  extensively  used  as  a  condiment.  It  is  some- 
times imported  in  a  green  state ;  and  the  preserved  ginger  of  the 
shops  is  prepared  by  carefully  picking  the  young  rhizomes,  or  the 


270    ZINGIBER  OFFICINALE 

yonng  shoots  of  the  old  rhizomes^  and  after  these  are  washed  and 
scraped^  they  are  preserved  in  jars  with  syrup. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  I,  p.  231 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  hy  B.  & 
B.,  p.  451 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  574;  TJ.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  907;  TrommsdorflP,  Annal.  der  Pharm.,  vol.  xvii,  p.  98; 
Garside,  in  Pliarm.  Joom.,  ser.  3,  vol.  iv,  p.  831. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  from  Madeira,  the  rhizome 
from  a  specimen  cultivated  in  Kew  Gardens. 

1.  A  plant  with  barren  and  flowering  stems. 

2.  A  flower. 

3.  Yertical  section  of  the  same. 

4.  Fertile  stamen. 

5.  Portion  of  leafy  stem. 

(2-4  enlarged.) 


ALPINIA  OmCINARUM.  ^fi/zoe. 


271 

N.  Ord.  ZiNOIBJEBAGSJI. 

Genna  Alpinia  *  Linn.  Endlioher,  Gen.  Plant.,  p.  224. 
SpeoieB  about  20  P,  natives  of  Tropical  Asia,  some  intro- 
duced to  other  hot  countries. 


271.  Alpinia  Officinanimy  Hanee,  in  Joum.  Linn.   8oc,  Lond. 

{Bot.)  xiii,p.  6  (1871). 

Lesser  Oalangal.     OalangaL 

Not  previously  figured. 

Description. — ^A  perennial  herb  with  long^  creeping,  slender, 
smooth,  cylindrical,  reddish-brown  rhizomes,  about  ^ — }  inch  in 
diameter,  covered  with  numerous  large,  paler  scales,  which  after 
their  fall  leave  irregular,  white  sinuous  scars.  Flowering 
stem  2—4  feet  high,  erect,  covered  by  the  leaf-sheaths. 
Leaves  numerous,  alternate,  distichous,  with  long,  smooth  sheaths 
terminating  above  in  an  erect  oblong,  sub-acute,  scarious  lignle, 
an  inch  or  more  in  length  and  decurrent  at  the  base  along  the 
margin  of  the  sheath;  blade  9 — 14  inches  long,  narrowly 
lanceolate,  narrowed  at  the  base  but  not  stalked,  much  attenuated 
at  the  apex,  entire,  very  smooth  and  shining,  leathery,  bright 
green.  Flowers  of  moderate  size,  nearly  sessile,  closely  placed  to 
form  an  erect,  dense,  terminal  simple  spike  or  raceme,  3  or  4 
inches  long,  rachis  very  finely  pubescent,  bracts  spathaceous,  in 
pairs  beneath  each  flower  and  longer  than  it,  the  outer  green,  the 
inner  white,  glabrous  externally,  scarious  at  the  margins, 
often  united  at  the  top,  deciduous,  no  bractlets.  Calyx  superior, 
tubular,  finely  pubescent,  cut  into  2  or  3  shallow,  scarious,  rounded, 
ciliate  lobes.  Corolla  white,  the  tube  about  as  long  as  the  calyx, 
finely  pubescent  within  and  without,  the  lobes  3,  oblong,  obtuse, 
slightly  hooded,  the  upper  one  rather  the  largest.  AndroBcium  of 
6  staminodes  in  two  rows  of  8 ;  the  outer  row  inserted  at  the 
mouth  of  the  corolla,  the  two  posterior  small,  subulate,  stiff,  fleshy, 
horn-like  bodies,  thickened  and  connivent  at  the  base,  so  as  to 

*  Alpinia,  given  by  Plamier  in  honour  of  Prospero  Alpino,  an  eminent 
Italian  botanist,  who  died  in  1617. 


271    ALPINIA  OFFIOINARUM 

close  the  corolla-tube^  the  anterior  (labellum)  about  f  inch  long 
and  nearly  as  wide^  ovate^  entire^  acute  or  bilobed  at  the  apex, 
crisped  and  denticulate  at  the  margin,  white,  striated  in  the  centre 
with  dark-red  veins,  which  coalesce  into  a  distinct  fan-shaped 
spot  near  the  apex,  whence  paler  veins  radiate  towards  the 
margin;  the  inner  row  of  two  oblong,  entire,  truncate,  yellow 
''  glands  "  on  the  ovary,  and  of  an  antheriferous  stamen,  which  is 
inserted  at  the  mouth  of  the  corolla  and  about  half  the  length  of 
the  labellum,  filament  ribband-shaped  curved  into  a  sheath  round 
the  style,  connective  dilated  but  not  produced  beyond  the  anther, 
anther-cells  linear-oblong,  quite  distinct  and  free,  but  in  contact 
by  their  inner  edge.  Ovary  inferior,  densely  tomentose,  3-celled, 
with  numerous  ovules,  style  filiform,  in  the  sheath  of  the  filament 
and  passing  between  and  behind  the  anther  cells,  stigma  capitate, 
concave,  with  a  ring  of  hairs  round  the  margin.  Fruit  (not  seen) 
very  shortly  stalked,  ^  inch  long,  sub-globose,  tomentose,  finely 
striate,  pericarp  coriaceous,  brown,  containing  numerous  obtusely 
angled  seeds  which  are  coherent  with  each  other,  covered  with  a 
mucous  aril,  and  with  a  shining  dark  brown  testa. 

Habitat. — This  species  was  first  met  with  in  1867,  by  Mr. 
Sampson,  near  the  small  village  of  Tung-sai,  a  little  way  from  the 
coast  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Lei-chau-fu, 
in  the  extreme  south  of  China  and  directly  opposite  Hoi-han,  the 
port  of  the  great  island  Haenan.  In  this  locality,  where  it  was 
again  gathered  in  1868  by  Mr.  Taintor,  it  appeared  to  be  the 
remains  of  former  cultivation,  but  Mr.  Swinhoe  afterwards 
observed  it  growing  wild  on  the  south  coast  of  the  island  of 
Haenan  itself.  The  specimens,  living  and  dried,  collected  by  these 
gentlemen  formed  the  material  of  a  careful  investigation  by  Dr. 
Hance  in  1870,  which  resulted  in  the  definition  of  the  new  species 
A.  officinarwnij  and  the  determination  of  it  as  the  source  of  the 
'^  radix  GktlangsB  minoris,''  of  pharmacists ;  which  h^d  been  so 
long  unknown. 

Dr.  Hance  considers  this  species  very  closely  allied  to  A* 
calca/rata^  Rose,  (figured  in  Boscoe^s  ^  Monandrian  Plants,'  68th 
plate).     He  gives,  however,  several  marks  of  distinction,  one  of 


271    ALPINIA  OFPIOINARUM 

wliicli  is  the  complete  absence  of  yellow  in  the  labellnm  of  A. 

offidnarum* 

The  Greater  Galangal  root  is  obtained  from  Alpinia  Oalanga, 

Willd.  {Maranta  Oalanga,  Linn.)^  a  native  of  Java. 

Haaoe,  in  Jonm.  Linn.  See.  Lond.,  xiii,  p.  1,  and  in  Jonm.  Bot., 
1873,  p.  175. 

PaH  Use^  and  Name. — GALAKGii  Bhizoha;  the  rhizome.  It 
is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopceia^  the  Pharmacopceia  of 
India^  or  the  Pharmacopceia  of  the  United  States. 

Varieties  and  Commerce. — Two  varieties  of  galangal  are  known 
in  commerce^  namely^  radix  Oalanga  majoris,  the  greater  or  Java 
Oalangal;  and  radix  Oalanga  minoris,  the  lesser  or  Chinese 
Oalangal.  The  larger  Ghilangal,  which  appears  to  be  the  produce 
of  Alpinia  Oalanga,  Willd.,  a  native  of  Java,  may  be  occasionally 
seen  at  the  London  drag  sales ;  but  the  latter  is  the  one  which 
is  commonly  used  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  and  which  is 
derived  from  the  plant  now  under  description.  This  galangal 
is  shipped  from  Canton  to  other  parts  of  China,  and  also  to  India 
and  Europe;  it  is  chiefly  consumed  in  Bussia  and  India. 

General  Cha/racters  and  Composition. — Lesser  galangal,  the 
drug  now  under  notice,  consists  of  portions  of  the  rhizomes, 
which  vary  from  1^  to  3  inches  in  length,  and  whose  thickness 
rarely  exceeds  three  quarters  of  an  inch,  and  are  commonly  less. 
The  pieces  are  cylindrical  in  form ;  often  branched ;  and  marked 
at  short  intervals  by  narrow,  whitish,  somewhat  elevated  rings, 
which  are  the  scars  left  by  former  leaves  or  scales.  Externally 
their  colour  is  dark  reddish-brown ;  internally  they  have  a  paler 
hue  with  a  darker  centre.  The  pieces  are  shrivelled,  hard,  and 
tough  j  their  odour  is  agreeable  and  aromatic ;  and  their  taste 
strongly  pungent  and  spicy. 

The  larger  or  Java  Galangal  may  be  readily  known  from 
Chinese  Oalangal  by  its  much  greater  size,  its  feebler  odour  and 
taste,  and  its  orange-brown  colour  externally. 

Ghklangal  contains  a  small  quantity  of  volatile  oil,  that  is,  only 
from  about  ^  to  ^  per  cent,  to  which  its  odour  is  due.  The  other 
constituents  which   have  been  indicated    by  Morin,  Vogel,    and 


271    ALPINIA  OPFIOINAEUM 

Brandes^  are  an  acrid  soft  resin^  exl/ractive,  gum,  starch,  fixed  oil, 
and  a  peculiar  crystallizable  substance  called  Jcdmpferid  by 
Brandes^  its  discoverer.  This  latter  principle  is  said  to  be  soluble 
in  etber^  and  is  described  as  neutral^  inodorous^  and  tasteless.  The 
pungent  principle  is  probably  the  resin,  but  it  requires  further 
examination. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Gralangal  is  an  aromatic  stimu- 
lant like  ginger.  It  was  formerly  much  employed  by  the  Arabians 
and  Greeks,  and  was  used  to  some  extent  in  this  country,  but  it 
has  now  become  obsolete  here.  At  the  present  time  it  is  princi- 
pally consumed  in  Russia,  where  it  is  employed  for  flavouring  the 
liqueur  called  nastoika  and  vinegar;  and  is  a  favourite  spice  and 
medicine  among  the  Livonians  and  Esthonians.  It  is  also  used 
by  brewers,  and  as  a  cattle  medicine ;  and  by  the  Tartars  in  the 
preparation  of  a  kind  of  tea.  It  is  also  employed  to  some  extent 
in  India  and  elsewhere. 

Gnibourt,  Hist.  Nat.  des  Drogues  simples,  vol.  ii,  p.  200,  4th 
edit. ;  Pei*eira,  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  257 ;  Fharmaco- 
graphia,  p.  680;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  1599;  Morin, 
Joum  de  Fharm.,  vol.  ix,  p.  257 ;  Hanbnry,  in  Pharm.  Joum., 
ser.  3,  vol.  ii,  p.  248 ;  Fhapn.  Joum.,  ser.  3,  vol.  viii,  p.  88 ; 
Brandes,  Archives  der  Fharm.,  vol.  xix  (1839),  p.  52. 


DESCRIPTION   OF     PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Kew  Herbarium,  collected  on  the  south 
coast  of  Ohina  by  Mr.  Taintor. 

1.  Upper  part  of  a  flowering  stem,  with  opening  flowers. 

2.  A  flower. 

3.  Anther  and  upper  part  of  style. 

4.  Section  of  anther. 

5.  Vertical  section  of  ovary  showing  epigynous  "  gland." 

6.  Bhizome. 

(2-5  enlarged.) 


272 

K.  Ord.  OscHiDBiB.    Lindl.,  Yeg.  K.>  p.  173;  Lc  Maout  &  Dec, 
p.  769. 

Tribe  Areihusea, 

(jenuB  Vanilla,*  fifuKir<2.   Lindlej,  OrcHidaceous  Plants,  p.  434. 
Species  12,  natives  of  tropical  America. 


272.  Vanilla  planifolia,  Andrews,  Bot.  Repository,  t.  538  (1808). 

Vanilla.     Baynilla  (Mexico). 

8yn. — ^y.  clavicnlata,  Swartz,    Y.  sylYestrisP  and  Y.  sativa,  Behiede. 
Y.  viridiflora,  Blwne.    Mjrobroma  fragrans,  Salisb. 

JFV^ures.— Hayne,  xiv,  t.  22 ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  23  a,  b ;  Bot.  Rep.,  t.  538 ; 
Salisb.,  Farad.,  t.  82 ;  Blame,  Bumpbia,  t.  68. 

Description. — ^A  fleshy^  somewliat  succulent^  dark-green  peren- 
nial  climber^  adhering  to  trees  by  its  aerial  roots^  wbich  are 
produced  from  tbe  nodes^  5  or  6  inches  long^  simple^  and  covered 
with  hairs  at  the  middle  portion.  Stem  cylindrical^  slender^ 
Bolid^  fleshy^  smooth^  dark  green^  branched^  very  long.  Leaves 
alternate^  sessile^  4 — 6  inches  long^  oval^  attenuate  at  the  apex^ 
narrowed  into  the  slightly  sheathing  base^  persistent^  thick  and 
tough^  dark  green,  slightly  paler  beneath,  veins  invisible.  Flowers 
2  inches  across,  pale  yellowish-green,  sessile,  in  lax  axillary  spikes 
of  8—10 ;  axis  fleshy,  pale  green,  tapering ;  bracts  short,  trian- 
gular, green.  Perianth  fleshy,  articulated  with  the  ovary  which 
looks  like  a  stalk  to  the  flower,  deciduous,  of  6  leaves  in  two 
rows,  outer  row  (sepals)  free  to  the  base,  nearly  equal,  erect  and 
slightly  spreading,  lanceolate-oblong,  acute,  with  a  central  rib, 
inner  row  (petals)  alternating  with  the  last,  and  the  two  lateral 
ones  similar  to  them  in  size  and  form,  the  anterior  (labellum)  very 
different,  concave,  combined  at  the  base  with  the  column,  and 
with  it  forming  a  somewhat  funnel-shaped  tube,  margin  faintly 
bifid,  finely  crenate,  recurved  on  all  sides  and  crisped,  yellow,  tube 
warted  within  the  orifice,  and  furnished  about  halfway  down 
with  a  crest  of  small,  transversely-placed,  flat,  triangular  scales, 

*  VaniUa  is  the  diminative  of  the  Spanish  vaina,  a  pod. 


272    VANILLA  PLANIFOLLi 

attached  by  one  angle  close  behind  one  another^  and  pointing  back- 
Wards^  bnt  easily  elevated  or  depressed.  Androecinm  and  style  fused 
into  the  column^  wliicli  is  elongated^  1^  incb  long  and  tapering, 
occupying  the  posterior  part  of  the  flower,  hairy  below,  and 
perforated  throughout  its  length.  Fertile  anther  solitary,  sup- 
ported on  a  flat  horizontal  prolongation  of  the  column,  which  is 
bent  oyer  at  the  extremity,  and  hooded  with  2  lateral  processes 
(staminodia  ?),  pollen  granular,  in  two  pollen-masses  (poUinodia) 
enclosed  in  a  membranous  pouch,  each  2-lobed.     Ovary  inferior, 

2  inches  long,  cylindrical  and   stalk-like,   fleshy,  1 -celled,  with 

3  pairs  of  parietal  placentas  bearing  very  numerous  minute  ovules. 
Style  fused  with  the  column,  with  a  central  canal  which  expands 
at  the  orifice  into  a  horizontal  chink  below  the  anther,  from 
which  it  is  completely  cut  oflE  by  its  flat,  truncate,  deflexed,  upper 
lip,  lower  lip  of  the  chink  shorter,  also  reflexed.  Fruit  a  fleshy, 
slender,  bluntly  trigonous,  curved  pod,  5—8  inches  long;  peri- 
carp smooth,  longitudinally  striate,  dehiscing  loculicidally  from 
the  apex  more  than  halfway  down  into  2  unequal  valves ;  cavity 
1 -celled,  somewhat  triangular,  with  the  pairs  of  placentas  pro- 
jecting from  each  side,  each  branched  into  two  recurved  lobes, 
and  bearing  innumerable  minute  seeds,  imbedded  in  a  slimy  juice, 
the  rounded  angles  lined  with  a  layer  of  microscopic  unicellular 
secreting  hairs.  Seeds  very  small,  lenticular,  oval  in  outline, 
hard,  black,  opaque,  without  any  investing  sac ;  testa  rather  thick, 
crustaceous,  marked  with  shallow  reticulations,  embryo  filling  the 
seed,  without  a  clear  differentiation  of  the  parts. 

Habitat — This  singular  plant  is  found  wild  in  the  hot  moist 
woods  of  several  states  of  south-east  Mexico,  climbing  and 
epiphytic  on  forest  trees ;  it  is  also  extensively  cultivated  in  the 
same  country,  especially  in  the  province  of  Vera  Cruz.  Vanilla 
is  also  grown  to  a  large  extent  in  Mauritius,  Bourbon,  Mada- 
gascar, and  Java.  It  was  introduced  into  England  about  1800  by 
the  Marquis  of  Blandford,  and  grows  vigorously  in  our  hot- 
houses, flowering  sparingly  in  April  and  May.  As  with  other 
orchids,  fertilisation  is,  no  doubt,  naturally  brought  about  by  insects, 
though  the  precise  mode  has  not  yet  been  seen ;  it  may,  however. 


272    VANILLA  PLANIFOLIA 

be  artificially  e£Eected  after  first  cutting  off  or  raising  tlie  upper 
lip  of  the  Btigmatic  orifice ;  fruit  is  thus  produced  without 
difficulty,  and  is  said  to  be  equal  in  size  and  aroma  to  the  best 
Mezican  examples.  According  to  Morren  it  takes  ''exactly  a 
year  and  a  day  to  ripen/' 

Vanilla  differs  so  much  from  Orchidea  generally  that  Lindley 
at  one  period  considered  it  the  type  of  a  special  order^  Vanillacea 
(see  Nat.  Syst.,  ed.  2,  p.  341).  It  is  the  only  genus  of  orchids 
with  the  fruit  opening  by  two  valyes  which  separate  from  one 
another  at  the  top.  The  whole  structure  was  figured  by  Francis 
Bauer  so  long  ago  as  1807,  and  his  fine  drawings  (now  in  the 
British  Museum)  are  indifferently  reproduced  in  the  book  quoted 
below  (tt.  10,  11).  The  structure  of  the  secreting  hairs  which 
line  the  angles  of  the  fruit-cavity  is  shown  in  Berg  and  Schmidt's 
plate  before  referred  to. 

Lindl.,  Orchid.  Plants,  p.  4S5 ;  Morren,  m  Ann.  Nat.  Host.,  iii 
(18S9),  p.  1 ;  Bauer  and  LindL,  Illastr.  Orchid.  Plants;  Lindl., 
Fl.  Med.,  p.  579. 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Name. — ^Vanilla  :  the  prepared  unripe  fruit 
of  Vanilla  aromatica  (XT.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  But  it  was  official 
in  the  London  Pharmacopoeia  of  1721. 

Collection  (md  Prepa/ration. — ^The  preparation  of  yanilla  seems 
to  vary  in  different  places.  The  fruits  (pods)  are  collected  before 
they  are  quite  ripe^  that  is  usually^  when  their  green  colour  begins 
to  disappear.  They  are  then  either  dried  in  the  shade  and  after- 
wards covered  with  a  coating  of  oil ;  or^  according  to  Be  Yriese^ 
they  are  dried  by  exposing  them  to  heat  alternately  uncovered  and 
wrapped  in  woollen  cloths.  They  are  then  tied  together  in  small 
bundles^  and  these  are  afterwards  commonly  surrounded  either  by 
sheet  lead  or  enclosed  in  small  metallic  boxes^  and  thus  sent  into 
the  market.  The  object  sought  to  be  obtained  in  their  prepara- 
tion is  not  alone  their  preservation^  but  the  full  development  of 
their  odour^  which  appears  to  be  due  to  chemical  changes  which 
take  place  in  the  fruit  during  and  after  its  preparation  for  the 
market. 


272    VANILLA  PLANIFOLIA 

Oeneral  CharacferSy  Varieties^  and  Gomposition, — The  vanilla  of 
commerce  occurs  in  the  form  of  fleshy,  cylindrical,  somewhat 
flattened,  flexible,  stick-like  fruits,  varying  in  length  from  4  to  8 
inches,  and  in  thickness  from  about  g  to  ^  an  inch.  The  fruits 
taper  in  some  degree  towards  their  extremities,  and  are  more  or 
less  bent  at  their  base.  Externally  they  present  a  dark  brown 
or  blackish  colour,  and  a  greasy  shining  surface,  which  is  finely 
furrowed  in  a  longitudinal  direction,  and  often  covered  with  an 
efflorescence  of  small  whitish  crystals.  Each  fruit  is  commonly 
split  into  two  unequal  parts  (valves),  and  exhibits  in  its  interior  a 
multitude  of  very  minute,  hard,  glossy,  black  seeds,  imbedded  in 
a  soft,  thick,  brownish-black,  oily  pulp.  Vanilla  has  a  strong, 
peculiar,  very  agreeable,  aromatic  odour,  and  a  warm,  sweetish, 
aromatic  taste.     The  interior  portion  is  the  most  fragrant. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  vanilla  found  in  commerce,  as 
Mes^cm  or  Vera  Cruz,  Bourbon,  Mauritius,  Java,  La  Guayra, 
Honduras,  Braziliam,y  &c.  The  finest  kind  is  Mexican  Vanilla ; 
of  which,  however,  we  have  different  qualities,  and  its  production 
has  much  declined  of  late  years.  These  varieties  of  vanilla  are 
doubtless  derived  from  different  species  of  Vanilla;  the  finest 
vanilla,  such  as  the  Mexican,  is  commonly  said  to  be  the  produce 
of  Va/mlla  planifolia,  the  species  now  under  description.  The 
official  plant  is,  however,  as  already  noticed.  Vanilla  aromatica, 
Swartz. 

The  delicious  fragrance  of  vanilla  is  due  to  a  peculiar  substance, 
called  VoMilUn  or  Vanillic  (fcid,  which  exists  in  the  proportion 
of  about  1  per  cent.  Vanillin  is  frequently  found  in  the  form  of 
minute  crystals  in  the  surface  of,  or  inside,  the  fruit ;  or  it  is 
dissolved  in  the  viscid  oily  pulp  in  which  the  seeds  are  imbedded. 
When  pure  vanillin  is  in  the  form  of  hard,  colourless,  4-sided, 
acicular  prisms,  with  a  vanilla  odour,  and  somewhat  pungent  taste. 
It  is  very  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  and  the  fixed  and  volatile  oils ; 
and  its  solutions  feebly  redden  litmus.  It  is  soluble  with  diffi- 
culty  in  cold  water;  but  it  dissolves  in  11  parts  of  boiling  water, 
but  is  again  deposited  on  cooling.  Vanillin  fuses  at  about  180°, 
and  may  be  sublimed  unchanged.      Vanillin  has  recently  been 


272    VANILLA  PLANIPOLIA 

formed  artificially  by  Tiemann  and  Haarmann^  at  Berlin^  who 
regard  it  as  the  methylic  aldehyd  of  protocatethuic  acid.  The 
other  constituents  of  vanilla  possess  no  special  importance. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^Vanilla  is  an  aromatic  stimu- 
lant^ with  a  tendency  towards  the  nervous  system.  It  has  also 
been  regarded  as  an  aphrodisiac.  It  has  been  employed  as  a 
remedy  in  hysteria,  low  fevers,  impotency,  &c.  ;  but  its  use  as  a 
medicine  is  obsolete  in  this  country,  although  still  sometimes 
employed  on  the  Continent  and  elsewhere.  It  is  also  frequently 
used  for  flavouring  certain  medicines,  as  lozenges  and  mixtures, 
in  the  United  States,  &c. 

The  principal  use  of  vanilla  is  in  perfumery ;  and  for  flavouring 
chocolate,  various  articles  of  confectionery,  as  ices,  creams,  &c., 
liqueurs,  and  other  substances. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  i,  p.  265 ;  Fharmacographia^  p.  595 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  and  B.,  p.  883 ;  Joam.  de  Pharm.,  vol.  xxziy 
(1858),  p.  401 ;  Amer.  Joum.  of  Pharm.,  Jan.,  1866,  p.  38 ; 
Stokkebye,  in  Wittstein's  Yierteljahresschrift  f.  prakt. 
Pharm.,  vol.  xiii  (1864),  p.  481 ;  Joum.  de  Pharm.,  vol.  zii 
(1870),  p.  254. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Boyal  Qardens,  Kew,  flowering  in  May;  with 
the  fruit  added. 

1.  Portion  of  stem  with  a  spike  of  flowers. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  the  column  and  labellum. 

3.  Front  view  of  end  of  column,  showing  anther  and  upper  lip  of 

stigma. 

4.  Transverse  section  of  ovary. 

5.  A  pod. 

6.  A  seed. 

7.  Section  of  the  same. 

(2-4  enlarged;  6,  7  much  magnified.) 


-     "^a 


273 


K.  Ord.  Ibidacs J3.  Lindl.,yeg.  K.,  p.  159 ;  Le  Maont  &]  Deep.  782. 

Tribe  Jru2e«. 

G^OB  Iria»*  Linn.  EUatt,  in  LinnsBa,  xxziv  (1865),  p.  603. 
Species  about  70,  natives  of  temperate  and  subtropical 
regions  in  both  hemispheres. 


273.  Iris  florentina,  Linn.,  8p.  PL,  ed.  2,  p.  55  (1762). 

White  Flag. 

JFVflTiireg.— Steph.  &  Oh.,  i,  t.  27;  Nees,  t.  56;  Hayne,  xii,  1. 1;  Berj?  & 
Sch.,  t.  10  f;  Bot.  Mag.,  t  671;  H.  Graeca,  t.  39;  Eedout^,  Liliac., 
t.  23;  Beich.,  Ic.  FL  Germ.,  ix,  t.  339. 

Description. — A  perennial,  with  a  tliick,  fleshy,  nearly  cylindrical, 
pale  yellowish-brown  rhizome,  creeping  at  or  just  below  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  and  reaching  a  foot  or  more  in  length,  sometimes 
branching ;  each  yearns  growth  marked  by  a  contraction  so  that 
the  rhizome  has  a  jointed  appearance,  giving  off  thick  fibrous 
roots  below  and  marked  by  the  scars  of  the  leaf-attachments. 
Leaves  several  in  each  bud  on  the  last  year's  growth  of  the 
rhizome,  a  foot  or  more  long,  an  inch  or  more  wide,  clear,  pale 
rather  glaucous  green,  parallel-veined,  sword-shaped,  acute,  equi- 
tantly  sheathing  below.  Flowering-stem  (scape)  much  exceeding 
the  leaves,  cylindrical,  solid,  faintly  striate,  stiff,  with  2  or  8 
branches,  each  from  the  axil  of  a  sheathing  semi-leafy  bract. 
Flowers  large,  solitary,  at  the  end  of  the  stem  and  branches,  each 
surrounded  by  two  bracts  (spathe),  one  longer  than  the  other, 
green  at  their  lower  part,  pale  brown  and  scarious  above.  Perianth 
epigynous,  tubular  below,  tube  about  an  inch  long,  thick,  pale 
green,  divided  above  into  6  large  white,  obovate-spathulate, 
waved,  and  crumpled  segments,  the  3  outer  somewhat  narrower, 
elegantly  recurved,  bearing  on  the  middle  line  of  the  upper 
surface  at  the  base  a  band  of  densely  set  filaments,  white 
with  bright  yellow  tips,  on  either  side   of  which  are  branched. 


*  Iria,  the  rainbow  Goddess,  from  the  beauty  and  variety  of  colour  in  the 
flowers  of  the  genus. 


i_ 


273    IRIS  FLORENTINA 

curved,  brownish  veins ;  tlie  3  inner  curved  outwards  and  then 
upwards  and  inwards,  meeting  to  form  a  dome  in  the  centre. 
Stamens  3,  inserted  on  the  tube  of  the  perianth  at  the  base  of  the 
outer  segments,  curved  outwards ;  filaments  tapering,  somewhat 
longer  than  the  extrorse  anthers.  Ovary  inferior,  nearly  «essile, 
oblong,  cylindrical,  with  6  furirows,  fleshy,  3-celled;  style  3-fidj 
stigmas  3,  large,  obovate,  similar  in  texture  and  colour  to  the  petals, 
spreading  outwards  and  curving  closely  over  the  stamens,  trans- 
versely cleft  at  the  extremity  so  as  to  form  a  chink  between  two  lips, 
the  lower  (outer)  of  which  is  short  and  narrow,  the  upper  (inner) 
divided  into  two  erect  triangular  segments,  slightly  laciniate  on 
their  outer  margins  ;  placentation  axile ;  ovules  numerous.  Fruit 
(not  seen)  capsular,  3-celled,  loculicidally  dehiscing,  stated  to  be 
about  an  inch  long,  longly  acuminate,  faintly  triangular.  Seeds 
(not  seen;  of  the  genus,  horizontal,  compressed,  smooth,  with  a 
lax  testa  and  a  small  embryo  with  inferior  radicle  in  the  axis  of 
fleshy  albumen). 

Habitat. — Though  named  Jlorentina,  it  is  the  opinion  of  D. 
Hanbury,  who  had  studied  it  and  its  allies  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Florence,  that  it  is  only  a  naturalised  plant  in  that  district,  being 
truly  indigenous  to  the  coast  region  of  Macedonia  and  the  south- 
west shore  of  the  Black  Sea;  it  is  also  found  in  several  other 
parts  of  southern  and  eastern  Europe,  growing  in  dry,  stony 
places,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  it  occurs  in  the  Iberian  Peninsula, 
though  it  grows  in  the  Riviera.  As  a  cultivated  plant  it  is  a 
very  old  inhabitant  of  our  gardens,  but  is  less  common  and  more 
tender  than  J.  germanica,  L.  Along  with  that  species  and  with 
J.  pallida,  Lam.,  it  is  grown  in  large  quantity  near  Florence  for  its 
rhizomes.  Most  botanists  maintain  these  as  separate  species,  but 
the  distinctions  are  very  slight.  The  colour  of  the  flower  of 
J.  florentina  is  usually  somewhat  slaty,  or  even  faintly  bluish,  but 
often  pure  white ;  it  flowers  in  May,  a  little  after  the  common 
garden  flag. 

Bertoloni,  Fl.  ItaL,  i,  p.  231 ;  Grenier  &  Godr.,  M.  France,  iii, 
p.  241 ;  Roem.  &  Sch.,  Sjst.  Yeg.,  i,  p.  457 ;  Klatt,  1.  c,  p.  603; 
Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  575. 


273    IRIS  FLOKBNTINA 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Ibis  Flobbntina.  The  rhizome 
(IJ.  S.  P.  Secondary).  Not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^ 
or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 

Production  and  Oommerce. — Orris  rhizome^  or  oiris  root  as  it  is 
commpnlj  called^  is  derived  indiscriminately  in  Tuscany^  from 
three  species  of  iris^  namely^  J.  florentina,  I.  germaniea,  and  I. 
pallida,  the  two  latter  species  from  being  most  abundant,  probably 
famishing  the  largest  quantity.  These  species  are  known  to  the 
peasantry  under  the  common  name  of  Oiaggiolo.  The  rhizomes 
are  dug  up  in  August,  and  are  then  trimmed,  peeled,  and  dried  in 
the  sun,  and  are  ultimately  separated  by  the  dealers  who  purchase 
them  of  the  peasants  into  different  qualities,  selected  and  sorts. 
Orris  rhizome  is  exported  from  Leghorn,  Trieste,  and  Mogador. 

General  Oha/racters  and  Composition. — Orris  rhizome  of  commerce 
occurs  in  pieces  of  from  2  to  4  inches  in  length,  and  from  about 
i  to  1^  inch  in  width.  These  pieces  present  an  irregular,  some- 
what conical  form,  with  usually  two  or  three  short  branches  at  their 
broader  end.  They  have  a  flattened  appearance,  and  are  more  or  less 
arched,  and  frequently  twisted,  somewhat  shrivelled,  and  furrowed. 
On  the  lower  surface  they  are  marked  with  small  roundish  scars, 
which  are  left  by  the  cutting  off  of  the  rootlets.  They  are  firm 
and  compact  in  texture,  and  of  a  dull  whitish  colour.  Their  taste 
is  bitterish,  faintly  aromatic,  and  subsequently  acrid ;  and  they 
have  an  agreeable  violet  odour.  This  odour  is  not  present  in  the 
fresh  rhizomes,  which  have  simply  an  earthy  smell,  but  is  gradually 
produced,  by  drying  and  keeping,  not  being  fully  developed 
until  the  rhizomes  are  two  years  old. 

The  principal  constituent  of  orris  rhizome  would  appear  to  be 
a  solid  crystalline  substance,  called  orris  camphor,  which  is  always 
found  on  the  surface  of  the  distillate  when  orris  rhizome  is  dis- 
tilled with  water.  According  to  Umney,  the  yield  of  this  substance 
is  about  0'12  per  cent.  The  authors  of  Pha/rmacographia  believe 
the  crystals  which  may  be  obtained  from  it,  by  purification,  "  to  be 
simply  myristic  add,  impregnated  with  a  little  essential  oil,  which 
they  obstinately  retain.^'  Orris  rhizome  also  contains  resin  and 
some  tannic  acid. 


273    IRIS  VERSICOLOR 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Orris  rhizome  possesses  cathartic 
and  emetic  properties,  and  was  formerly  much  used  on  the  Continent, 
&c.,  in  dropsies,  &c.,  and  also,  when  powdered,  as  an  errhine.  It 
has  been  recently  recommended  by  M.  Allisiardi,  of  Saluzzo, 
in  Italy,  as  a  febrifuge.  In  France  it  is  a  good  deal  used  for 
making  issue-peas,  for  which  purpose  its  agreeable  odour,  acridity, 
and  power  of  absorbing  moisture  render  it  well  adapted.  It  is 
sometimes  given  to  infants  during  teething,  to  rub  their  gums 
with  ;  but  this  practice  is  objectionable,  since  it  is  not  unfrequently 
attended  with  irritation  of  the  mouth  and  disorder  of  the  stomach 
and  bowels. 

Its  chief  application  is  at  the  present  day  to  cover  unpleasant 
odours  in  the  breath,  as  an  ingredient  in  tooth  powders,  and 
as  a  perfume  ;  for  the  latter  purpose  it  is  largely  employed.  An 
agreeable  perfume,  known  as  essence  of  violets^  may  be  prepared 
by  digesting  one  part  of  powdered  orris  rhizome  in  eight  parts  of 
rectified  spirit. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  part  1,  p.  220;  Sbeph.  <&  Church.,  by 
Burnett,  vol.  i,  pi.  27 ;  Pharmacographia,  pp.  599  &  601 ;  U.  S. 
Disp.,  by  W.  and  B.,  p.  498 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  and  R., 
p.  446;  Groves,  in  Ph.  Jl.,  vol.  iii,  ser.  3,  p.  229. 


DESCEIPTION   OF    PLATE. 


Drawn  from  specimens  grown  in  Kew  and  Chelsea  Gardens. 

1.  Flower  with  the  perianth-segments  removed. 

2.  Transverse  section  of  ovary. 


Iris  verBicolory  Linn. 

Blvs  Fla^g  (of  America). 
Official  Part  and  Name. — The  rhizome  of  this  plant,  which  is 


273    IRIS  VERSICOLOR 

found  in  Canada  and  all  parts  of  the  United  States  of  America^ 
is  also  official^  as  follows  : — Iris  vebsicolor.  The  rhizome  (U.  S.  P. 
Secondary), 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — The  fresh  rhizomes 
resemble  in  appearance  those  of  Iris  fiorentina  and  the  other 
species  of  Iris  which  form  the  orris  just  described,  and  like  them 
they  have  an  acrid  taste,  and  no  marked  odour.  Their  properties 
are  imparted  to  some  extent  to  water  by  boiling,  but  more  perfectly 
to  alcohol ;  but  we  have  no  reliable  evidence  of  their  composition. 
By  keeping,  their  acrimony  and  medical  virtues  are  said  to  be 
impaired. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Blue  flag  rhizome  possesses 
similiar  medical  properties  to  the  orris  rhizome  already  described, 
being  purgative  and  emetic.  But  although  official  in  the  United 
States  Pharmacopoeia,  it  is  but  little  employed  in  regular  practice. 
Its  chief  use  is  by  the  class  of  irregular  practitioners  known  in 
the  United  States  as  ''  Eclectics,''  who  prepare  from  it  an  oleo- 
resin  called  vriddn  or  irisin,  which  is  believed  to  unite  cholagogue 
and  diuretic  with  aperient  properties,  and  which  a  correspondent 
of  the  Lancet  states  to  cause  effects  similar  to  those  of  a  mixture 
of  blue  pill,  aloes,  and  rhubarb. 

U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  499 ;  Lancet,  Aug.  30, 1862,  p.  239. 


^ 


Wy 


CP.CCUS    SATIVUS  l-inr. 


274 

N.  Ord.  iBIDAGJIiB. 

Tribe  Crocem. 

Genus  Croons,*  Xinn.  Klatt,  in  LinnaBa,  xxxiv,  p.  674.  There 
are  about  50  apecieB  now  known,  natives  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean region,  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Persia. 


274.  Crociu  satiyas,  Unn.,  8p.  Plant.,  ed.  1,  p.  36  (1753). 

Saffron. 

8yn, — 0.  officinalis,  var.  a,  Htid$<m.    G.  Orsinii,  Pari, 

l^^rM.— Woodville,  t.  259;  Hajne,  vi,  t.  25;  Steph.  A  Oh.,  t.  101; 
Nees,  t.  58;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  Id;  Sowerbj,  E.  Bot.,  t.  343;  Beich., 
Ic.  Fl.  Germ,  iz,  t.  360;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ.;  Boyle,  III.  Himal. 
Bot,  t.  90. 

Description. — A  perennial  herb  with  a  solid^  depressed-globular 
corm  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  giving  off  from  its  under  surface 
seyeral  slender  whitish  roots,  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  several 
layers  of  fine  longitudinal  pale  brown  fibres  (remains  of  leaves, 
&c.,  of  previous  year),  and  producing  on  the  top  one  or  more  buds 
(new  corms).  Leaves  produced  from  the  new  bud,  few  (6 — 9), 
very  closely  placed,  sessile,  forming  an  erect  tuft,  which  is 
closely  invested  in  its  lower  part  by  4  or  5  large,  broads 
obtuse,  thin,  tough,  membranous  sheathing  scales,  4 — 6  inches 
long,  linear,  acute,  entire,  stiff,  curved  outwards,  smooth,  shining 
deep  green,  with  a  white  depressed  midrib.  Flowers  2  together, 
or  solitary,  appearing  with  the  leaves  and  borne  on  a  very  short 
erect  peduncle  (scape)  from  a  leaf  axil,  closely  enveloped  by  a  deli- 
cate membranous  spathe  which  is  bifid  at  the  apex.  Perianth  very 
large,  erect,  monophyllous,  regular,  with  a  slender,  delicate,  cylin- 
drical tube  about  4  inches  long  and  adherent  to  the  ovary  at  the 
base,  and  6  oblong-oval,  blunt,  concave  segments,  about  1^  inch 
long,  in  two  rows,  the  outer  rather  the  longer,  glossy  pale  reddish- 
purple,  finely  striated.  Stamens  3,  inserted  in  the  mouth  of  the 
tube  opposite  the  outer  segments,  and  much  shorter  than  them, 
anthers  linear,  longer  than  the  filaments,  sagittate  at  the  base, 
bright    yellow.      Ovary    inferior,    oblong,    3-celled,    with    nume- 

*  Crocus,  Kpotoc,  saifi  on  ;  the  cLissical  name. 


274    CROCUS  SATIVUS 

rous  horizontal  or  ascending  ovales  in  two  rows  in  eacb  cell- 
Style  very  long  and  slender^  colourless  in  the  perianth-tnbej 
which  it  exceeds^  dividing  at  the  level  of  the  anthers  into  three 
yellow  drooping  branches  which  hang  out  of  the  flower  and  become 
gradually  thickened  and  tabular  upward^  stigmas  dilated,  notched 
or  jaggedj  and  often  split  down  one  side,  dark  orange-coloured. 
Fruit  not  seen ;  of  the  genus  an  oblong,  sub-triquetrous,  mem- 
branaceous, 3-celled  capsule,  locnlicidally  dehiscent.  Seeds 
numerous  in  each  ceU,  sub-globose,  with  a  fleshy  testa  and  a 
small  embryo  in  the  axis  of  the  fleshy  endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  SafFron  is  probably  native  in  Ghreece  and  Asia 
Minor,  and  perhaps  also  in  Southern  Italy  and  Persia,  but  it  has 
been  so  long  under  cultivation  that  it  is  now  difficult  to  say  where 
it  is  truly  wild.  Its  culture  in  the  East  goes  back  to  remote 
antiquity.  In  Italy  it  was  grown  in  the  time  of  Pliny.  To  Spain 
it  did  not  spread  till  the  tenth  century,  reaching  France  in  the 
fourteenth  and  England  probably  about  the  same  time.  In  this 
country  it  was  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  and  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  centuries  grown  as  a  crop  in  Essex,  about  Saffron 
Walden,  and  in  Cambridgeshire,  chiefly  about  Hinton,  but  this 
has  long  ceased.  There  seems  to  be  some  uncertainty  as  to  when 
its  cultivation  was  given  up ;  Stephenson  and  Churchill  state  so 
lately  as  1829  that  it  was  still  carried  on  at  Stapleford,  and  the 
plant  has  been  included  in  some  British  Floras  as  occasionally 
found  in  a  half -wild  state.  At  the  present  day  it  is  grown  in 
Spain  and  France,  Persia,  Korth  India  and  China. 

The  flowers  appear  in  late  autumn.  The  fruit  appears  to  be 
rarely  formed,  and  the  plant  has  been  supposed  to  be  a  hybrid,  but 
Mr.  Maw  saw  abundance  of  fruit  and  ripe  seed  at  Athens. 
Though  termed  perennial,  it  must  be  remembered  that  each 
oorm,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  joint  of  a  short  vertical 
rhizome,  has  but  a  duration  of  two  years. 

The  wild  Italian  plant  is  considered  a  distinct  species  by 
Parlatore,  who  has  named  it  C  Orsi/aii  after  its  discoverer.  The 
distinctive  characters  are  but  slight,  and  Mr.  Baker  recombines 
it  with  0.  sativus. 


274    CROCUS  SATIVUS 

Smith,  Eng.  Fl.,  i,  p.  46 ;  Qibflon,  Fl.  of  Essex,  p.  311 ;  DC. 
Oeogr.  Bot.,  p.  857 ;  Boyle,  111.  Himal.  Bot.,  p.  871 ;  Xlatt,  in 
LinnsBa,  xzxiy,  p.  675 ;  Parlatore,  Fl.  Ital.,  iii,  p.  238 ;  Lindl., 
Fl.  Med.,  p.  576;  Filick.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr.,  p.  601. 

Official  Part  and  Name, — Gbocub.  Saffron  ;  the  dried  stigma^ 
and  part  of  the  style  (B.  P.).  The  dried  stigma^  and  part  of  the 
style  (I.  P.).     The  stigmas  (U.  S.  P.). 

Collection  and  Preparation. — ^At  the  present  time  the  Saffron  plant 
is  chiefly  cultivated  for  commercial  purposes  in  France^  Spain^  and 
Italy.  It  is  also  grown  to  a  small  extent  in  Austria^  the  United 
States,  Greece,  Persia,  Cashmere,  and  China;  bat  generally 
speaking  it  is  far  less  cultivated  than  formerly.  The  mode  of 
collection  and  preparation  of  saffron  varies  somewhat  in  different 
countries,  although  in  all  it  consists  essentially  in  removing  the 
stigmas  with  the  upper  part  of  the  style  from  the  other  parts  of 
the  flower,  and  afterwards  drying  the  parts  thus  detached.  In 
France,  the  flowers  are  gathered  at  the  end  of  September  or 
beginning  of  October,  after  which  the  stigmas  with  the  end  of 
the  style,  are  quickly  removed ;  and  these  parts  are  then  imme- 
diately dried  on  sieves  over  a  gentle  fire,  the  drying  process 
only  taking  half  an  hour.  In  the  Abrazzi,  as  described  by  Henry 
Groves,  the  gathering  takes  place  in  the  early  morning,  at  the 
latter  part  of  October  and  during  the  whole  of  November.  The 
collectors  are  chiefly  women,  who  are  furnished  for  the  purpose 
with  wicker  baskets,  which  they  place  on  their  arms,  and  as 
they  pass  along  the  furrows  left  as  pathways  between  the 
ridges  of  saffron  plants,  they  pluck  the  whole  flowers  and  place 
them  in  their  baskets,  in  which  they  carry  them  home;  the 
stigmas  being  removed  afterwards  at  leisure,  and  then  dried. 
According  to  Dumesnil,  it  takes  from  7000  to  8000  flowers  to 
yield  17^  ounces  of  fresh  saffron,  which  by  drying  is  reduced  to 
tH  ounces.  Formerly,  saffron  thus  prepared  was  called  Jiay 
saffron  to  distinguish  it  from  another  kind,  in  which  the  stigmas 
after  being  gathered,  were  dried  between  paper  under  pres- 
sure, and  then  formed  into  cakes,  and  therefore  termed  cake 
taffron.     The  latter  is  not  now  found  in  commerce,  the  so-called 


274    CROCUS  SATIVUS 

cake  saffron  being  composed  of  safflower  and  gam  water  made 
into  a  paste^  and  rolled  out  into  flat  reddish-brown  cakes^  each 
of  which  is  about  the  size  of  a  pancake^  and  half  an  inch  thick. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Varieties. — The  official  saffron  or  hay 
saffron,  the  only  kind  now  known  in  the  pharmacies,  is  a  loose 
mass  composed  of  the  dried  ends  of  the  styles  with  their  attached 
stigmas,  entangled  together.  Each  of  the  portions  of  which  it 
is  composed,  when  entire,  is  from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a 
half  long :  the  lower  end,  which  corresponds  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  style,  is  narrow  and  yellow  in  colour;  and  the  upper 
portion  is  composed  of  three  long,  deep  orange-red  stigmas, 
which  are  notched  at  their  extremities.  Saffron  is  difficult  to 
powder,  except  when  very  recently  dried,  as  it  readily  absorbs 
moisture.  As  seen  in  commerce,  it  is  flexible,  unctuous  to 
the  touch,  with  a  peculiar,  penetrating,  aromatic  odour,  and  a 
bitter,  somewhat  aromatic  taste.  It  tinges  the  saliva  yellow  when 
chewed ;  and  when  rubbed  on  the  moistened  finger  it  produces  an 
intensely  orange-yellow  stain.  The  authors  of  Pharmacographia 
49tate  that  the  colouring  power  of  saffron  is  so  remarkable,  that  a 
single  grain  rubbed  to  fine  powder  with  a  little  sugar,  will  impart 
a  distinct  tint  of  yellow  to  700,000  grains  (10  gallons)  of  water. 

The  varieties  of  saffron  more  commonly  known  in  commerce 
are  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian,  the  former  being  usually  the 
purer  kind.  Two  sorts  of  Spanish  saffron  are  also  noticed  under 
the  respective  names  of  Alicante  and  Valencia  Saffron. 

Adulterations. — On  account  of  the  high  price  of  saffron  it  is 
liable  to  frequent  and  great  adulteration.  Thus,  to  give  it 
flexibility  and  freshness,  and  to  increase  its  weight,  it  is  some- 
times damped  or  oiled;  this  addition  of  water  or  oil  may  be 
readily  detected  by  subjecting  a  small  portion  of  the  sus- 
pected drug  to  pressure  between  folds  of  white  blotting  paper, 
when  if  this  become  moistened  or  oily,  the  adulteration  and 
its  nature  are  manifest.  Sometimes  saffron  is  adulterated  by 
the  intermixture  of  the  florets  of  Marigold  {Calendula  officinalis) 
dyed  with  logwood,  or  of  Saffiower  {Carthamus  Unctoritts) ;  or 
of  other  florets,  as   those  of    Arnica  montana,  species  of  Puli* 


274    CROCUS  SATIVUS 

earia,  &c. ;  or  strips  of  petals.  All  these  frauds  may  be 
detected  by  placing  a  small  portion  of  the  suspected  drug 
in  a  glass  of  warm  water^  when  the  marked  form  of  the  safEron 
stigmas^  with  the  attached  portion  of  style^  will  at  once  be  evident , 
and  enable  us  to  distinguish  them  from  all  intermixed  florets^  or 
petals. 

Another  by  no  means  uncommon  adulteration  of  saffron 
within  the  last  few  years,  although  apparently  rare  formerly, 
as  it  was  only  first  detected  in  this  country  by  one  of  us  in 
1866,  is  the  intermixture  of  the  dyed  stamens  of  the  safEron 
crocus;  these  may  be  detected  in  the  same  way  as  florets  or 
petals,  by  placing  a  pinch  of  the  suspected  specimen  in  warm 
water,  when  the  pale  yellow  stamens  may  be  readily  distinguished 
by  their  different  appearance  from  the  stigmas  and  style  of  the 
genuine  drug.  The  admixture  of  fibres  of  shredded  beef  is  also 
a  common  adulterant  in  Italy.  For  this  purpose  a  suitable 
piece  of  beef  is  boiled,  and  then  shredded  into  small  fibres,  which 
are  stained  with  saffron  water,  dried,  and  then  mixed  with  the 
drug.  This  adulteration  may  also  be  readily  detected  by  putting 
a  portion  of  the  suspected  saffron  in  warm  water ;  and  also  by  the 
peculiar  odour  evolved  when  such  saffron  is  burned.  Of  late  years 
another  adulteration  has  also  been  very  common ;  it  consists  in 
coating  saffron  with  chalk  previously  coloured  orange-red.  A 
ready  means  of  distinguishing  this  fraud  is  to  take  a  few  shreds  of 
the  saffron  and  stir  them  in  a  glass  of  water,  when  the  water  will 
at  once  become  turbid  by  the  separation  of  the  carbonate  of  lime, 
which  will  soon  fall  as  a  white  powder  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel, 
and  then  if  hydrochloric  acid  be  added  brisk  effervescence  takes 
place.  In  some  cases,  Hanbury  found,  that  the  weight  of  Alicante 
Safbon  had  been  increased  20  per  cent,  by  this  fraudulent  admix- 
ture. The  admixture  of  other  earthy  matters  has  also  been 
detected  in  saffron ;  and  other  modes  of  sophisticating  this  drug 
have  been  noticed,  all  of  which  may  be  readily  exposed  in  the 
ways  already  described. 

Composition. — The  principal  constituent  of  saffron  is  the  colour- 
ing matter,  which  has  long  been  distinguished  under  the  name  of 


274    CROCUS  SATIVUS 

polychroite.  It  also  contains  both  cane  and  grape  sugars,  gum, 
volatile  oil,  and  other  unimportant  substances.  The  experiments 
of  Weiss  have  shown  that  polychroite  is  a  glucoside,  splitting  when 
treated  with  acids  into  sagar^  volatile  oil^  and  a  new  colonring 
matter,  to  which  he  has  given  the  name  of  crodn.  The  polychroite 
obtained  by  Weiss  is  an  orange-red,  viscid^  deliqaescent  substance, 
which^  when  dried  over  sulphuric  acid,  is  brittle,  and  of  a  fine 
ruby  colour.  It  is  without  odour,  but  having  a  sweetish  taste ; 
and  readily  soluble  in  water  or  spirit  of  wine,  but  only  slightly 
soluble  in  absolute  alcohol.  Crocin  is  a  red  powder,  insoluble  in 
ether,  and  only  slightly  soluble  in  water,  but  readily  soluble  in 
alcohol  or  an  alkaline  solution.  The  odour  of  saffron  is  due  to  its 
volatile  oil. 

Medical  Properties  a/nd  Uses. — Saffron  was  formerly  in  great 
repute  as  a  stimulant,  antispasmodic,  and  emmenagogue ;  but  at 
present  it  is  scarcely  ever  employed  in  this  country,  or  in  the 
United  States,  as  a  medicinal  agent,  except  that  it  is  sometimes 
given  to  young  children  in  exanthematous  diseases  from  its 
reputed  power  of  promoting  the  eruption.  Its  chief  use  in  medi- 
cine is  as  a  colouring  and  flavouring  agent,  for  which  purpose  it  is 
an  ingredient  in  several  official  preparations. 

Ot}i£T  Uses  of  Saffron. — Formerly  saffron  was  a  good  deal 
employed  as  a  dyeing  agent,  but  in  this  country  and  elsewhere  it 
has  now  been  almost  entirely  superseded  for  such  a  purpose  by 
less  costly  dye-stnffs.  As  a  condiment  it  is,  however,  still  much 
in  use  in  various  parts  of  the  Continent,  as  in  Austria,  Germany, 
and  Switzerland ;  and  to  some  extent  even  in  parts  of  Great 
Britain,  as  in  Cornwall.  In  India  saffron  is  extensively  employed 
by  the  natives  in  their  religious  ceremonies,  as  also  in  medicine, 
and  as  a  condimentary  substance.  Saffron  is  also  used  by  bird 
fanciers,  as  they  believe  it  assists  the  moulting  of  birds. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  444 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  604 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  347 ;  Pharm.  JL,  ser.  1,  vol.  viii, 
p.  171,  and  vol.  xv,  p.  226 ;  Pharm.  JL,  ser.  2,  vol.  iz,  p.  28, 
ser.  3,  vol.  iv,  p.  651,  and  vol.  vi,  ser.  3,  p.  215;  Maiscli., 
in  Amer.  Joum.  of  Pharm.,  March,  1872,  p.  110 ;  Bentlej,  in 
Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  vii,  ser.  2,  p.  462,  with  figures ;  Groves,  in 


274    CROCUS  SATIYUS 

Year  Book  of  Pharmacy  for  1875^  p.  562;  Hanbnry,  in 
Pharm.  Jonm.,  ser.  3,  vol.  i,  p.  241 ;  Ingham,  in  Pbarm.  Jl 
ser.  8,  vol.  i,  p.  624*;  Weiss,  Wiggers,  and  Hosemann,  Jahres- 
berichi  for  1868,  p.  85 ;  8toddart,  in  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy 
for  1876,  p.  494. 


DB8CBIPT10N    OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  cnltiyated  in  Eew  Gardens. 

1.  A  plant  in  flower. 

2.  Upper  part  of  flower,  laid  open. 

3.  A  stamen. 

4.  Vertical — and  6.  Transverse  section  of  ovary. 

6.  Stigma. 

7.  Section  of  corm. 

(8-6  enlarged.) 


r 


CRINUM  ASIATICUM./wa 


275 

N.  Old.  Amabtllidacbjs.     Lindl.,  Veg.   Kingd,  p.    155 ;   Le 
Maout  &  Dec.,  p.  786. 
Tribe  AmaryUidecB, 

Genua  Crinum,*  Idnn,  Kunth,  Enum.  Plant.,  v,  p.  547. 
There  are  about  50  species,  natives  of  tropical  regions  in 
the  old  and  new  Worlds. 


275.  Crinum  asiaticnm,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  ^,p.  292  (1753). 

8yn, — C.  toxicarium,  Boxb.  G.  bracteatam,  WUld,  G.  arenariam, 
Serb.,  &c.,  Slo, 

Figures. — Bomph.,  Herb.  Amboin,  yi,  t.  69;  Bheede,  Hort.  Malabar, 
zi,  t.  38;  Bedont^,  Lil.,  yi,  t.  34i8;  Bot.  Mag.,  tt  1073,  2231;  Hot. 
Gabinet,  t.  669. 

Description. — ^A  very  large  perennial  herb,  with  a  shorty  stout^ 
broadly-fusiform^   vertical  rootstock^  giving    off   from    its    sides 
nameroas  thick  roots  and  many  elongated  stolons^  and  extended 
above  into  a  large  ovoid  prolonged  ''  bulb/'  a  foot  long.     Leaves 
numerous^  very  large^  closely  placed  on  the  axis  of  the  bulb  and 
with  broad  sheathing  fleshy  bases^  elegantly  curved  and  drooping^ 
2—4  feet   long^   rather  variable  in  width  (3 — 7  inches)^  acute^ 
quite  entire,  nearly  flat,  deep  green,  smooth  and  glossy,  with  a 
broad  thick  midrib,  the  smaller  veins  not  conspicuous.     Flowers 
very   large,    on    short    thick     pedicels,    many    (20 — 50)    closely 
crowded  in  a  very  large  umbel  terminating  a  stout,   somewhat 
compressed,  stiff  scape,  which  comes  off  from  the  axil  of  one  of 
the  lower  leaves  and  is  shorter  than  it ;  umbel  surrounded  by  two 
large,  reflexed,  membranous,  brown,  spathe-like  bracts,  and  with 
numerous,   long,  linear  bractlets  among  the    flowers.     Perianth 
with  a  very  long,  slender,  erect,  cylindrical  tube,  3  or  4  inches 
long,  and  six  equal,  lax,  spreading  or  reflexed,  oblong-linear,  acute 
segments  2  or  3  inches  long,  white  or  slightly  greenish,  deciduous. 
Stamens  6,  inserted  at  the  mouth  of  the  perianth- tube,  filaments  erect, 
rather  shorter  than  the  perianth-segments,  deep  pink  above,  anthers 
linear-oblong,  versatile,  2-celled,  yellow.    Ovary  inferior, ovoid, dark 
green,  smooth,  usually  produced  above  into  a  beak  ^ — 1  inch  long,  3- 
•  Crinum,  from  the  Greek  Kpivov,  used  by  Theophrasttts  for  a  lily. 


275    OBINUM  ASIATICUM 

celled^  with  several  ovules  in  each  cell,  style  very  long,  slender, 
extending  beyond  the  perianth-tube  to  the  length  of  the  stamens, 
green,  stigma  small,  faintly  8-lobed.  Fruit  nearly  globose,  about 
2  inohes  in  diameter,  crowned  with  the  remains  of  the 
beak  of  the  ovary,  pericarp  soft,  membranaceous,  thin,  bursting 
quite  irregularly,  1 -celled,  and  containing  1  to  3  seeds.  Seed  very 
large  and  irregular  in  form,  bulb-like,  furrowed. 

Habitat. — This  very  handsome  plant  is  a  native  of  many  parts 
of  tropical  Asia,  occurring  under  several  different  varieties  in 
different  countries.  It  is  very  abundant  on  the  sea-coast  in 
Ceylon,  and  also  grows  in  wet  swampy  places  on  the  Peninsula  of 
India.  It  is  also  much  planted  there  in  gardens.  South  China, 
Java,  Timor,  and  other  of  the  Malayan  Islands  also  produce  it,  and 
it  extends  to  N.  and  E.  Australia.  It  is  naturalised  in  Mauritius 
and  other  tropical  countries.  As  an  ornamental  stove  plant  this 
is  well  known,  having  been  introduced  into  our  houses  in  the  early 
part  of  the  last  century,  and  there  are  numerous  varieties  in  culti- 
vation. Boxburgh  considered  his  0.  toxica/rium  to  be  well  dis- 
tinguished from  0,  asiaticum  by  the  possession  of  a  short  but 
distinct  stem,  by  its  much  broader  leaves  and  much  more  numerous 
flowers  in  the  umbel. 

Roxburgh,  Fl.  Ind.,  ii,  pp.  128  &  134 ;  Benth.,  Fl.  AustraL,  vi, 
p.  454 ;  Herbert,  Amaryllid.,  p.  243 ;  Kunth,  £niim.  Plaut.,  t, 
p.  647. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Ceini  Radix;  the  fresh  root  (I.  P.), 
It  is  not  o£Scial  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Pharmaco- 
pceia  of  the  United  States. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Composition. — In  the  Pharmacopoeia  of 
India,  where  it  is  improperly  termed  "Crini  Radix,''  being  in 
reality  a  bulb,  it  is  described  as  follows  : — "  Bulbous,  with  a  ter- 
minal stoloniferous  fusiform  portion  issuing  from  the  crown  of  the 
bulb ;  with  an  unpleasant  narcotic  odour ;  readily  dried  in  the 
stove,  and  reducible  to  powder  after  desiccation.''  No  chemical 
investigation  of  this  drug,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  been  made. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — In  full  doses  it  possesses  emetic 
properties ;    and  in  small   doses   it   is  nauseant  and  diaphoretic. 


276    CRINUM  ASIATICUM 

The  fresli  root  is  alone  directed  to  be  used  in  the  two  o£Scial  pre- 
parations of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India^  namely^  ^'  Succns  Crini  '* 
and  "  Syrnpns  Crini."  The  dose  of  the  former  being  from  two  to 
four  fluid  drachms  every  twenty  minutes^  until  the  desired  effect 
is  produced;  and  of  the  latter^  about  two  fluid  drachms  as  a 
nauseant  and  emetic  for  children^  and  repeated  if  necessary. 

The  dried  sliced  root  may  also  be  used  as  an  emetic;  but 
Waring  states  that  in  this  case^  double  the  dose  of  the  fresh  drug 
is  required.  O'Shaughnessy  says  that  it  acts  without  producing 
griping,  purging,  or  other  unpleasant  symptoms.  In  a  letter  to 
the  editor  of  the  'Pharmacopoeia  of  India/  O'Shaughnessy  also 
remarks,  ''  that  it  is  a  good  emetic  and  diaphoretic  whenever 
ipecacuanha  is  not  at  hand,  but  that  it  should  be  regarded  not 
so  much  as  a  substitute  for  that  article,  as  a  resource  in  case  of 
need.*' 

FharmacopcBia  of  India,  p.  234;   Lindl.,  Flor.  Med.,  p.  571; 
O'Shaughneesy,  Bengal  Disp.,  p.  656. 


DKSCEIPTION   OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  cultiyated  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  herbarium. 

1.  Umbel  of  flowers,  several  of  them  cut  off. 

2.  The  whole  plant  with  foliage  and  flowers ;  about  ^  nat.  size. 


%  i  •!■ 


tX-X 


1 


ARECf,  CATECHU,, 


276 

N.  Ord.  Palmjs.  LindL,  Teg.  K.,  p.  134;  Le  Maont  &  Dec,  p.  811. 
Tribe  ArecinctB, 

Genus  Areoa,*  Linn.    Kuntli,  Enum.  PL,  iii,  pp.  183—188. 
Spedea  about  20,  natiTea  of  the  tropics  of  the  old  world. 


276.  Areca  Catechn,t  Linn.,  8p.  Plant.,  ed,  I,  p.  1189  (1753). 

Betel-Nut  Palm.     Ooovaka  (Sanskrit).     Pinang  (Malay). 

Byn. — ^Areca  Faufel,  Oaerin. 

Figures. — Hayne,  vii,  t.  35 ;  Nees,  t.  38 ;  Bozburgh,  PL  Goromandel,  i, 
t  75;  MartiuB,  Hist  Palm,  tt.  102  and  149,  fig.  4;  Blume,  Bumphia, 
t.l02A. 

Description. — ^A  tree  with  a  straight^  Blender,  unbranched  stem 
reaching  40  or  50  feet  in  height,  about  20  inches  in  circumference, 
cylindrical,  smooth,  grey,  marked  at  not  distant  intervals  with 
regular  rings  of  scars  left  by  the  fallen  leaves.  Leaves  (fronds) 
few  (6 — 9),  all  terminal,  spreading,  very  large  and  long,  pinnate; 
petiole  thick,  concave  above,  convex  beneath,  passing  below  into 
a  large  smooth  membranaceo-coriaceous  sheathing  base,  and 
above  into  the  convex  angular  rachis;  leaflets  (pinnae)  nume- 
rous, opposite,  the  lower  ones  often  8  or  4  feet  long,  the  upper 
ones  much  shorter  and  usually  combined  together  and  truncate, 
broadly  linear,  acuminate,  stiff,  smooth,  plicate  at  their  attachment 
to  the  rachis  in  parallel  folds.  Flowers  unisexual,  monoecious, 
small,  very  numerous,  sessile  on  the  elongated,  slender,  smooth 
branches  of  the  very  much  ramified  inflorescence  (spadix), 
without  bracts,  the  male  very  numerous,  the  female  much  fewer, 
occupying  the  base  of  the  branchlets ;  the  whole  spadix  about 
2  or  3  feet  long,  coming  off  below  the  leaves,  and  at  first 
entirely  enclosed  between  two  large  boat-shaped,  coriaceous, 
blunt,  striate,  brownish  bracts  (spathe).  Male  fiowers  : — Calyx 
deeply  cut  into  8  small,  ovate,  acute  segments;  petals  3,  very 
much  longer  than  the  calyx,  broadly  ovate,  acute,  smooth,  thick, 

*  Areca,  the  native  Malabar  name  for  the  tree  when  young, 
t  The  nuts  aiford  an  astringent  extract  analogous  to  that  of  Acacia  Catechu 
(see  no.  95). 


276    AEEOA  CATECHU 

striate^  yellowish ;  stamens  6^  filaments  shorty  more  or  less 
combined  into  either  3  or  a  single  fleshy  central  column,  red, 
anthers  dorsifixed,  sagittate  at  the  base,  white ;  ovary  represented 
by  a  small  central  fleshy  body  and  three  long  reddish  styles. 
Female  flowers  : — Sepals  3,  broadly  ovate,  fleshy,  rigid,  very  thick 
in  centre,  thin  at  the  margins,  concave,  persistent ;  petals  3,  like  the 
sepals  but  thinner,  persistent.  Stamens  none  or  represented  by  a 
little  hypogynous  6-toothed  ring ;  ovary  large,  ovoid,  acute,  smooth, 
pale  below,  blackish-purple  above,  3-celled,  with  a  single  ovule  in 
each  cell;  stigmas  3,  triangular,  acute,  papillose.  Fruit  2 — 2^ 
inches  long,  ovoid,  somewhat  tapering,  surrounded  at  the  base  by 
the  persistent  perianth-leaves,  smooth,  orange-coloured  when 
mature,  pericarp  (husk)  at  first  soft,  afterwards  dry  and  composed 
of  numerous,  distinct,  longitudinal  fibres  separating  at  the  apex, 
1 -celled,  with  a  single  erect  seed.  Seed  globose-conical,  about 
an  inch  in  diameter,  flattened  on  the  base,  testa  very  thin,  closely 
adherent,  yellowish,  covered  with  a  network  of  fine  veins,  and 
sending  irregular  processes  into  the  substance  of  the  endosperm 
almost  to  its  centre,  giving  the  latter  a  mottled  appearance 
(ruminate) ;  embryo  small,  .quite  at  the  base  of  the  seed,  erect, 
endosperm  very  hard,  white  or  pinkish,  softer  or  often  with  a 
small  cavity  in  the  centre. 

Habitat, — The  Areca-nut  Palm  is  found  cultivated  throughout 
the  tropical  parts  of  Asia,  the  hotter  parts  of  Peninsular  India, 
Ceylon,  South  China,  the  Philippine  and  other  eastern  Islands, 
and  especially  the  Malay  Archipelago,  where  it  is  considered  to 
be  originally  indigenous.  It  is  a  well-known  tree  in  India, 
being  the  most  elegant  Palm  of  that  country.  Like  many  other 
Palms,  it  flowers  nearly  all  the  year  round.  There  is  much  varia- 
tion in  the  form  and  size  of  the  fruit,  and  Martins  describes  six 
varieties  founded  on  its  characters ;  in  one  form  the  husk  is  white. 

There  are  trees  in  cultivation  at  Kew,  the  Regent^s  Park,  and 
Glasnevin  Gardens. 

Koxbargh,  Fl.  Indica,  iii,  p.  615 ;  Knnth,  Enum.  Plant.,  iii,  p.  184 ; 
Blame,  Eumphia,  ii,  p.  65 ;  Royle,  lUust.  Ind,  Bot.,  p.  399 ; 
Mai'tius,  Gen.  et  Sp.  Palm,  iii,  p.  169. 


276    ARBCA  CATECHU 

Official  Part  and  Name. — ^Aeeca  ;  the  seed  (B.  P.  Additions, 
1874).  It  is  not  official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  or  the 
Pharmacopceia  of  the  United  States. 

Cultivationy  Collection,  and  Gormnerce, — The  Areca  or  Betel 
Nut  Palm  is  very  largely  cultivated  for  the  sake  of  its  seeds  in 
the  warmer  parts  of  India,  China,  and  the  Philippines ;  and  also 
in  the  Malayan  Archipelago  and  in  other  parts  of  Asia.  The 
average  annual  produce  of  one  tree  is  said  to  be  300  fruits,  each 
of  which  contains  one  seed  or  nut.  In  Ceylon  and  the  Indian 
Peninsula  the  fruits  are  gathered  between  the  months  of 
August  and  November.  Prom  Ceylon  and  the  Madras  Presidency 
alone  there  were  exported  to  Bombay  and  other  parts  in  1873 
over  130,000  cwt.  of  areca  nuts,  representing  a  money  value  of 
nearly  £110,000  sterling.  At  Sumatra,  Singapore,  and  other 
districts,  there  is  also  an  enormous  trade  in  areca  nuts. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — The  Areca  Nut,  or  Betel 
Nut  as  it  is  more  commonly  termed,  is,  on  an  average,  about  the 
size  of  a  nutmeg ;  it  is  roundish-conical  in  form,  flattened  at  its 
base,  of  a  reddish-brown  or  rusty-grey  colour  externally,  and  marked 
conspicuously  with  a  hilum  and  a  network  of  veins,  which  give 
the  surface  a  somewhat  tesselated  appearance.  Areca  nuts  are 
hard,  heavy,  and  difficult  to  break  or  cut ;  but  when  broken  the 
nucleus  is  seen  to  present  a  somewhat  marbled  appearance  like 
that  of  the  official  nutmeg,  and  caused  by  the  passage  inwards  of 
the  reddish-brown  veins  which  are  seen  on  the  surface,  into  the 
whitish  albumen  or  endosperm.  The  albumen  is  therefore  of  the 
kind  called  ruminated.  At  the  base  of  this  albumen  the  small 
conical  embryo  may  be  observed.  Areca  nuts  have  no  marked  odour, 
although  they  have  been  described  as  somewhat  cheesy ;  but  their 
taste  is  feebly  astringent.  In  some  districts  the  dark  veins  are 
regarded  more  especially  as  the  seat  of  their  astringency,  hence 
the  quality  of  areca  nuts  is  judged  of  by  the  appearance  they 
present  when  cut  through.  Thus,  ''if  the  white  or  medullary 
portion  which  intersects  the  red  or  astringent  part  be  small,  and 
has  assumed  a  bluish  tinge,  and  the  astringent  part  is  very  red, 
the  nut  is  considered  of  good  quality ;   but  when  the  medullary 


276    AREOA  CATECHU 

form  excellent  ready-made  splints  for  fractures ;  and  the  various 
parts  of  this  valuable  palm  are  also  applied  to  other  useful 
purposes. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.j  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  153;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  k  B., 
p.  1067 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  607 ;  PharmacopoBia  of  India, 
p.  249 ;  Ainslie,  Mat.  Med.  Ind.,  vol.  i,  p.  65 ;  Dmry,  TJsefril 
Plants  of  India,  2nd  ed.,  p.  48 ;  Tuson,  Yet.  Pharm.,  p.  43 ; 
Morin,  Jonm.  de  Pharm.,  vol.  viii,  p.  449 ;  Jackson,  in  Pharm. 
Joum.,  ser.  3,  vol.  iv,  p.  689,  and  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Ass. 
(1875),  p.  127 ;  Andrews,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  iv,  ser.  3,  p.  649, 
and  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Asso^.  (1875),  p.  128;  Braithwaite, 
Retrospect  of  Medicine,  1863,  vol.  xlvii,  p.  116 ;  Amer.  Jl.  of 
Med.  Sci.,  April,  1862,  p.  496. 


DESCRIPTION   OP   PLATE. 

Drawn  from   Indian    specimens  in  the  British   Museum,  collected  by 
Roxburgh ;  the  reduced  figure  of  the  tree  copied  from  Martius. 

1.  Sketch  of  the  tree,  very  much  reduced. 

2.  Portion  of  a  leaf. 

3.  Small  part  of  a  spadix. 

4.  Several  male  flowers. 

5.  Petal  of  a  male  flower. 

6.  Vertical  section  of  a  male  flower. 

7.  A  stamen. 

8.  A  female  flower. 

9.  Sepal. 

10.  Petal. 

11.  Pistil  from  the  same. 

12.  A  ripe  fruit. 

13.  Transverse,  and — 14.  Vertical  section  of  the  same 
15.  The  seed. 

(4-10  enlarged.) 


277 

N.  Ord.  FALMiB. 

Tribe  Arecinea. 

GenuB  Arenga,*  LahiU.   Kontli,  Ennm.  PL,  iii,  p.  197.   Species 
2  or  3,  natives  of  Tropical  Asia. 


277.  Arenga  saccharifera,  LaUll,  Mem.  de  Vlmtit,  iv^  p.  209 

(1803). 

8yn, — Sagaeros  Bumphii,  Rovib.    S.  Qamuto,  Link,    S.  saccharifery 
Blwme.    Gomatns  saccbarifer,  Bpreng, 

Figures. — Bumpb.,  Herb.  Amboinense,  i,  t.  13;    Mart.,  Hist.  Palm., 
tt.  108  and  161,  fig.  4;  Blume,  Bumj^ia,  ii,  tt.  123, 124. 

Description. — ^A  tree  reaching  a  height  of  40  feet.  Stem  thick, 
cylindrical,  columnar,  attaining  3  or  4  feet  in  circumference, 
smooth  and  irregularly  ringed  by  the  scars  of  the  fallen  leaves  or 
with  the  lower  part  of  the  petioles  persistent  and  clothing  the  stem 
with  a  thick  network  of  black  fibres.  Leaves  all  terminal,  very 
large,  15 — 25  feet  long,  pinnate ;  petiole  thick,  long,  with  a 
broad  amplexicaul  base  fringed  with  abundance  of  tough,  long, 
black  fibres,  mingled  with  long,  stiff,  woody  processes,  rachis  stout, 
somewhat  triangular,  tapering,  smooth ;  leaflets  numerous,  opposite 
or  alternate,  sessile,  closely  placed,  3 — 5  feet  long,  ensiform,  with 
eared  processes  at  the  base  on  one  or  both  sides,  somewhat  blunt 
or  truncate  and  with  small  erose  spinous  denticulations  at  the  apex, 
entire,  smooth,  with  a  strong  quadrangular  midrib,  deep  green 
above,  pale  and  mealy  beneath.  Flowers  unisexual,  monoe- 
cious, numerous,  sessile,  with  a  cup  formed  of  two  (or  more) 
small  bracts  at  the  base,  the  male  usually  in  pairs  on  the  lower 
spadices,  the  female  less  numerous,  scattered  solitarily  on  the 
branches,  usually  of  the  upper  spadices ;  spadices  several,  6 — 10 
feet  long,  coming  from  among  the  bases  of  the  leaves,  pen- 
dulous, with  numerous  simple  pendulous,  slender,  elongated 
branches,  the  base  surrounded  by  several  short,  imbricated,  deci- 
duous bracts  (spathe).     Male  flowers  : — Sepals  3,  rounded,  fleshy, 

*  Areng  or  Aren,  the  Javanese  name. 


277    ARENGA  SAOCHARIFERA 

concave,  imbricate ;  petals  3,  much  longer  than  the  sepals,  oblong, 
concave,  thick,  leathery,  valvate,  purple  outside,  yellow  within; 
stamens  numerous,  filaments  short,  anthers  much  longer,  linear, 
cuspidate ;  no  trace  of  a  pistil.  Female  flowers  : — Sepals  3,  small, 
imbricated ;  petals  3,  broadly  oval,  about  three  times  as  long  as 
the  sepals ;  stamens  none  or  3  sterile  filaments ;  ovary  large,  3- 
lobed,  smooth,  3-celled,  with  a  single  ovule  ascending  from  the 
base  of  the  axis,  style  none,  stigmas  3,  conical.  Fruit  the  size  of 
a  small  apple,  3-lobed,  depressed  at  the  top,  surrounded  at  the 
base  of  the  persistent  perianth-leaves,  smooth,  fleshy,  indehiscent, 
yellow  when  ripe,  3-celled,  with  a  single  seed  in  each  cell.  Seed 
about  1 J  inch  long,  ovoid,  pointed  at  the  base  where  is  the  hilum, 
somewhat  keeled  on  the  ventral  surface,  convex  on  the  back,  testa 
hard,  thin,  black,  nearly  smooth;  embryo  small,  situated  just 
beneath  the  testa  about  half  way  down  the  convex  back,  endo- 
sperm hard,  radiated,  horny. 

Habitat. — This  fine  palm  is  found  in  the  Sunda,  Molucca  and 
Philippine  archipelagos,  and  has  been  spread  thence  throughout 
Tropical  Asia ;  it  is  cultivated  in  Mala^cca,  Siam,  and  Cochin- China. 
It  prefers  damp  situations,  and  in  Java  is  found  in  the  hills  up  to 
1800  feet.  It  produces  about  6  of  its  immense  leaves  annually, 
and  is  in  flower  nearly  all  the  year  through.  The  female  flowers 
are  sometimes  found  on  the  same  spadices  as  the  male,  and 
abortive  male  flowers  are  frequently  produced  with  the  female 
ones ;  ripe  fruits  are  only  formed  on  the  upper  spadices  ;  they  are 
not  rarely  2-celled  from  abortion ;  the  pulp  is  very  acrid. 

Trees  of  this  handsome  species  are  in  cultivation  at  Kew, 
Edinburgh,  and  Glasnevin  botanic  gardens. 

Roxb.,  Fl.  Indica,  iii,  p.  626;  Marsden,  Hist.  Sumatra^  p.  77; 
Kunth,  Ennm.  Plant,  iii,  p.  197 ;  Martias,  Gen.  et  Sp.  Palm, 
iii,  p.  191;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Medica,  p.  582;  Blame,  Rumphia,  ii, 
p.  124. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Sagus;  the  prepared  fecula  of  the 
pith  of  Sagus  Rumphii,  and  of  other  species  of  Sagus  (U.  S.  P.). 
It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia 


277    ARENGA  SACCHARIFERA 

of  India.  Sago  was,  however,  tormely  official  in  the  London, 
Edinburgh,  and  Dublin  Pharmacopoeias. 

Sources  of  Sago. — Sago  is  a  kind  of  starch,  which  is  obtained 
from  the  interior  of  the  stems  of  species  of  Metroxylon  {Sagus) 
and  of  allied  palms,  as  for  instance,  that  now  under  description ; 
and  also  from  species  of  Cycas,  as  0.  revoluta  and  G.  circinalis. 
The  sago  of  commerce  is,  however,  now  most  abundantly  obtained 
from  Metroxylon  lave,  but  also  to  some  extent  from  Metroxylon 
Rumphiij  and  Arenga  {Saguerus)  saccharifera.  The  kind  of 
sago  which  is  used  in  Japan  and  China  is  derived  from  one  or 
more  species  of  Gycas  ;  and  although  Gycas  circinalis  and  other 
species  of  Gycas  were  formerly  recognised  as  one  of  the  sources  of 
sago  in  the  Edinburgh  and  Dublin  Pharmacopceias,  a  microscopic 
examination  of  the  starch  grains  of  these  plants  will  prove  that 
they  differ  both  in  size  and  shape  from  those  of  commercial  sago, 
which,  as  just  noticed,  are  derived  from  species  of  Palms. 

The  mode  of  obtaining  sago,  its  general  characters,  com- 
position, properties,  uses,  and  all  other  details  in  reference  to  it, 
are  described  under  Metroxylon  lave. 

Peopeeties  and  Uses  op  Aebnga  sacchaeipbba. — This  palm,  as 
its  specific  name  implies,  is  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  Palm 
Sugar.  Thus  it  supplies  abundance  of  this  sugar  in  the  Moluccas 
and  Philippines.  Palm  sugar  is  usually  obtained  by  boiling  the 
juice  which  flows  out  from  this  and  some  other  Palms  upon 
wounding  their  spathes  and  the  surrounding  parts.  Palm  sugar  is 
known  in  India  under  the  name  of  jaggery.  The  saccharine  juice 
{toddy)  of  this  palm  also  yields  when  fermented  an  intoxicating 
liquid.  T!|his  is  termed  neva  in  Sumatra,  and  in  Batavia  a  kind  of 
spirit  (arra^Jc)  is  distilled  from  it. 

When  the  trees  are  exhausted  of  their  saccharine  juice,  sago  of 
good  quality  is  obtained  from  their  stems.  It  is  said  that  a 
single  tree  will  yield  from  150  to  200  pounds  of  this  kind  of 
starch.  This  palm  is  the  source  of  a  good  deal  of  our  commercial 
sago. 

The  black,  stiff,  strong,  horsehair-like  fibre,  called  Ejow  or 
Oommuti  fibre  by  thft  Malays,  which  is  used  for  cordage,   and 


277    ARENGA  SACCHARIPERA 

other  pnrpoBes^  is  also  obtained  from  the  leaf-stalks  of  this  palm ; 
and  several  other  products  of  minor  importance  are  also  yielded 
by  it. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  142 ;  Maraden,  Hist,  of  Samatra, 
p.  88,  3rd  edit.,  1811 ;  Orawfurd,  Hist.  Ind.  Archipelago,  toI.  i, 
p.  399;  Lind.,  Yeg.  Kingd.,  3rd  edit.,  p.  136;  BenU.,  Man. 
Bot.,  3rd  edit.,  pp.  647  and  672;  Pharm.  Joom.,  yoL  zi,  ser.  1, 
p.  30. 


DESCRIPTION    OP    PLATE. 

The  leaf  and  seeds  from  specimens  from  Java  in  the  British  Moseam ;  the 
reduced  figure  of  the  whole  tree  after  Mai-tius ;  the  flowers  and  fruit  from 
Blume. 

1.  Sketch  of  the  whole  tree,  very  much  reduced. 

2.  Portion  of  a  leaf. 

3.  Portion  of  spadix  with  male  flowers. 

4.  Calyx  of  male  flower. 

5.  A  single  sepal.- 

6.  A  petaL 

7.  A  stamen. 

8.  Portion  of  spadix  with  female  flowers. 

9.  Yertical  section  of  a  female  flower. 

10.  Horizontal  section  of  ovary. 

11.  A  ripe  fruit. 

12.  TransTcrse  section  of  the  same. 
13, 14.  Seeds. 

15.  Yertical  section  of  the  same. 

(7  enlarged.) 


i    i 


i: 


278 

N.  Ord.  Palm  A. 

Tribe  Calamea. 

Genus  Metroxylon,*  RoHb,    Kanth,  Bnum.  Plant.,  iii,  p,  2U. 
There  are  7  or  8  species,  natives  of  tropical  Asia. 


278.  M etroxylon  Saga,t  Bottb.  in  Nye  Samling  af  K,  DansTce 

Videnah.  Sehk.  SkHft.,  ii,  p.  527  (1783). 

Sago  Palm,     Bambia,  Sagu,  &c.  (Malay). 

8yn. — M.  Sago,  Koenig.  M.  lave  ft  M.  inerme,  Mart.  Sag^s  Isdvis, 
Jcuik,  Blume,  A  aud.  phtpr.  S.  inermis,  Boa^.  S.  Bumphii,  Blume 
non  WUld.    S.  Koenigii,  €hr\ff, 

JP^ures.— Annals  of  Botany,  i,  t.  4 ;  Griffith,  Palms  India,  tt.  181, 182 ; 
Blame,  Bumphia^  ii,  tt.  126, 127. 

Descrvption, — A  tree  reaching  40  or  50  feet  in  height^  witli  a 

straight^  cylindrical^  thick^  smootli^  dirty- grey  stem  (5  or  6  feet  in 

circnmference)^  irregalarly  marked  with  annular  scars  of  the  fallen 

leaves^  giving  off  at  the  base  near  the  root  numerous  stolons^  and 

clothed  at  the  top  with  the  dry  brown  persistent  bases  of  the 

leaves^  the    exterior  hard,  the  whole  interior  soft,  dry,  spongy, 

yellowish  or  pinkish.     Leaves  few,  closely  placed,  forming  a  crown 

at  the  top  of  the  stem,  very  large,  20  feet  or  more  in  length,  erect, 

somewhat  curved ;  petioles  long,  7  or  8  inches  thick  at  the  lower 

part,  dilated  at  the  base  into  a  thick  sheath  surrounding  the  stem, 

quite  smooth,  green ;  rachis  quadrangular  below,  triangular  in  the 

upper  part,  keeled  beneath ;  leaflets  veiy  numerous,  opposite  or 

alternate,  sessile,  the  middle  ones  longest,  2^ — 8  feet  or  more,  those 

at  either  end  shorter,  \\ — 2  feet,  straight,  stiff,  narrowly  linear 

lanceolate,   very  acute  and  tapering,  entire,  coriaceous,  smooth, 

prominently  3-veined,  bright  green  above,  paler  beneath.     Flowers 

hermaphrodite  or  unisexual  or  mixed  in  the  same  inflorescence, 

very  numerous,  small,  sessile,  each  surrounded  by  three  small  ovate 

membranous  bractlets  which  are  smooth  within,  densely  covered 

externally  with  orange  wool  and  placed  in  the  axil  of  a  larger 

*  MetroxyUm,  from  i^vrpa,  marrow  or  pith ;  and  IvXov,  tree, 
f  Sagu,  one  of  the  Malay  names. 


278    METROXYLON  SAGU 

broadly  ovate,  rigid  striate  bract  smooth  on  both  surfaces ;  these 
are  closely  and  spirally  arranged  round  a  slender  cylindrical  axis, 
and  immersed  in  the  short,  very  dense  ferruginous  wool  which 
covers  it,  the  whole  forming  a  solid  cylindrical  blunt  spike  (ament), 
about  4  inches  long  and  |  inch  in  diameter ;  spikes  very  numerous, 
on  stout  woody  stalks,  divaricately  spreading  upwards  and  down- 
wards, alternately  arranged  on  opposite  sides  (distichous)  of  curved 
horizontal,  stiff,  flattened  branches  about  1 — 2  feet  long,  the 
surface  of  which  is  hidden  by  large  smooth,  leathery,  strong, 
brown  bracts,  one  at  each  node,  also  including  the  peduncle  of  the 
spike ;  branches  arranged  like  the  spikes  distichously  in  one 
plane,  coming  off  from  the  axils  of  very  large  close  amplexicaul 
bracts  placed  on  a  stout,  woody  rachis  6  or  7  feet  long,  at  first 
erect,  afterwards  nearly  horizontal;  from  6  to  9  of  these  great 
primary  branches  unite  below  to  form  one  vast  inflorescence  from 
the  centre  of  the  leaf-crown  thus  terminating  the  stem,  about 
10 — 15  feet  in  length,  and  covered  before  expansion  by  very 
large,  thick,  coriaceous,  attenuated,  brownish,  rigid  bracts  forming 
a  spathe.  Calyx  cup-shaped,  rigid,  striate,  smooth,  cut  about 
half-way  down  into  3  oblong,  obtuse,  concave,  erect  lobes.  Corolla 
twice  as  long  as  calyx,  thinner,  smooth,  reddish  or  purplish, 
deeply  cut  into  three  ovate-oblong  obtuse  segments.  Stamens  6, 
about  as  long  as  the  corolla  on  the  base  of  which  they  are  inserted, 
anthers  linear-oblong,  dorsifixed,  purplish.  Ovary  shortly  stalked, 
bottle-shaped,  covered  externally  with  thick,  smooth,  whitish, 
inversely  imbricated  scales  imperfectly  3-celled,  with  a  single 
erect  ovule  in  each  cell,  style  conical,  tapering,  triangular,  pointed. 
Fruit  about  the  size  of  a  small  apple,  1^  inch  in  diameter,  nearly 
spherical,  mucronate  at  the  summit,  entirely  covered  with  very 
closely  adpressed,  rhomboidal,  hard,  smooth,  polished,  imbricated, 
convex,  downward-pointing  scales  in  about  15 — 20  vertical  rows, 
largest  in  the  centre  and  decreasing  greatly  in  size  to  the  summit 
and  base,  each  marked  down  the  centre  with  a  furrow,  yellowish- 
green  tinged  with  red  when  fresh,  bright  yellow  when  dry, 
1 -celled,  the  endocarp  dry,  spongy,  pale  orange-coloured.  Seed 
solitary,  large,  erect  in  the  endocarp,  subglobose   with  the  base 


278    MBTROXTLON  SAGU 

often  excavated^  testa  dark  brown^  thin^  endosperm  forming  the 
bnlk  of  the  seed^  very  hard,  ivory-like,  embryo  small,  near  the 
surface  of  the  dorsal  part  of  the  endosperm. 

HabitaL — This  palm  is  especially  abundant  in  Sumatra  and  its 
adjacent  islands,  and  also  grows  wild  in  Java,  Borneo,  Celebes, 
Siam,  and  Malacca ;  in  the  Moluccas  it  is  found,  but  is  probably 
only  cultivated.  It  does  not  reach  so  far  eastward  as  New  Guinea 
and  its  neighbouring  islands.  Wet  rich  soil,  especially  at  the  base 
of  mountains,  are  its  favourite  localities.  It  has  not  been  grown 
as  yet  in  any  of  our  palm-houses  in  this  country. 

The  life  of  the  plant  lasts  for  about  15  to  20  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  period  the  terminal  inflorescence  is  formed.  Flower- 
ing is  followed  by  the  death  of  the  tree,  but  in  spite  of  the 
abundance  of  flowers  very  few  fruits  are  formed.  These  occupy 
2  or  3  years  in  ripening.  Seeds  are  seldom  perfected,  the  contin- 
nance  of  the  plant  being  mainly  effected  by  the  numerous  stolons  ; 
in  the  abundant  production  of  these  the  Sago  differs  from  most 
palms.  Griffith  states  that  his  8.  Koenigii  is  commonly  cultivated 
in  Malacca,  and  that  it  differs  from  M,  8agu  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  flowers.  He  also  says  that  it  has  spines  on  the  petioles, 
and  is  well  represented  by  Bumphius's  figure,  t.  17. 

The  other  species  of  Sago-Palm  is  Metroxylon  Bumphii^  Mart. 
{Sagus  Bumphii,  Willd.  non  Blame ;  Sagua  germinal  Blume ;  8, 
spinostts,  Rozb.) ;  which  is  figured  in  Martins'  great  work  on  Palms, 
tt.  102, 159,  and  apparently  in  Bumphius'  Herb.  Amboinense  i,  tt. 
17, 18.  It  can  be  recognised  from  M.  Sagu  by  the  petiole  and  leaf- 
rachis  being  armed  with  numerous  straight  brown  thorns  about  an 
inch  long.  The  range  of  this  species  is  further  to  the  east  than  the 
last,  it  is  plentiful  in  all  the  western  parts  of  New  Guinea,  and  is 
found  abundantly  in  the  Moluccas,  Mindana.o,  Gilolo,  Geram, 
Amboyna,  Ac,  but  is  not  known  to  occur  in  Timor  or  westwards 
of  Celebes,  being  thus  absent  from  Sumatra  and  Java.  This  tree 
has  decided  littoral  tendencies,  and  is  abundant  along  the  shore  of 
many  small  islands  forming  a  dense  impenetrable  belt.  The 
S,  vitiensisy  Wendl.,  of  the  Fiji  Islands  (beautifully  figured  in 
Seemann's  Flora  Vitiensisy  t.  80),  has  been  suggested  by  Beccari 


278    METROXYLON  SAGU 

to  be  only  M.  Rumphii  brought  from  the  Malay  islands  by  currents ; 
the  fruity  however,  looks  totally  distinct. 

C.  Koenig,  in  Annals  of  Bot.,  i,  p.  123 ;  Jack,  in  Hook.  Oomp. 
Bot.  Mag.,  i,  p.  266 ;  Griffith,  Palms  of  East  India,  p.  32 ; 
Boxb.,  Fl.  Indica,  iii,  p.  623;  Miquel,  Fl.  Ind.  BatavsB,  iii, 
p.  147 ;  Blame,  Bumphia,  ii,  p.  146 ;  Seemann,  Fl.  Yitiensis, 
p.  278 ;  Beccari,  Malesia,  fasc.  1,  p.  91 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med., 
p.  581. 

Official  Pcurt  and  Name, — Sago  ;  the  prepared  f ecnla  of  the 
Sagns  Bnmphii,  and  of  other  species  of  Sagus  (XJ.  S.  P.).  It  is 
not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of 
India ;  bat  it  was  formerly  recognised  in  the  London,  Edinburgh, 
and  Dublin  Pharmacopoeias. 

The  sources  of  Sago  are  referred  to  by  us  under  Arenga 
saecharifera,  and  in  our  article  on  that  plisbnt  it  is  also  stated  that 
the  palm  now  under  description  is  the  principal  botanical  source  of 
sago.  The  quantity  of  sago  which  may  be  obtained  from  this  palm 
{Metroxylon  8agu)  is  enormous ;  thus,  according  to  Crawford,  500 
or  600  pounds  is  not  an  unusual  produce  for  one  tree ;  and  Blume 
mentions  600  to  800  pounds  as  the  quantity  derived  from  a 
single  tree. 

Prepa/ration. — The  mode  in  which  sago  is  obtained  in  the 
Moluccas  is  as  follows : — At  that  period  of  its  growth  when  the 
medullary  matter  is  fully  developed,  which  is  before  the  appearance 
of  the  fruit,  the  tree  is  felled,  and  the  trunk  then  cut  into  billets 
six  or  seven  feet  long,  each  of  which  is  again  split  into  two  parts 
in  order  to  facilitate  the  removal  of  its  medullary  matter.  The 
latter  is  then  extracted  and  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder  like  saw- 
dust, and  then,  in  order  to  separate  the  starch  or  fecula  from  the 
cellular  and  fibrous  matters  with  which  it  is  mixed,  the  coarse 
powder  is  mixed  with  water  in  a  kind  of  trough,  having  a  sieve 
at  its  end.  The  water  containing  the  starch  in  suspension  then 
passes  through  the  sieve  into  a  suitable  vessel,  leaving  the 
matters  with  which  it  was  mixed  on  the  surface  of  the  sieve. 
It  is  then  allowed  to  stand  until  the  insoluble  fecula  is  deposited ; 
after   which    the    water    is    poured   off,    and    the    starch    which 


278    METBOXTLON  SAGU 

remains  is  again  washed  two  or  more  times^  and  snbseqaently 
dried^  when  it  constitates  the  powder^  which  is  termed  sago 
meal.  As  seen  in  commerce^  however^  sago  is  commonly 
found  in  grains  of  various  sizes^  and  therefore  termed  granulated 
sago.  The  mode  of  preparing  this  latter  kind  appears  to 
vary  somewhat  in  different  localities^  but  it  consists  essentially 
in  mixing  the  meal  with  water  into  a  paste^  and  rubbing 
it  through  suitable  sieves  to  cause  its  granulation.  It  is  after- 
wards dried  either  in  the  open  air,  or  more  commonly  in  ovens  at 
a  temperature  of  about  140^,  by  which  the  grains  become  more  or 
less  homy  and  translucent.  Forrest  says  that  in  New  Guinea, 
granulated  sago  is  made  by  mixing  the  sago  meal  with  water  and 
pressing  the  paste  through  a  sieve  into  a  very  shallow  iron  pot 
held  over  a  fire,  by  which  it  is  made  to  assume  a  globular  form  ; 
80  that,  he  adds,  our  grained  sago  is  half  baked,  and  will  keep 
long.  This,  also,  according  to  Blume,  is  the  process  which  is 
followed  by  the  Chinese  at  Singapore;  the  meal  being  first 
repeatedly  worked  and  dried.  Blume  adds,  during  the  heating 
process  the  grains  are  constantly  turned,  and  that,  though  quite 
white  at  the  commencement,  they  become  hard  and  somewhat 
pellucid  during  the  process. 

Oeneral  Characters,  Varieties,  Oommerce,  a/nd  Composition, — Sago 
occurs  in  two  states,  as  already  noticed,  that  is,  in  the  form  of 
powder,  when  it  is  termed  sago  meal,  and  in  grains,  and  then 
called  granuluted  sago.  It  is  imported  essentially  from  Singapore 
and  Sumatra.  The  average  importation  into  this  country  exceeds 
4000  tons  annually. 

1.  Sago  Meal, — This  is  rarely  seen  in  commerce.  It  exists  in 
the  form  of  a  fine  powder,  which  is  whitish,  buff-coloured,  or 
reddish.  It  has  a  faint,  somewhat  musty  odour.  Under  the 
microscope  it  is  seen  to  consist  of  irregularly  oval,  or  more  or 
less  ovoid,  usually  isolated  granules ;  these  often  appear  truncated, 
owing  to  their  mutual  pressure,  and  thus  become  more  or  less 
mullar-shaped,  or  have  a  dihedral  extremity.  The  granules  are 
frequently  more  or  less  broken,  and  have  an  irregular  or  tuber- 
culated  surface.     The  hilum   is   circular   when  perfect,  but   it  is 


278    METROXTLON  SAGU 

frequently  cracked^  either  in  the  form  of  a  single  slit^  or  of  a  croBSj 
or  in  a  stellate  manner.  The  surface  of  the  granules  is  marked 
by  concentric  rings^  but  these  are  much  less  distinct  than  those  of 
potato  starch.  The  granules  show  a  black  cross,  the  centre  of 
which  is  the  hilum,  when  examined  by  the  polarising  microscope. 

2.  Granulated  Sa^o. — This  occurs  in  two  forms,  which  are  dis- 
tinguished as  Common  Brown  or  Borneo  Sa^o,  and  Pearl  Sago. 
The  latter  kind  is  that  now  commonly  in  use.  Oormnon  or  Brown 
Sago  occurs  in  irregularly  rounded  grains,  varying  in  size  from  a 
white  mustard  seed  to  that  of  a  small  pea ;  the  grains  are  whitish 
on  one  side  and  greyish-brown  on  the  other.  Under  the  micro- 
scope they  are  seen  to  consist  of  granules,  like  those  of  sago  meal, 
but  more  broken  and  less  regular  in  their  shape.  The  grains  are 
frequently  mixed  with  more  or  less  of  a  dirty  yellowish-brown 
powder.  Pearl  Sago  is  prepared  by  the  Chinese  at  Malacca  and  at 
Singapore.  It  is  in  small  grains,  which  are  usually  about  the  size 
of  a  pin's  head ;  these  grains  are  hard,  and  ordinarily  more  or  less 
translucent.  They  have  no  odour,  and  but  little  taste ;  they  vary 
in  colour,  being  whitish,  brownish-yellow,  or  sometimes  pinkish. 
The  colour  of  the  grains  is  commonly  not  uniform  over  the  whole 
surface,  but  they  are  whitish  on  one  side  and  coloured  on  the 
other.  The  grains  are  usually  isolated,  but  in  some  cases  two 
or  three  may  be  found  adhering  together.  The  grains  may  be' 
rendered  perfectly  white  by  a  solution  of  chlorinated  lime. 
Under  the  microscope,  pearl  sago  is  found  to  consist  of  granules 
of  the  same  characters  as  those  of  sago  meal^  but  they  are  all  the 
more  or  less  ruptured,  and  present  but  indistinct  traces  of  rings. 

Sago  has  doubtless  the  same  composition  as  other  starches,  but 
it  has  not  been  analysed ;  hence  it  possesses  the  same  chemical 
characters  as  starch.  Sago  meal  is  insoluble  in  cold  water,  but 
by  boiling  in  water  it  ultimately  almost  entirely  dissolves,  and 
forms  a  clear  gelatinous  solution;  which,  when  cold,  assumes  a 
blue  colour  on  the  addition  of  a  solution  of  iodine.  Pearl  sago 
is  frequently  partially  soluble  in  cold  water,  which  is  doubtless 
owing  to  the  heat  used  in  its  preparation  having  more  or  less 
broken  up  the  granules  of  which  it  is  composed. 


278    MBTROXTLON  SAGU 

Adulteration, — A  factitiotiB  sago  is  sometimes  prepared  botli  in 
this  coantry  and  abroad  from  potato  starch.  It  occnrs  both  white 
and  coloured.  The  microscope  will  readily  distinguish  trae  from 
sparioas  sago,  by  the  difference  in  the  size,  form,  and  other 
characters  of  the  constituent  granules. 

Properties  and  Uses. — Sago  is  nutritive,  easily  digestible,  and 
free  from  all  irritating  properties,  hence  it  is  frequently  used  as  a 
food  in  febrile  cases,  and  in  convalescence  from  acute  diseases. 
For  this  purpose  it  should  be  boiled  in  water  or  milk,  and  the 
solution,  after  being  strained,  may  be  sweetened  with  sugar,  and 
flavoured  with  nutmeg  or  other  spice,  or  with  wine  when  its  use 
is  not  contra-indicated. 

Sago  is  also  largely  used  as  a  dietetical  substance  in  this 
country  and  elsewhere ;  it  is  commonly  served  up  in  the  form  of 
a  pudding. 

In  the  countries  where  it  is  found  sago  is  made  into  cakes, 

which  are  baked  and  used  as  bread.     It  has  been  stated  that  two 

pounds  and  a  half  of  this  bread  are  sufficient  to  serve  for  a  day's 

sustenance  to  a  healthy  full-grown  man,  and  as  a  tree  will  yield 

on  an  average  about  seven  hundred  pounds  of  sago  meal,  it  has 

been  calculated  that  a  single  acre  of   land  planted  with  three 

hundred    trees — one    seventh  to  be    cut  down  every  year — will 

maintain  fourteen  men. 

Bozbargh,  Flor.  Ind.,  yoI.  iii,  p.  623 ;  Blnme,  Rumphia,  yoL  ii, 
p.  148 ;  Crawford,  History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  vol.  i, 
pp.  390  &  393 ;  Forrest,  Voyage  to  New  Guinea,  2  ed.,  1780, 
pp.  39^tl ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  142 ;  Per.  Mat. 
Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  415 ;  Johnston,  Chemistry  of  Common 
Life,  vol.  i,  p.  107 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  763. 

DESCBIPTION  Of  FIATS. 

Drawn  from  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  from  the  botanic  gardens  of 
Calcutta  and  Buitenzorg  (Java) ;  the  leaf  added  from  Blumc.  1.  Part  of  extre- 
mity of  one  of  the  primary  divisions  of  the  inflorescence.  2.  A  flower-bract.  3. 
One  of  the  bractlets  which  surround  the  flowers.  4.  A.  flower.  5.  Pistil.  6.  Sec- 
tion of  ovary.  7.  A  fruit.  8.  Vertical  section  of  the  same.  9.  Seed.  10.  Portion 
of  extremity  of  a  leaf.    11.  Sketch  of  the  whole  tree,  very  much  reduced. 

(2-6  enlarged.) 


279 

N.  Ord.  ABACBiB.    Le  Maont  A  Dec.,  p.  831. 

Tribe  Acixroidea.    Lindl.,  Veg.  K..  p.  193  (N.  Ord.). 

Genus  Aooru8,*Irtnfi.  Kunth,  Ennm.  Plant.,  iii,  p.  87.  Species 
2  (or  more  P),  natives  of  the  nortbem  hemisphere. 


279.  Acorns  Calamiuiyt  Linn.,  Sp.  Plant,  eth  1,  p.  324  (1753). 

Sweet  Flag.      Cinnamon  Sedge. 

Figurea.—WoodyiWe,  t.  248;  Barton,  t.  30;  Hayne,  vi,  t.  31;  Steph, 
and  Church,  t.  32;  Nees,  t.  24;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  8  c;  Sjme,  E.  Bot., 
IX.  t.  1391;  Schnitzlein,  Iconographia,  t.  72  bb;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl. 
Germ. 

Description. — ^An  herbaceoas  pereDnial  with  a  very  long^  inde- 
finite^ branched  rhizome  immersed  in  the  mnd^  with  short  joints 
and  large  leaf-scars^  cylindrical  or  somewhat  compressed^  abont  } 
inch  in  diameter^  smooth,  pinkish  or  pale  green,  the  loaf-scars 
brown,  white  and  spongy  within,  giving  off  below  numerous,  long 
straight  slender  roots.  Leaves  few,  distichously  alternate,  form- 
ing erect  tufts  at  the  extremities  of  the  rhizome-branches  3  to  4 
feet  or  more  long,  about  an  inch  wide,  broader  at  the  insertion  on 
the  rhizome,  tapering  into  a  long  acute  point,  entire,  smooth, 
yellowish  green,  pink  at  the  base,  strongly  conduplicate  and 
equitantly  sheathing  below,  sword-like  above  with  the  central 
portion  thick  and  gradually  narrowing  to  the  entire  edges  which 
are  usually  somewhat  wavy  or  crimped.  Flowering  stems 
(scapes)  one  or  two,  each  arising  from  the  axils  of  the  outer 
leaves  which  they  much  resemble,  compressed- triangular,  solid, 
spongy.  Flowers  very  small,  sessile,  densely  packed  on  all  sides 
of  the  axis  so  as  to  form  a  solid,  cylindrical,  tapering  blunt  spike 
(spadix)  2 — 4  inches  long,  often  somewhat  curved,  really  termi- 
nating the  scape,  but  apparently  lateral  and  projecting  upwards 
at  an  angle  from  it,  the  direction  of  the  scape  itself  being  con-. 

*  Acorns  or  Jcorum,  in  Greek  atopoQ^  the  classical  name  for  the  plant, 
f  The  Calamua  aronusUcus  of  the  medisBYal  druggists;  and  perhaps  the 
KoKoftot  aptf/iOTiKSc  of  Dioscorides  (but  see  also  no.  297). 


279    AOORUS  CALAMUS 

tinaed  by  a  tapering  two-edged  bract  (spathe),  2 — 3  feet  long,  in 
all  respects  like  the  leaves.  Perianth  polyphyllous,  of  6  leaves 
imbricated  in  two  rows,  erect,  oblong-obovate,  acute,  scarions/ 
thicker  at  the  top  and  bent  inward,  one-nerved,  whitish,  incon- 
spicuous and  soon  withering.  Stamens  6,  opposite  to  and  as 
long  as  the  perianth  leaves,  either  free  or  very  slightly  united 
with  their  bases,  filaments  membranous,  flattened,  slightly  tapering 
upwards,  with  a  dark  nerve  up  the  centre,  anthers  small,  readily 
detached,  2-celled,  cells  divergent  at  the  base.  Ovary  large, 
exceeding  the  perianth  and  stamens,  obovoid-top-shaped,  trigonous 
but  irregularly  so  from  pressure  of  adjacent  flowers,  smooth, 
grooved  along  the  angles,  the  exposed  portion  thick,  pale  green, 
bluntly  pointed,  the  summit  capped  by  the  minute  sessile  stigmas, 
the  lower  portion  thin  and  white,  3-celled,  the  lower  part  of  the 
cells  excavated  in  the  substance  of  the  spadix,  filled  with  a  brittle 
gelatinous  substance  in  which  the  ovules  are  immersed;  ovules 
very  minute,  5  or  6  in  each  cell,  forming  tufts  which  are  pen- 
dulous from  the  large  placentas  projecting  from  the  upper  part  of 
the  axis,  and  are  surrounded  at  the  base  by  a  tuft  of  very  fine 
hairs ;  coats  of  the  ovule  very  distinct  though  extremely  delicate 
and  transparent,  their  mouths  prolonged  into  tubes  with  a  fringe 
at  the  orifice,  the  inner  one  protruded  much  beyond  the  outer, 
nucleus  small,  dark,  club-shaped.  Fruit  (not  seen)  bluntly  six- 
sided,  prismatical-clavate,  about  |  inch  in  diameter  in  the  thickest 
portion,  herbaceous,  indehiscent,  1 — 8  seeded.  Seed  with  a  thin 
testa,  embryo  in  the  axis  of  the  horny  endosperm,  green,  cylin- 
drical, radicle  next  the  hilum. 

Habitat. — Though  at  the  present  day  common  throughout  the 
continent  of  Europe,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  Sweet  Flag  is 
indigenous  to  more  eastern  countries.  So  far  as  Central  and 
Western  Europe  is  concerned  it  appears  to  have  been  almost 
certainly  spread  by  means  of  botanic  gardens  since  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Clusius  first  cultivated  it  at  Vienna  in  1574 
from  a  root  received  from  Asia  Minor,  and  distributed  it  to  other 
botanists  in  Belgium,  Germany,  and  Prance.  As  is  the  case  with 
other  rhizomatous  aquatics  it  is  very  readily  propagated,  and  it 


279    AOORUS  CALAMUS 

rapidly  became  established.  In  England  it  was  probably  intro- 
duced about  1596,  being  first  grown  by  Gerard,  who  may  have 
received  it  from  Bobin  of  Paris,  who  had  it  in  cultivation  a  few 
years  before ;  it  is  now  found  thoroughly  wild  on  the  margins 
of  ponds  and  rivers  in  most  of  the  English  counties,  and  is  in 
some  districts  very  abundant ;  in  Scotland  it  is  scarce  and 
evidently  introduced.  It  is  found  in  all  European  countries 
except  Spain,  and  becomes  more  abundant  eastward,  and  in 
Southern  Russia,  Northern  Asia  Minor,  and  Southern  Siberia 
appears  to  be  a  native,  extending  also  to  India,  China,  and 
Japan;  it  is  also  found  in  the  Northern  United  States  of 
America,  where  according  to  A.  Gray  it  is  also  truly  indigenous. 
It  is  said  to  be  grown  to  a  small  extent  in  Burma  and  Ceylon, 
and  is  common  in  gardens  in  India,  but  the  wild  plant  is 
that  generally  collected  for  use  especially  in  South  Bussia. 

Though  naturally  an  aquatic,  the  Sweet  Flag  will  grow  well 
in  gardens,  but  under  such  conditions  rarely  flowers.  Bipe  fruit 
must  be  very  rarely  produced ;  we  have  never  met  with  it  in  this 
country,  or  seen  it  in  herbariums ;  it  is  somewhat  differently  de- 
scribed by  writers.  The  leaves  are  much  like  those  of  Iris,  but 
may  be  distinguished  from  that  and  from  all  others  by  the  peculiar 
crimped  edges  of  the  leaves  and  their  aromatic  odour  when 
bruised,  or  broken  across.  The  delicate  ovules  form  a  beautiful 
and  instructive  subject  for  microscopic  examination. 

Several  species  have  been  described  from  India  and  China, 
which  are  probably  mere  varieties  of  A.  Calamus,  The  small 
A,  gratnineuSf  Ait.,  of  North  China  and  Japan,  is,  however,  generally 
allowed  to  be  distinct. 

Sjme,  B.  Bot.,  ix,  p.  11;  Hook,  f.,  Stud.  Flora,  p.  394;  Watson, 
Oomp.  Oyb.  Br.,  p.  348;  Trimen,  in  Joum.  Bot.,  1871,  p.  163; 
Ledebour,  Fl.  Bossica,  iv,  p.  13 ;  Gren.  &  Godr.,  Fl.  France, 
iii,  p.  332;  A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  U.  States,  p.  478;  Benth.,  Fl. 
Hongkong.,  p.  345 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  606 ;  Schott,  Prod. 
Syst.  Anoid.,  p.  578. 

Official  Pa/rt  and  Name. — Calamus  ;  the  rhizome  (U.  S.  P. 
Secondary),     It  is  not  official  in  the   British   Pharmacopoeia,  or 


279    AOORUS  CALAMUS 

the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  But  it  was  formerly  recognised  in 
both  the  London  and  Edinburgh  Pharmacopoeias. 

Collection. — The  rhizomes  of  sweet  flag  should  be  collected  late 
in  the  autumn,  or  in  the  spring ;  and  after  being  carefully 
washed,  and  freed  from  their  roots,  dried  with  a  moderate 
heat.  In  the  process  of  drying  they  shrink  to  about  half  their 
original  diameter,  but  their  odour  and  taste  are  much  improved. 
In  Germany  the  rhizomes  are  sometimes  peeled  before  they  are 
dried,  but  such  an  operation  materially  injures  their  properties,  as 
we  have  explained  below  in  speaking  of  their  general  characters 
and  composition.  Formerly  the  London  market  was  supplied 
from  Norfolk  and  the  banks  of  the  Thames ;  but  at  the  present 
time  the  rhizome  is  generally  obtained  from  Germany,  although 
in  rare  cases  also  from  India.  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  believe 
that  it  is  brought  into  Germany  from  Southern  Russia. 

General  Oharacters  and  Composition, — Calamus  or  sweet  flag 
rhizome  as  found  in  commerce,  is  in  flattened,  somewhat  curved 
pieces,  which  are  usually  some  inches  in  length,  and  from  about  half 
an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter.  Externally  it  has  a  yellowish-brown 
or  fawn  colour,  and  is  more  or  less  shrunken  and  wrinkled;  it 
is  marked  on  its  upper  surface  with  the  scars  and  fibrous  ves- 
tiges of  the  leaves,  and  on  its  under  surface  with  numerous  little 
elevated  pale-coloured  circular  dots  with  a  dark  centre;  these 
latter  indicating  the  points  from  whence  the  roots  arose.  The 
rhizome  breaks  with  a  short  rough  fracture,  its  texture  is  spongy 
or  corky,  and  its  colour  internally  is  pale  brown  and  somewhat 
roseate.  Its  odour  is  aromatic  and  agreeable ;  and  its  taste 
bitterish,  aromatic,  and  pungent.  The  Indian  variety  is  said  to 
have  a  stronger  and  more  agreeable  flavour  than  that  obtained 
in  Europe  or  the  United  States  of  America.  The  rhizome  dete- 
riorates by  keeping.  The  decorticated  rhizome,  which  is  some- 
times imported  from  Germany,  is  in  greyish-white  spongy  pieces 
of  variable  length.  Its  odour  is  similar  to  the  rhizome  as  ordi- 
narily prepared,  but  is  not  so  powerful,  as  the  receptacles  con- 
taining the  volatile  oil  of  sweet  flag  to  which  the  odour  is 
due  are  more  abnndant  in  the  external  portions  of  the  rhizome. 


279    AOORUS  CALAMUS 

The  decorticated  rhizomes  are  therefore  inferior  to  the  ordinary 
ones  of  commerce. 

The  principal  constituent  of  calamus  or  sweet  flag  rhizome  is 
volatile  oil,  which  can  be  obtained  by  distilling  it  in  a  fresh  or 
dried  state  with  water.  The  dried  rhizomes  yield  about  1*25  per 
cent,  of  oil;  this  oil  has  a  yellow. colour  at  first,  but  becomes  red 
by  keeping,  it  is  dextrogyrate,  and  to  its  presence  calamus  owes  its 
odour  and  aromatic  pungent  taste.  The  rhizome  also  contains  a 
bitter  principle,  termed  acorin,  which  was  first  isolated  by  Faust 
in  1867,  and  determined  by  him  to  be  a  glucoside;  it  has  since 
been  described  by  Pliickiger  and  Hanbury  as  a  very  bitter, 
perfectly*  crystalline  body.  To  thj9  presence  of  these  two  prin- 
ciples sweet  flag  rhizome  owes  its  properties ;  the  other  con- 
stituents, such  as  starch,  &c.,  are  of  no  importance. 

Adulteration. — The  rhizome  of  the  common  Yellow  Flag,  Iris 
Pseudacorus,  L.,  is  sometimes  mixed  with  that  of  the  Sweet 
Flag  rhizome  when  the  latter  is  collected  in  this  country ;  it  is 
readily  distinguished  by  its  darker  colour,  different  structure, 
and  want  of  aromatic  odour  and  taste. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Sweet  flag  rhizome  was  formerly 
much  esteemed  as  an  aromatic  stimulant  and  mild  tonic ;  but  at 
the  present  day  it  is  very  rarely  employed  by  regular  medical 
practitioners,  either  in  this  country  or  in  the  United  States, 
though,  as  stated  by  Pereira,  it  might  frequently  be  substituted 
with  good  effect  for  the  more  costly  oriental  aromaticB.  The 
testimony  of  many  physicians  indicate  that  it  is  now  too  rarely 
prescribed.  It  has  been  from  the  earliest  times  one  of  the  most 
popular  remedies  of  the  native  practitioners  of  India ;  in  which 
country  it  is  to  be  met  with  in  all  the  bazaars.  Dr.  A.  T.  Thomp- 
son and  Dr.  Royle  speak  highly  of  its  value  in  intermittent  fevers  ; 
either  by  itself,  or  in  conjunction  with  other  tonics.  In  Norfolk 
the  powdered  rhizome  is  still  employed  by  the  country  people 
for  the  cure  of  ague.  It  has  also  proved  very  serviceable  in 
flatulence,  flatulent  colic,  and  in  atonic  dyspepsia;  and  Pereira 
found  it  of  especial  value  in  the  dyspepsia  of  gouty  subjects.  It 
is  also  a  useful  adjunct  to  tonic  or  purgative  medicines  in  cases  of 


279    ACORUS  CALAMUS 

torpor  of  the  stomacli  or  alimentary  canal.  A  good  form  of 
administration  is  that  of  the  infusion  made  by  macerating  an 
onnce  of  the  rhizome  in  sixteen  ounces  of  boiling  water^  and 
given  in  doses  of  two  or  more  fluid  ounces ;  or  it  may  be  chewed 
habitually  as  a  remedy  in  the  forms  of  dyspepsia  mentioned  above. 
The  candied  rhizomes  are  employed  by  the  Turks  as  a  preventive 
against  contagion.  In  India  it  is  also  used  as  an  insectifuge  and 
insecticide^  especially  in  relation  to  fleas. 

Besides  its  use  in  medicine  it  is  also  employed  by  snuff  manu- 
facturers, more  especially  in  the  form  of  the  volatile  oil.  The 
latter  is  also  sometimes  used  in  the  preparatitti  of  aromatic 
vinegar.  When  the  rhizome  is  masticated  it  is  said  to  clear 
the  voice,  and  it  is  sold  by  herbalists  for  this  purpose,  and 
for  flavouring  beer.  Johnston  also  states  that  it  is  used  by  the 
rectifiers  to  improve  the  flavour  of  gin;  and  that  it  is  largely 
employed  to  give  a  peculiar  taste  and  fragrance  to  certain  varieties 
of  beer.  In  the  United  States  it  is  also  used  by  the  country 
people  as  an  ingredient  in  making  wine  bitters. 

Thomson's  Loud.  Disp.,  by  Garrod,  p.  104;  Per.  Mat.  Med., 
vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  139;  Pharmacographia,  p.  614;  Steph.  and 
Church.,  Med.  Bot.,  by  Burnett.,  vol.  i,  pi.  32 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by 
W.  &  B.,  p.  190;  Ainslie's  Mat.  Med.  (Madras,  1813),  p.  54; 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  p.  249;  Stille'a  Therapeutics  and 
Mat.  Med.,  2nd  edit.,  voL  i,  p.  489;  Johnston's  Chem.  of 
Common  Life,  vol.  ii,  p.  251. 


DESCRIPTION   OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  collected  at  Barnes  Common,  Surrey. 

1.  A  portion  of  the  rhizome,  with  the  base  of  the  terminal  tuft  of  leaves. 

2.  Upper  part  of  scape  bearing  the  spadiz  and  spathe. 

3.  Portion  of  a  transverse  section  of  the  spadix,  showing  vertical  sections 

of  four  flowers. 

4.  A  flower. 

5.  Perianth-leaf  and  stamen. 

6.  A  stamen. 

7.  Diagram  of  the  flower. 

8.  A  tuft  of  ovules. 

(3-6  enlarged ;  8  gi'eatly  magnified.) 


ALLIUM  SATlVmt.Im^. 


280 


N.  OrcL  LiLiJLOBiB.    LindL,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  200 ;  Le  Maout  & 
Dec.,  p.  843. 

Tribe  AUiea. 

QenuB  Aniuni,*  Linn.  Kunth,  Synopsis  PL,  iv,  pp.  379— 
459.  Speoies  nearly  200,  natires  of  temperate  and  warm 
regions,  chiefly  of  the  Old  World, 


280.  Alliiun  satiyum,  Linn.,  Sp.  Plant.,  ed.  1,  p.  296  (1753). 

Garlic* 

8yn. — Pormm  satiynm,  Beichtnb.    A.  Ophioscorodon,  Don. 

Figures. — Woodville,  t.  256;  Hayne,  vi,  t.  6;    Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  Ill; 
Kees,  Sapp. ;  Beich.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  x,  t.  488. 

Description. — A  perennial  herb,  with  a  short  axis,  circular  and 
'flat  on  the  top,  giving  off  slender  fibrous  rootlets  below,  and  from 
the  crown  several  very  thin,  shining,  papery  scales  which  are  large 
and  much  dilated  below,  and  bear  in  their  axils  large,  oblong- 
ovoid,  pointed,  solid,  sessile  bulbs,  unequal,  pressed  together, 
and  the  outer  ones  curved,  so  as  to  form  collectively  an  ovate, 
lobed,  white,  tapering  "  bulb.''  Flowering  stem  (scape)  terminal, 
passing  through  the  centre  of  the  "  bulb,''  quite  smooth  and 
shining,  solid,  1^ — 2  feet  high,  the  lower  half  surrounded  by  the 
leaf*sheaths,  but  itself  leafless.  Leaves  7  or  8,  all  from  the  root- 
stock,  being  the  scales  above  described,  each  of  which  is  con- 
tinued upwards  round  the  scape  as  a  complete  cylindrical  mem- 
branous tube,  obliquely  truncate  at  the  mouth,  where  is  a  short 
annular  entire  ligule ;  blade  broadly  linear,  flat,  spreading,  sub- 
acute, glabrous,  a  foot  or  more  long,  bright  glaucous  green. 
Flowers  sparingly  produced,  being  mostly  supplanted  by  sessile, 
ovoid  or  obovate,  smooth,  purplish-red,  solid  bulbils,  covered 
with  a  membranous  scale  and  tipped  with  an  elongated,  weak 
leafy  point,  and  crowded  together  to  form  a  globular  head  about 
1  inch  in  diameter,  which  when  young  is  enveloped  in  a  large 

*  Allium,  garlic ;  in  Greek  aKopoioy, 


2W    ALLIUM  SATIVUM 

The  properties  of  Grarlic  depend  on  a  volatile  oil^  wliicli  may  be 
readily  obtained  by  distilling  bruised  garlic  balbs  with  water  in  a 
large  still.  The  oil  passes  oyer  with  the  first  portions  of  the  water^ 
the  product  amounting  to  3  or  4  ounces  from  100  pounds  of  the 
bulbs.  As  first  obtained  the  oil  is  of  a  dark  brownish-yellow 
colour^  heavier  than  water^  and  decomposed  at  its  boiling  tem- 
perature. It  has  a  most  intense  odour  of  garlic.  When  purified 
it  is  a  colourless  oil  of  great  refracting  power,  and  lighter  than 
water.  It  boils  at  284^,  and  may  be  distilled  without  decom- 
position. It  smells  like  the  crude  oil,  but  less  disagreeably. 
According  to  Wertheim,  it  consists  of  a  peculiar  radical  called 
allyl,  combined  with  one  equivalent  of  sulphur,  and  is  therefore  a 
sulphide  of  allyh 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^As  a  medicine  garlic  was  held  in 
great  repute  by  the  ancient  physicians,  and  was  also  formerly 
much  used  in  modem  practice,  but  in  this  country  it  is  now 
rarely  used  by  the  regular  practitioner,  although  it  is  still 
employed  to  some  extent  in  the  United  States.  Grarlic  is  stimu- 
lant, diaphoretic,  expectorant,  diuretic,  and  tonic,  when  exhibited 
internally ;  and  rubefacient  when  applied  externally.  It  is  also 
regarded  by  some  as  anthelmintic  and  emmenagogue.  When 
taken  internally,  or  even  when  externally  applied,  the  oil  is 
speedily  absorbed,  and  may  be  detected  by  its  odour  in  various 
secretions  of  the  body.  In  intermittent  fevers  it  is  a  highly 
esteemed  Hindoo  remedy,  and  was  formerly  used  in  similar  cases 
in  this  country  and  elsewhere.  It  has  also  been  exhibited  inter- 
nally as  a  stimulant  and  stomachic  in  enfeebled  digestion  and 
flatulence ;  as  an  expectorant  in  old  chronic  catarrhs ;  as  a  diu- 
retic in  old  atonic  dropsies ;  in  the  nervous  and  spasmodic  coughs 
of  children ;  as  an  anthelmintic,  especially  in  cases  of  ascarides ; 
and  in  many  other  affections.  At  the  present  day,  it  is,  however, 
more  employed  as  an  external  remedy.  Thus  as  a  resolvent  in 
indolent  tumours ;  as  a  local  irritant  when  bruised  and  applied  to 
the  feet,  to  act  as  a  revulsive  in  disorders  of  the  head  or  chest ; 
as  an  antispasmodic  liniment  (composed  of  oil  and  garlic  juice) 
in  infantile  convulsions  and  other  spasmodic  or  nervous  affections 


280    ALLIUM  SATIVUM 

in  children ;  as  a  remedy  in  atonic  deafness^  when  a  clove  or  a 
few  drops  of  the  juice  may  be  introduced  into  the  ear ;  and  in  the 
shape  of  a  poultice  applied  to  the  pubes^  in  retention  of  urine 
from  debility  of  the  bladder. 

The  bulbs  of  other  species  of  Allium,  more  especially  Allium 
Oepa,  the  Onion,  have  similar  properties  to  those  of  garlic,  but 
milder. 

Garlic,  Onion,  and  other  species  of  Allium,  are  very  extensively 

used  in  different  parts  of  the  world  as  condiments  and  flavouring 

agents. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  209 ;  Thomson's  London  Dis- 
pensatory, by  GkuTod,  p.  106;  Steph.  &  Church.,  Med.  Bot., 
by  Bamett,  vol.  ii,  pi.  Ill,  Treasury  of  Botany,  pt.  1,  p.  39 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  87 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  i, 
p.  143 ;  Sharp,  in  Proo.  Amer.  Fharm.  Assoc,  for  1864. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  grown  in  Kew  Gardens. 

1.  A  whole  plant. 

2.  Yertical  section  of  the  base  of  the  stem  and  bulb. 

3.  Yertical  section  of  a  single  bulbil. 

4.  A  flower. 

5.  The  same,  with  the  perianth  removed. 

6.  One  of  the  inner  stamens. 

7.  Blade  and  part  of  sheath  of  a  leaf. 

(4-6  enlarged.) 


281 


N.  Ord.  LiLiACBJi. 

Tribe  ScOleig. 

Genus  TTrginea^*  Sieinh,  Baker,  in  Jonm.  Linn.  Soc.,  ziii, 
p.  215.  There  are  about  25  species,  natives  of  the 
Mediterranean  region,  India,  and  Tropical  and  South 
Africa. 


281*  Urginea  Scillayt  Steinheil  m  Ann,  8c.  Nat,,  aer.  2,  i,  p, 

330  (1834). 

Squill, 

8yn. — Scilla  maritima,  Linn.     Urginea  maritima,  Baker.    Omitho- 
galum  maritimum,  Lam,    Squilla  maritima,  8tevnh.    S.  Fancration,  . 
Steinh.    S.  littoralis,  &o.,  Jord.  &  ¥<mrr. 

l?^re«.— Woodville,  t.  265 ;  Hayne,  xi,  t.  21 ;  Nees,  fc.  55 ;  Steph. 
&  Ch.,  t.  153 ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  6  a ;  Bot.  Mag.,  t.  918 ;  B«dout6, 
Liliac.,  ii,  t.  116;  Jordan  &  Fourreau,  Ic.  Fl.  Europ.,  tt.  201 — 4. 

Description. — A  perennial  herb,  with  a  short,  thick,  flattened 
hard  axis  or  rootstock  emitting  beneath  long  tough  cylindrical 
roots,  and  closely  set  above  with  very  numerons  large  overlap- 
ping scales  forming  a  tunicated  balb  which  is  4 — 6  inches  long, 
nearly  globular,  but  slightly  produced  at  the  top,  the  outer  scales 
thin  and  papery,  red,  orange-brown,  or  dirty-white  in  colour, 
strongly  veined  with  numerous  parallel  nerves,  torn  and  usually 
truncate,  the  inner  ones  smaller,  fleshy,  closely  investing  one  another, 
broad  and  blunt,  curved,  nerved  like  the  outer  ones,  yellow  or  green 
where  exposed  to  the  air.  Leaves  few,  large,  1^ — 2  feet  or  more 
long  when  fully  grown,  spreading  and  recurved,  inserted  at  the 
base  of  the  flowering  stem,  and  appearing  long  after  the  flowers, 
narrowly  oblong-lanceolate,  tapering  at  the  base,  acute  at  the 
apex,  variable  in  width,  quite  entire,  dark  glossy  green,  thick, 
rather  wavy.  Flowers  numerous,  on  long  slender  pedicels,  erect 
in  bud,  spreading  during  flowering,  and  again  erect  with  fruit,  each 
with  a  small  lanceolate-linear,  spurred   bract  at  its  base,  rather 

*  Urffinea,  from  the  name  of  an  Arab  tribe  (Ben  Urgin)  in  Algeria, 
t  Scilla,  a-KiXKa,  the  classical  name  for  the  plant. 


281    URGINEA  SOILLA 

laxly  arranged  in  a  very  long,  slender,  erect  raceme,  1 — 1^  feet 
long,  the  stout,  smooth,  cylindrical,  purplish  rachis  continuing  the 
bare  erect  scape  of  about  the  same  length,  which  is  given  o£E 
from  the  axil  of  one  of  the  leaves.  Perianth-leaves  6  in  two 
rows,  nearly  equal,  very  slightly  connected  at  the  very  base,  | 
inch  long,  spreading,  persistent,  oval,  subacute,  with  a  single  faint 
midrib,  white  with  a  green  tinge.  Stamens  6,  hypogynous, 
or  very  slightly  attached  to  the  base  of  the  perianth-leaves,  and 
shorter  than  them,  filaments  short,  slightly  flattened  at  the  base, 
anthers  oblong-oval,  versatile,  greenish.  Ovary  ovate-ovoid, 
sessile,  faintly  3-lobed,  smooth,  shining,  3-celled,  with  numerous 
horizontal  ovules,  style  about  as  long  as  the  ovary,  simple,  stigma 
obscurely  8-lobed.  Fruit  a  dry  capsule  about  ^  inch  long,  on  an 
erect  stalk,  and  surrounded  at  the  base  by  the  shrivelled  persistent 
perianth,  oblong,  blunt,  deeply  3-lobed,  3-celled,  pericarp  dry 
and  papery,  splitting  loculicidally,  yellow.  Seeds  about  6  in  each 
cell,  ascending,  imbricated,  about  \  inch  long,  flattened,  obliquely 
obovate,  testa  membranous,  dark  purple-brown,  finely  reticulated, 
extended  into  a  marginal  wing,  embryo  cylindrical,  straight  in  the 
axis  of  the  fleshy  endosperm. 

Habitat. — This  bulb  is  found  in  dry  sandy  places,  especially  the 
sea  coast — to  which,  however,  it  is  by  no  means  confined — ^in  most 
parts  of  the  Mediterranean  district.  It  is  especially  abundant  in 
Southern  Spain,  and  is  found  in  Portugal,  Morocco,  Algeria,  Corsica 
and  most  of  the  other  islands.  Southern  France,  Italy,  Dalmatia, 
Greece,  Syria,  and  various  parts  of  Asia  Minor.  Its  range 
also  includes  the  Canary  Islands  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
The  great  bulb  is  usually  only  half  immersed  in  the  sand,  and 
produces  the  long  racemes  of  flowers  in  late  autumn,  the  leaves 
following  in  early  spring.  The  squill  is  grown  in  many  botanical 
gardens,  having  been  first  recorded  as  cultivated  in  this  country 
in  1629. 

It  is  a  variable  plant ;  the  bulb  differs  greatly  in  size  and  in 
colour,  and  the  leaves  and  flowers  also  present  similar  varieties, 
which  has  led  to  the  formation  of  several  species.     Sqmlla  Pan^ 


281    URGINEA  SOILLA 

cration,^  Steinh.  is  distingaished  by  a  bnlb  aboat  half  as  large  as 
the  type. 

A  section  of  the  fresh  bulb  of  the  squill  is  figured  in  Kunze^s 
Pharm.  Waarenkunde^  ii,  t.  17. 

6ren.  &  Godr.,  Fl.  France,  iii,  p.  184;  Parlatore,  Fl.  Ital.,  ii, 
p.  454;  Willk.  &  Lange,  Prod.  Fl.  Hisp.,  i,  p.  215;  Kunth, 
Ennm.  PL,  iv,  p.  332 ;  Baker,  in  Joum.  Lin.  Soc.,  xiii,  p.  221 ; 
Steinheil,  in  Ann.  Sc.  Nat.,  aer.  2,  vi,  p.  279 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med., 
p.  691. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Scilla  ;  the  sliced  and  dried  bulb 
(B.  P.).     The  sliced  and  dried  bulb  (I.  P.).     The  bulb  (U.  S.  P.). 

General  Gharacters,  Varisties^  Preparation,  and  Oommerce* — ^As 
seen  in  commerce  the  undried  bulb  is  somewhat  pear-shaped^  and 
ordinarily  about  the  size  of  a  man's  fist,  but  it  is  often  larger,  even 
sometimes  equal  in  size  to  that  of  a  child's  head ;  its  weight  varies 
in  a  corresponding  degree,  from  half  a  pound  to  more  than  four 
pounds.  It  has  the  usual  structure  of  a  tunicated  bulb,  being  com- 
posed internally  of  thick,  smooth,  shining,  fleshy,  juicy  scales,  which 
are  colourless  or  of  a  very  pale  roseate  hue,  and  thin  and  delicate 
at  their  margins.  These  are  closely  applied  over  one  another,  and 
are  invested  externally  by  dry  papery  or  membranous  scales  of  a 
reddish,  orange-brown,  or  whitish  colour.  The  scales  are  attached 
below  to  a  somewhat  conical  disc  or  contracted  stem  which  projects 
inferiorly,  and  gives  origin  to  the  roots,  the  remains  of  which 
may  usually  be  found  in  the  bulbs  of  commerce.  Squill  bulb  has 
but  little  odour,  but  its  inner  fleshy  scales  have  a  mucilaginous, 
bitter,  acrid  taste. 

Two  varieties  of  the  bulb  are  distinguished  in  commerce,  which 
are  termed  respectively  white  and  red  squill.  The  latter  is  so-called 
because  it  is  covered  externally  by  dry  reddish-brown  scales,  and 
the  inner  fleshy  ones  are  of  a  pale  rose  tint ;  while  in  the  former 
variety,  the  enter  and  inner  scales  are  all  colourless.  No  difference 
can  be  detected  in  the  medicinal  properties  of  these  two  kinds  of 
isqnill  bulb,  although  the  white  variety  is  sometimes  preferred. 

For  use  in  medicine  the  bulb  is  directed  to  be  sliced  and  dried. 
*  Supposed  to  be  the  vavgpaTiov  of  Dioscorides. 


281    URGINEA  SOILLA 

No  directions  are  now  given  in  our  pharmacopoeias  for  this  process^ 
bat  in  the  last  London  Pharmacopoeia  the  bulbs  before  drying  were 
directed  to  have  their  dry  outer  scales  removed,  then  to  be  cut  trans- 
versely into  thin  slices,  and  dried  with  a  gentle  heat  at  first,  which 
was  to  be  raised  gradually  to  150°.  At  the  present  time,  however, 
squill  is  generally  imported  in  ready  dried  slices  from  Malta,  and 
usually  packed  in  casks.  For  this  purpose  the  bulbs  are  collected 
in  the  month  of  August,  freed  from  their  dry  outer  scales,  and 
then  cut  transversely  into  thin  slices^  which  are  dried  in  the  sun. 
On  an  average  the  bulb  loses  about  four-fifths  of  its  weight  in  the 
process  of  drying. 

The  dried  slices  as  thus  prepared  are  narrow,  fiattish  or  some- 
what four-sided,  cunved,  yellowish  white  or  with  a  roseate  .hue 
according  to  the  variety  of  squill  from  which  they  are  obtained, 
from  one  to  two  inches  long,  translucent,  flexible,  brittle  and 
pulverisable,  scentless,  and  disagreeably  bitter  in  taste.  As  dried 
squill  readily  absorbs  moisture  to  the  extent  of  about  eleven 
per  cent.,  it  should  be  kept  in  well-stoppered  bottles,  or  in  a  very 
dry  place.  When  moist  the  slices  become  tough  and  cannot  be 
reduced  to  powder.  When  powdered,  unless  carefully  preserved  in 
a  dried  state,  it  greedily  absorbs  moisture  and  forms  a  hard  mass. 

Composition, — The  principal  constituents  of  squill  are  mucilage, 
which  is  abundant  j  a  bitter  principle  commonly  termed  sdllitin  ;  a 
non- volatile  acrid  principle  named  sJculein  ;  and  bundles  of  needle- 
shaped  crystals  {r aphides)  of  oxalate  of  calcium.  According  to 
Quekett,  powdered  squill  contains  about  ifin  per  cent,  of  these 
crystals ;  but  Fliickiger  only  found  about  three  per  cent.  To  the 
presence  of  these  crystals,  which  are  extremely  sharp  and  brittle, 
Fliickiger  attributes  the  itching  and  redness,  and  even  vesication, 
which  results  when  a  piece  of  fresh  squill  is  rubbed  on  the  skin ; 
but  other  experimenters  such  as  Tilloy  and  Chipman,  attribute  the 
irritation  thus  produced  to  the  presence  of  a  very  acrid  resinoid 
principle.  Scilliiin  has  been  regarded  by  some  as  the  active 
diuretic  and  expectorant  principle  of  squill ;  and  skulein  as  an  irri- 
tant poison.  According  to  SchrotF,  scillitin  is  a  glucoside.  It  will 
be  seen  from  the  above  statements,  that  the  nature  and  properties  of 


281    UBGINEA  SCILLA 

scillitin,  although  it  has  been  examined  by  several  chemists,  have 
never  as  yet  been  definitely  determined;  indeed  it  has  not  yet 
been  isolated.  But  it  has  commonly  been  regarded  as  the  active 
medicinal  constituent  of  squill. 

The  recent  examination  of  squill  by  E.  Merck,  indicate  the 
presence  of  three  distinct  substances,  which  have  been  named 
scillipicrin,  adllitoxiny  and  scillin.  He  also  states  that  of  these 
scillin,  which  he  obtained  as  a  light  yellow,  crystalline,  tasteless 
powder,  possessed  the  least  activity;  and  he  infers  that  the 
activity  of  squill  as  a  medicine  depends  upon  the  two  former ;  and 
that  it  is  probably  in  scillitoxin  that  the  peculiar  active  principle 
of  squill  is  to  be  looked  for. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — In  small  doses  squill  is  expec- 
torant and  diuretic ;  in  larger  doses  emetic  and  purgative ;  and  in 
over  doses  it  acts  as  an  irritant  poison.  It  is  generally  used  in 
combination  with  other  emetics  and  expectorants,  as  thereby  its 
effects  are  increased.  As  a  diuretic  it  is  most  beneficial  in 
dropsies,  more  especially  in  those  resulting  from  cardiac  disease  ; 
as  an  expectorant  it  is  useful  in  chronic  bronchitis,  catarrhal 
affections,  and  asthma ;  but  on  account  of  its  irritant  qualities  it 
should  not  be  administered  in  diseases  of  an  acute  inflammatory 
nature.  It  has  also  been  given  as  an  emetic  in  whooping  cough 
and  croup,  usually  combined  with  ipecacuanha,  but  as  an  emetic 
it  is  very  uncertain  in  its  action. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  202 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  R., 
p.  440 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  628 ;  Ohristison,  Disp.,  p.  836 ; 
IT.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  790;  Fharm.  Journ.,  vol.  x,  ser.  1, 
p.  359 ;  Tilloy,  Journ.  de  Pharm.,  vol.  zxiii,  p.  410 ;  Chipinan, 
in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  vol.  xziv  (1876) ;  E.  Merck,  in 
Pharm.  Journ.,  ser.  3,  vol.  ix,  p.  1038. 

DESCBIPTION   OF   FLATS. 

Brawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  from  Teneriffe ;  the  frnit 
added  frx>m  another  collected  by  the  late  D.  Hanbury  in  Syria ;  the  bulb  and 
leaves  from  a  specimen  in  Eew  Gardens.  1.  A  plant  with  the  flowering  scape 
in  blossom.  2.  A  flower.  3.  A  petal.  4.  Transverse  section  of  the  ovary. 
5.  Part  of  the  raceme  of  frait.  6,  7.  A  seed.  8.  Ti'unsverse  section  of  the 
same.  9.  A  plant  with  fully-grown  leaves,  about  \  nat.  size.  (2-4,  7,  g 
enlarged.) 


D-fi'LiirVLSidwUei-^liili^ 


/ 


tesS 


282 


N.  Ord.  LiLiACEJS.- 

Tribe  Aloinea, 

Genas  Aloe,*  Linn.  Kanth,  Ennm.  PL,  iv,  pp.  492 — 548 ; 
Endlicher,  Gren.  PL,  p.  143.  Over  170  species  are  described, 
natives  chiefly  of  Soath  Africa,  a  few  in  North  Africa, 
Arabia,  and  India. 


282.  Aloe  vulgaris,  Lamarck,  Encycl,  i,  p.  86  (1783). 

Common  Aloe.     Barbados  Aloe. 

8yn, — A.  barbadensis,  MiUer.    A.  perfoliata,  var.,  Ait.    A.  elongata, 
Murray.    A.  indica,  Boyle.    A.  littoralis,  Koenig. 

Fiffwrea. — Flora  Grsdca,  t.  341,  cop.  in  Sfceph.  &  Oh.,  1. 109,  and  Wood- 
ville,  vol.  V ;  Nees,  t.  50. 

Description. — A  perennial  plant  with  a  very  short,  thick,  cylin- 
drical, simple,  woody  stem,  sending  out  at  the  base  numerous 
stolons ;  roots  fibrous,  fleshy.  Leaves  not  very  numerous,  sessile, 
densely  crowded  on  the  short  stem  with  wide  dilated  bases, 
spreading  below,  then  ascending,  1  to  1^  foot  long,  tapering  to  a 
blunt  point,  very  thick  and  fleshy,  flat  or  rather  concave  above, 
convex  beneath,  the  margins  set  with  hard,  distant,  somewhat 
hooked  prickles,  surface  quite  smooth  and  shining,  dark  glaucous 
green,  sometimes  mottled.  Flowering-stem  (scape)  8  feet  high, 
oblique  at  base,  erect,  stout,  smooth,  cylindrical,  from  the 
centre  of  the  leaf-tuft,  flowers  stalked,  numerous,  erect  in  the 
bud,  afterwards  pendulous,  arranged  in  a  rather  close,  narrow, 
erect  raceme  terminating  the  scape,  bracts  exceeding  the  pedicels, 
membranaceous,  triangular,  acute,  reddish, '  veined,  persistent. 
Perianth  gamophyllous,  tubular,  about  1 J  inch  long,  rather  fleshy, 
bright  yellow,  deeply  cut  into  6  oblong,  bluntish  segments,  the  3 
outer  a  little  shorter  than  the  inner,  which  they  closely  cover, 
never  spreading,  persistent.  Stamens  6,  hypogynous,  a  little 
longer   than  the  perianth,  anthers  small,  oblong,  dorsifixed  near 

*  Aloe^  in  Greek  d\6ri,  the  classical  name.  {TAgnum  Alo'ea,  the  "  aloes  "  of 
Scriptnre,  is  the  fragrant  resinous  wood  of  Aquilaria  Agallocha,  Roxb.,  much 
used  for  incense  in  the  East.) 


282    ALOE  VULGARIS 

tbe  base,  bright  orange  turning  brown,  ovary  free,  oblong-ovoid, 
bluntly  triangular,  3-celled,  with  a  double  row  of  ovules  in  each 
cell ;  style  about  equalling  the  stamens,  simple ;  stigma  terminal. 
Fruit  (not  seen)  an  oblong- ovoid,  very  blunt  capsule,  about  1  inch 
long,  bluntly  trigonous,  3-celled,  pericarp  thin,  leathery,  greenish 
brown,  smooth,  dehiscing  loculicidally.  Seeds  very  numerous, 
compressed,  testa  thin  and  membranous,  lax,  forming  a  wide 
scarious  wing ;  embryo  in  the  axis  of  the  endosperm. 

Habitat — This  species  of  Aloe  grows  wild  in  Northern  Africa, 
from  Morocco  eastward,  and  probably  also  in  peninsular  India. 
It  is  also  found  in  the  Canary  Islands,  and  in  Southern  Spain 
abundantly,  and  may  not  improbably  be  indigenous.  In  Sicily, 
Greece,  and  the  Archipelago  it  is  usually  considered  to  be  an 
introduction.  The  plant  has  long  been  cultivated  in  the  West 
Indian  Islands,  Jamaica,  Antigua,  and  Barbados,  and  is  now 
found  in  an  apparently  wild  condition ;  it  is  probable  that  it  was 
introduced  at  an  early  period  from  the  Canary  Islands,  but  some 
botanists  consider  it  native.  There  do  not  seem  to  be  any  good 
grounds  for  the  opposite  supposition,  held  by  Kunth,  that  this 
aloe  was  introduced  from  America  into  the  Mediterranean  region. 

It  is  a  plant  readily  propagated  in  suitable  climates,  and  will 
grow  in  the  driest  situations  and  poorest  soils,  sending  oS 
abundance  of  radical  offsets.  It  flowers  in  the  summer,  and  is 
commonly  grown  in  botanic  gardens  here ;  having  been  cultivated 
iu  England  so  far  back  as  the  time  of  Gerard  (1596) ;  it  requires 
heat  in  the  winter  and  does  not  produce  seed  in  this  country. 

The  name  A.  vulgaris  includes  several  forms  which  have  been 
described  as  species,  but  in  the  want  of  good  series  of  well-pre- 
served specimens,  it  is  not  possible  to  trace  out  the  synonymy. 
The  A.  indica  of  Royle  is  said  by  him  to  be  common  in  dry 
situations  in  the  north-western  provinces  of  India,  and  also  fre- 
quently cultivated  in  gardens;  and  is  considered  by  Hanbury  as 
but  a  slight  variety  of  the  present  species.  A,  littoralis,  Koenig, 
is  described  in  his  MSS.  (in  the  British  Museum)  as  growing 
abundantly  in  sandy  maritime  eituations  on  the  coast  of  Ceylon, 
and  affording  from  its  cut  leaves  a  copious  foetid  yellow  juice. 


282    ALOE  VULGABIS 

There  is  also  an  antHentio  specmen  of  the  plant,  from  which  it 
appears  to  be  probably  a  stunted  small-flowered  form  of  A.  vuU 
garis.     Both  A,  indica  and  A.  littoralis  have  red  flowers. 

Boem.  &  Schnltes,  Syst.  Yeg.,  yii,  p.  693;  Kanth,  Ennm. 
Plant,  p.  521 ;  WiUk.  &  Lange,  Prod.  Fl.  Hiap.,  i,  p.  201 ; 
Grisebach,  Fl.  B.  West  Indies,  p.  582 ;  Lindl^  Fl.  Ind.,  p.  594 ; 
Boyle,  111.  Himalayan  Bot.,  p.  390. 

Official  Part  amd  Name. — Alob  Barbadeksis  ;  the  inspissated 
juice  of  the  leaf  (B.  P.).  The  inspissated  juice  of  the  leaf  (I.  P.). 
Aloe  Barbadsnsis  ;  the  inspissated  juice  of  the  leaves  (U.  S.  P.). 

Situation  of  the  Aloe  juice. — The  bitter  juice  which  by  inspissa* 
tion  forms  aloes^  is  contained  in  vessels  placed  longitudinally  beneath 
the  epidermis  of  the  thick  fleshy  leaves  of  this  and  other  species 
of  Aloe.  When  the  leaf  is  broken,  or  cut  transversely,  the  jnice 
which  then  exudes  is  nearly  colourless,  but  it  quickly  acquires  a 
brownish-yellow  colour  from  exposure  to  the  air.  The  activity  of 
this  juice  doubtless  varies  with  the  age  of  the  leaf  and  the  season 
of  the  year,  but  we  have  had  no  accurate  experiments  upon  this 
head,  although  so  far  as  the  present  plant  is  concerned,  the  juice 
would  appear  to  be  the  most  active  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  In 
Curasao,  according  to  Haaxman,  the  bitter  principles  are  at  the 
maximum  when  the  leaves  are  changing  from  green  to  brown. 

Preparation. — In  Barbados,  where  this  species  of  Aloe  is  care- 
fully cultivated  for  the  production  of  the  drug,  the  leaves  are  cut 
annually  in  March  and  April  in  the  heat  of  the  day ;  and  this 
process  of  cutting  does  not  sensibly  injure  the  plants,  as  these 
are  subjected  to  the  same  operation  for  several  years.  The  finest 
kind  of  commercial  Barbados  aloes  is  obtained  by  evaporating 
the  juice  which  flows  spontaneously  from  the  transversely  cut 
leaves^  for  if  pressure  be  employed  the  proper  aloetio  juice 
becomes  mixed  with  the  colourless,  tasteless,  mucilaginous  liquid, 
with  which  the  cells  constituting  the  pulp  of  the  leaf  are  filled 
and  thus  an  inferior  kind  of  aloes  is  obtained.  As  a  general  rule 
the  aloe  juice  is  evaporated  to  a  proper  consistency  by  artificial 
heat ;  but  it  is  said  that  occasionally  a  superior  kind  of  aloes  is  pre- 
pared by  exposing  the  juice  in  shallow  vessels  to  solar  heat  until 


282    ALOE  VULGARIS 

completely  hardened.     Dr.  Patrick  Browne  states  that  this  sun- 
dried  juice  was  formerly  termed  in  Jamaica  Socotrine  aloes. 

The  process  as  now  commonly  adopted  in  Barbados  for  the 
preparation  of  the  best  aloes  is  as  follows  : — The  leaves,  which  are 
cut  ofE  close  to  the  plant,  are  put  as  quickly  as  possible,  with 
their  incised  ends  downwards  in  a  Y-shaped  wooden  trough, 
which  is  placed  on  an  incline,  and  has  a  hole  at  its  lower  end, 
through  which  the  juice  as  it  runs  from  the  transversely  cut  ends 
of  the  leaves  down  the  sides  of  the  trough,  flows,  and  is  received 
in  a  vessel  placed  beneath  for  that  purpose.  The  juice  is  allowed 
to  exude  spontaneously,  no  pressure  whatever  being  applied  to  the 
leaves.  As  the  vessels  become  filled  with  juice,  the  latter  is 
poured  into  a  cask,  and  then  either  evaporated  at  once,  or  the 
juice,  which  is  said  not  to  injure  in  any  degree,  is  kept  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  manufacturer,  for  weeks  or  even  months,  before 
it  is  thus  inspissated.  This  process  of  inspissation  is  usually  con- 
ducted in  a  copper  vessel,  at  the  bottom  of  which  a  large  ladle 
is  placed,  into  which  the  impurities  subside  as  the  boiling  proceeds, 
and  are  removed  from  time  to  time.  When  the  juice  has  been 
sufficiently  boiled,  which  is  readily  judged  of  by  an  experienced 
operator,  the  thickened  juice  is  poured  into  large  gourds  or  boxes, 
and  allowed  to  harden.  Hughes  says  that  the  boiling  takes  about 
five  hours,  and  "  the  way  to  know  when  it  is  enough  boiled  is  to 
dip  a  stick  in  the  liquor,  and  observe  whether  the  aloes  sticking  to 
it,  when  cold,  breaks  short ;  if  it  doth,  then  it  is  boiled  to  per- 
fection.'' 

Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  state  that  the  troughs  used  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  the  leaves  are  about  4  feet  long  and  12  to  18 
inches  deep,  and  that  it  takes  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  fill  a 
trough.  Five  troughs  are  generally  used  for  the  purpose,  which 
are  so  placed  as  to  be  readily  accessible  to  the  cutters,  ''  and  by 
the  time  the  fifth  is  filled,  the  cutters  return  to  the  first  and 
throw  out  the  leaves,  which  they  regard  as  exhausted.  The  leaves 
are  neither  infused  nor  boiled,  nor  is  any  use  afterwards  made 
of  them  except  for  manure.'' 

General  Characters  and  Commerce.  —  Barbados  aloes  varies  in 


282    ALOE  YULGARIS 

appearance  from  a  deep  reddish-brown  or  chocolate  colour  to  a  dark 
brown  or  almost  black.  It  breaks  commonly  with  a  dull  conchoidal 
or  waxy  fracture ;  or  sometimes  it  presents  a  smooth  and  glassy 
appearance  when  broken^  and  is  then  known  in  London  as 
''Capey  Barbados/'  This  kind  of  aloes,  by  keeping,  also  pre- 
sents a  dull  fracture.*  Barbados  aloes  is  opaque  in  mass,  but 
when  small  layers  ar^held  up  to  the  light,  they  are  commonly 
seen  to  be  translucent,  and  of  an  orange-brown  tint.  In  some 
cases,  however,  this  variety  of  aloes  is  opaque  even  in  small  frag- 
ments. The  powder  of  Barbados  aloes  is  of  a  dull  olive-yellow 
colour.  It  has  a  bitter  nauseous  taste,  and  a  strong  odour,  which 
is  especially  developed  when  it  is  breathed  upon,  and  which  is 
commonly  regarded  as  disagreeable.  In  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury^s 
Pharmacographia  the  odour  is  described  as  analogous  to,  but 
easily  distinguishable  from,  that  of  Socotrine  aloes.  In  the 
British  Pharmacopoeia  it  is  stated  that  Barbados  aloes  '^  dissolves 
almost  entirely  in  proof  spirit,  and  during  solution  exhibits  under 
the  microscope  numerous  crystals.'^ 

Barbados  Aloes  is  imported  in  boxes  or  gourds,  but  more 
commonly  in  the  latter.  The  boxes  usually  hold  about  56  lbs. ; 
the  gourds  from  10  to  50  lbs.  or  more.  The  aloes  is  poured  in 
a  melted  state  through  a  square  hole  cut  at  the  top  of  the  gourd ; 
and  when  the  gourd  is  full,  the  hole  in  the  shell  is  partially 
closed  by  replacing  the  piece  and  covering  over  it  a  portion 
of  coarse  cloth,  which  is  nailed  down  over  the  aperture.  In  the 
year  1870  we  imported  from  Barbados  970  cwt.  of  Aloes,  and 
in  1871,  964  cwt.  out  of  the  total  export  of  1046  cwt.  from  that 
colony. 

Other  Varieties  op  Aloes.  —  Besides  the  official  Barbados 
aloes  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India, 
and  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  we  have  two  other 
varieties  of  aloes  which  are  official,  namely.  Aloe  Socotrina  in  all 
the  above-mentioned  pharmacopoeias,  and  Aloe  Capensis  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  only.  The  two  latter 
varieties  are  described  under  "Aloe  socotrina^'  and  "Aloe 
ferox.'^     Under  these  two  plants  some  other  commercial  varieties 


2^2    ALOE  TULGAMS 

of  aloes  are  ali-o  brieSj  noticed^  In  Tuson's  Yetermaiy  Fharma- 
ooporia  two  yarieties  of  aloes  are  mentioned,  namelj,  ''Aloe 
Barbadensis^'  and  "  Aloe  Capensia/' 

The  Cf/mpf/sntum,  Medical  Pr&pertiet,  Vie*,  and  all  oilier  details 
respecting  aloes  are  giren  under  Aloe  socotrina  and  Aloe  ferwE, 

Tfrr,  Mat.  Med.,  rol.  ii,  pt,  I,  pp.  IS 4  A  ISO ;  Per.  Mat.  Mfid.,  by 
B,  A  B.,  p.  4:S ;  Pharmacos^Taphia,  p.  61 S :  U.  S.  Disp^  bj 
W,  &  B.,  pp.  90  A  93 ;  Haghes.  Xatnral  History  of  Barbadoes, 
p.  154;  Tnson's  Yeierinary  Phannacopceia,  p.  23;  Trecnl, 
Aud.  dec  Sciences  Xat.,  Bot ,  ta].  sir  (1872.,  p.  85;  Pharm. 
Jonm.,  ToL  z,  ser.  1,  p.  106 ;  Craig,  in  Pbann  Joum.,  toL  t, 
ser,  3,  p.  827 ;  Simmonds,  in  Pbann.  Joom.,  toL  iii,  8«^.  3, 
p.  83 ;  Med«  Times  and  Gaz.,  Jan«y  1868,  p.  75. 


DESCRIPTION   OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  in  the  Boyal  Gardens,  Kew. 

1.  A  flowering  phmt ;  reduced. 

2.  Baceme  of  flowers. 

3.  Upper  portion  of  a  leaf. 

4.  Vertical  section  of  flower. 

5.  Stamens. 

6.  Transverse  section  of  ovai^. 

(4-6  enlarged.) 


^' 


iBwFi!.i..uj«i,i  ALOE  SUCCCIE!NA(.;a 


283 

N,  Ord.  LiLiACB^. 
Tribe  Ahinea. 
Genas  Aloe,  Lin/n, 

283.  Aloe  SUCCOtrina,'*'  Lam.,  Encycl  Meth.,  i,p.  85  (1783). 

Socotrine  Aloe, 

8yn. — A.  perfoliata,  var.,  Linn,  A.  vera,  MiU.  (non  Linn,).  A.  offici- 
nalis, Forsk,  ?    A.  parpurascens,  Haiw,  ? 

JPV^Mreg.— WoodviUe,  t.  260;  Nees,  t.  61;  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  110;  Berg 
and  Sch.,  t.  4  f ;  Hayne,  ziy,  t.  23  (A.  piirpurcucena) ;  CommelinuB. 
Hort.  Med.  Amstelod.,  t.  48 ;  Salm-Djck,  Aloe,  tt.  22,  1,  and  22,  2 
(A.  pwrpurtucene) ;  Bot.  Mag.,  tt.  472,  1474. 

Description, — ^A  slinib  with  a  stont^  straight^  cylindrical,  woody 
stem,  reaching  6  feet  in  height,  strongly  ringed  with  the  scars  of 
fallen  leaves,  and  becoming,  when  old,  dichotomonsly  branched ; 
stolons  few  or  none.  Leaves  closely  crowded  at  the  ends  of  the 
branches  to  form  large  tufts,  sessile,  with  dilated  semi-amplexicaul 
bases,  15 — 20  inches  long,  curved  at  the  base,  then  erect  and 
slightly  incurved,  gradually  tapering  to  an  acute  point,  nearly 
flat  or  a  little  concave  above,  slightly  convex  beneath,  with 
numerous  sharp,  white,  spreading  prickles  on  the  margins,  dull 
rather  glaucous  green,  the  older  ones  reddish  at  the  ends. 
Flowering-stem  exceeding  the  leaves,  erect,  slender,  somewhat 
angular,  purplish-green,  flowers  numerous,  crowded,  stalked, 
forming  a  narrow,  erect  spike-like  raceme ;  pedicels  slender,  erect, 
curved  when  in  flower,  so  that  the  flowers  hang  downwards ;  bracts 
shorter  than  the  pedicels,  broadly  ovate,  acute,  with  a  wide 
amplexicaul  base,  often  toothed,  membranous,  pinkisli  with  dark 
veins^  the  lower  ones  distant  and  empty.  Perianth  about  1^ 
inch    long,    orange-red    or    pinkish    with    greenish-white    tips, 

*  Succoirina:  **  Aloe  attocotrinum'''  was  the  name  of  the  drug  in  the      30 
century.    0.  Banhin  derives  it  from  8iaccu8  cUrinus,  the  powder  being  yellow ; 
bnt  it  is  more  probably  a  cormption  of  soeotorina  or  aoeotrina,  from  the 
island  whence  it  was  chiefly  obtained.    See  '  Linschoten's  Yoyages '  (1598), 
p.  128  (Eng.  edition). 


283    ALOE  SUOOOTEINA 

segments  obtase.     Stamens  eqaalling  the  perianth  or  three  some- 
times a  little  longer.      The  rest  as  in  A.  vulgaris. 

Habitat. — The  plant  here  described  and  figured  is  an  old  and 
well-known  garden  inhabitant^  and  without  doubt  the  A.  succotrina 
or  A.  soecotrvna  of  botanists.  It  was  first  known  to  the  Dutch^ 
and  was  grown  in  the  garden  of  Simon  Beaumont  in  Holland^  in 
1689.  Kiggelaer,  who  described  the  plants  says  that  it  came  ''  ex 
India  orientali,'^  though  he  also  calls  its  ''  succotorina  vera.''  We 
are  not  told  the  evidence  on  which  this  latter  determination  rested ; 
nor  indeed  do  we  know  where  the  species  has  ever  been  collected 
in  a  wild  state  in  Socotra  or  elsewhere. 

The  aloe  which  is  so  abundant  in  Socotra  has  been  seen  by 
many  travellers.  Wellstead  in  1835  describes  it  as  growing 
abundantly  in  parched  and  barren  places  on  the  sides  and  summits 
of  the  limestone  mountains  at  500 — 3000  feet^  especially  on  the  west 
side  of  the  island^  where  the  hills  for  miles  are  thickly  covered 
with  plants.  He  adds  that  the  plant  '^  is  too  well  known  to  need 
description.''  Whether  this  abundant  plant  is  A.  succotrina 
further  examination  must  determine.  That  it  is  the  present  species 
may  well  be  doubted^  since  an  aloe  undoubtedly  gathered  in 
Socotra  by  Mr.  Wykeham  Perry  in  1878  (the  only  species  he  saw 
there)  and  sent  in  a  living  state  to  Kew  (where^  however^  it  has 
unfortunately  not  survived)^  was^  as  Mr.  Baker  informs  us^  a  totally 
different  species  with  short  leaves. 

We  are  indebted  also  to  Mr.  Jas.  Collins^  late  Curator  of  the  Phar- 
maceutical Society's  Museum^  for  fragments  of  some  leaves  of  an  Aloe 
from  Socotra  of  which  he  obtained  living  plants  at  Aden.  These  are 
much  smaller  than  those  of  A,  auccotrinay  and  ovate  or  rounded  at 
the  base,  and  are  apparently  identical  with  Mr.  Wykeham  Perry's. 
A.  succotrina  has  been  cultivated  in  England  for  over  a  century, 
and  fiowers  annually  in  early  spring  in  our  greenhouses.  A.  purpu' 
rascens,  Haw.,  differs  in  little  besides  its  shorter  and  thicker  leaves 
with  coarser  teeth  ;  it  is  a  native  of  South  Africa.  A.  officinalis, 
Forsk.,  is  a  tropical  Arabian  plant  and  has  been  doubtfully  referred 
to  the  present  species ;  Forsk&l  thought  it  probably  yielded  true 
official  aloes. 


283    ALOE  SUOCOTBINA 

Commelinns,  Hort.  Med.  Amstelod.,  i,  p.  91  (1697) ;  Miller,  Gard. 
Diet.,  ed.  8,  n.  15  (1768);  PorskAl,  M.  iEgypt.  Arab.,  p.  73 
(1776);  Knnth,  Enom.  Plant.,  iv,  p.  624;  lindl.,  PI.  Med., 
p.  694 ;  WellBtead.  in  Joum.  B.  Qeogr.  Soc ,  v,  p.  197  (1885) ; 
Fliick.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr.,  p.  616. 

Official  Pcurt  and  Names, — ^Alob  Socotbina  ;  the  inspissated  jnice 
of  the  leaf  of  one  or  more  nndetermined  species  of  Aloe^  Linn, 
(B.  P.).  The  inspissated  juice  of  the  leaf  (I.  P.).  Alob  Soco- 
tbina; the  inspissated  juice  of  the  leaves  (U.  S.  P.).  It  is 
commonly  known  as  Socotrine  Aloes ;  but  also  under  the  names  of 
Bombay,  East  Indian,  and  Zanzibar  Aloes.  When  opaque  and 
liver-coloured,  it  is  also  known  as  Hepatic  Aloes.  The  very 
inferior  kind  of  aloes,  which  constitutes  the  Mocha  or  Moka 
Aloes,  of  Pereira,  and  some  other  pharmacologists,  is  thought  by 
Fluckiger  and  Hanbury,  to  be  a  kind  of  Socotrine  Aloes.  It  is 
sometimes  imported  in  a  fluid  state,  and  is  then  termed  Liquid 
Socotrine  Aloes,  or  Socotrine  Aloe  JuicQ. 

Preparation  and  Commerce, — The  situation  of  the  bitter  juice 
which  by  inspissation  forms  the  official  aloes,  and  also  the  mode 
in  which  aloes  is  prepared  in  Barbadoes^  are  fully  referred  to 
under  ''  Aloe  vulgaris.'' 

We  have  no  definite  information  of  the  mode  of  preparing 
Socotrine  Aloes,  or  even  of  the  particular  districts  in  which  it  is 
carried  on.  Pereira  states,  that  '^  in  the  Island  of  Socotra  the 
leaves  are  plucked  at  any  period,  and  by  any  one  who  chooses  to 
take  the  trouble ;  and  after  being  placed  in  a  skin,  the  juice  is 
allowed  to  exude  from  them.''  The  following  mode  of  preparing 
Socotrine  Aloes,  as  related  by  Hermann,  was  communicated  to 
Ray,  by  Dr.  Palmer  : — ''  When  the  leaves  which  have  been  pulled 
from  the  roots  are  gently  compressed  by  the  hand  or  an  instru- 
ment, the  juice  drops  from  them  into  a  receiving  vessel;  and 
being  allowed  to  stand  during  a  night,  deposits  the  grosser  parts. 
The  next  day  it  is  transferred  to  another  vessel,  in  which  it  is 
exposed  to  the  sun  that  it  may  harden  and  become  dry,  when  it 
acquires  a  brownish-yellow  colour." 

It  is  imported  by  way  of  Bombay  in  boxes  lined  with  tin,  and 


283    ALOE  8DGC0TBINA 

in  kegs.  It  is  carried  to  Bombay  by  the  Arab  traders  from  the 
African  coaat^  the  Bed  Sea  ports^  or  by  way  of  Zanzibar^  from 
Socotra. 

Oeneral  Oha/radera  and  Varieties. — Socotrine  aloes  occors  in 
masses  which  are  generally  of  a  reddish-brown  colour ;  bat  the 
colonr  varies  in  different  parts  of  the  same  mass.  The  reddish 
tint  is  also  liable  to  great  yariation^  thus  sometimes  the  masses  are 
garnet-red^  at  other  times  they  are  much  paler^  and  when  quite 
dry  are  golden-red^  and  yield  a  golden-yellow  powder.  By 
exposure  to  air  the  colour  is  deepened.  The  fracture  is  usually 
smooth  and  resinous^  but  sometimes  rough  and  irregular.  In 
thin  films  it  is  usually  nearly  transparent.  The  odour  of  socotrine 
aloes^  especially  of  freshly  broken  pieces^  when  breathed  upon^  is 
strongs  peculiar^  and  agreeable ;  it  is  described  by  Fliickiger  and 
Hanbury^  as  comparable  to  myrrh  or  saffron.  The  varying  odour 
of  the  different  kinds  of  aloes  is  esp^ially  relied  on  by  dealers  as 
a  distinguishing  character  between  them.  ^  Its  taste  is  very 
bitter.  It  dissolves  entirely  in  proof  spirit ;  and  during  solution 
exhibits  under  the  microscope  numerous  minute  crystals. 

As  already  noticed^  this  variety  of  aloes  is  sometimes  brought 
over  in  a  fluid  state,  when  it  is  known  as  Liquid  Socotrine  Aloes. 
This  kind,  like  that  of  ordinary  socotrine  aloes,  is  obtained  from 
Bombay.  When  freshly  imported  its  consistence  is  that  of  treacle 
or  very  thin  honey  ;  its  colour  deep  orange  or  palm-oil  yellow  ;  its 
odour  powerful,  fragrant,  and  resembling  that  of  fine  socotrine 
aloes.  By  standing,  it  separates  into  two  parts, — an  inferior, 
the  larger  portion,  being  opaque,  orange-brown,  and  crystalline ; 
and  an  upper  portion,  which  is  dark  coloured  and  transparent.  It 
was  from  examination  of  liquid  socoi/rine  aloes  that  Pereira  was 
led  to  the  belief  that  both  socotrine  aloes  and  hepatic  aloes  were 
derived  from  the  same  botanical  source ;  and  there  can  now  be  no 
doubt  that  the  hepatic  aloes,  as  formerly  distinguished  from 
socotrine  aloes  by  its  opacity  and  liver  colour,  although  resembling 
it  in  odour,  and  supposed  to  have  a  different  botanical  source,  was 
doubtless  a  form  of  socotrine  aloes  which  owed  its  opacity  to  the 
crystals  it  contained.     But    much  of   the  hepatic   aloes  of  the 


283    ALOE  SUOOOTRINA 

present  day,  however,  does  not  owe  its  opacity  to  the  crystals,  but 
to  the  presence  of  some  feculent  matter.  It  should  also  be  noticed 
that  the  term  hepatic  is  now  applied  to  any  aloes  which  has  a 
liver  colour ;  thus  we  have,  as  is  noticed  in  our  description  of 
Cape  aloes  under  ''Aloe  spicata,''  hepatic  cape  aloes,  as  well  as 
eocotrine  cape  aloes. 

Oomposition.-^-ThB    principal    constituents    of     the    different 
Varieties  of  aloes  which  are  described  by  us  undei*  ^'  Aloe  vulgaris,^' 
"Aloe  socotrina,^'  and  ^'  Aloe  spicata,'*  are,  2k  volatile  oil,  aloin,  and 
resin.     The  odour  of  aloes  is  due  to  the  volatile  oil,  which  the 
drug  contains,  however,  in  but  very  small  proportion.     Thus,  T. 
and  H.  Smith,  of  Edinburgh,  only  obtained  from  400  pounds  of 
aloes  about  one  fluid  ounce  of  volatile  oil.     It  is  described  by 
them  as  a  pale-yellow  mobile  liquid,  of  about  specific  gravity  0*868, 
and  with  a  boiling  point  of  between  510°  and  520°.     Aloin  was 
first  discovered  by  T.  and  H.  Smith   in  Barbadoes  aloes,  but  it 
has  since  been  obtained  from  the  other  varieties  of  aloes.     It  is 
said  to  exist  in  two  forms  in  nearly  equal  proportions,  the  crystaU 
line  and  amorphous,  which  together,  make  upon  an  average,  about 
60  p6r  cent,  of  the  crude  drug.     The  proportion  of  aloin  varies 
however,  in  the  different  kinds  of  aloes.     The  crystallised  form  is 
supposed  to  be  a  hydrate    or  hydrid  of    amorphous  aloin.     The 
experiments  of  Tilden,  Fliickiger,  Groves,  Histed,  and  others,  have 
shown  that  the  crystallised  aloins  obtained  from  different  varieties 
of  aloes  are  not  identical  substances;  hence  that  derived  from 
Barbadoes  aloes  is  termed  Ba/rbaloin,  that   from  Socotrine  aloes 
Socaloin,  and  that  from  Natal  aloes  Natalovn,   Ba/rbaloin  is  a  neutral 
substance,  crystallising  in  tufts  of  small  yellow  prisms ;  sparingly 
soluble  in  water  or  spirit  of  wine  at  ordinary  temperatures,  but 
very  freely  in  either  liquid  if  warmed ;    it  is  insoluble   in  ether. 
It  is  inodorous,  but  has  a  very  bitter  taste.     Histed  thus  dis- 
tinguishes the  different  aloins  : — A  drop  of  nitric  acid  on  a  porce- 
lain slab  gives,  with  a  few  particles  of  barbaloin   or  nataloin,  a 
brilliant  crimson,  but  produces  little  effect  on  socaloin.     To  dis- 
tinguish the  two  former,  mix  a  minute  quantity  of  each  with  a 
drop  or  two  of  oil  of  vitriol,  and  then  allow  the  vapour  from  a  rod 


283    ALOE  SUOCOTRINA 

moistened  with  nitric  acid  to  pass  over  their  surface^  barbaloin 
will  then  undergo  no  change^  bnt  nataloin  will  assume  a  fine  blue 
colour.  For  other  distinguishing  characters  we  must  refer  to 
special  treatises  on  chemistry  and  pharmacology. 

The  name  of  resin  of  aloes  has  been  applied  to  the  substance 
which  is  deposited  when  a  decoction  of  aloes  cools.  It  differs^ 
however,  from  ordinary  resins,  in  being  soluble  in  boiling  water. 
It  is  transparent,  brown,  and  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  and  alkaline 
solutions.  It  is  contained  in  aloes  in  the  proportion  of  about  30 
per  cent.  Tilden  and  Bammell  have  demonstrated  that,  by  pro- 
longed treatment  in  boiling  water  the  resin  of  aloes  is  separated 
into  two  bodies,  which  they  regard  as  kinds  of  anhydrides  of 
barbaloin,  and  which  they  have  named  Soluble  Resin  A.,  and 
Insoluble  Resin  B,  The  portion  of  aloes  which  is  insoluble  in  cold 
water,  and  known  as  resva  of  aloes,  was  formerly  distinguished  from 
the  soluble  portion,  which  was  termed  Aloetin  or  bitter  principle 
of  Aloes, 

Therapeutical  Value  of  Aloin  and  the  other  Constituents  of  Aloes. 
— Great  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  source  of  the  medi- 
cinal activity  of  the  different  kinds  of  aloes.  Thus,  Dr.  £!raig 
says,  '^  Aloin  is  the  only  active  principle  contained  in  aloes,  and 
possesses  all  the  properties  of  the  crude  drug,  and  is  free  from 
griping ;"  and  again,  '^  the  resin  of  aloes,  when  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted of  aloin,  possesses  no  purgative  properties.''  Dr.  John 
Harley's  experiments,  however,  do  not  support  this  statement,  for 
he  found  that  two  grains  of  the  pure  resin  taken  with  three  grains 
of  soap  purged  him  freely,  without  causing  any  griping ;  but  he 
adds,  the  cathartic  action  of  the  resin  is  far  inferior  to  that  of 
barbaloin.  Dr.  Craig,  in  commenting  upon  these  experiments,  says 
that  the  resin  of  aloes  with  which  Dr.  Harley  experimented  was 
not  pure,  but  contained  aloin.  Drs.  Garrod  and  P.  Farre  also 
describe  the  resin  as  almost  inert.  Mr.  A.  P.  Brown,  of  the 
United  States,  also  found  that  no  purgative  effect  was  caused  by 

the  resin. 

In  reference  to  aloin,  Harley  says  ''  that  the  action  of  aloin 
is  at  least  twice  as  strong  as  that  of  the  best  aloes,  and  this. 


283    ALOE  SUOOOTRINA 

according  to  Mr.  Pinlay  Dan,  of  the  Edinburgh  Veterinary  Col- 
lege, is  very  marked  in  the  horse.  He  states  that  160  grains  of  aloin 
is  equivalent  to  8  drachms  of  crude  aloes.^'  Prom  some  experiments 
made  by  Mr.  Dobson,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Tilden,  in  the  Bristol 
General  Hospital,  he  found  that  while  barbaloin,  socaloin,  and 
nataloin,  all  caused  a  laxative  action,  that  of  barbaloin  having  the 
most  marked  effect,  they  were  uncertain  and  variable  in  their 
action,  and  seemed  ''  to  present  no  advantage  over  an  equal  dose 
of  aloes,  except,  perhaps,  that  ^.iping  was  rather  less  common 
than  when  aloes  alone  was  given.'^  The  experiments  of  Mr. 
A.  P.  Brown  of  the  United  States,  also  led  him  to  the  conclusion 
that  aloin  was  not  more  active  than  aloes  when  given  in  the  same 
doses,  but  that  it  had  the  advantage  of  not  griping.  Observa- 
tions to  the  same  effect  have  been  narrated  by  other  experi- 
menters, hence,  it  must  be  concluded  that  before  aloin  can  be 
regarded  as  a  thoroughly  reliable  substitute  for  the  crude  drug, 
further  ezperimentB  are  necessary. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — In  small  doses  aloes  acts  as  a 
tonic  and  stomachic ;  and  in  large  doses  as  a  purgative,  and  indi- 
rectly as  an  emmenagogue.  It  acts  especially  on  the  large 
intestines,  sometimes  causing  hsBmorrhoids ;  hence,  its  use  should 
be  avoided  when  there  is  any  inflammatory  action  present  in  the 
abdominal  organs,  or  where  there  is  much  tendency  to  hsBmor- 
rhoids.  It  often  causes  much  griping,  an  effect  which  has  been 
ascribed  to  the  resin,  but  this  has  been  disproved  by  Garrod  and 
P.  Farre.  The  preparations  of  aloes  are  of  much  value  in  cases 
of  habitual  constipation,  from  the  little  tendency  they  have  to 
cause  subsequently  a  confined  state  of  the  bowels.  Aloes  is  very 
frequently  prescribed  in  combination  with  other  drugs,  as  with 
tonics  and  stomachics,  in  chronic  dyspepsia ;  with  aloes  and  myrrh 
in  amenorrho8a ;  and  with  other  purgatives,  as  rhubarb,  scammony, 
and  colocynth,  to  promote  the  secretion  of  bile,  and  when  full 
cathartic  effects  are  desired.  Aloin  has  been  given  in  similar 
affections,  but  with  varying  effects,  as  already  noticed.  When 
dissolved  in  glycerine  aloes  acts  favourably  as  a  local  stimulant 
in  skin  diseases. 


283    ALOE  SUOOOTRINA 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  186 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  R. 
p.  429;  Pharmaoographia,  p.  622;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  91 ;  Boyle,  Mat.  Med.,  by  J.  Barley,  p.  396 ;  Pereira  in, 
Pharm.  Jl.,  ser.  1,  vol.  xi,  p.  439 ;  Sqaibb,  in  Pharm.  JL,  ser.  3, 
vol.  iii,  p.  994;  Fluckiger,  in  Pharm.  JL,  vol.  ii,  ser.  3,  p.  193; 
Tilden  &  Bammell,  in  Pharm.  JL,  ser.  3,  vol.  iii,  p.  235 ;  TQden, 
in  Pharm.  Jl.,  ser.  3,  vol.  iii,  p.  234 ;  voL  vi,  ser.  3,  p.  208 ; 
vol.  vii,  ser.  3,  p.  264 ;  and  voL  viii,  ser.  3,  p.  231 ;  Dobson  and 
Tilden,  in  Med.  Times  and  Gazette,  Aug.  12, 1876,  and  Pharm. 
JL,  ser.  3,  vol.  vii,  p.  155;  Mitchell,  in  Pharm.  Jl.,  ser.  3, 
voL  vi,  p.  675 ;  Brown,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  vol.  xxv, 
(1877),  p.  401 ;  Craig,  in  Pharm.  Jl.,  ser.  3,  voL  v,  p.  827 ; 
Craig,  in  Edinburgh  Medical  Journal  for  May  and  June,  1875, 
and  April,  1877. 


DUSCEIPTION   OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  Boyal  Gardens,  Kew. 

1.  Upper  part  of  the  flowering  stem. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  flower. 

3.  Transverse  section  of  ovary. 

4.  End  of  a  leaf. 

5.  Upper  portion  of  the  plant,  reduced. 

(2,  3  enlarged.) 


284 

K.  Ord.  LiLiACBiE. 
Tribe  Aloinea, 
G^nns  Aloe,  lAnn. 


284.  Aloe  spicata,  Linn,  fil,  Supplem.  Plant,  p.  206  (1781). 

Cape  Aloe^ 
Not  premotuly  figured. 

Description, — A  slirab  with  an  erect,  cylindrical,  unbranched 

stem,  reaching  3  or  4  feet  in  height,  and  clothed  with  the  long, 

persistent,  close,  parchment-like,  pale  yellow  sheaths  of  the  past 

leaves.     Leaves  few,  less  closely  placed  than  in  the  two  previous 

species,  completely  embracing  the  stem  at  the  base,  and  forming 

thick,  close,    overlapping   sheaths  with    a   thin,    sharp    trancate 

upper  edge,  large,  about  2  feet  long,  much  incurved  and  deflexed, 

gradually  tapering  to  the  obtuse  apex,  slightly  concave  above, 

more   strongly  so  beneath,   thick    and   fleshy,   becoming    nearly 

cylindrical  towards  the  end,  the  margins  set  with  rather  distant, 

large,  sharp,  slightly  forward-pointing,  triangular  prickles  orange 

red  at  the  points,  fewer  and  more  distant  towards  the  end  of  the  leaf 

but  the  apex  itself  usually  with  several  small  ones,  colour  rather  dull 

green  spotted  with  yellow,  the  spots  very  numerous  and  roundish 

beneath  and  on  the  sheaths,  fewer  and  more  elongated  on  the  upper 

surface.      Flowering   stem  about  2  feet  long,   smooth,   purplish 

green,  pedicels  about  |  inch  long,  at  first  spreading  afterwards  erect, 

slender,  yellowish ;    bracts  membranous,  ovate,  much  attenuated, 

about  half  as  long  as  the  pedicels ;  flowers  crowded  in  a  spicate 

raceme  about  6  inches  long,  drooping  when  expanded.     Perianth 

about  1^  inches  long,  tubular  but  slightly  campanulate  in  the  upper 

part,  segments  oblong-  or  linear- spathulate,  with  prominent  midribs, 

nearly  equal,  the  8  outer  ones  slightly  longer  but  somewhat  reflexed, 

thin,  acute,  pale  yellow,  the  3  inner  erect,  concave,  rather  broader, 

obtuse,  bright  orange  yellow ;  the  buds  orange-red,  shining,  their 


284    ALOE  SPIOATA 

points  and  midribs  green.  Stamens  slightly  exserted,  scarcely 
connected  with  the  base  of  the  perianth.  Style  rather  longer 
than  the  stamens.     The  rest  as  in  the  other  species. 

Habitat — This  species  is  a  native  of  South  Africa,  but  very 
little  seems  to  be  known  of  it  as  a  wild  plant.  The  younger 
Linnaeus  shortly  defined  and  named  it  in  1781  from  specimens 
collected  by  Thunberg,  who  discovered  it  during  his  journeys  at 
the  Cape  in  1771-4,  and  afterwards  gave  a  full  description  of  it  in 
1785.  Thunberg  probably  found  it  in  the  northern  districts 
of  the  Cape  Colony  towards  Namaqua-land,  for  Mr.  Thos.  Cooper, 
who  collected  in  the  eastern  and  western  districts  of  the  old 
Colony,  the  Orange-River  Free  State,  Basuto-land,  and  Natal,  tells 
us  that  he  never  met  with  the  species. 

The  cultivated  plant  which  we  have  figured  and  described 
differs,  it  must  be  allowed,  in  several  particulars  from  Thunberg's 
description,  but  we  are  assured  by  Mr.  Baker,  who  has  studied 
the  group,  that  it  is  referable  to  A.  spicata.  The  plant  is  to  be 
seen  in  cultivation  at  Kew  and  the  Botanic  Society's  Gt^rden. 
According  to  Haworth  it  was  introduced  in  1 795,  but  has  been  always 
rare ;  Salm-Dyck  states  that  he  never  saw  it.  The  flowering  stem 
is  sometimes  branched  or  forked. 

Thunberg  says  that  A,  spicata  affords  by  far  the  best  aloes,  but  it 
is  doubtful  whether  any  is  now  obtained  from  this  species.  Several 
others  are  employed,  of  which  A.ferox,  Mill.,  is  certainly  One.  This 
is  a  large  species  with  the  leaves  prickly  on  the  surface  as  well  as 
the  margins.  It  is  figured  in  Bot.  Mag.,  t.  1975 ;  DC,  Plantes 
Grasses,  t.  32;  and  Salm-Dyck,  Aloe,  §  27,  fig.  5;  and  grows  in 
the  Swellendam  district  of  the  Cape  Colony.  Other  species 
which  afford  the  drug  in  South  Africa  are  : — Aloe  OoTnmelini,  Willd. 
{A.  mitr€eformi8,  DC),  figured  in  Bot.  Mag.,  t.  1270 ;  A.  arbo- 
rescens,  Mill.  (Bot.  Mag.,  t.  1306) ;  A.  africana,  Mill.  (Bot.  Mag., 
t.  2517) ;  A.  plicatilis,  Mill.,  a  singular  species  with  blunt,  tongue- 
shaped,  crowded,  distichous  leaves  ;  A.  lingutsforviis,  DC.  {A. 
sulcata,  Salm-Dyck,  Bot.  Mag.,  t.  1322 ;  and  there  are  doubtless 
others. 

It  will  be  evident  from  this  and  the  preceding  article  that  the 


.      284    ALOE  SPIOATA 

botany  o£  tlie  drug-yielding  species  of  Aloe  is  in  a  yery  unsatis- 
factory state^  and  much  needs  more  accurate  investigation. 

Thunberg,  Dissert.  Bot.  Med.  de  Aloe  (1785),  p.  4;  Haworth, 
Syn.  Plant.  Succ,  p.  76;  Konth,  Enum.  Plant.,  iy,  p.  530; 
Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  595 ;  Fltick.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr., 
p.  617 ;  Pappe,  Fl.  Cap.  Med.  Prod.,  ed.  3,  p.  41. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — ^Alos  Capensis  ;  the  inspissated  juice 
of  tbe  leaves  of  Aloe  spicata^  Thunberg^  and  of  other  species  of  Aloe, 
(U.  S.  P.).  Cape  aloes  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia, 
or  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  But  Aloe  spicata,  D.O.,  was 
formerly  recognised  as  the  botanical  source  of  Socotrine  Aloes  in 
the  London  Pharmacopoeia;  and  Aloe  spicata,  Persoon,  as  the 
source  of  the  same  kind  of  aloes  in  the  Dublin  Pharmacopoeia. 
Aloe  Capensis  is  the  Aloe  lucida  of  Geiger,  and  some  other 
pharmacologists.  The  two  official  varieties  of  aloes  of  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia,  and  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  are  described  by 
us  under  Aloe  vulgaris,  Lamarck,  and  Aloe  succotrina,  La^n.  In 
Tuson's  Veterinary  Pharmacopoeia,  Aloe  Barbadensis  and  Aloe 
Capensis  are  the  two  kinds  of  aloes  recognised. 

Collection  and  Commerce, — The  mode  of  collection  and  prepara- 
tion of  Cape  aloes,  as  witnessed  by  Mr.  Lyell,  a  surgeon  at  New- 
burgh,  in  1846,  and  communicated  to  Sir  Robert  Christison ;  and 
also  by  Hallbeck,  a  Moravian  missionary,  who  resided  at  the  Cape, 
may  be  described  as  follows  : — The  juice  is  collected  in  September 
and  October  by  spreading  sheep  skins,  with  their  smooth  sides  up- 
wards, in  hemispherical  holes  dug  in  the  ground ;  and  so  arranging 
the  leaves,  which  are  cut  off  near  the  stem,  around  the  hole,  that  the 
juice  which  runs  out  may  be  received  into  the  skins.  The  leaves 
are  removed  when  the  juice  has  drained  from  them ;  and  when  the 
skins  are  full  they  are  properly  secured,  and  the  juice  is  carried 
home,  and  subsequently  inspissated  by  artificial  heat  in  iron 
cauldrons,  care  being  taken  to  prevent  its  burning,  by  constant 
stirring.  When  sufficiently  concentrated,  it  is  finally  poured  into 
boxes  and  skins,  and  allowed  to  concrete  by  cooling.  Cape  aloes 
is  often  much  injured  from  want  of  care  in  conducting  the  evapora- 
tion ;  and  from  not  separating  from  the  juice  earthy  matters  and 


284    ALOE  SPIOATA 

other  imparities.  The  finest  kind^  which  is  collected  at  the  Mis« 
sionary  Institution  at  Bethelsdorp^  and  hence  termed  BetheUdorp 
Aloes,  owes  its  superiority  to  the  great  care  taken  in  its  prepara- 
tion. 

Gape  aloes  is  exported  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  very 
large  quantity^  thus^  in  some  years^  exceeding  4000  cwt.  The  drug 
is  shipped  from  Algoa  Bay^  Cape  Town^  and  Mossel  Bay.  The 
fine  kind  known  as  Bethelsdorp  Aloes  is  imported  from  Algoa  Bay. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — Different  specimens  of 
Cape  aloes  vary  in  their  colour^  the  greater  or  less  brilliancy  of  their 
fracture^  the  tint  of  their  powder^  and  in  other  particulars^  hence 
the  varieties  distinguished  by  Pereira^  under  the  names  of  Socotrine 
Cape  Aloes,  and  HepaHc  Cape  Aloes,  As  a  general  rule^  the  more 
characteristic  peculiarities  of  Cape  aloes  are  its  brilliant^  shining^ 
conchoidal^  almost  vitreous  fracture;  and  its  peculiar  odour.  Usually 
it  has  a  deep  brown  colour^  with  a  greenish  tint  by  reflected  light ; 
a  smooth^  conchoidal^  glassy  fracture ;  and^  if  held  up  to  the  lights 
it  is  translucent  at  the  edges.  When  small  fragments  or  splinters 
are  viewed  by  transmitted  lights  they  are  transparent,  and  have  a 
yellowish-brown  or  yellowish-red  colour.  It  is  very  brittle,  and, 
therefore,  is  easily  pulverised,  except  in  very  hot  weather,  and  the 
powder  has  a  fine  greenish-yellow  or  pale  tawny-yellow  colour. 
No  crystals  can  be  detected  by  the  microscope  in  this  aloes  when 
moistened,  as  is  the  case  under  like  circumstances  with  Barbadoes 
and  Socotrine  Aloes.  Its  odour  is  strong  and  disagreeable,  more 
especially  when  broken  and  breathed  upon ;  it  is  described  as  being 
sourish,  and   easily  distinguishable  from  that  of  other  kinds  of 

aloes. 

The  constituents  of  this  and  other  kinds  of  aloes  are  fully 
described  under  '^  Aloe  succotrina.'' 

Natal  Axobs. — ^Besides  the  ordinary  Cape  Aloes,  another  variety 
of  aloes  is  also  now  imported  in  large  quantity  from  Natal,  and 
hence  termed  Natal  Aloes.  Nothing  is  known  of  its  botanical 
source  beyond  the  fact  that  it  is  produced  by  a  large  species  of 
Aloe, 

Collection  am>d  Preparation, — It  is  prepared  in  the  upper  dis- 


284    ALOE  SPIOATA 

tricts  of  Natal^  by  British  and  Dutch  settlers^  by  a  process  closely 
resembling  that  by  which  Cape  Aloes  is  obtained.  Thus^  as 
commanicated  to  the  authors  of  Pharmacographia  by  Mr.  Akerman^ 
of  Pietermaritzburg,  it  is  as  follows : — ^'  The  leaves  are  cut 
obliquely  into  slices,  and  allowed  to  exude  their  juice  in  the  hot 
sunshine.  The  juice  is  then  boiled  down  in  iron  pots,  some  care 
being  taken  to  prevent  burning,  by  stirring  the  liquid  as  it 
becomes  thick.  The  drug  while  still  hot,  is  poured  into  wooden 
cases,  in  which  it  is  shipped  to  Europe.'' 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Composition. — Natal  Aloes  is  entirely 
different  in  appearance  from  ordinary  Cape  Aloes,  being  greyish- 
brown  in  colour  and  very  opaque ;  hence  it  belongs  to  the  hepatic 
kinds  of  aloes.  In  its  odour  is  resembles  Cape  Aloes  more  than 
any  other  variety  of  aloes. 

Its  composition  is  closely  analogous  to  the  other  varieties  of 
aloes  which  we  have  described  under  '^  Aloe  succotrina.''  As  there 
noticed,  however,  it  contains  a  peculiar  kind  of  aloin,  termed 
nataloin,  which  is  less  soluble  than  barbaloin,  and  has  other  distin- 
guishable characteristics  from  both  socaloin  and,  barbaloin. 

Other  Varieties  of  Aloes. — Besides  the  three  official  varieties 
of  aloes  known  as  Barbadoes  Aloes,  Socotrine  Aloes,  and  Cape 
Aloes,  which  have  been  now  described ;  and  the  non-official  variety 
just  noticed  under  the  name  of  Natal  Aloes ;  other  varieties  of 
Aloes,  such  as  Cura9oa,  Indian,  Aden  or  Black  Aloes,^&c.,  have 
been  described  by  pharmacologists,  but  these  need  no  description 
in  this  work. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — The  medical  properties  and  uses 
of  aloes  are  given  under  '^  Aloe  succotrina." 

Christison,  Dispensatory,  p.  86 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1, 
pp.  185  &  191 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  622 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by 
W.  &  B.,  p.  90 ;  Tuson,  Veterinary  Pharmacopcaia,  p.  29. 

DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  Mr.  Peacock's  collection  at  the  Royal  Gardens, 
Kew,  May,  1879.  1.  A  raceme  of  flowers.  2.  A  flower.  3.  Perianth  laid 
open.  4.  Stamens  and  pistil.  5.  Extremity  of  a  young  leaf.  6.  Whole  plant 
(reduced). 


VEBATRUM  ALBUM, /m.-; 


] 


285 

N.  Ord,  MsLiLNTHAOSs.    Lindl.,  Veg.  Kingd,  p.  198;  Le  Maout 
&  Dec.,  p.  849. 

^    Tribe  Veratrea, 

Genus  Vopatxtim,*  Linn,  Kuntli,  Enum.  Plant.,  iv,  p.  185. 
There  are  6  to  8  species,  natires  of  tlie  temperate  and 
cold  parts  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 


285.  Veratnun  album,  Linn.,  8p,  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  1044  (1753). 

White  Hellebore, 

Syn. — y.  Lobelianam,  Bemh.    Y,  californicam,  Durand. 

Figin/res.—WoodYiMe,  t.  257 ;  Nees,  tt.  46,  47 ;  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  136 ; 
Hayne,  xiii,  t.  26;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  17  c;  Jacquin,  PL  Austr.,  t.  335 ; 
Beichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  x,  tt.  937,  938 ;  Redouts,  Lil.,  t.  447. 

Description. — ^A  large  perennial  herb,  with  a  short  fleshy  root- 
stock  about  i  inch  in  diameter,  black  outside,  white  within,  giv'ing 
off  numerous  long,  thick  roots  from  its  sides,  and  clothed  at  the 
top  with  the  fibrous  remains  of  the  old  leaves.  Flowering  stem 
about  4  feet  high,  stout,  cylindrical,  solid,  finely  pilose  or  nearly 
smooth,  pale  green,  unbranched  except  in  the  inflorescence. 
Leaves  large,  rather  closely  placed,  alternate,  3-ranked,  spreading, 
sessile  and  forming  close  overlapping  smooth  sheaths  round  the 
stem,  5 — 8  inches  long,  broadly  oval,  becoming  gradually  narrower 
up  the  stem,  the  upper  ones  lanceolate,  passing  into  bracts,  taper- 
ing to  the  subacute  apex,  entire,  smooth  above  and  dark  green, 
very  finely  pilose  and  paler  beneath,  ribbed  with  several  (10 — 15) 
strong  veins  from  base  to  apex,  and  plaited  along  their  course. 
Flowers  very  numerous,  polygamous  (bisexual  and  male),  of  mode- 
rate size,  nearly  sessile  or  shortly  stalked,  each  in  the  axil  of  a 
small,  short,  ovate,  acute,  transparent  bract,  rather  densely 
arranged,  solitarily  or  in  pairs,  on  the  short  stifE  ascending 
branches  (each  subtended  by  a  large  bract)  of  the  large,  narrowly 
pyramidal,  tapering  inflorescence  which  is  IJ — 2  feet  long,  with  a 
long  terminal  spike,  pedicels  stout,  pubescent.     Perianth  about  f 

*  Veratrum,  the  classical  Latin  name  probably  for  this  species. 


285    VERA.TRUM  ALBUM 

or  I  incli  across,  persistent,  very  deeply  divided  into  six 
almost  separate,  spreading,  ovate,  subacnte  or  obtuse  segments, 
narrowed  below,  often  slightly  denticulate,  pubescent  out- 
side, pale  greenish-yellow,  with  dark  green  veins  and  base,  the 
inner  three  often  slightly  longer.  Stamens  6,  inserted  at  the 
very  base  of  the  perianth-segments  and  shorter  than  them,  fila- 
ments stout,  curved  outwards  above,  glabrous,  anthers  small, 
squarish,  dehiscing  transversely,^  extrorse.  Carpels  3  (often 
abortive  and  then  reduced  to  small  tapering  bodies,  much  shorter 
than  the  stamens  or  quite  absent),  the  ovaries  slightly  connected 
in  the  centre,  with  numerous  ovules  in  two  rows,  tapering  into  the 
quite  distinct  curved  styles,  stigmas  hooked,  blunt.  Fruit  of  3 
acute,  nearly-distinct  follicles,  about  1  inch  long,  pericarp  dry, 
chartaceous,  brown,  dehiscing  from  above  along  the  ventral  sutures. 
Seeds  about  a  dozen  in  each  carpel,  small,  surrounded  by  an 
unequal  membranous  wing,  obliquely  ovate-oblong,  pale  brown, 
embryo  small,  straight,  included  in  the  base  of  the  fleshy  endo- 
sperm. 

Habitat — This  is  an  Alpine  and  sub- Alpine  species  in  Central 
and  Southern  Europe,  and  is  common  in  all  the  great  mountain 
regions,  as  the  Pyrenees,  the  Alps,  and  the  Balkans,*  growing  in 
moist  grassy  places,  as  well  as  in  the  lower  hills  of  Portugal, 
France,  Italy,  Germany,  &c.,  but  it  does  not  occur  in  the  British 
Isles.  In  the  east  of  Europe  it  is  spread  over  a  great  part  of 
Bussia,  ranging  to  a  high  latitude,  and  even  extending  into  eastern 
Lapland.  The  form  which  more  frequently  occurs  there  is  var. 
vvrldijlorum,  Kunth  (F.  Lobelianum,  Bemh.),  which  is  found  in 
several  parts  of  Europe,  and  also  extends  over  a  large  area  in 
Siberia,  passing  into  the  Arctic  regions,  and  occurring  in  Nova 
Zemlia.  It  differs  from  the  type  chiefly  in  its  bright  green 
flowers,  and  appears  to  connect  it  with  the  next,  V.  viride  Sol. 
The  plant  called  F.  album  in  North  America  is  considered  dis- 
tinct by  S.  Watson,  and  is  F.  californicum,  Dur.  It  occurs  in  the 
Western  States,  Colorado,  N.  California,  and  Oregon. 

F.  album  was  grown  in  England  by  Gerard  before  1596,  and  is 
to  be  seen  in  all  botanic  gardens.     It  flowers  in  July,  but  neither 


285    VERATRUM  ALBUM 

in  cultivation  nor  wild  do  the  plants  flower  with  regularity.  The 
appearance  of  the  blossoms  is  singular^  and  the  plant  has  a  distinct 
faint  alliaceous  odour. 

Grenier  &  Gbdr.,  PI.  Finance,  iii,  p.  172 ;  Ledebonr,  Fl.  Ross., 
iv,  p.  208;  Parlatore,  Fl.  Ital.,  iii,  p.  204;  Kunth,  Enum. 
Plant.,  iv,  p.  186;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  585. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — ^Vbratrttm  Album  ;  the  rhizome 
(U.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or 
the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India ;  but  it  was  formerly  recognised  in 
the  London^  Edinburgh^  and  Dublin  Pharmacopoeias. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Commerce. — ^White  Hellebore,  White 
Hellebore  Rhizome,  or  White  Hellebore  Root,  by  all  of  which 
names  it  is  known,  is  seen  in  commerce  in  cylindrical  or  sub- 
conical  pieces,  which  are  from  two  to  three  inches  long,  or  very 
rarely  more,  and  about  one  inch  in  diameter.  The  rhizome  is 
frequently  broken  at  the  lower  end,  or  cut  transversely  in  order  to 
facilitate  its  drying.  At  its  upper  extremity  it  is  often  branched, 
and  is  then  sometimes  described  as  two-  or  more-headed ; 
when  unbranched  it  is  said  to  be  single-headed ;  each  of  these 
heads  is  frequently  crowned  by  the  remains  of  the  dried  leaves 
arranged  concentrically  one  over  the  other.  Externally  it  has  a 
blackish  or  greyish-brown  colour,  and  is  more  or  less  wrinkled 
and  rough,  especially  at  its  lower  extremity,  with  the  scars  and 
pits  of  old  roots,  while  portions  of  the  recent  roots  may  be  usually 
found  attached  at  its  upper  end;  and  rarely  the  rhizome  is 
nearly  covered  with  roots.  A  transverse  section  presents  a  large 
central  woody  or  spongy  portion  of  a  whitish  or  pale  buff 
colour,  separated  by  a  fine  wavy-crenate  ring  from  an  outer 
broad  white  part,  which  is  coated  by  a  thin  dark  brown  or 
blackish  portion.  A  vertical  section  also  shows  a  fine  dark 
wavy  conically  arranged  line  running  nearly  throughout  its 
whole  length,  and  thus  separating  the  outer  and  central  por- 
tions. When  sulphuric  acid  is  added  to  a  transverse  or  vertical 
section,  a  deep  orange  yellowish-red  colour  is  at  once  produced 
from  its  action  on  the  constituent  alkaloids ;  but  this  colour 
soon  changes  to  a  dark  blood-red.     In  a  fresh  state  the  rhizome 


2S5    YERATRUM  ALBUM 

has  an  alliaceous  odoar,  bnt  when  dried  it  has  no  marked  smell ; 
if  in  powder,  however,  or  when  it  is  cut  or  bruised,  it  excites 
sneezing.  Its  taste  is  at  first  sweet,  then  bitter  and  acrid,  and 
subsequently  leaving  a  sensation  of  tingling  and  numbness  on  the 
tongue.     White  hellebore  deteriorates  by  keeping. 

White  hellebore  is  imported  from  Germany  in  bales,  and  two 
kinds  are  commonly  distinguished  in  commerce  under  the  names 
of  Swiss  and  Austrian.  Generally,  also,  from  the  almost  entire 
absence  of  roots,  the  rhizome  is  described  as  without  fibre  ;  when 
otherwise,  it  is  stated  to  be  with  fibre. 

Oomposition. — White  hellebore  appears  to  contain  several 
bases,  the  more  important  of  which  are  probably  veratria  which  is 
described  in  our  notice  of  Schoenocaulon  officinale  ;  and  a  peculiar 
alkaloid  called  jervia  or  jervine.  According  to  the  observations 
of  DragendorfE,  however,  the  veratria  of  cevadilla  cannot  be 
obtained  from  white  hellebore.  More  recently  again,  T.  G. 
Wormley  finds  as  the  result  of  repeated  experiments,  that  white 
hellebore  '^  contains  an  alkaloid,  which,  when  pure,  in  its  beha- 
viour with  the  mineral  acids  and  with  liquid  precipitants,  fully 
responds  in  all  the  reactions  of  veratria  or  veratrin/'  The 
recent  experiments  of  0.  E.  A.  Wright  and  A.  P.  Luff  indicate 
the  presence  of  the  following  bases,  namely,  jervine,  pseudo- 
jervine,  rubijervine,  veratralbine,  and  veratrine.  These  are  also 
alluded  to  in  our  notice  of  Veratrum  viride ;  but  for  further 
details  on  the  constituents  of  white  hellebore,  as  also  the  source 
of  its  medicinal  activity,  we  must  refer  to  the  papers  and  authors 
mentioned  at  the  end  of  this  article. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — When  taken  internally  white 
hellebore  acts  as  a  powerful  emetic  and  purgative ;  and  in  exces- 
sive doses  as  a  narcotico-acrid  poison.  Locally  applied  it  is  a 
powerful  irritant  to  the  skin ;  and  under  the  same  circumstances, 
when  brought  into  contact  with  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  nose, 
it  produces  violent  sneezing.  It  is  rarely  or  ever  employed  in 
this  country  at  the  present  time  internally,  and  but  to  a  trifling 
extent  in  the  United  States,  on  account  of  the  severity  of  its 
action.     But  it  was  formerly  in  use  in  cerebral  affections,  as  mania. 


286    VERATRUM  ALBUM 

epilepsy  &c, ;  and  as  a  remedy  in  goat  instead  of  colchicum. 
In  the  latter  disease^  however,  Gairod  states,  that  ''he  is  sure 
that  its  action  differs  completely  from  that  of  colchicam/' 

Externally  it  is  occasionally  employed  in  the  form  of  ointment 
or  decoction  in  obstinate  skin  diseases,  as  scabies,  &c. ;  and  to 
destroy  pedicnli.  It  is  also  sometimes  nsed  as  an  errhine  or 
sternutatory,  when  diluted  with  some  mild  powder  as  starch,  in 
cases  of  amaurosis  and  chronic  affections  of  the  brain. 

The  principal  consumption  of  this  drug  is,  however,  in  vete- 
rinary mediciiie. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  ydI.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  169 ;  Fharmacographia,  p.  630 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  885 ;  Tuson,  Veterinary  Pharma- 
copoBia^  p.  288 ;  Garrod,  Mat.  Med.,  p.  382 ;  Bentley,  in  Pharm. 
Joum.,  Tol.  yii,  ser.  3,  p.  649 ;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc, 
vol.  xziv  (1876),  p.  356 ;  Tobein,  m  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy 
(1878),  p.  132,  and  Amer.  Joum.  Pharm.  (1878),  p.  122 ; 
Wright  &  Luff,  in  Pharm.  Joum.,  vol.  iz,  ser.  3,  p.  985. 


DESCRIPTION  OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  cnltiyated  in  Kew  Gardens ;  the  fndt  added  from  a 
Califomian  specimen  in  the  British  Museum. 

1.  Portion  of  the  inflorescence, 

2.  A  bisexual  flower. 

3.  Vertical  section  of  a  male  flower. 

4.  A  fruit. 

5.  A  seed. 

7.  A  flowering  plant,  i  nat.  size. 

(5  enlarged.) 


VKKATHUM  VIRIDE,  Ji,i/* 


286 

N.  Ord.  Melanthacea. 
Tribe  Venxtrea, 

Genns  Veratriun,  lAwm, 


286t  Veratrnm    viridei  Solander  in  AiU  Sort,  Kew.,  Hi,  p.  422 

(1789). 

American  White  Hellebore.     Indian  PoJce^ 

8yn. — V.  album,  var.,  Begd  &  others.     Heloniaa  viride,  Ker?     V. 
Eschscboltzii,  Gray.    Y.  parviflorum,  B(mg.  non  Mich. 

JVw««— Bigelow,  ii,  t.  33 ;  Bot.  Mag.,  1. 1096 P. 

Description. — ^A  large  perennial  herb  with  a  rhizome  similar  to 
that  of  V.  album.  Stem  2 — 7  feet  high,  much  as  in  the  last. 
Leaves  similar  in  arrangement,  but  nsually  narrower  and  more 
acuminate,  the  upper  ones  especially.  Flowers  on  rather  longer 
pedicels  and  more  laxly  arranged  to  form  a  tapering  panicle  with 
slender  drooping  branches,  bracts  as  long  as  the  flowers,  often 
leafy.  Perianth- segments  narrower  than  in  V.  album  and  more 
spreading,  narrowly  lanceolate-obovate,  greenish  with  a  darker 
base.  Capsule  rather  shorter  than  in  the  last,  slightly  adnate  to 
the  perianth  at  the  base. 

Habitat. — This  is  a  marsh  plant  ^wing  in  swamps  in  many 
parts  of  the  North  United  States,  Canada,  and  Alaska.  It  is 
by  many  botanists  combined  with  the  last,  V.  album,  L.,  to 
which  it  is  without  doubt  closely  allied.  S.  Watson,  how- 
ever, maintains  it  as  a  distinct  species  and  gives  several  dis- 
tinguishing characters.  Our  plate  is  drawn  from  one  of  the 
original  type- specimens ;  the  figure  of  Helonias  viride  in  the  Bot. 
Mag.  must  be  doubtfully  quoted,  as  it  seems  to  represent  merely 
F.  album. 

V.viridevrsLa  grown  in  England  in  1763,  and  a  plant  so  called  is  still 
found  in  several  of  our  botanic  gardens,  which  differs  from  V.  album 
only  in  its  smaller  size,  and  narrower  and  more  plicate  leaves. 

Kunth,  Enum.  Plant.,  iv,  p.  188;  A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  U.  States 
p.  525;  S.  Watson,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Aoad.,  xiv,  p.  277 ;  Lindl. 
Fl.  Med.,  p.  585. 


»(    TEBATSCK  TtRIDE 

t jpbojii  ferer^  and  rancnu  other  mBedumM ;  but  at  present 
TftIo«  i«  nlXnchei,  to  its  use  bj  practitionen  in  this  country.  Bj 
pffinf^  phynunsknn,  howerer,  it  is  regarded  as  asefnl  in  ferer,  nrare 
^^peeiallj  fhearoatic  ferer,  and  in  acute  local  inflammations  ;  bat 
its  raloe  tberapeaticallj  requires  and  deserres  a  more  carefnl 
lorestigation  than  it  has  hitherto  receired. 

Ter,  Mat,  lied,  by  B.  A  R,  p.  4SS;  TJ,  8.  Di^^  bj  W.  A  B^ 
p.  fihd;  Pharmaeograpbia,  p.  632;  Bajle,  Mat.  Med,  by  J. 
llarley,  p«  390;  8cattergood,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pbarm.  Assoe^ 
ToL  z  (IWZ),  p.  222;  Bollock,  in  Amer.  JL  of  Fharmacy. 
▼oL  xxzvii,  p,  ^5,  &  Proc.  Amer.  Ph.  Absoc^  toL  xt  (1867), 
p  3^>,  A  ToL  xxir  (1876),  p.  363 ;  Tear  Book  of  Pharmacy 
ilVJ4),  p,  102;  Wormlejr,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Auoc.,  yoL 
xxir  (lii76),  p.  356 ;  Bobbins,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc, 
pp.  439  k  523 ;  Cutter,  in  Pharm.  Jonm.  ser.  2,  toL  ir,  p.  134 ; 
Wright  k  Loff,  in  Pharm.  Jl.,  yoL  ix,  ser.  3,  p.  986;  Bollock, 
in  Pharm.  Joom.,  yoL  x,  ser.  3,  p.  186,  from  Amer.  Joom. 
Pharm.,  Jul/,  1879. 


DXSCBIPTIOH   Of  FLATS, 

Drawn  from  a  North  American  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  her- 
barium. 

1.  Upper  part  of  the  io  florescence. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  a  male  flower. 
8.  A  single  segment. 

4.  A  leaf. 


286    VBRATRUM  VIBIDE 

Official  Part  and  Names. — ^Veratbi  Vieidis  Radix;  the  dried 
rhizome  (B.  P.).  The  rhizome  (I.  P.).  Vbratbum  Viridb;  the 
rhizome  (U.  S.  P.)-  It  is  also  termed  in  the  British  Pharmaco- 
pcBia  and  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India^  Oreen  Hellebore  Root; 
and  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States^  American  Hellebore. 
It  should  be  carefully  distinguished  from  Helleborus  viridisy  a 
plant  of  the  order  BanuncnlacesB,  to  which  the  name  of  Green 
Hellebore  more  properly  belongs.  American  Hellebore  is  also 
known  by  the  names  of  Indian  Poke,  Poke  Root,  and  Swamp 
Hellebore. 

Collection. — American  Hellebore  is  collected  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  in  the  autumn ;  and  the  rhizome  is  then  either  dried 
entire,  or  after  having  been  sliced  in  different  ways. 

General  Characters. — American  Hellebore  generally  occurs  in  * 
commerce  in  transverse  or  longitudinally  cut  slices,  and  either  with 
or  without  attached  roots  ;  or  the  rhizome  entire  ;  or,  in  rare  cases, 
the  roots  and  rhizome  are  compressed  together  into  rectangular 
cakes  of  about  one  inch  in  thickness.  In  some  specimens,  portions 
of  the  dried  bases  of  the  leaves  concentrically  arranged  remain 
attached  to  the  rhizome,  but  as  these  have  been  ascertained  by 
Procter  to  be  inert,  they  should  be  rejected. 

When  entire,  the  rhizome  is  from  one  to  two  inches  in  length, 
and  about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter  at  its  broadest 
part,  and  then  tapering  to  an  obtuse  or  truncated  point ;  its  colour 
externally  is  dark  browD,  and  whitish  or  yellowish  white  inter- 
nally ;  it  has  a  somewhat  compact  texture.  The  roots,  which 
are  numerous,  are  either  attached  to  the  rhizome,  or  loose  and 
mixed  with  it ;  in  the  latter  case  the  rhizome  is  marked  with  the 
scars  left  by  their  breaking  off.  These  roots  vary  in  length, 
but  are  frequently  several  inches,  about  the  thickness  ordinarily 
of  a  knitting  needle,  much  shrivelled  in  appearance  from  contrac- 
tion in  drying,  of  a  yellowish  colour,  and  closely  marked  by  little 
depressions  on  their  surface.  Neither  the  roots  or  rhizome  have 
any  marked  odour ;  but  they  have  an  acrid,  bitter  taste. 

Composition. — -American  hellebore  has  been  frequently  analysed, 
and  with  somewhat  conflictiug  results ;  but  all  analyses  seem  to 


286    VERATRUM  VIRIDE 

prove  that  it  contains  verairia^or  an  alkaloid  closely  identical  with  it. 
Like  white  hellebore,  it  also  contains  the  alkaloid  ^eryia  or  jervine. 
In  1865,  Bullock  described  two  alkaloids  as  constituents,  one  soluble 
in  ether,  and  the  other  insoluble,  and  neither  of  which  he  believed 
was  identical  with  veratria  ;  to  these  the  names  of  veratroidia  and 
viridia  were  afterwards  given  by  Wood.  Subsequently,  however, 
in  1876,  Bullock  repeated  his  experiments,  and  then  concluded 
that  jcrvia  was  the  only  alkaloid  in  American  hellebore,  and  that 
the  so-called  veratroidia  was  only  a  mixture  of  jervia  with  a  light 
coloured  resin.  Bobbins,  in  1877,  found  as  a  constituent  an 
alkaloid  which  he  regarded  as  distinct  from  veratria,  jervia,  and 
veratroidia,  and  which  he  named  veratridia,  and  to  which  he 
attributed  in  a  great  measure  the  activity  of  this  drug.  Wormk>x 
finds,  as  alluded  to  in  our  article  on  Veratrum  album,  that 
American  hellebore  contains,  like  it,  an  alkaloid  which  when 
pure,  fully  responds  in  its  behaviour  with  the  niineral  acids  and 
liquid  precipitant s  to  all  the  reactions  of  veratria.  Wright  and 
Luff  have  recently  described  no  less  than  six  distinct  bases  in  this 
drug,  which  they  have  named  Jervine,  Pseudo jervine,  Rubijervine, 
Veratralbine,  Veratrine,  and  Cevadine.  All  these  principles, 
except  Cevadine,  they  also  found  in  white  hellebore ;  the  main 
differences  between  the  two  drugs  being  the  much  larger  yield  of 
bases  from  veratrum  album.  At  present  nothing  of  a  very  defi- 
nite nature  can  be  stated  as  to  the  source  of  the  medicinal 
activity  of  American  hellebore. 

Medical  Projperties  and  Uses, — The  action  of  this  drug  appears 
to  be  identical,  or  very  analogous,  to  that  of  white  helle- 
bore; but  it  is  said  to  differ  from  the  latter  by  not  producing 
purging.  It  should  be  used  with  great  caution  as  it  frequently 
causes  very  distressing  nausea  and  extreme  depressing  effects  on 
the  circulation  and  nervous  system.  Harley  describes  it  as 
^'  irritant  and  sedative  like  colchicum,  which  it  also  closely 
resembles  in  action ;  but  it  is  less  irritant  and  more  directly 
sedative,  so  that  it  may  be  said  to  occupy  a  position  intermediate 
between  colchicum  and  digitalis."  In  the  United  States  it  has 
been  highly  spoken  of  as  a  remedy  in  pneumonia,  gout,  rheumatism. 


286    VERA.TRUM  VIRIDB 

typhoid  f ever^  and  various  other  affections ;  bat  at  present  little 
value  is  attached  to  its  use  by  practitioners  in  this  country.  By 
some  physicians,  however,  it  is  regarded  as  useful  in  fever,  more 
especially  rheumatic  fever,  and  in  acute  local  inflammations ;  but 
its  value  therapeutically  requires  and  deserves  a  more  careful 
investigation  than  it  has  hitherto  received. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  R.,  p.  426;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  886;  Fharmacographia,  p.  632;  Royle,  Mat.  Med.,  by  J. 
Harley,  p.  390;  Scatterg^ood,  in  Free.  Amer.  Fharm.  Assoc., 
vol.  X  (1862),  p.  222;  Bullock,  in  Amer.  Jl.  of  Pharmacy, 
vol.  XXX vii,  p.  325,  &  Proc.  Amer.  Ph.  Assoc,  vol.  xv  (1867), 
p.  360,  &  vol.  xxiv  (1876),  p.  363 ;  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy 
(1874),  p.  102 ;  Wormley,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc,  vol. 
xxiv  (1876),  p.  356 ;  Bobbins,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc, 
pp.  439  &  523 ;  Gutter,  in  Pharm.  Journ.  ser.  2,  vol.  iv,  p.  134 ; 
Wright  &  LufiF,  in  Pharm.  JL,  vol.  ix,  ser.  3,  p.  986 ;  Bullock, 
in  Pharm.  Journ.,  vol.  x,  ser.  3,  p.  186,  from  Amer.  Joum. 
Pharm.,  July,  1879. 


DESCRIPTION   OF  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  North  American  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  her- 
barium. 

1.  Upper  part  of  the  inflorescence. 

2.  Vertical  section  of  a  male  flower. 

3.  A  single  segment. 

4.  A  leaf. 


nDiaurlJ«=dd.B 


M^WHuu 


SCHCENOCA'JLON    OFFICINALE,  ^  Craf 


287 

K.  Ord.  Meulnthaoejb. 

Tribe  Veratrea. 

GenuB  Schcsnooaiilon,*  A,  Gray,    Species  3,  all  fotind  in 
southern  North  America. 


287.  SchOBnooatdon  ofBlcinaley  A.  Gray  in  Benth.  Plant.  Ea/rt' 

weg.,  p.  29  (1839), 

Sabadilla,     Oevadilla. 

8yn, — Melanthinm  Sabadilla,  Thunb.  Yeratrum  officinale,  Schleehi. 
Helonias  officinalis,  Don.  SabadiUa  officinaram,  Brandt,  AsagrsBaf 
officinalis,  LincU. 

Figures,— Neea,  Supp.;  Hajne,  xiii,  t.  27;  Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  9  e;  Bot. 
Reg.,  XXV  (1839),  t.  33. 

Description. — ^A  bulbous  Herb,  the  small  ovoid  bulb  covered 
with  numerous  thin^  black  scales^  and  the  scape  reaching  5  feet  or 
more  in  height.  Leaves  all  from  the  bulb^  linear^  grass-like^  l^^-4 
feet  long^  smooth^  entire^  gradually  tapering^  keeled  with  a  strong 
midrib.  Scape  slender^  cylindrical^  or  somewhat  angular,  smooth, 
quite  simple.  Inflorescence  a  moderately  dense,  very  narrow,  spike- 
like raceme,  9 — 18  inches  long,  pedicels  short,  with  small  bracts  at 
the  base,  flowers  very  numerous,  scarcely  §  inch  wide,  those  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  inflorescence  hermaphrodite,  those  in  the 
upper  part  staminate  and  sterile.  Perianth-leaves  6,  spreading  in 
two  whorls,  the  outer  8  slightly  larger,  strap-shaped,  blunt,  thick, 
greenish-yellow,  hollowed  and  nectariferous  at  the  base.  Stamens  6, 
hypogynous,  opposite  the  leaves  of  the  perianth  and  longer  than 
them,  very  slightly  adherent  to  their  base^  filaments  flat,  anthers 
large,  reniform,  yellow,  the  cells  confluent,  dehiscing  along  the 
top.  Carpels  3,  superior,  erect,  shorter  than  the  stamens,  in 
contact  by  their  ventral  sutures,  each  with  several  (6—8)  ascending 
ovules',   styles    slender,   slightly  combined   at    the    base,  curved 

*  Name  from  o-xoivoc,  a  rush,  and  vavX^^,  a  stem,  from  the  habit  of  its  scape, 
f  AscLffraa  was  given  in  commemoration  of  Prof.  Asa  Gray,  of  Harvard 
University,  the  most  distinguished  of  living  American  botanists. 


287    SOHCENOOAULON  OPPIOINALE 

outwards;  in  the  barren  flowers  the  carpels  are  rudimentary. 
Fruit  composed  of  three  dry  follicles  about  ^  inch  long^  surrounded 
at  the  base  by  the  withered  perianth  and  slightly  spreading  at  the 
top ;  pericarp  pale  brown,  papery,  dehiscing  down  the  ventral 
suture.  Seeds  (often  abortive)  2 — 5  in  each  follicle,  dark  brown, 
fusiform,  somewhat  compressed,  prolonged  above  into  a  mem- 
branous wing ;  embryo  very  small,  immersed  in  copious  endosperm 
at  the  base  near  the  hilum. 

Habitat. — The  Sabadilla  is  found  in  grassy  places  on  open  hills 
in  Mexico,  Guatemala,  and  Venezuela.  The  plant  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Caracas  has  somewhat  broader  and  more 
distinctly  carinate  leaves,  but  can  scarcely  be  held  to  constitute 
a  different  species.  Sabadilla  and  Schoenocaulon  differ  only  in 
the  former  having  polygamous  flowers,  and  the  two  genera  may 
be,  therefore,  combined  with  propriety.  The  date  of  both 
names  is  1837  (the  latter  genus  having  been  founded  on  8.  gra^Ale), 
so  that  we  are  free  to  adopt  either. 

Veratrum  Sabadilla,  Betzius,  Obs.  Bot.,  i,  p.  31  (1779),  is  also 
a  source  of  Sabadilla,  having  been  originally  described  from  a 
raceme  of  flowers  picked  out  from  among  the  drug.  They  were 
polygamous,  with  purplish-black,  ovate  perianth  leaves.  Des- 
courtilz  gives  a  full  description  of  a  West  Indian  plant  under 
the  same  name  with  a  figure  which  is  reproduced  in  Nees,  t.  48, 
and  represents  a  true  Veratrum.  Mr.  Baker  is  inclined  to  refer 
it  to  the  common  European  V.  nigrum,  L.  The  plant,  however, 
is  not  known  in  our  herbaria  (see  Boem.  and  Schultes^  Syst., 
vii,  p.  1558,  Lindl.  PI.  Med.,  p.  686,  Kunth,  Bnum.  iv,  p.  188, 
Fliick.  and  Hanb.,  Pharmac.,  p.  634,  note). 

Kunth,  Enum.  Plant,  iv,  p.  184;  Ernst,  in  Joum.  Bot.,  iz,  p.  91 ; 
Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  586. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — Sabadilla;  the  dried  fruit  of 
Asagrffia  officinalis,  Lindl.  (B.  P.).  The  seeds  {Sabadilla  Semitia) 
of  Asagraea  officinalis  (I.  P.).  Sabadilla;  the  seeds  of  yei*atrum 
Sabadilla,  Retzius,  (U.  S.  P.). 

Commerce,  General  Characters,  and  Composition.  —  It  seems 
probable  that  the  Sabadilla,  Cevadilla,  or  Oebadilla  of  commerce. 


287    S0H(BNO0AULON  OFFICINALE 

may  be  obtained  from  more  tlian  one  plant.  The  dried  fruit  was 
formerly  alone  imported  from  Yera  Craz^  being  the  produce  of 
plants  cnltiyated  in  Mexico ;  but  of  late  years^  as  stated  by  Emst^ 
the  seeds  are  now  alone  shipped  in  large  quantities  from  La 
Gaayra^  the  port  of  Caracas. 

Each  fruity  as  found  in  commerce^  is  about  half  an  inch  long^ 
and  is  surrounded  at  its  base  by  the  remains  of  the  perianth^  and 
attached  to  a  short  stalk  ;  it  consists  of  three  light  broim^  oblongs 
pointed  carpels  {folUeles),  of  a  papery  texture.  The  carpels  are 
united  at  their  base^  but  separated  above^  and  open  on  their  inner 
or  ventral  suture.  Each  carpel  contains  from  one  to  three  or 
more  seeds^  usually  two^  which  are  about  j^  of  an  inch  in  lengthy 
narrow^  pointed^  somewhat  scimitar-shaped  and  winged^  shining^ 
corrugated,  of  a  blackish-brown  colour,  an  acrid  bitter  taste,  and 
without  odour,  but  when  powdered  producing  violent  sneezing. 
In  commercial  specimens  the  carpels  are  frequently  found  without 
any  contained  seeds,  these  having  fallen  out,  and  may  be  seen 
lying  in  a  loose  state  mixed  with  the  empty  carpels. 

Cevadilla  owes  its  properties  essentially  to  the  alkaloid  veraMa, 
but  it  is  still  doubtful  whether  this  alkaloid  is  confined  to  the 
seeds,  or  whether  it  is  likewise  contained  in  the  pericarp.  Yeratria 
is  said  to  be  combined  with  gallic  acid.  As  seen  in  commerce, 
and  used  in  medicine,  veratria  is  always  in  an  amorphous  powder, 
but  when  pure  it  is  in  long  acicular  crystals.  Yeratria  in  a 
pure  state  is  nearly  insoluble  in  water,  but  readily  soluble  in 
alcohol,  ether,  and  chloroform.  It  has  no  odour,  but  if  inhaled 
it  produces  violent  sneezing ;  its  taste  is  persistently  and  strongly 
bitter,  and  highly  acrid. 

Two  other  alkaloids  have  been  also  discovered  in  Sabadilla,  one 
crystallizable  and  called  sahddilline,  and  the  other  uncrystallizable, 
and  to  which  the  name  of  sdbad/rine  has  been  given.  The  former 
is  always  present  in  commercial  veratria ;  it  may  be  distinguished 
from  it  by  being  insoluble  in  ether,  and  by  not  causing  sneezing. 
Sabatrine  is  also  said  to  be  contained  in  the  veratria  of  commerce. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Cevadilla  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
be  in  use  at  the  present  time  in  itself  as  a  medicinal  agent,  although 


287    SCHCBNOOAULON  OFPIOINALB 

it  was  formerlj  emplojed  internally  as  an  anthelmintic^  and  in 
rheumatic  and  neuralgic  affections ;  and  ertemallj  for  destroying 
pedicnli.  It  is  official  in  tlie  pharmacopoeias  as  the  source  of  Tera- 
tria^  which  is  of  a  highly  poisonous  nature^  but  it  has  been 
employed  in  very  minute  doses  internally  in  acute  rheumatism 
and  gout ;  as  an  antiphlogistic  in  some  inflammatory  diseases ;  and 
in  other  cases ;  but  it  is  a  very  dangerous  remedy  for  internal  use. 
For  external  application^  howeyer^  in  the  form  of  an  ointment^ 
yeratria  has  been  found  very  useful  in  rheumatism^  neuralgia^  and 
other  painful  affections^  but  it  is  not  generally  regarded  as  so 
valuable  as  aconitia  when  used  in  the  same  f orm^  and  in  like  cases. 
The  ointment  is  also  employed  for  the  destruction  of  pediculi. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.,  p.  422;  Pharmacographia,  p.  633; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  pp.  750  and  1497 ;  Garr.,  Mat.  Med., 
p.  384;  Wigger's  and  Husemann's  Jahresbericht  for  1871, 
p.  24;  Jonm.  de  Pharm.,  vol.  xiv,  p.  527;  Amer.  Joum.  of 
Pharm.,  vol.  xxv,  p.  133. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  collected  by  Ernst  in  Yenezuela  (no.  219),  in  the 
BrLtish  Masenm.    The  fruit  added  from  the  commercial  drug. 

1.  A  sterile  flower. 

2.  Anthers. 

3.  A  fertile  hermaphrodite  flower. 

4.  Perianth  segments. 

5.  Transverse  section  of  ovaries. 

6.  Yertical  section  of  a  carpel. 

7.  Part  of  raceme  of  fniit. 

8.  A  single  fruit. 

9.  Seed. 

10.  Section  of  the  same. 

(1-6,  9,  10  enlarged.) 


289    SMILAX  OFFICINALIS 

specimens  of  Hnmboldt^s  collectings  in  Berg  and  Sch.,  t.  xvii  a. 
fig.  A.  The  flowers  of  this  also  are  unknown.  It  is  a  native  of 
New  Grenada. 

8.  paeudo^syphUitica,  Kanth,  is  well  illustrated  in  Berg  and 
Sch.^  t.  xYii  a^  fig.  B  and  c,  and  good  specimens  exist  in  onr 
herbaria  from  various  collectors.  Spruce  collected  it  on  the  Bio 
Negro,  North  Brazil  (No.  3789),  but  it  appears  to  be  a  medici- 
nally worthless  species. 

The  name  8.  8ar8aparilla,  Linn.,  no  doubt  included  several 
species,  8.  glauca,  Walt.,  a  United  States  and  Mexico  plant,  being 
one.  It  is  that  species  which  is  figured  in  Woodville,  t.  26,  and 
copied  in  Steph.  and  Ch.,  t.  162. 

The  plant  yielding  Caracas  Sarsaparilla  is  stated  to  be  now 
nearly  destroyed.  Dr.  Ernst,  however,  has  sent  a  specimen  to 
Prof.  De  CandoUe,  who  considers  it  to  be  an  undescribed  species, 
but  has  not  thought  it  well  to  publish  it  as  new  on  the  scanty 
material  that  can  be  obtained. 

8.  Ohina,  Linn,  (which  affords  '^  Radix  chinsB  "),  is  a  species  of 
a  different  type  from  the  sarsaparillas  and  a  native  of  China,  For- 
mosa and  Japan.  It  is  figured  in  Woodville,  t.  63,  and  Nees,  t. 
45.  Dr.  Hance  believes  that  it  is  8.  glabra,  Boxb.  (figured  in 
Seemann's  Bot.  of  H.M.S.  Herald,  t.  100),  that  affords  this  drug. 

For  magnified  figures  of  the  root-sections  of  many  of  the  com- 
mercial varieties  of  Sarsaparilla,  reference  may  be  made  to  Berg's 
'  Anatomisoher  Atlas,'  tt.  3  and  4. 

Kunth,  Ennm.  Plant.,  y,  p.  228;  A.  DC,  in  Suites  au  Prod.,  i, 
p.  149 ;  Seemann,  in  Proc.  Linn.  Soo.  Lond.,  ii,  p.  262  (1853), 
and  Bot.  H.M.S.  Herald,  p.  217  ;  Bentley,  in  Pharm.  Jonm., 
xii  (1853),  p.  469 ;  Martins,  Fl.  BrasiL,  fasc.  1,  p.  5 ;  Grise- 
bach,  Fl.  Brit.  W.  Indies,  p.  585;  Hance,  in  Jonm.  Bot., 
1872,  p.  102;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  599;  Fliick.  and  Hanb., 
Pharmacogr.,  p.  639. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — SASZiB  Badiz.  Jamaica  8ar8a» 
parilla  ;  the  dried  root  of  Smilax  officinalis,  Humb,  and  Bonph 
(B.  P.).  The  dried  root  of  Smilax  officinalis  (I.  P.).  Sabsa- 
PABiLLA;  the  root  of  Smilax  officinalis,  Humboldt  ^  Bonpland, 
and  of  other  species  of  Smilax  (U.  S.  P.). 


288 

V,  Ord.  Melanthagejs. 

Tribe  Colchicea. 

G^ns  Oolcshlcum,*  Xrinn:  Kantb,  Enum.  PL,  iv,  138—145. 
Over  20  species  are  known,  natives  chieflj  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean district. 


288.  Colchicnm  BUtvaimBlefLmn.,8p.  Plant,  ed.  lyp.  341  (1753). 

Meadow  Saffron.      Wild  Saffron. 

Figures.— WoodyUle,  t.  268 ;  Hayne,  v,  t.  45 ;  Stepb.  &  Cb.,  t.  70 ;  Nees, 
t.  49 ;  Berg  &  Scb.,  t.  12  a ;  Syme,  E.  Bot.,  ix,  1. 1544 ;  Leigbton, 
n.  Sbropsbire;  Beicbenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.,  x,  t.  426;  Bedoat6,  Lil., 
t.  228. 

Description. — ^A  perennial  herb,  with  a  short,  solid,  subterranean, 
bulb-like  stem  (conn),  with  a  tuft  of  filiform  roots  beneath  and 
covered  with  a  bright  brown  papery  coat  with  a  darker  one 
outside.  Corm  (in  autumn)  irregularly  pear-shaped,  oblique  at 
the  base,  about  2  inches  long  by  1  to  1^  in  diameter,  tapering 
upward,  crowned  with  the  withered  remains  of  the  foliage  or 
with  a  hollow  scar,  rounded  on  one  surface,  flattened  on  the  other  to 
which  is  attached,  at  the  base,  the  very  small  new  corm  from 
which  the  flower  arises.  Leaves  3 — 5,  strongly  sheathing, 
closely-placed  on  the  short  axis,  6 — 12  inches  long,  erect,  oval- 
strap-shaped,  entire,  smooth,  somewhat  shining,  dark  green, 
appearing  in  spring  and  withering  before  autumn.  Flowers  very 
large,  solitary  or  2  or  3,  erect,  terminating  the  short  axis  and 
appearing  before  the  leaves  (in  the  previous  autumn),  tube  very 
long,  6  or  7  inches,  the  lower  part  surrounded  by  a  sheathing 
white  spathe-like  bract  and  in  contact  with  the  flat  side  of  the 
previous  season's  corm  within  the  coats  of  which  it  is  included, 
thick  but  weak,  bluntly  trigonous,  white  below,  pale  reddish- 
lilac  above,  segments  6  in  two  rows,  1^  to  2  inches  long,  the 
inner  a  little  smaller,  erect-spreading,  oblong-oval,  concave, 
blunt,  reddish-lilac,   faintly   mottled   and  with   a    paler    midrib. 

*  Colchicum,  in  Greek  «oXxue^V,  native  to  Colcbis,  the  classical  name. 


288    OOLOmOUM   AUTUMNALB 

Stamens  6,  inserted  in  the  month  of  the  perianth-tube,  at  the 
base  of  the  segments  and  much  shorter  than  them ;  anthers 
oblong-linear,  dorsifixed  with  the  filaments  at  first  towards  the 
centre  of  the  flower,  afterwards  versatile,  2 -celled,  bursting 
laterally,  yellow.  Carpels  3,  ovaries  slightly  united  to  form  a 
single  very  deeply-divided  3-celled  superior  ovary,  which  is  at 
the  bottom  of  the  perianth-tube  and  subterranean,  ovules 
numerous  in  4  rows  on  a  double  placenta  in  each  cell ;  styles  3, 
wholly  distinct,  passing  up  the  whole  length  of  the  perianth-tube 
and  exceeding  the  stamens,  the  exposed  portions  purple,  with  a 
recurved  tip  covered  with  the  stigmatic  papillae  which  run  for  a 
little  distance  down  the  inner  surface.  Fruit  of  3  inflated 
follicles,  slightly  connected  at  the  base,  1^  inch  long  or  more, 
slightly  stalked,  convex  on  the  back,  acute  at  the  top,  pericarp 
very  thin  and  papery,  slightly  rugose,  pale  brown,  dehiscing 
along  the  ventral  suture.  Seeds  numerous,  small,  about  i  inch 
in  diameter,  sub-globular  with  a  thickened  short  funicle,  testa 
thick,  rugose,  brown,  embryo  minute,  without  cotyledons,  placed 
at  the  side  in  the  copious  endosperm. 

Habitat, — ^This  is  a  somewhat  local  plant  in  England,  growing 
in  meadows  in  most  of  the  counties,  but  common  in  only  a  few  of 
them  ;  it  is  an  introduced  plant  into  Scotland.  Its  entire  range 
extends  through  middle  and  southern  Europe  to  the  Mediterranean, 
Greece,  Turkey,  and  the  Crimea.  In  the  Alps  of  Switzerland  it 
ascends  to  5500  feet. 

The  handsome  crocus-like  flowers  appear  above  ground  at  the 
end  of  September  and  beginning  of  October,  and  wither  away 
after  fertilization  has  taken  place.  During  the  winter  the  ovary 
matures  itself  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  the  corm 
which  it  terminates  increases  in  size.  In  April,  the  half-ripe 
capsule  with  its  surrounding  tuft  of  leaves  is  pushed  above 
ground,  and  by  the  end  of  June  the  seeds  are  ripe  and  the 
corm  has  attained  its  full  size.  The  latter  now  produces  a 
lateral  bud  or  new  rudimentary  corm  which  is  destined  to  pass 
through  the  same  history,  during  which  the  former  corm  steadily 
decreases  in  size  and  ultimately  decays  away. 


288    COLOHIOUM   AUTUMNALE 

The  term  "  extrorse  '^  as  applied  to  the  anthers  of  Cohhicum  is 
liable  to  misapprehension.  In  the  young  state  in  the  bud  the 
filaments  are  attached  to  the  anthers  on  the  side  towards  the 
centre  of  the  flower,  and  the  latter  are  therefore  on  the  outside, 
but  they  afterwards  swing  on  the  apex  of  the  filaments  (versatile) 
and  even  turn  over  to  the  inner  side ;  the  dehiscence  is  down 
the  edge  of  the  anther-cells. 

Several  varieties  are  described.  A  singular  spring-flowering 
form  (0.  vemum,  Schrank)  with  greenish-yellow  flowers  with  very 
long  segments  is  figured  in  Syme,  E.  Bot.,  t.  1545;  the  anthers 
were  barren.     This  plant  was  obtained  in  Wiltshire. 

Syme,  E.  Bot.,  ix,  p.  225 ;  Hook,  f.,  Stud.  FL,  p.  386 ;  Watson, 
Comp.  Cyb.  Br.,  p.  388 ;  Leighton,  Fl.  Shropshire,  p.  156 ; 
Kanth,  Enum.  Plant.,  iv,  p.  140 ;  Boemer  &  Sohultes,  Syst. 
Veg.,  vii,  p.  1512 ;  Lindl.,  PL  Med.,  p.  589 ;  Piiick.  &  Hanb., 
Pbarmacogr.,  p.  636. 

Official  Parts  and  Names. — 1.  Oolchici  Coemus  ;  the  fresh 
corm^  collected  about  the  end  of  June^  and  the  same  stripped  of 
its  coats^  sliced  transversely^  and  dried  at  a  temperature  not 
exceeding  150°: — 2.  Colchici  Sbmina;  the  fully  ripe  seeds 
(B.  P.).  1.  The  fresh  corm,  and  the  dried  transverse  slices  : — 
2.  the  fully  ripe  seeds  (I.  P.).  1.  Colchici  Radix;  the  corm  : — 
2.  Colchici  Sbmbn;  the  seed  (U.  S.  P.). 

1.  Colchici  Cormus. — Growth,  Collection,  Preservation,  and  Com- 
merce,— The  new  corm  first  appears  on  the  side  of  the  old  one  at  its 
lower  end  about  the  end  of  June  or  beginning  of  July  ;  it  flowers  in 
the  autumn^  and  produces  its  leaves  in  the  following  springs  and 
its  seeds  in  the  June  of  the  same  year.  It  then  begins  to  shrivel, 
becomes  leathery,  and  finally  disappears  in  the  succeeding  spring 
or  summer.  Hence  it  is  biennial.  The  activity  of  the  corm  will, 
therefore,  necessarily  vary  much  according  to  the  period  at  which 
it  is  collected.  It  is  more  commonly  considered  to  be  in  the 
most  active  state  for  medicinal  use  when  it  is  about  a  year  old — 
that  is,  about  the  end  of  June  or  beginning  of  July,  between  the 
withering  of  the  leaves  and  the  sprouting  forth  of  the  flower  of 
the  young  corm.     At  this  period  it  is  fully  developed,  and  has 


288    COLCHICUM   ATJTUMNALB 

not  exhausted  itself  by  tHe  production  of  the  young  corm ;  it  is^ 
therefore^  now  commonly  dug  up  at  this  period  in  England^  and 
is  so  directed  to  be  collected  in  the  British  PharmacopoQia  and 
the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 

Some  difference  of  opinion^  however^  exists  upon  this  point. 
Thus  Christison  remarks^  '^  The  plumpness  and  proportion  of 
starch  are  certainly  greater  in  July  when  the  bulb  is  twelve 
months  old^  than  in  the  next  April^  when  it  is  obviously  spongy 
and  more  watery ;  but  in  the  latter  state  it  has  appeared  to  me 
quite  as  bitter^  if  not  even  more  so^  than  when  plump  and  full  of 
starch ;  and  its  bitterness  is  obviously  a  more  probable  measure 
of  its  activity  than  any  other  criterion  derived  from  its  sensible 
qualities.^^  But  few,  if  any,  agree  with  the  above  opinion  of 
Christison ;  but  Professor  SchrofF,  with,  we  believe,  far  more 
reason,  states  as  the  result  of  his  experiments,  that  the  corms  are 
most  active  when  collected  in  the  autumn  during  or  after  the 
process  of  flowering.  The  experiments  of  Stoltze  also  prove  the 
activity  of  the  autumn  corm.  Corms  gathered  at  this  time  are 
sometimes  brought  into  the  English  market. 

Colchicum  corms  are  directed  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  to  be 
used  either  in  their  fresh  state,  or  when  dried.  If  dried,  they  are 
usually  cut  into  thin  transverse  slices ;  these  are  then  exposed  to  a 
moderate  heat,  which  according  to  the  B.  P.  should  not  exceed  150°, 
and  dried  as  quickly  as  possible ;  after  which  the  membranes  are 
removed  by  sifting  or  winnowing.  In  the  British  Pharmacopoeia 
the  membranes  are  directed  to  be  removed  before  the  corms  are 
sliced,  but  in  practice  this  is  rarely  done,  and  is  unimportant. 
Dr.  Houlton  recommends  that  the  corm  should  be  dried  entire 
after  it  has  been  stripped  of  its  coats,  and  carefully  deprived  of 
the  young  corm  forming  on  its  side ;  and  Professor  SchrofE  also 
advocates  the  drying  of  the  corm  when  entire,  by  exposure  to  the 
sun  and  air.  If  carefully  dried,  however,  whether  in  a  sliced  or 
entire  state,  the  activity  of  the  corm  is  not  sensibly  impaired; 
and  if  well  preserved  is  not  injured  by  keeping.  In  the  process 
of  drying,  according  to  Hanbury,  the  corm  when  sliced,  loses 
about  70   per  cent,  of  water;   and  others  also  state,  that  eight 


288    OOLOHIOUM   AUTUMNALB 

pounds  of  the  fresh  oorm  yield  about  two  pounds  fifteen  onnces  of 
the  dried. 

The  London  markets  are  chiefly  supplied  from  Gloucestershire^ 
but  some  corms  are  also  derived  from  Oxfordshire  and  Hampshire; 
and  in  some  cases  from  Germany.  The  supply  in  the  United 
States  is  also  of  English  or  German  growth. 

General  Oha/raetera  and  Composition. — The  fresh  corm  when 
gathered  about  one  year  old  is  somewhat  conical  in  form^  from  1^ 
to  2  inches  in  lengthy  and  about  1  inch  in  width  at  its  lower  end ; 
it  is  flattened  on  one  side^  namely^  that  on  which  the  new  corm 
is  being  formed^  and  rounded  on  the  other;  and  is  covered  by 
an  outer  thin^  brown^  membranous  coat^  and  an  inner  paler  one^ 
of  a  reddish-yellow  colour.  Internally^  it  is  white,  firm,  fleshy, 
and  homogeneous  in  appearance ;  and  when  cut  it  yields  a  milky 
juice  of  a  bitter  taste,  and  disagreeable  odour.  Colchicum 
corms  somewhat  resemble  in  size  and  appearance  tulip  bulbs, 
and  these  latter  have  occasionally  been  substituted  for  them 
in  the  London  market.  Tulip  bulbs  are,  however,  readily 
distinguished  on  being  cut  across,  when  they  are  seen  to  be 
composed,  like  other  bulbs,  of  scales  enclosing  each  other  in  a 
concentric  manner;  whereas  colchicum  corms  are  solid.  Col- 
chicum corm  is  improperly  designated  as  a  root  in  the  Pharma- 
copoeia of  the  United  States ;  and  it  is  also  sometimes  incorrectly 
termed  a  hulh. 

The  dried  transverse  slices  of  colchicum  corm  are  usually  about 
one-eighth  or  one-tenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  of  a  yellowisb 
colour  at  their  circumference,  and  moderately  indented  on  one 
side,  so  that  they  are  somewhat  reniform  in  outline.  The  cut 
surfaces  should  present  a  firm,  white,  clean,  amylaceous*  appear- 
ance ;  the  slices  are  brittle,  and  have  a  bitter  taste,  but  no 
marked  odour.  Those  slices  which  are  deeply  notched,  or  which 
are  mouldy  or  stained,  are  usually  regarded  as  of  inferior  quality. 
The  best  test  of  colchicum  corm  is  its  taste.  In  the  United 
States  the  corms  are  sometimes  sliced  vertically;  these  slices 
resemble  the  former  in  all  particulars,  except  their  shape. 

The  principal  constituents  of  colchicum  corm  are  starch,  of 


290 

N.  Ord.  SMILA.OEA. 

GentiB  Smilaz,  Linn. 


290.  Smilaz  medical  Sehlecht.  ^  Oham.,  in  Lmrvaa,  vi,  p.  47 

(1831). 

Vera  Oruz  or  Mexican  Sarsaparilla, 

i^^u^rures.— Neee,  .Snpp. ;   Qoimp.  &  Scblecht.,  Arzneigew.,  t.  296  (fide 
Knnth). 

Description. — A  large  perennia]  climber.  Bhizome  sliort^  thick, 
irregular,  knotted,  the  nodes  greatly  thickened  and  giving  off 
namerons  long,  tough,  longitudinally  striate,  purplish-white  roots 
with  few  rootlets.  Stems  stiff,  hard,  erect  at  the  base  and  very 
bluntly  angular,  with  several  nearly  straight  prickles  on  the 
angles,  much  branched,  the  branches  elongated,  slender,  very 
flexnose,  tough,  sub-terete  or  sub-quadrangular,  striate,  unarmed 
or  with  a  few  smaU,  slightly  reflexed  prickles  chiefly  at  the  nodes. 
Leaves  alternate,  persistent,  stalked^  petiole  1 — 2  inches  long, 
slender,  deflexed,  the  lower  i  or  ^  narrowly  winged  and  occasion- 
ally armed  with  a  few  straight  prickles,  tendrils  as  long  as  the 
leaf,  very  slender ;  blade  4 — 8  inches  long,  ovate  or  oblong,  with  a 
broadly  cordate-hastate  base  with  rounded  lobes,  often  somewhat 
constricted  above  the  lobes,  acute  at  the  apex,  entire,  the  margin 
slightly  undulated,  glabrous,  thickly  membranaceous,  bright  sap- 
green,  rather  paler  beneath  with  the  veins  prominent,  5 — 7 
nerved,  the  two  proximate  ones  strong,  running  to  the  apex,  the 
lateral  ones  chiefly  basal,  smaller  veins  reticulated.  Flowers 
small,  unisexual,  diceoious,  stalked,  greenish,  the  pedicels  twice  as 
long  as  the  flowers,  arranged  10 — 20  together  in  a  small  umbel 
(each  with  a  very  small  lanceolate  bractlet  at  the  base)  on  the 
globose  summit  of  the  axillary  peduncle,  which  is  about  as  long  as 
the  petiole.  Male  flowers  (not  seen)  : — ^perianth-leaves  6,  in  two 
rows,  oblong-lanceolate ;  stamens  6,  inserted  on  the  very  base 
of  the  perianth-leaves,  filaments  linear,  anthers  oblong,  obtuse, 
basifixed,  introrse,  as  long  as  the  filaments.     Female  flowers : — 


290    SMILAX  MEDIGA 

perianth-leaves  ovate-oblongs  obtuse^  the  inner  ones  rather  the 
smaller ;  staminodes  2-— 4^  hypogynous^  strap- shaped,  acute^  about 
half  as  long  as  the  pistil ;  ovary  smooth,  globular-ovoid^  3-celled, 
with  a  single  pendulous  ovule  in  each  cell,  stigmas  3,  sessile^ 
linear,  short,  recurved.  Fruit  a  small  berry,  nearly  globular, 
about  i  inch  in  diameter  smooth,  red,  about  8 — 10  in  an  umbel. 
Seeds  3,  or  more  often  2,  and  then  plano-convex,  circular  in  out- 
line, testa  very  thin,  pale  brown,  embryo  minute,  at  the  very  base 
of  the  hard  horny  endosperm. 

nabitat. — This  plant  was  discovered,*  or  at  least  first  botani- 
cally  discriminated,  by  Schiede,  who  gathered  it  in  fruit  in  woods 
at  Papantla,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Andes  of  Mexico,  in 
January,  1829  (not  1820,  as  usually  stated).  It  has  since  been 
found  further  south  in  the  same  region  at  Orizaba  and  Yera  Cruz, 
but  is  not  known  to  grow  elsewhere. 

Afl  a  species  it  can  be  recognised  by  its  sub-membranaceons 
hastate  leaves  and  slender  branches ;  the  former,  however,  as  in 
other  species  of  Smilax,  vary  a  good  deal  in  size  and  form,  even 
on  the  same  specimen.  There  are  frequently  no  prickles  on  the 
whole  plant.  The  late  Dr.  Seemann  placed  this  as  a  variety  under 
8.  officinalis,  clearly  from  insufficient  examination ;  he  has  not  been 
followed  by  any  other  botanist. 

The  remarkable  petiolar  tendrils  of  this  genus  have  been  usually 
considered  to  be  stipular  in  nature ;  A.  De  CandoUe,  however, 
believes  them  to  be  more  probably  modified  leaf- segments  or  leaf- 
lets. The  singular  scale  at  the  very  base  of  each  branch,  looking 
like  a  supra- axillary  bract,  is  the  lowest  leaf  of  the  branch,  which 
is  always  reduced  to  a  short  sheathing  petiole  without  blade. 

Smilacea  seems  to  merit  being  considered  a  separate  natural 
order,  differing  from  Liliacea,  with  which  several  systematists  com- 
bine it,  by  its  dioecious  flowers,  highly  specialised  net-veined  leaves 
and  peculiar  habit.  It  should,  however,  be  restricted  as  is  done  by 
Lindley  and  by  De  CandoUe  in  his  recent  monograph  of  the  order. 
The  former  of  these  botanists  placed  Smilacea  in  his  Dictyogens,  a 


*  There  are  old  specimens,  unfortunately  not  localised,  in  P.  Miller^s 
Herbarium  in  the  British  Museum,  probably  collected  by  Houston. 


290    SMILAX  MEDIGA 

class  which^  botanists  are  now  agreed^  cannot  be  maintained  sepa- 
rate from  other  Monocotyledons. 

Kantb,  Enum.  Plant.,  y,  p.  237 ;  A.  DC,  in  Suites  au  Prod.,  i, 
p.  86;  Fliick  and  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr.,  p.  640;  Lindl.,  PL 
Med.,  p.  598. 

Official  PaH  cmd  Name. — Sabsafarilla  ;  the  root  of  Smilax 
officinalis,  Humboldt  and  Bonpland,  and  of  other  species  of 
Smilax  (XT.  S.  P.).  In  the  British  Pharmacopceia,  and  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  the  root  of  Smilax  officinalis,  or  Jamaica 
Sarsaparilla  is  alone  official;  and  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the 
United  States  Smilax  officinalis,  as  jast  quoted,  is  the  only  species 
mentioned  specially,  hence  the  species  now  under  description — 
Smilax  medica,  is  only  generally  referred  to  in  that  volume 
under  ''  other  species  of  Smilax.^' 

Oeneral  Oharacters,  Varieties,  and  Composition  of  Sarsaparilla, 
— The  general  characters,  varieties,  and  composition  of  sarsaparilla, 
have  been  already  fully  described  under  "  Smilax  officinalis,'' 
hence  we  have  now  only  to  refer  to  that  kind  of  sarsaparilla 
which  is  derived  from  Smilax  msdica,  and  which  is  distinguished 
in  commerce,  as  Mexican  or  Lean  Vera  Cruz  Sarsaparilla. 

Mexican  or  Lean  Vera  Oruz  Sarsaparilla, — This  kind  of  sarsa- 
parilla is  imported  from  the  Mexican  ports  of  Vera  Cruz  and 
Tampico ;  but  little,  however,  reaches  this  country,  although  large 
quantities  are  said  to  be  imported  into  the  United  States.  It 
belongs  to  the  non-mealy  group  of  sarsaparillas  as  we  have  noticed 
in  the  description  of  such  sarsaparillas  in  our  article  on  Smilax 
officinalis. 

In  this  kind  of  sarsaparilla  the  roots,  which  are  commonly 
about  three  feet  in  length,  although  varying  in  this  respect  from 
two  to  three  feet,  are  unfolded,  and  are  attached  at  one  end  to  the 
rhizome  or  chump,  to  which  also  portions  of  the  angular  prickly 
or  thorny  aerial  stems  are  frequently  found  adhering.  These  roots, 
which  are  often  soiled  with  earth,  are  not  made  up  into  compact 
bundles,  but  are  packed  together  in  large,  rather  loose  bales. 
They  are  thin,  have  a  shrivelled,  non-mealy  cortex,  ^  greyish- 
brown    colour,   very    few  rootlets,  and   a   slightly  mucilaginous. 


290    SMILAX  MEDICA 

but  perceptibly  acrid  taste  when  chewed.     It  appears  to  be   a 
good  kind  of  sarsaparilla. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — The  properties  and  uses  of  this 
and  other  kinds  of  sarsaparilla  are  f  ally  described  in  oar  article  on 
Smilax  officinalis. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  li,  pt.  1,  p.  284;  Pharmacog^aphia,  p.  645  ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  780 ;  Pope,  in  Med.-Ohir.  Trans., 
Tol.  xii  (1823),  p.  344. 


DSSORIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  in  the  British  Musenm  collected  by  Schiede 
Mexico,  the  flower  added  from  a  specimen  in  the  Kew  Herbarium. 

1.  A  branchlet  with  leaves  and  ripe  fruit. 

2.  Transrerse  section  of  a  berry. 

4.  A  seed. 

3.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 

5.  A  female  flower. 

6.  Vertical  section  of  the  same. 

7.  Transverse  section  of  the  ovary. 

[8.  Male  flowers  of  8.  pBet^do-gypkiUHca,  Kunth.] 

(3-8  enlarged.) 


B'lWrFLS  ^Tu«  W  rtliti- 


291 


N.  Ord.  Grammtb JB.    Lindl.  Veg.  K.,  p.  106 ;  Le  Maout  &  Dec, 
p.  880. 

Tribe  OryzetB. 

Genus  Oryaa»*  lAnn.    Stendel,  Syn.  Gram.,  p.  2.    Species 
about  12,  natives  of  tbe  b otter  parts  of  botb  bemispberes. 


Qryza 


Rice,     Nivara,  Dhan  (India). 


8yn.—0.  montana,  Loureiro,  &c.     O.  setigera,  Beauv.     O.  latifolia, 

Detv, 
Figures. — Kees,  t.    36;   Berg,  Cbaract.,  t.  6,  fig.  67;    Host,   Gram- 

Austriac,  iv,  t.  25 ;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl.  Germ. ;  PI.  Brasil.,  fasc.  51, 1. 1. 

Description. — ^An  anniial;   stems  much   branched  below,  cylin- 
drical,   jointed,    hollow,    smooth,    slightly    striated,    pale    green, 
2 — 10  feet  long,  the  lower  part  floating  in  water  or  prostrate, 
with  roots  at  the  nodes,  the  rest  erect.     Leaves  alternate  ;  sheaths 
6 — 12  inches  long,  not  inflated,  smooth,  the  lowest  ones  without 
blades ;  ligule  in  the  largest  leaves  an  inch  long,  erect,  lanceolate, 
very  acute ;  blade  linear,  1 — 2  feet  long,  the  largest  nearly  1  inch 
wide,  tapering  to  a  sharp  apex,  edges  minutely  serrate,  with  sharp 
forward-pointing  prickles,   surface    rough    above,   necirly  smooth 
beneath,    bright    pale    green,    midrib    weU    defined.       Spikelets 
one-flowered,  stalked,  articulated   with  the  expanded  summit  of 
the    short   pedicel,    erect,    laxly  arranged    on    one    side    of   the 
branches  of  the  narrow  terminal  fastigiate  panicle,  which  is  about 
9 — 15  inches  long,  at   first    erect,  afterwards   drooping  ;    rachis 
flexuose,  slightly  rough,  angular,  with  small  tufts  of  woolly  hair  at 
the  base  of  the   branches  ;    glumes    very    small,    nearly   equal, 
lanceolate- subulate,  membranous,  smooth,  1 -nerved ;  pales  equals 
about  three  times  the  length  of  the  glumes,  boat-shaped,  Some- 
what laterally  compressed,  keeled  and  more  or  less  hairy  at  the 
upper  part   on  the  back,  coriaceous,  pale  green,  persistent,  the 
lower  pale  {"  fiowering  glume  ''  of  some  authors),  3-nerved,  some- 


*  Oryza,  opvZa,  tbe  classical  name  for  tbe  grain. 


291    ORTZA  SATIVA 

what  gibbous  above^  either  blunt  or  acute  or  terminating  in  a 
sharp,  smooth,  purple  awn,  which  is  short  or  many  times  longer 
than  the  spikelet,  the  upper  pale  without  obvious  nerves  or 
3-nerved ;  beneath  the  pales  the  rachis  is  expanded  into  a  small 
knob  or  callus.  Lodicules  2,  collateral,  thick,  fleshy,  semi- 
transparent,  pointed.  Stamens  6,  hypogynous,  anthers  exserted, 
linear,  versatile.  Ovary  smooth,  tapering ;  styles  2,  short, 
stigmas  red,  with  rough  spreading  hairs  on  all  sides  (asper- 
gilliform).  Fruit  (caryopsis)  enclosed  in  the  persistent  pales, 
which,  however,  are  not  adherent  to  it,  J — }  of  an  inch  long^ 
oblong-ovoid,  blunt,  smooth,  somewhat  compressed ;  pericarp 
very  thin,  adherent  to  testa ;  embryo  at  the  base  of  the  narrow 
diameter  of  the  seed  on  the  outside  of  the  abundant  homy 
endosperm. 

Habitat. — The  Rice  is  no  doubt  native  in  India,  in  all  parts  of 
which  the  wild  form  is  common  by  the  sides  of  tanks,  ditches^ 
and  rivers.  According  to  Bretschneider^s  researches  it  is  also 
doubtless  indigenous  to  China.  In  both  these  countries  it  has  been 
cultivated  very  extensively  from  remote  antiquity.  It  was  very 
early  introduced  into  East  Africa  and  Syria,  and  at  the  present  day 
it  is  also  grown  in  immense  quantities  in  all  the  subtropical  and 
tropical  parts  of  the  globe,  having  been  long  ago  introduced  into 
America,  where  it  has  now  the  look  of  a  native  plant.  In  Europe, 
Rice  was  introduced  into  the  Mediterranean  basin  from  Syria  by 
the  Arabs  in  the  middle  ages ;  it  is  now  grown  largely  only  in 
the  plain  of  Lombardy.  In  England  it  has  been  cultivated  as  a 
.  curiosity  from  the  days  of  Gerard,  and  may  be  seen  treated  as  a 
water  plant  in  the  hothouses  of  most  botanic  gardens. 

As  is  to  be  expected  in  the  case  of  a  cereal  so  long  and  extensively 
cultivated,  there  is  a  very  great  number  of  varieties.  Moon  enu- 
merates no  less  than  160  kinds  distinguished  by  the  Ginghalese, 
and  Roxburgh  gives  some  40  or  50  cultivated  in  India,  where,  he 
states,  the  wild  form,  though  its  grain  is  collected  for  use,  is 
never  cultivated.  Irrigation  is  necessary  for  most  sorts,  but  some 
varieties  require  little  water,  or  can  be  grown  even  on  ordinary 
dry  ground.    The  chief  differences  are  found  in  the  greater  or  less 


291    ORYZA  SATIVA 

length  of  the  grain^  from  narrowly  OToid  to  nearly  spherical,  and 
in  its  colour,  which  may  be  quite  white,  or  black,  or  red,  or 
mottled  with  brown;  the  pales  also  vary  in  colour,  in  hairiness, 
and  greatly  in  the  length  of  the  awn. 

Boxbnrgh,  Fl.  Ind.,  ii,  p.  206;  Moon,  Cat.  PL  Ceylon,  p.  26; 
Boemer  i^  Schultes,  Syst.  Yeg.,  vii,  p.  1363;  Eunth,  Enum. 
Plant.,  i,  p.  7 ;  Steudel,  Synopsis  Gram.,  p.  3 ;  De  CandoUe, 
G^ogr.  Bot.,  p.  941 ;  Bretschneider,  on  the  Study  of  Chinese 
Botanical  Works,  pp.  8,  9. 

Official  Parts  and  Names, — 1.  Ortza;  the  husked  seeds: 
2.  Obyz^Faeina;  the  Flour  procured  from  the  seeds  (I.  P.). 
It  is  not  official  in  the  British  PharmacopcDia,  or  the  Pharma- 
copoeia of  the  United  States. 

1.  Obyza.  Bice. — Bice  in  the  state  in  which  it  is  official  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  and  ordinarily  seen  in  commerce,  may 
be  described  as  varying  in  length  from  about  one  tenth  to  a  quarter 
of  an  inch,  as  translucent,  white,  oblong-cylindrical  in  form, 
furrowed,  blunt  at  both  extremities,  brittle,  without  odour,  and 
with  a  mild  demulcent  taste.  The  yarieties  of  Rice  are  very 
numerous ;  those  most  esteemed  in  this  country  are  Carolina  and 
Patna.  Bice  as  described  above,  is  called  Bras  by  the  Malays ; 
and  when  enclosed  in  the  husk,  in  which  state  it  is  also  found,  it 
is  termed  Paddy, 

2.  Oeyzj;  Farfna.  Bice  Flour. — This  is  the  flour  procured 
from  the  seeds ;  it  is  commonly  known  in  commerce  under  the 
name  of  ground  rice. 

Bice  has  been  repeatedly  analysed ;  it  contains  essentially  the 
same  constituents  as  the  other  cereal  grains,  namely,  starch, 
gluten  and  other  nitrogenous  substances,  fatty  matters,  various 
inorganic  constituents,  &c.  The  proportion  of  starch  in  rice  has 
been  estimated  as  varying  from  about  85  to  nearly  90  per  cent. 
The  granules  of  rice  starch  are  remarkable  as  being  amongst 
the  smallest  of  all  known  starch  granules,  being  frequently  under 
of  an  inch  in  length.     The  proportion  of  nitrogenous  oon- 


^500  0 


stituents  is  about  7  per  cent. ;  and  of  fatty  matters  0*80  per  cent. 
From  a  comparison  with  other  cereal  grains  rice  contains  a  larger 


291    OETZA  SATIVA 

proportion  of  starchy  much  less  nitrogenoas  sabstanccs^  and  less 
of  fatty  matters  and  inorganic  constituents. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^Bice  has  demulcent  and  nntritive 
properties,  like  those  of  wheat,  for  which  it  is  commonly  substi- 
tuted in  tropical  countries.  Decoction  of  Bice,  commonly  called 
Bice-water,  is  recommended  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India  as  an 
excellent  demulcent  refrigenmt  drink  in  febrile  and  inflammatory 
diseases,  and  in  dysuria  and  other  affections  requiring  this  class  of 
remedies.  It  is  rendered  more  palatable  by  being  acidulated  with 
lime  juice,  and  sweetened  with  sugar.  This  decoction  may  be 
also  used  as  an  enema  in  affections  of  the  bowels.  Dr.  Waring 
speaks  highly  of  a  poultice  of  Bice  as  a  substitute  for  that  of 
linseed  meal ;  and  finely-powdered  rice  flour  may  be  used  like  that 
of  wheat  flour,  as  a  local  soothing  application  to  erysipelatous 
surfaces,  bums,  scalds,  &c.  Bice  Starch  is  applicable  in  like  cases 
to  that  of  wheat  and  other  starches,  both  medicinally  and  in  other 
ways ;   it  is  largely  consumed  at  the  present  time. 

The  chief  consumption  of  rice  is  as  a  food  substance,  the 
grain  being  more  largely  used  for  this  purpose  than  that  of 
any  other  cereal;  it  is,  however,  less  nutritive  than  wheat 
and  the  other  cereal  grains  in  ordinary  use,  from  the  &ct 
already  noticed,  of  its  containing  a  much  smaller  proportion  of 
nitrogenous  substances  than  is  found  in  them.  Being  entirely 
free,  however,  from  laxative  qualities,  it  forms  a  light,  digestible, 
and  useful  article  of  food  for  those  in  which  there  is  a  tendency  to 
diarrhoea.  It  has  been  observed,  however,  that  when  substituted 
for  potatoes  in  our  workhouses  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of 
that  crop,  it  has  after  a  few  months  produced  scurvy.  This  effect 
has  been  ascribed  by  Garrod  to  the  small  proportion  of  potash 
which  rice  contains  in  comparison  with  potatoes.  Bice  also  con- 
tains less  vegetable  acids  than  potatoes,  which  doubtless  has 
something  to  do  with  the  injurious  result  attributed  to  its  use.  The 
various  other  ill  effects,  such  as  disordered  vision,  cholera,  &c., 
which  have  been  ascribed  to  its  use,  rest  on  no  reliable  foundation. 

A  kind  of  spirit  called  Arrack  is  sometimes  distilled  from  the 


291    ORYZA  SATIVA 

fermented  infusion  of  rice,  but  that  name  is  only  properly  used  in 
reference  to  the  spirit  distilled  from  Palm  Wine  or  Toddy. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  part  1,  p.  73 ;  PharmacopoBia  of  India, 
p.  254;  Waring's  Man.  Pract.  Therap.,  p.  531;  Bentley's 
Man.  Bot.,  pp.  37  and  686;  Garrod,  in  Monthly  Jonmal  of 
Medical  SciencCf  Janaarj,  1848;  Boussingault,  in  Ann.  Chem. 
et  Phys.,  vol.  Ixvii,  p.  413. 


DESCRIPTION    OP    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  grown  in  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew. 

1.  A  panicle  and  the  uppermost  leaf. 

2.  A  spikelet. 

3.  Glumes. 

4.  Pales. 

5.  Lodicules  (erroneously  represented  as  opposite). 

6.  A  flower. 

7.  Anther. 

8.  Stigma. 

9.  Fruit  enclosed  in  the  pales. 

11.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 
10.  The  grain. 

12.  Section  through  base  of  the  same,  showing  embryo. 

(2—12  enlarged.) 


AVEHA  SAIIVA.^ 


292 


N.  Ord.  GBAMINEiE. 

Tribe  Avenea. 
Grenas  Avena,*  Linn.    Stead.,  Syn.  Gram.,  p.  230.    Species 
aboat  80,  natives  chiefly  of  the  temperate  regions  of  the 
world. 


292.  Avenasatiya,  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  79  (1753), 

Oat. 

Syn. — A.  orientalis,  Linn.    A.  nuda,  Linn.    A.  chinensis,  Fl$ch. 

Figure^.—lHeea,  t.  28;  Host,  Gram.  Austriac,  t.  59;  Nees,  Gen.  Fl. 
Germ. 

Description, — An  annual  herb^  with  several  erect,  smooth, 
jointed  stems,  2 — 4<  feet  high.  Leaves  few,  the  sheaths  very 
long,  smooth,  striate,  glaucous  green,  ligule  prominent,  trun- 
cate, blade  about  6  inches  long,  lanceolate-linear,  broad  at 
the  base,  tapering  to  the  acuminate  apex,  smooth,  pale  green. 
Spikelets  not  very  numerous,  rather  large,  2-  or  3-  (rarely 
more-)  flowered,  with  the  second  flower  stalked  and  the  upper 
usually  reduced  to  a  mere  rudiment,  solitary  at  the  ends  of 
slender  filiform  pedicels  thickened  at  the  extremity,  pendulous 
or  nodding,  opening  widely  when  in  flower,  arranged  very  laxly 
on  the  widely  spreading  or  more  close,  slender,  unequal,  whorled 
branches  of  a  very  large  terminal  tapering  pyramidal  panicle ; 
glumes  2,  nearly  equal,  large,  \ — 1  inch  long,  thin  and  membranous, 
pale  green,  boat-shaped,  rounded  on  the  back,  acuminate  and 
tapering,  with  nine  nearly  equal  veins,  exceeding  the  flowers 
(excepting  the  awn) ;  pales  2,  the  lower  one  faintly  nerved,  quite 
smooth,  becoming  hard  and  coriaceous,  rounded,  not  keeled, 
lanceolate,  bifid  at  the  apex  with  two  sharp  points,  and  giving  off 
at  a  little  above  the  middle  a  strong  tapering  slender  long  rough 
awn,  twisted  in  its  lower  portion,  about  1^  times  as  long  as  the 
pale  and  projecting  far  beyond  the  glumes  (the  upper  flower 
usually  without  an  awn),  upper  pale  large,  nearly  as  long  as  the 
*  Avena,  the  classical  Latin  name,  of  Celtic  origin. 


292    AVENA  SATIVA 

lower  one,  membranous,  2-toothed,  with  narrowly  inflexed  margins, 
Lodicules  2,  tapering,  entire,  ciliate.  Stamens  3,  ultimately 
exserted,  anthers  yellow.  Styles  2,  short,  nearly  sessile,  plumose, 
white.  Fruit  closely  surrounded  by  but  not  adherent  to  the 
persistent,  hardened,  yellowish  or  more  or  less  brown  or  nearly 
black  pales,  small,  about  J  inch  long,  narrowly  oval-oblong,  nar- 
rowed at  both  ends,  silky,  deeply  furrowed  down  the  inner  side. 

Habitat, — This  cereal  is  so  little  different  from  certain  wild 
European  species  of  Avena,  that  it  may  well  be  believed  to 
have  been  developed  by  cultivation  from  one  or  more  of  them. 
It  has  indeed  been  stated  that  good  oats  have  been  obtained  by 
experimental  culture  of  the  common  English  wild  oat,  A.  fatua,  L., 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years.  This  latter  species  is  a  troublesome 
corn-field  weed,  and  differs  from  the  cultivated  oat  in  its  larger 
size  and  in  having  all  the  flowers  provided  with  long  awns  and 
the  lower  pale  covered  below  with  long  yellow  hairs.  Another 
wild  species,  A.  strigoaa,  Schreb.,  is  more  like  the  cultivated  race 
called  Tartarian  oats  (-4.  orientalia)  so  much  grown  in  Scotland^ 
but  differs  in  having  the  lower  pale  ending  in  two  long  bristles. 

We  have  no  earlier  record  of  the  cultivation  of  oats  than  the 
Roman  period  when  Pliny  mentions  its  growth  for  food  in  Central 
Europe.  It  was  not  known  to  any  of  the  ancient  nations,  nor  have 
we  any  notice  of  it  in  India  or  China  in  old  times.  The  cultivation 
probably  originated  in  Hungary  or  some  neighbouring  part  of 
Eastern  Europe.  At  the  present  day  it  is  grown  extensively  in 
all  temperate  climates,  especially  in  those  countries  with  a  low 
summer  temperature  and  a  moist  atmosphere,  as  the  north  and 
west  of  Groat  Britain,  where  the  best  oats  are  grown.  A  very 
large  number  of  different  sorts  are  recognised  by  farmers, 
characterised  by  the  branching  of  the  panicle  and  colour  of  the 
grain. 

Kuntb,  Enum.  Plant.,  i,  p.  301 ;  Steud.,  Syn.  Gram.,  p.  230;  DO., 
Geogr.  Bot.,  p.  938 ;  Alefeld,  Laadwirthsch.  Flora,  p.  319. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Aven-s:  Farina  ;  the  meal  prepared 
from  the  seed  (U.  S.  P.).  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Phar- 
macopoeia, or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India;   but  it  was  formerly 


292    AVBNA  SATIVA 

recognised  in  the  London^  Edinburgh^  and  Dablin  PharmacopcBias. 
It  is  commoDly  known  as  Oatmeal. 

General  Oha/ractera  and  Composition, — As  fonnd  in  commerce, 
the  grains  or  caryopsides  are  usually  enclosed  in  their  pales ;  it 
is  these  grains,  divested  of  their  pales,  which  are  used  for  medi- 
cinal and  dietetical  purposes,  and  which  are  commonly,  though 
incorrectly,  termed  seeds.  When  the  grains  are  deprived  of  their 
integuments,  they  are  called  groats;  and  these,  when  crushed, 
form  what  have  been  denominated  Emhden  groats.  The  official 
meal  known  as  oatmeal  is  prepared  by  grinding  the  grains.  Oat- 
meal has  a  whitish-brown  colour,  but  is  not  so  white  as  wheaten 
flour;  it  has  no  odour, but  its  taste  is  very  slightly »  although  not 
unpleasantly,  bitter. 

The  composition  varies  in  difFerent  grains,  and  also  according 
to  their  mode  of  preparation,  but  on  an  average  is  as  follows : — 
8ta/rch,  66 ;  gluten,  albumen,  and  other  protein  compounds,  18 ; 
sugar,  gum,  oil,  &c.,  12 ;  salts,  &c.,  4.  The  proportion  of  protein 
compounds  exceeds  that  of  wheaten  flour ;  and  oats  are  richer  in 
oily  or  fatty  matter  than  any  other  of  the  cultivated  cereal  grains, 
with  the  exception  of  Maize  or  Indian  corn.  Hence  oats  are 
among  the  most  valuable  of  grains  for  dietetical  purposes. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — The  only  way  in  which  oats  are 
employed  in  medicine  is  in  the  form  of  gruel ;  which  is  prepared 
by  boiling  an  ounce  of  oatmeal  or  groats  in  three  pints  of  water  to  a 
quart,  and  then  straining  the  decoction.  Sugar,  lemon  juice,  raisins, 
&c.,  are  sometimes  added  to  improve  its  flavour.  Gruel  is  a  mild, 
nutritious,  and  easily  digested  aliment  in  fevers  and  inflammatory 
affections.  As  the  basis  of  caudle,  it  is  also  in  general  use  after 
parturition.  Gruel  may  also  be  employed  as  an  emollient  in 
poisoning  by  acrid  substances.  It  is  also  frequently  given  after 
cathartic  medicines  in  order  to  render  their  action  easier  and 
more  efficient.  It  is  likewise  used  as  a  demulcent  enema;  and 
the  meal,  when  boiled  into  a  thick  paste  with  water,  forms  an 
excellent  emollient  poultice. 

As  a  dietetical  agent  oatmeal  is  most  valuable.  It  is  very 
largely  used  in  Scotland,  &c.,  in  the  forms  of  oat-cake  or  unfer- 


292    AVENA  SATIVA 

mented  oat-bread^  and  oatmeal  porridge;  and  as  oatmeal  has  a 
somewhat  laxative  tendency  when  taken  in  the  form  of  porridge 
at  breakfast^  it  is  sometimes  useful  in  habitual  constipation.  The 
use  of  oat-cake^  however,  as  a  diet,  in  some  cases,  produces  indi- 
gestion in  those  unaccustomed  to  its  use. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  77 ;  Ghristison,  Disp.,  p.  200 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  160 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Ohem.,  vol.  i, 
p.  823. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  grown  in  Chelsea  Gardens. 

1.  A  panicle  in  fruit. 

2.  A  spikelet. 

3.  A  glume. 

4.  Lowest  flower. 

5.  Lower  pale. 

6.  Upper  pale. 

7.  ilower  without  the  pales. 

8.  9.  Fruit  with  the  investing  pales. 

10, 11.  Liner,  and — 12.  Outer  surface  of  fruit. 
13.  Vertical,  and — 14.  Transyerse  section  of  fruit. 
15.  Section  to  show  the  embryo. 

(4r-7,  9, 11-15  enlarged.) 


HDEDEDM  VUI.GAHE.J;/, 


293 

N.  Ord.   GBA.HINEJE. 

Tribe  HordeoB, 

Genas  Hordeum,*  Linn.     Steudel,  Syn.   Gram.,  p.  351. 
Species  over  30,  natives  of  various  temperate  countries. 


293.  Hordeiun  vnlgaxei  Linn,,  Sp.  Plant.,  ed,  1,  p.  84  (1753). 

Barley.     Bere.     Big, 

Syn. — H.    hexasticbon,    Linn.      H.    disticbon,  Linn.    H.  Zeocriton, 
Linn.,  Ac. 

Figures. — Nees,   t.  29  j    Host,  Gram.  Austriac,  iii,  tt.  34 — 37;  Nees, 
Gen.  M.  Germ. 

Description. — An  annnal  herb.  Stems  several,  2 — 3  feet  high, 
smooth^  jointed.  Leaves  few,  the  upper  one  close  beneath  the 
spike,  sheaths  smooth,  striate,  ligale  very  short,  blade  erect,  oblong 
linear,  somewhat  ronnded  or  anriculate  at  the  base,  tapering  to  the 
acate  apez,  smooth,  glaucous  green.  Spikelets  rather  large,  1  -  or 
rarely  2-flowered,  not  very  numerous,  arranged  in  threes,  sessile, 
compressed,  the  two  lateral  usually  barren,  smaller  and  withered, 
the  triplets  inserted  distichously  on  opposite  sides  of  an  excavated 
flattened  rachis,  crowded  and  overlapping  and  collectively  forming 
a  cylindrical  or  flattened  linear-oblong  spike  3 — 4  inches  long 
without  the  awns ;  glumes  2,  small,  equal,  setaceous,  rigid,  awn- 
like, placed  on  the  outer  side  of  the  triplet  of  spikelets,  and  look- 
ing almost  like  an  involucre;  pales  2,  the  lower  strong,  boat- 
shaped,  5-veined,  smooth,  extended  into  a  very  long  terminal, 
dorsally-flattened,  tapering  awn,  over  4 — 6  inches  long,  with  a 
strong  central  rib  and  the  margins  very  rough  with  minute  forward- 
pointing  prickles  (of  the  barren  spikelets  without  an  awn),  the 
lower  pale  membranous,  nearly  as  long  as  the  upper  (without  the 
awn),  2-toothed,  2-veined,  with  strongly  inflexed  margins.  Lodi- 
cules  2,  entire,  ciliate  or  hairy.  Stamens  8,  hanging  out  of  the 
open  flower,  anthers  yellow.  Ovary  pubescent  on  the  top, 
stigmas  2,  distant,  nearly  sessile,  feathery.     Fruit  enclosed  in, 

*  Hordeum,  tbe  classical  Latin  name ;  in  Greek  KpiBii. 


293    HORDEUM  VULGARE 

and  adherent  to,  both  the  upper  and  lower  pales^  ahout  J  iach 
long,  oblong-ovoid,  tapering  at  both  ends,  dorsally  compressed  and 
flattened  on  the  sides  so  as  to  have  two  lateral  angles,  with  a 
shallow  longitudinal  furrow  down  the  front,  smooth  but  harsh,  pale 
greyish  yellow. 

Hahitat. — Barley  has  been  cultivated  from  remote  antiquity,  as 
by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  Jews,  and  Chinese.  It  is  not  known 
wild  at  the  present  day,  though  some  closely  allied  species  occur  in 
a  wild  state.  The  home  of  the  plant  is  considered  to  be  probably 
the  Southern  Caucasus  and  the  shore  of  the  Caspian  Sea. 

Its  cultivation  now  reaches  over  a  remarkably  extended  range, 
for  barley  is  the  most  tolerant  of  climate  of  all  the  cereals.  It 
can  be  successfully  grown  in  Norway  up  to  70  N.  Lat.  and  in 
Lapland  and  Northern  Canada,  and  at  the  same  time  is  a  successful 
crop  in  North  Africa  and  the  central  districts  of  Asia.  In  this 
country  it  is  grown  in  all  parts  on  light  and  dry  soil  even  to  the 
north  of  Scotland. 

Though  we  have  placed  all  the  cultivated  barleys  under  one 
species,  H.  vulgare,  that  name  more  strictly  applies  to  one  variety 
and  that  one  of  the  least  valuable,  the  Bere  or  four-ranked  Barley, 
grown  especially  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  In 
this  all  the  spikelets  are  developed,  the  lateral  ones  forming  a 
sort  of  double  row  on  each  side,  so  that  this  kind  of  barley  is  often 
termed  4-ranked  barley.  In  the  kind  called  H,  hexastichon  also 
the  lateral  rows  of  spikelets  are  developed,  but  are  more  separated 
and  the  ear  is  distinctly  6-ranked  ;  this  variety  is  little  cultivated. 
Most  of  the  best  barleys  are  referable  to  H.  distichon,  in  which 
the  two  lateral  spikelets  of  each  cluster  are  abortive,  consist- 
ing only  of  the  chaffy  bracts,  the  ear  is  consequently  2-ranked. 
JET.  Zeocriton^  the  battledore  barley,  is  a  variety  with  the  ear  broad 
below  and  tapering  to  the  end.  There  are  also  "  naked  '*  varieties 
in  which  the  grain  does  not  adhere  to  the  pales.  Probably  all  are 
forms  of  a  single  original. 

Kunth,  Enum.  Plant.,  i,  p.  i55 ;  Stendel,  Syn.  Gram.,  p.  351  ; 
Alefeld,  Landwirthscbaftl.  Hot.,  p.  339;  DC.  Geogr.  Bot., 
p.  935 ;  Lindl.,  PI.  Med.,  p.  610. 


293    HORDEUM  TULGARE 

Official  Part  and  Names, — Hordeum  Decoeticatum  ;  the  husked 
seeds  of  Hordeum  distichon  (B.  P.).  The  husked  seeds  (I.  P.)* 
HoBDEUM;  the  decorticated  seed  (U.  S.  P.).  It  is  also  termed 
Pearl  Barley  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  and  the  Pharmacopoeia 
of  India ;  and  Barley  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States. 

Oeneral  Gha/ra^ters  and  Composition, — The  grains  or  caryop- 
sides  as  found  in  commerce^  are  commonly  enclosed  in  the 
pales.  When  deprived  of  these  by  a  mill  they  form  Scotch, 
hulledy  or  pot  ba/rley ;  and  when  all  the  integpiments  are  re- 
moved^ and  the  seeds  rounded  and  polished^  they  constitute  the 
official  or  pearl  barley.  Pearl  barley  as  thus  prepared  is  white, 
rounded,  and  retains  a  trace  of  the  longitudinal  furrow  of  the 
grain.  It  has  the  ordinary  farinaceous  taste  of  most  cereal 
grains,  but  no  marked  odpur.  The  meal  obtained  by  grinding 
pearl  barley  to  powder  is  termed  patent  barley.  Malt  is  barley 
which  has  been  made  to  germinate  by  moisture  and  heat,  and 
afterwards  dried,  by  which  the  vitality  of  the  seed  is  destroyed. 
The  colour  of  the  malt  varies  according  to  the  temperature  at 
which  it  has  been  dried.  Thus  we  have  pale  malt,  amber  malt, 
brown  malt,  and  roasted  or  burned  malt. 

Barley  has  been  repeatedly  analysed ;  but  the  average  compo- 
sition of  barley-meal  may  be  given  as  follows  : — Starch  68 ;  gluten, 
albumen,  &c.,  14 ;  fatty  matter  2  ;  salme  matter  or  ash  2 ;  water  14. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  amount  of  albuminous  principles 
or  protein  compounds  is  much  less  in  barley  than  in  wheat  or 
oats. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Pearl  barley  is  used  in  medi- 
cine in  the  form  of  the  official  decoction,  which  is  commonly 
termed  barley  water,  as  a  demulcent,  emollient,  and  nutritious 
drink,  in  febrile  and  inflammatory  affections ;  and  as  a  vehicle 
for  other  medicines.  It  is  frequently  flavoured  with  sugar  and 
slices  of  lemon  ;  or  raisins  and  figs  are  sometimes  added  to  render 
it  slightly  aperient.  A  decoction  of  hulled  barley  or  of  malt  is 
also  sometimes  employed  for  similar  purposes  as  that  of  the  official 
decoction  of  barley.  An  extract  of  malt  is  also  occasionally  pre- 
pared by  evaporating  sweet  wort  to  the  consistence  of  a  treacly 


293    HORDEUM  VTJLGARB 

fluid ;  this  may  be  added  to  tea^  milk^  &c.,  and  the  mixture  used 
as  a  slight  tonic  in  cases  of  debility^  more  especially  when 
attended  by  suppuration. 

Barley  is  also  employed  dietetically^  but  it  is  less  yalaable  as  a 
nutritive  agent  than  wheat.  A  mixture  of  one  part  of  barley  meal 
and  three  parts  of  wheaten  flour  is  sometimes  used  as  food  for 
infants ;  the  addition  of  barley  meal  being  made  to  remove  the 
constipating  effects  commonly  attributed  to  wheaten  flour. 

Both  Scotch  and  pearl  barley  are  also  frequently  employed  to 
thicken  soups  ;   and  in  the  preparation  of  dietaries. 

The  chief  use  of  barley,  however,  is  for  the  preparation  of  malt, 
by  the  fermentation  of  an  infusion  of  which  with  hops,  ale  and 
beer  are  obtained. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  83;  Pharmacogi'tiphia,  p.  658; 
U.  S.  Diep.,  by  W.  A  B.,  p.  458 ;  Watts,  Diet.  Ohem.,  vol.  i, 
p.  825. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATK. 

Drawn  from  specimens  grown  in  Chelsea  Garden. 

1.  A  spike  in  flower  (J7.  vidgare), 

2.  A  cluster  of  three  spikelets. 

3.  The  same  with  the  awns  removed. 

4.  A  glume. 

5.  Outer ;  and  6.  Inner  side  of  lower  pale. 
7.  Isner ;  and  8.  Outer  side  of  upper  pale. 
9.  A  flower  with  pales. 

10.  The  same,  the  pales  removed. 

11.  Lodicules. 

12.  Ovary. 

13.  A  spike  in  fruit  (JEF.  dUHehon). 

14, 15.  Inner;  16.  Side;  and  17.  Outer  side  of  grain. 
18.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 

(4-12, 15-18  enlarged.) 


[J 


(D 


J 


.•Z) 


294 

N.  Ord.  Qbaminejb. 

Tribe  Hordeacea. 

Genns  Triticmn,*  Linn,,  in  part.  Excluding  Agropyrum,  the 
species  are  known  only  in  a  cultivated  stake,  and  variously 
estimated  at  from  2 — 20. 


294.  Triticnm  sativmuy  La/in.,  Encyc.  Metk.,  a,  p.  554  (1787), 

Wheat. 

8yn. — T.  eestivum,  Linn.    T.  hybernum,  Linn.    T.  vulgare,  Vill.    T. 
turgidum,  Li/nn.    T.  compositum,  Linn.    T.  durum,  Derf.,  Slo. 

Figures. — Nees,  t.  31 ;  Host.,  Gram.  Austr.,  iii,  tt.  26—28,  and  iv,  tt.  5— 
8 ;  Nees,  Gen,  Fl.  Germ. 

Description. — An  annual  herb,  with  many  long,  much  branched, 
fibrous  roots.  Stems  several,  about  8  feet  high,  erect,  cylindrical, 
jointed,  hollow  except  at  the  joints  which  are  oval  polished  and 
swollen,  smooth,  hard,  striate,  pale  green,  with  a  blueish  "bloom'' 
on  the  surface.  Leaves  few,  distant;  sheaths  long,  close,  not 
swollen,  striate,  smooth  in  the  upper  part,  rough  with  short 
deflexed  hairs  below;  ligule  short,  truncate  or  torn;  blade  6 — 18 
inches  long,  slightly  spreading,  flat  (involute  when  dry),  linear, 
attenuate  into  a  long  sharp  point,  smooth  on  both  sides,  some- 
what ridged  above,  glaucous  green.  Spikelets  large,  3 — 5- 
flowered  with  the  terminal  flower  barren,  not  numerous  (12 — 24 
and  a  terminal  odd  one),  quite  sessile,  compressed,  inserted  in 
a  strictly  distichous  manner  on  alternate  surfaces  of  the  flattened, 
deeply  excavated  rachis,  usually  overlapping,  somewhat  crowded, 
collectively  forming  an  oblong-linear,  acute,  terminal,  quadrangulo- 
cylindrical  spike  3 — 5  inches  long,  usually  with  one  or  two  small 
abortive  spikelets  at  the  base ;  glumes  2,  equal,  irregularly  boat- 
shaped,  oblong,  oval,  obtuse,  but  with  the  midrib  slightly  excur- 
rent  into  a  short  compressed  beak,  often  unequal-sided,  faintly 
veined,  parchment-like,  stiff,  smooth  and  shining,  the  midxib 
rough  with  minute  forward  prickles,  or  all  pilose  or  hairy  ;  pales  2, 

*  7}i-iticum,  the  cLissical  name. 


294    TRITIOUM  SATIVUM 

nearly  equal  in  length,  the  lower  boat-shaped^  keeled  above, 
obtuse  or  mucronate  or  more  or  less  awned  at  the  apex,  obscurely 
veined,  like  the  glumes  in  texture,  smooth  or  hairy,  the  upper 
thin,  papery  and  transparent,  with  two  sharply  prominent  green 
veins  rough  with  minute  prickles,  and  strongly  inflexed  sides. 
Lodicules  2,  thick,  usually  rounded  and  entire,  hairy  at  the  top. 
Stamens  3,  filaments  delicate,  anthers  large,  oblong-linear,  very 
pale  yellow,  hanging  out  of  the  flowers  after  dehiscence.  Ovary 
obovate,  truncate,  with  a  tuft  of  white  hairs  on  the  top ;  stigmas 
2,  nearly  sessile,  feathery  with  simple  hairs.  Fruit  enclosed  in, 
but  separate  from,  the  persistent  somewhat  enlarged  yellow  pales, 
about  i  inch  long,  ovoid,  rounded  on  the  back,  flatter  ajad  with  a 
deep  central  groove  on  the  ventral  surface,  blunt  and  hairy  at  the 
top,  otherwise  smooth,  bright  yellow,  embryo  as  in  other  grasses. 

Habitat — The  remark  so  frequently  made  in  this  book  with 
regard  to  our  ignorance  of  the  origin  and  home  of  commonly  cul- 
tivated plants  is  especially  true  of  the  wheat.  No  form  of  it  has 
ever  been  seen  wild,  nor  any  species  indeed  very  closely  resemb- 
ling it.  It  is,  therefore,  probable  either  that  it  has  been  very- 
much  altered  from  the  original  wild  grass, — ^which  tradition  and 
probability  would  lead  one  to  consider  a  native  of  some  part  of 
Central  Asia, — or  that  from  changes  of  climate  in  the  country  of 
its  origin  it  has  become  extinct  as  a  wild  plant.  In  favour  of 
the  latter  supposition  in  preference  to  the  former  is  the  fact  that, 
like  other  annual  cereals,  the  wheat  shows  very  little  tendency  to 
vary ;  the  forms  cultivated  in  ancient  Egypt,  in  China,  and  in 
Palestine  appear  to  have  been  identical  in  all  respects  with  those 
we  are  now  familiar  with.* 

The  cultivation  of  this  plant  is  coeval  with  the  history  of  man, 
and  its  grain  has  always  formed  the  staple  food  of  the  most 
civilised  portions  of  the  human  race.     It  is  essentially  the  cereal  of 

*  The  accidental  variety  called  T.  compositum,  the  "  double-eared  wheat "  of 
old  authors,  is  often  termed  "  Egyptian  "  or  "  Mummy  "  wheat ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  it  was  more  frequent  in  Egyptian  culture  than  in  our 
own  fields  at  the  present  day.  We  are  informed  by  Dr.  Birch  that  the  wheat 
represented  in  the  scenes  of  the  tombs  is  the  ordinary  single-eared,  and  there 
is  no  known  instance  of  double-eared  wheat  being  represented. 


294    TRITIOUM  SATIVUM 

temperate  climates^  and  its  cultivation  ceases^  speaking  generally^ 
south  of  60°,  and  north  of  25°  N.  Lat. ;  Europe,  North  America, 
Asia,  and  a  small  part  of  Africa  being  included  in  its  area. 

It  is  not  within  our  province  to  enumerate  the  varieties  of  this 
cereal.  Many  have  been  considered  species ;  thus  Kunth  gives 
11  and  Steudel  20  species  of  cereal  wheats,  whilst  Alefeld  gives 
60  varieties  under  a  single  species.  Of  those  here  considered  as 
falling  under  T,  sativum,  the  chief  differences  consist  in  the  pre- 
sence or  absence  of  awns,  the  smoothness  or  hairiness  of  the 
spikelets  and  their  size  and  number  of  flowers,  and  the  colour  of 
the  glumes  and  grain.  By  combinations  of  these  characters  are 
distinguished  a  great  many  forms  by  agriculturists. 

The  spelts  are  forms  of  T.  Spelta,  Linn.,  a  distinct  species,  also 
of  very  ancient  cultivation,  though  always  to  a  less  extent  than 
wheat.  Its  grain  does  not  separate  readily  from  the  chaff,  and 
the  spikelets  are  more  distinct  and  fewer-flowered.  Figures  will 
be  found  in  Host.  Gram.  Austriac,  iii,  tt.  29 — 32. 

The  wild  grasses  to  which  wheat  is  structurally  most  allied  are 
members  of  the  genus  ^gilopSj  natives  of  the  Mediterranean  region 
and  Asia  Minor,  and  many  botanists  consider  that,  different  as  it 
is,  -^.  ovata  ought  to  be  regarded  as  the  parent  of  most,  if  not  all, 
of  our  cultivated  varieties,  whilst  the  spelt  is  derived  from  ^. 
cavdata.  Experiments  have  shown  that  the  former  grass  can  be 
fertilised  by  wheat  pollen  and  some  very  variable  hybrids  produced, 
e.g.  ^.  triticoides  and  ^.  speltaformis,  but  it  is  not  clear  that 
prolonged  cultivation  for  a  series  of  years  in  gardens  has  shown 
any  tendency  in  JE.  ovata  towards  improvement.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  say  here  that  such  fables  as  the  ''  ti*ansf ormation  ''  of 
one  cereal  into  another  are  not  worthy  of  serious  discussion,  and 
are  to  be  placed  alongside  of  the  stories  of  germination  of 
''  mummy "  wheat  as  either  errors  of  observation  or  intentional 
deceptions. 

Steudel,  Syn.  Glum.,  p.  341;  Kuntb,  Enuin.  PI.,  i,  p.  438;  DC, 
Geogr.  Bot,  p.  928;  Alefeld,  Landwirtbsch.  Bot.,  p.  322 ;  God- 
ron,  in  Bull.  Bot.  Soc.  France,  zxiii,  p.  397 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med., 
p.  610. 


294    TRinCUM  SATIVUM 

Official  Parts  and  Names, — 1.  Fabiha  Tbitici  ;  the  gnun  of 
wheat  (Triticnm  valgare,  VUlanf),  groimd  and  sifted  :  2.  Amtlum  ; 
the  starch  procured  from  the  seeds  of  common  wheat :  3.  Mica 
Pahis  ;  the  soft  part  of  bread  made  with  wheat  floar  (B.  P.). 
1.  The  grain  of  wheat,  ground  and  sifted:  2.  Starch  procured 
from  the  seed  (I.  P.).  Amtlum  ;  the  fecula  of  the  seed  of 
Triticnm  ynlgare  (U.  8.  P.)- 

1 .  Fabiha  Tbitici.  Wheaien  Flour . — ^Wheat  g^ins  are  commonly 
termed  seeds,  but  in  reality  they  are  a  kind  of  fmit  called  a 
caryopsis.  When  brought  to  market,  they  have  been  divested  of 
their  pales  (chaff).  They  vary  in  size,  appearance,  hardness,  and 
thickness  of  integuments,  and  hence  they  vary  in  the  relative 
proportion  of  flour  and  bran  which  they  yield.  They  are  prepared 
for  use  by  grinding  and  sifting,  by  which  the  farina  or  flour  is 
separated  from  the  bran ;  the  latter  forming  from  25  to  33  per  cent. 

Oeneral  Characters  and  Composition. — ^Wheaten  flour  is  white, 
without  odour,  and  nearly  tasteless.  Its  principal  constituents 
are  sta/rch,  gluten,  albumen,  dextrine,  and  sugar  ;  but  the  proportion 
of  these  and  of  the  other  substances  it  contains  will  vary 
much,  according  to  the  variety  of  grain,  soil  and  climate  in 
which  the  plant  yielding  it  has  been  grown,  mode  of  culture, 
time  of  cutting,  and  character  of  manure.  Thus  the  percentage 
of  starch  varies  from  52  to  75  ;  that  of  gluten  and  albumen 
from  10  to  23 ;  and  that  of  dextrine  and  sugar  from  6  to  13 
per  cent.  If  moistened  wheat  flour  be  kneaded  into  a  stiff 
paste,  and  well  washed  on  a  sieve  by  a  stream  of  water,  a  milky 
liquid  passes  through,  and  a  viscid,  greyish-white,  elastic  mass  is 
left  behind,  called  crude  gluten.  -  The  milky  liquid  holds  in  sus- 
pension starch ;  and  in  a  state  of  solution  gum,  sugar,  and 
albumen.  The  crude  gluten  is  composed  of  vegetable  fibrine,  glutin 
or  gliadin,  casein,  and  oil.  Gluten  is  essentially  the  flesh-forming 
constituent  of  flour,  and  it  is  in  the  large  proportion  of  this 
nitrogenous  substance  which  wheat  grains  contain,  that  they  owe 
essentially  their  superiority  over  the  other  cereal  grains  for  the  pre- 
paration of  bread.  It  is  the  glutin  or  gliadin  which  gives  to  the 
nitrogenous  portion  of  wheat  flour   its  peculiar   adhesiveness,  and 


294,    TRITICUM  SATIVUM 

causes  the   dougli  prepared   with   it  to   rise  into  a   spongy  mass 
when  penetrated  by  gases.     This   is  another  great  cause  of  the* 
superiority  of  wheaten  bread  over  that  prepared  from  other  cereals  ; 
for  these  contain  but  comparatively  little  glutin^  so  that  the  bread 
prepared  from  them  possesses  but  little  tenacity. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^Wheaten  flour  is  but  little  used 
in  medicine^  but  it  may  be  sprinked  on  the  skin  in  erysipelatous 
inflammation^  and  various  itching  or  burning  eruptions^  as  nettle- 
rash^  and  also  in  bums  and  scalds.  When  employed  for  the 
latter^  it  cools  the  part^  excludes  the  air^  and  absorbs  the  dis- 
charge, forming  a  crust  which  effectually  protects  the  subjacent 
part.  When  the  crust  has  become  detached  by  the  accumulation 
of  purulent  matter  beneath,  a  poultice  may  be  applied,  and 
after  its  removal,  the  exposed  surface  may  be  again  sprinkled 
over  with  flour.  A  mixture  of  flour  and  water  is  also  used  as  an 
antidote  in  poisoning  by  the  salts  of  mercury,  copper,  zinc,  silver, 
and  tin,  and  by  iodine.  Wheaten  flour  is  also  occasionally 
employed  in  pharmacy  for  enveloping  pills. 

Bran  is  sometimes  used  in  the  form  of  a  decoction  or  infusion, 
as  an  emollient  bath ;  and  also  internally  as  a  demulcent  in 
catarrhal  affections  and  bowel  complaints.  Bran  poultices  are 
also  useful  in  abdominal  inflammation,  spasms,  &c.  Bran  taken 
in  substance  is  laxative,  hence  bran  bread,  which  is  made  from 
unsifted  flour,  may  be  used  with  advantage  in  certain  dyspeptic 
cases.  Bran  bread,  made  from  coarse  wheat  bran,  has  also  been 
employed  with  success  in  the  treatment  of  diabetes ;  its  value  in 
this  disease  being  due  to  the  almost  entire  absence  of  starch. 

Besides  their  use  in  the  manufacture  of  bread,  wheat  grains 
are  employed  in  the  preparation  of  various  nutritious  foods,  as 
Hard's  food.  Semolina,  Soujee,  Manna  Croup,  Vermicelli, 
Maccaroni,  Cagliari  or  Italian  paste,  &c. 

2.  Amylum. — Preparation, — The  mode  of  preparing  starch  is 
given  by  Pereira,  as  follows  : — A  mixture  of  coarsely  ground 
wheat  is  steeped  in  water  in  a  vat  for  one  or  two  weeks  (according 
to  the  state  of  the  weather),  by  which  acetous  fermentation  is 
established.     The  acid  liquid,  called  sours^  is  drawn  off,  and  the 


294    TRITICUM  SATIYUM 

impure  Btarch  washed  on  sieves  to  separate  the  bran.  What 
passes  through  is  received  in  shallow  vessels,  termed  frames. 
Here  the  starch  is  deposited.  The  sour  liquor  is  again  drawn  off, 
and  the  slimes  removed  from  the  surface  of  the  starch,  which  is  to 
be  again  washed,  strained,  and  allowed  to  deposit.  When,  by 
these  processes,  the  starch  has  become  sufficiently  pure,  it  is 
boxed;  that  is,  it  is  placed  in  wooden  boxes  perforated  with 
holes  and  lined  with  canvas,  where  it  drains.  It  is  then  cut  into 
square  lumps,  placed  on  chalk  stones  or  bricks,  to  absorb  the 
moisture,  and  dried  in  a  stove.  By  this  process  the  blocks  are 
crusted.  The  blocks  are  then  scraped,  papered,  labelled,  stamped, 
and  returned  to  the  stove.  Here  they  split  into  columnar  masses, 
which  are  commonly  called  races. 

General  Characters. — In  white  columnar  masses.  When  rubbed 
in  a  mortar  with  a  little  cold  distilled  water,  it  is  neither  acid 
nor  alkaline  to  test  paper,  and  the  filtered  liquid  does  not  become 
blue  on  the  addition  of  solution  of  iodine ;  but  mixed  with  boiling 
water  and  cooled,  it  gives  a  deep  blue  colour  with  iodine. 

Two  kinds  of  wheat  starch  are  known  in  commerce — one  white, 
the  other  blue ;  the  former  should  be  alone  used  for  medicinal 
purposes.  Blue  starch  owes  its  colour  to  finely  powdered  smalt, 
or  indigo,  which  is  introduced  into  it  before  the  boxing  process. 
When  examined  by  the  microscope,  starch  is  seen  to  be 
composed  of  varying  sized  granules ;  the  larger  being  rounded, 
and  flattened  or  lenticular ;  while  the  small  ones  are  spheroidal 
or  nearly  so.  Each  granule  is  marked  at  or  near  its  middle 
by  a  rounded,  elongated,  or  slit  hilum,  around  which  are  con- 
centric rings.  When  heated  to  about  300°  wheat  starch  acquires 
a  buff  colour,  and  is  converted  into  dextrine  and  then  becomes 
soluble  in  water  like  gum ;  hence  dextrine  is  known  in  the  arts  as 
British  gum  or  leiogomme. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Starch  powder  is  used  for 
sprinkling  over  inflamed  surfaces,  Ac,  to  absorb  acrid  secretions, 
and  prevent  excoriation.  In  the  form  of  the  official  mucilage  it 
possesses  demulcent  properties,  and  may  be  used  as  an  enema  in 
irritated  conditions  of  the  rectum,  and  as  a  vehicle  for  the  forma- 


204    TRITIOUM  SATIVUM 

tion  of  other  more  active  enemas.  Starch  may  also  be  employed 
as  an  antidote  to  poisoning  by  iodine.  Macilage  of  starch  is  also 
nseful  to  the  surgeon  for  stiffening  bandages  when  applied  to 
fractured  limbs,  &c. 

Besides  its  use  as  above,  blue  starch  is  largely  employed  by 
the  laundress  for  stiffening  linen ;  and  the  substance  prepared  from 
starch,  and  known  as  dextrine  or  British  gum  is,  extensively  used 
in  the  arts. 

3.  Mica  Panis. — Crumb  of  bread,  as  official  in  the  Pharma- 
copceia,  is  the  soft  part  of  the  ordinary  fermented  loaf  bread, 
which  is  commonly  made  with  wheat  flour,  salt,  water,  and  yeast, 
and  to  which  a  portion  of  potatoes  is  commonly  added  to  assist 
fermentation,  and  to  render  the  bread  lighter. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Crumb  of  bread  is  very  useful  in 
giving  bulk  to  pills  in  which  very  active  medicines  are  admi- 
nistered in  minute  doses.  In  the  form  of  a  poultice  made  with 
boiling  water  or  milk,  slices  of  bread  constitute  a  valuable 
emollient  application ;  or  when  decoction  of  poppy,  or  Goulard's 
water,  is  substituted  for  common  water,  this  is  a  very  useful  pre- 
paration for  applying  in  phlegmonous  inflammation,  and  in  the 
treatment  of  irritable  ulcers. 

The  use  of  bread  as  an  article  of  diet  does  not  come  within  our 

province,  but  the  causes  of  its  especial  value  over  cereal  grains 

generally,  have  been  referred    to    by  us  in  treating  of  wheaten 

flour. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  li,  pt.  1,  p.  89;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  "R., 
p.  406 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  pp.  118  and  397 ;  Watts'  Diet. 
Chem.,  YoL  i,  pp.  656  and  823. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATK. 

Drawn  from  specimens  cultivated  in  Chelsea  Garden.  1.  A  spike  in  flower. 
2.  A  spikelet.  3.  Glumes.  4.  A  flower  with  the  pales.  5.  A  flower.  6. 
Pistil.  7.  Part  of  stem  with  a  leaf.  8.  A  ripe  ear.  9.  Pales  enclosing  the 
grain.  10,  11.  Grain.  12.  The  same,  dorsal  view.  13-  Vertical,  and — 14. 
Transverse  section  of  the  same.  15.  Whole  plant,  i  nat.  size.  (2-6,  9, 11 — 
14  enlarged.) 


295 

N.  Ord.  Gbahinbjb. 

Tribe  Hordeacea, 

Grenns  Lolium,*  Linn.  Steudel,  Sjn.  Gram.,  p.  339.  Species 
about  12,  natdves  chiefly  of  temperate  regions  in  both 
hemispheres. 


295.  Lolium  temulentom^t  Linn.,  8p.  Plant.,  ed.  1,  p.  83  (1753). 

DameL     Bearded  Daamel. 

8yn. — ^L.  anrense,  With.    L.  robustum,  Beich. 

Figures.^St&ph.  &  Oh.,  t  3.  Syme,  E.  Bot.,  xi,  tt.  1816, 1817 ;  Host, 
Gram.  Anstriac.,  t.  26 ;  Beichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Grerm.,  i,  t.  5 ;  Nees,  Qen. 
FLGerm. 

Description. — ^Annual.  Stems  several,  erect,  reaching  a  height 
of  3  feet  or  more,  stiff,  smooth,  often  branched  from  the  lower 
nodes.  Leaves  large,  distant;  sheaths  smooth,  striate,  ligule 
short,  truncate,  blade  5 — 10  inches  long,  spreading  and  drooping, 
J — i  inch  wide,  linear,  gradually  tapering  to  the  acute  apex,  dark 
green.  Spikelets  large,  i — 1  inch  long,  5 — 11-flowered,  sessile, 
laterally  compressed,  blunt,  arranged  singly  edgewise  alternately 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  elongated  rachis,  forming  a  narrow 
distichous  spike  6 — 12  inches  long;  rachis  somewhat  flexuoset 
hollowed  on  alternate  sides  to  receive  the  spikelets,  faintly 
rough ;  glumes  2  in  the  terminal  spikelet,  nearly  equal,  only  1  in 
the  remainder,  placed  on  the  outer  side  of  the  spikelet,  closely 
appressed,  and  equalling  or  exceeding  it  in  length,  rather  leaf- 
like, 5-ribbed,  convex,  smooth,  green,  subacute,  not  awned ; 
pales  2,  nearly  equal  in-  length,  the  lower  rounded  on  the  back, 
the  edges  somewhat  involute,  5-ribbed,  the  two  outside  ribs  very 
strong,  obtuse,  and  membranous  at  the  apex,  a  little  below  which 
arises  usually  a  straight  white  awn  of  variable  length,  the  upper 
pale  flat,  appressed    to    the  dorsal  one,  with  its  margins  folded 

*  LoUum,  the  classical  name  for  some  cornfield  weed, 
f  TemuUntum,  drunken;   from  its  alleged  e£fects.    Name  used  by  Lobel 
in  1570. 


295    LOLIUM  TEMULENTUM 

oyer  on  the  inside^  scarions^  with  two  green  yeins^  faintly  ciliat-e 
on  the  edges.  Lodicales  2,  connected  at  the  base^  entire. 
Stamens  3^  oyarj  ronnded.  Stigmas  2,  asperg^illiform.  Froit 
enclosed  in  the  pales  (the  lower  one  targid  and  thickened), 
oblong-ovoid,  nearly  J  inch  long,  blunt,  concaye  on  inner  snr&ce, 
pale  brown. 

Habitat. — In  England  this  grass  is  usually  found  as  a  cornfield 
weed,  and  is  probably  in  most  cases  sown  with  the  crop ;  it  is  not 
very  commonly  met  with,  and  does  not  grow  in  the  north  of  Soot- 
land.  It  occasionally  occurs  as  a  wayside  weed  and  in  waste  ground. 
The  plant  extends  throughout  Europe  and  Western  Asia,  and  has 
been  found  in  Madeira,  North  Africa,  and  India ;  it  has  also  been 
introduced  into  the  United  States  of  America  and  Australia. 

This  species  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  common  Bye-  or 
Bay-grass,  L.  perenne,  L.,  by  its  long  glumes  and  turgid  fruiting 
pales,  containing  the  large  grain. 

A  second  glume  is  sometimes  found,  of  much  smaller  size,  on 
the  side  of  the  spikelet  next  the  main  rachis.  The  awns  are 
frequently  quite  absent ;  the  plant  is  then  L»  a/rvense.  With. 

Syme,  E.  Bot,  xi,  p.  187;  Hook.  1,  Stud.  Fl.,  p.  454;  Watson, 
Gomp.  Cyb.  Br.,  p.  405;  Ledebour,  Fl.  Bossica,  iv,  p.  345; 
Stendel,  Sjn.  Gram.,  p.  340;  Kunth,  Ennm.  Plant.,  i,  p.  437; 
Lindl.,  FL  Med.,  p.  609. 

Pa/rt  Used  and  Name, — Loui  Ssxika;  the  seeds  or  grains 
(caryopsides).  The  seeds  or  grains  of  Darnel  were  used 
medicinally  by  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Bomans,  but  were  never 
official  in  our  pharmacopoeias.  They  are  referred  to  here  on 
account  of  the  plant  yielding  them  being  sometimes  found 
growing  amongst  wheat  and  other  cereal  plants ;  and  as  their 
properties  are  generally  regarded  as  deleterious,  the  admixture  of 
their  grains  with  those  of  the  nutritious  cereals  should  be 
carefully  guarded  against. 

General  Oha/racters  and  Composition. — Darnel  seeds  when 
perfectly  healthy  have  a  sweetish  taste,  but  no  odour.  In  their 
other  sensible  properties  they  do  not  appear  to  differ  in  any 
evident  degree  from  the  grains  generally  of  grasses.     The  recent 


295    LOLIUM  TEMULENTUM 

examination  of  these  seeds  by  A.  S.  Wilson  also  show  that^  so  far 
as  microscopical  appearances  indicate^  the  darnel  contains  nothing 
different  from  the  wheat.  Hence  in  these  respects  there  is 
nothing  to  lead  to  the  belief  generally  entertained  of  their 
poisonous  properties. 

Darnel  seeds  have  been  frequently  analysed  with  a  view  to 
discover  the  source  of  their  supposed  deleterious  qualities. 
Thus,  in  1827,  by  Bizio,  who  found  a  substance  which  he 
termed  lalico,  and  which  he  stated  to  possess  a  narcotic  property 
similar  to  that  of  opium  ;  also,  in  1837,  by  Muratori,  who  ascribed 
their  poisonous  properties  to  a  peculiar  acid ;  and  in  1834 
Bley  examined  them,  and  obtained  from  their  watery  extract 
a  peculiar  substance  with  an  acid  reaction,  which  he  called 
loliin,  and  which  he  regarded  as  the  poisonous  principle.  Two 
recent  analyses  have  also  been  made,  one  by  Filhol  and  Baillett, 
and  the  other  by  Ludwig  and  Stahl ;  the  &rst  experimenters  give 
as  their  constituents,  50  per  cent,  of  starchy  albuminoids,  and 
the  other  ordinary  substances  found  in  cereal  grains  ;  also  a  thick, 
almost  concrete  green  ail,one  portion  of  which  being  saponifiable,  and 
the  other  not  so,  and  insoluble  in  water,  but  very  soluble  in  alcohol 
and  ether ;  and  an  extractive  substance  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol. 
The  non-saponifiable  portion  of  the  oil  they  describe  as  producing 
tremulousness  when  swallowed,  but  without  any  narcotism,  and 
causing  death  in  animals ;  and  the  extractive  acting  on  animals 
as  a  narcotic.  The  examination  of  Ludwig  and  Stahl  indicated 
the  presence  of  starchy  gluten,  &c.  They  also  found  ifvo  acrid 
oils  soluble  in  alcohol,  but  insoluble  in  water;  and  an  acrid 
bitter  glucoside,  soluble  in  water ;  they  attribute  the  activity  of 
the  seeds  to  the  combined  influence  of  these  different  principles. 
The  still  more  recent  experiments  of  Wittstein  have  convinced 
him  ''that  the  poisonous  characters  of  the  seeds  are  not  due  to 
an  acid  body,  nor  to  a  base,  but  to  an  indifferent  body  which  is 
incapable. of  forming  compounds  with  lead  or  zinc,  and  may  be 
completely  extracted  from  the  seeds  by  water  or  alcohol,  and  only 
incompletely  by  ether.''  So  far,  all  the  above  analyses  of  darnel 
grains    show   the    presence  in  them  of  one  or  more  poisonous 


295    LOLIUM  TElfULENTUM 

principles ;  but  it  is  still  open  to  question,  as  will  be  seen  by  our 
notice  of  their  properties  and  uses,  whether  sufficient  care  has 
been  taken  to  obtain  healthy  seeds  for  analyses,  or  in  other  words 
whether  all  these  analyses  have  not  been  made  from  those  in  a 
diseased  or  ergotised  condition. 

Properties  and  Uses. — Darnel  is  usually  regarded  as  possessing 
sedative  and  anodyne  properties.  It  was  used  medicinally  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  and  has  also  been  employed  in  modem  practice, 
in  doses  of  one  or  two  grains  every  four  or  six  hours,  in  the  form 
of  powder  or  pill,  in  headache,  rheumatic  meningitis,  sciatica,  and 
other  cases.  But  in  a  medicinal  point  of  view  its  employment 
may  now  be  regarded  as  obsolete ;  its  chief  interest  at  the 
present  day  having  reference  to  its  reputed  poisonous  properties. 

The  symptoms  which  darnel  seeds  produce  on  man  are 
described  by  Pereira  as  twofold ;  '*  those  indicating  gastro- 
intestinal irritation, — such  as  vomiting  and  colic  ;  and  those 
which  arise  from  disorder  of  the  cerebro-spinal  system, — such  as 
headache,  giddiness,  languor,  ringing  in  the  ears,  confusion  of 
sight,  dilated  pupil,  delirium,  heaviness,  somnolency,  trembling, 
convulsions,  and  paralysis.  These  seeds,  therefore,  appear  to  be 
acro-narcotic  poisons.  According  to  Seeger,  one  of  the  most 
certain  signs  of  poisoning  by  them  is  trembling  of  the  whole 
body.''  Death  has  sometimes  resulted  from  their  use ;  and  from 
the  earliest  times  the  ill-effects  of  darnel  seeds  have  been  testified 
to  by  numerous  observers.  In  general  these  ill-effects  have 
arisen  from  the  intermixture  of  darnel  seeds  with  other  cereal 
grains.  Thus,  in  a  prison  at  Cologne,  sixty  persons  suffered 
from  the  use  of  a  bread-meal  containing  a  drachm  and  a  half  of 
darnel  in  six  ounces  of  meal ;  and  Dr.  Kingsley,  of  Boscrea,  has 
also  given  the  particulars  of  some  cases  in  which  several 
families  suffered  severely  from  the  effects  of  bread  containing  by 
accidental  admixture,  the  flour  of  darnel  seeds. 

The  best  remedies  in  cases  of  poisoning  by  darnel  seeds  are 
evacuants  and  stimulants.  Thus,  in  Dr.  Kingsley's  cases  just 
referred  to,  he  states  '^  that  under  the  free  use  of  stimulants  and 
castor    oil    the    whole    of    the    patients    were    convalescent    the 


296    LOLroM  TBMULENTUM 

following  do,j,  bnt  mach  debilitated  from  the  efFecte  of  the 
poison/' 

Of  late  years^  doubts  have  been  raised  whether  the  ill-effects 
of  darnel  are  inherent  in  the  grains  themselves^  or  whether 
they  are  not  dne  to  their  having  become  ergotised.  Thus^ 
Lindley  says  in  the  last  edition  of  his  '  Vegetable  Kingdom^' 
''  The  noxions  properties  of  Darnel  seem  to  rest  npon  no 
certain  proof.  That  formidable  list  of  mischief  belonging  to  its 
seeds  of  which  Haller  says  so  mnch^  resembles  what  might  be 
expected  of  some  ergotised  grass/'  He  adds^  ''At  all  events^ 
the  properties  of  Darnel  should  be  made  the  subject  of  renewed 
inquiry/'  Within  the  last  few  years  this  has  been  undertaken 
by  A.  S.  Wilson^  of  Aberdeen^  who  has  published  the  results  of 
his  valuable  and  interesting  investigations  in  the  'Transactions 
of  the  Botanical  Society  of  Edinburgh/  He  states  that  in  the 
course  of  twenty-eight  days  "  I  ate  561  grains  of  darnel  meal, 
equal  to  about  8300  seeds,  and  945  grains  of  darnel  husks,  equal 
to  the  husks  of  about  3100  seeds.  The  doses  varied  from  2  grains 
to  248.  In  my  case,  therefore  (not  to  generalise),  darnel  in  such 
doses  is  not  justly  called  '  temulentum ;'  its  seeds  and  husks  are 
not  'infelix,'  are  not  'narcotic,'  are  not  'acrid,'  are  not  'unwhole- 
some,' are  not  'injurious,'  do  not  cause  'delirium,'  do  not  produce 
'  stupefaction,'  and  are  not  '  poisonous,'  nor  productive  of  '  fatal 
results.' " 

Since  Mr.  Wilson's  experiments  have  been  published  Dr. 
Moore,  of  Glasnevin,  has  especially  referred  in  the  '  Grardener's 
Chronicle '  to  the  poisonous  properties  of  Darnel  as  observed  by 
its  action  on  himself  and  others  in  Ireland ;  and  other  communi- 
cations have  appeared  to  the  same  effect  in  this  and  other  journals 
in  this  country  and  abroad.  Dr.  Moore  says  "that  scarcely  a 
year  passes  over  without  my  hearilSg,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
of  some  person  or  persons  being  nearly  poisoned  by  eating  meal 
mixed  with  Darnel."  Dr.  Moore  also  refers  to  the  common  belief 
of  its  poisonous  properties  being  more  evident  when  eaten  hot. 

The  experience  of  Dr.  Moore,  however,  proves  nothing  further 
than  that  Darnel  is  deleterious  when  mixed  with  meal  and  eaten 


896 

K.  OrcL  Qramtnmm. 
Tribe  PkdlaHdea. 
Genus  ZeA»*  Linn,    There  is  probably  but  a  single  species. 


29e.  ZeaMays^t  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  971  (1753). 

Maize.     Indian  Com. 

£fy».— Z.  cryptosperma,  Z.  hirta,  Ac.,  Bonqfotit. 

Figwrei, — ^Nees,  Sappl. ;  Berg.  Oharacteristik,  t.  vi,  £g.  82 ;  Nees,  Gen. 
FL  Germ.;  Fl.  Brasil.,  fasc.  51,  t.  11;  Bonafoof,  Hbt.  Mais, 
tt.  1—12. 

Description. — Annual.  Stem  4 — 10  feet  higli,  erect,  stiff,  not 
branched,  solid,  with  a  spongy  central  portion,  quite  smooth, 
striate.  Leaves  numerous,  closely  placed,  very  large ;  sheaths 
completely  covering  the  stem,  wide,  smooth,  striate,  somewhat 
auriculate,  and  with  a  tuft  of  hairs  at  the  apex;  ligule  mem- 
branous, short,  truncate,  laciniate;  blade  about  1 — 1^  feet  long, 
widely  spreading,  linear-lanceolate,  acute,  undulated  at  the 
margins,  which  are  finely  ciliate  at  the  base,  smooth  on  both 
surfaces,  with  a  strong  midrib  very  prominent  beneath.  Flowers 
unisexual ;  spikelets  moncecious,  2 -flowered ;  the  male  spikelets 
numerous,  in  pairs,  one  long-stalked  and  one  short-stalked,  closely 
placed  on  the  spike-like,  spreading,  slightly  drooping  branches  of 
a  large  paniculate  inflorescence  which  terminates  the  stem; 
glumes  2,  nearly  equal,  broadly  lanceolate,  boat-shaped,  acute  or 
blunt,  many-nerved,  purplish ;  pales  2,  nearly  equal,  membrana- 
ceous, shorter  than  the  glumes,  acute,  the  lower  8-nerved,  the 
upper  2-nerved  with  the  edges  inflexed ;  female  spikelets  sessile 
or  with  very  short  pedicels  sunk  in  the  rachis,  arranged  in  pairs 
in  parallel  longitudinal  series,  and  very  closely  placed  on  a  thick 
axis  so  as  to  form  an  oblong,  cylindrical,  solid,  erect,  nearly  sessile 

*  Zt&  or  Zt*&  was  the  Ghreek  name  of  some  undetermined  kind  of  gprain, 
perhaps  the  Spelt.  linnsBos  adopted  it  for  the  present  genus  (see  Hort. 
Oliffort,  p.  437.) 

t  Mays,  the  native  Tnpi  name. 


296    ZEA  MAYS 

spike  which  is  sniTonnded  by  many  large  sheathing  imbricated 
leafy  bracts  and  occupies  the  axil  of  one  of  the  lower  leaves ;  the 
upper  flower  of  the  spikelet  barren ;  glumes  2,  concave,  very 
broad  and  obtuse,  thick  and  fleshy  at  the  base,  the  lower  eraar- 
ginate,  ciliate,  the  upper  truncate ;  pales  of  the  fertile  flower  2, 
membranous,  without  veins,  the  lower  one  broad,  blunt,  like  the 
upper  glume,  the  upper  much  longer,  closely  wrapped  round  the 
ovary,  those  of  the  barren  flower  2,  thin,  transparent,  inflexed  or 
involute.  Male  flowers  : — ^lodicules  fleshy,  truncate,  greenish  at 
the  base,  sometimes  scarious  above ;  stamens  3,  exserted,  anthers 
orange.  Female  flowers : — no  lodicules  ;  ovary  ovoid,  smooth^ 
sessile,  style  very  long,  about  6  inches,  erect  where  supported  by 
the  bracts,  surrounding  the  female  spike,  but  projecting  beyond 
them  and  then  drooping,  filiform,  flaccid,  somewhat  flattened, 
ciliate,  often  bifid  at  the  end.  Fruit  roundish-reniform,  com- 
pressed, about  I  inch  wide  but  varying,  smooth  and  shining,  usually 
bright  yellow,  laxly  surrounded  at  the  base  by  the  withered  glumes 
and  pales,  densely  packed  in  vertical  rows  on  the  thickened  hard 
axis,  and  forming  a  large,  cylindrical,  oblong,  blunt  spike  sur- 
rounded and  exceeded  by  the  dry  papery  bracts. 

Habitat. — As  with  several  other  cereals.  Maize  is  not  known  in 
the  wild  state.  It  is,  however,  cultivated  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  where  the  climate  is  sufficiently  warm,  as  throughout  the 
Mediterranean  region,  Airica,  the  warmer  parts  of  Asia,  and 
especially  of  America,  the  Pacific  Islands,  &c.  With  regard  to 
its  native  country  and  place  of  origin,  A.  De  CandoUe  and  other 
botanists  have  decided  positively  in  favour  of  America,  in  all 
parts  of  which  continent  it  was  in  common  cultivation  at  the  time 
of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World.  Mexico  is  further  suggested 
as  the  probable  original  centre.  More  recently,  from  researches 
into  the  literature  of  China,  it  has  been  shown  that  this  grain 
was  in  cultivation  in  that  country  in  the  16th  century,  and 
tradition  asserts  that  it  was  introduced  at  a  remote  period  from  the 
districts  bordering  China  on  the  West,  facts  which  point  towards 
an  Asiatic  origin.  As  far,  however,  as  Europe  is  concerned,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  plant  was  brought  to  Spain  from  America 


296    ZEA  KAYS 

in  the  16tli  century^  and  was  thence  carried  to  Italj.  It  was 
introduced  into  England  before  1570  nnder  the  name  of  Milium 
Indicum  Plinianum  sen  Mais  occidentalium,  and  grows  very  readily, 
and  even  ripens  seed  in  warm  seasons;  but  it  is  here  only  grown 
as  an  ornamental  garden  annual. 

There  are  many  varieties  cultivated,  several  of  which  are 
figured  in  Bonafous'  fine  memoir;  the  shape  of  the  ''cobs''  is 
very  diverse,  and  their  size  ranges  from  over  a  foot  to  only  about 
2  or  3  inches  long ;  the  number  of  rows  of  grains  is  normally  8, 
but  there  are  many  more  in  many  of  the  cultivated  varieties. 
The  size  and  form  of  the  grain  also  present  many  modifications ; 
though  usually  golden  yellow,  the  colour  may  be  white,  red,  grey, 
purple  or  even  nearly  black,  and  in  the  same  cob  there  are  not 
unfrequently  grains  of  various  colours.  Of  the  various  species 
described,  the  only  one  which  seems  to  have  a  claim  to  distinct- 
ness apart  from  Z,  Mays  is  Z,  Oura^ua,  Molina,  a  native  of  Chili. 

The  upper  flower  of  the  male  spikelet  is  frequently  abortive,  as 
in  the  female  spikelet,  or  has  filaments  without  anthers.  Barely 
spikes  are  found  containing  both  male  and  female  spikelets,  the 
former  occupying  the  lower  and  the  latter  the  top  part  of  the 
elongated  inflorescence. 

Lobel,  Adversaria,  p.  13 ;  Willk.  and  Lange,  Prod.  Fl.  Hisp.,  i, 
p.  35 ;  Roxburgh,  El.  Ind.,  iii,  p.  568 ;  Kunth,  Ennm.  Plant.,  i, 
p.  19 ;  Stend.,  Sjn.  Gram.,  p.  9 ;  Doell,  in  Fl.  Brasil.,  fasc.  51, 
p.  31;  Bonafous,  Hist.  Nat.  du  Mais  (1836);  DC,  Geogra- 
phie  Bot.,  ii,  p.  942;  Hance  &  Mayers,  in  Pharm  Joum., 
1870,  p.  522. 

Part  Used  and  Name. — Frxtmbntum  Indicum,  Maize;  the 
ripe  grains.  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  only  alladed  to  here  on  accoant  of  its  value  as  a 
food  substance. 

General  Characters  and  Composition. — The  grains  or  caryop- 
sides  are  roundish  or  somewhat  kidney-shaped,  and  more  or  less 
flattened.  They  have  a  stony  hardness,  and  their  ordinary  colour 
is    golden  yellow,   but  they  are    frequently  met  with  of    other 


296    ZEA  MAYS 

colonrs,  as  white,  grey,  parti- coloured,  red,  purple,  and  even  in  some 
cases  almost  black.  They  hare  no  odour,  but  a  sweetish,  agreeable 
taste,  although  not  usually  relished  at  first  in  this  country.  When 
ground  they  constitute  Maize  meal,  which  is  known  commonly  in 
the  shops  under  the  name  of  polenta.  The  substance  called 
fnaizena  is  fine  maize  flour. 

Maize  has  been  analysed  by  Gorham,  Bizio,  Payen,  Poison, 
Poggiale,  and  other  chemists.  The  average  results  of  the  ana- 
lysis of  three  varieties  in  an  undried  state  by  Poison,  yielded  in 
100  parts,  64'37  starch,  8*83  nitrogenous  substaatce,  4*50  fat,  2*70 
gum  and  sugar,  15'77  cellulose,  12*16  water,  and  1*67  a«A.  Pog- 
giale found  on  an  average  in  100  parts  of  the  dried  grains,  64*5 
starch,  6'7  fat,  and  9*9  nitrogenous  substance.  As  a  general  rule 
maize  contains  less  nitrogenous  substance  than  wheat,  and  is 
therefore  less  nutritious  than  it;  but  of  all  the  cereal  grains, 
maize  appears  to  be  richest  in  fatty  matter. 

Properties  and  Uses, — Maize  possesses  the  nutritive  properties 
of  the  cereal  grains  generally;  but  it  is  especially  remarkable 
amongst  them  for  its  fattening  quality,  which  depends  on  its 
containing  a  larger  amount  of  fatty  matter  than  any  other  of 
these  grains.  It  is  enormously  used  in  warm  countries  as  we  use 
wheaten  flour,  but  it  does  not  make  the  same  light  spongy  loaves 
as  it,  although  in  the  form  of  cakes  it  is  excellent.  In  those 
unaccustomed  to  its  use,  however,  maize  frequently  produces,  or 
keeps  up  a  tendency  to,  diarrhoea.  Polenta  and  maizena  are  also 
much  used  as  food  here  and  elsewhere.  The  roasted  cobs  or  ears  are 
sold  and  eaten  in  India,  as  chestnuts  similarly  treated  are  in  this 
country.  The  immature  ears  are  likewise  eaten  as  a  vegetable  in 
some  countries;  and  the  European  residents  in  certain  of  the  colonies 
regard  the  tender  grains  as  by  no  means  a  bad  substitute  for  green 
peas.  In  South  America  a  kind  of  beer  called  Chica  or  Maize 
Beer  is  made  from  the  grain,  and  is  extensively  used ;  and  in 
Western  Africa  a  favourite  fermented  beverage  is  also  prepared 
from  Maize  called  pitto  or  peto. 

In  the  United  States  and  elsewhere  the  meal  is  much  used  in 
the  hospitals,  and  makes  an  excellent  emollient  poultice.     Gruel 


296    ZEA  MAYS. 

prepared  from  it  is  also  stated  to  be  sometimes  more  gratef al  to 
the  sick  than  that  made  from  oatmeal.  According  to  Landerer^ 
the  silky  styles  and  stigmata  are  nsed  in  Greece  as  a  decoction  in 
diseases  of  the  bladder. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  yoL  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  75 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  1725 ;  Watts'  Diet.  Ghem.,  yoI.  i,  p.  825 ;  Daniel,  in  Pharm. 
Jonm.,  ser.  1,  vol.  ii,  p.  349;  Poison,  in  Ohem.  Gaz.,  1855, 
p.  211;  Proo.  Amer.  Pharm.  Absoc,  vol.  x,  p.  121,  voL  xi, 
p.  96,  and  yoI.  zYi,  p.  202. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  grown  in  Kew  Qardens,  the  female  flowers  added 
from  Nees. 

1.  Whole  plant ;  much  reduced. 

2.  Portion  of  stem  with  female  spike. 

3.  Branch  of  male  panicle  and  male  spikelet. 

4.  5.  Qlnmes. 

6.  Male  flower  with  pales. 

7.  Same,  pales  remoYed. 

8.  Female  spikelets  in  8iiu» 

9.  The  same  seen  from  the  side  (the  styles  in  both  cut  off). 

10.  A  single  spikelet. 

11.  The  same  with  the  glumes  turned  down  to  show  the  flowers. 

12.  Lower  glume. 

13.  Upper  glume. 

14.  Spike  of  fruit. 

15.  16.  Single  frnits. 

(4-13  enlarged.) 


297 


I 


N.  Ord.  GRAMINBiB. 

Tribe  Andropogonea, 

Genus  Andropogon,*  Liwa,  Steudel,  Syn.  Gram.,  pp.  363- 
399.  A  very  large  genus,  including  about  500  described 
species,  but  probably  many  of  these  might  be  reduced. 


297.  Andropogon  Nardns.t  Unn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  1,  p.  1046 

(1753). 

I  Maana  (Ceylon).      Citronella  Ghrass.      Lemon  Orass. 


Syn. — A.  flezuosus,  Nee$.    A.  coloratus,  Nees.    A.  Martini,  Thwaites 

(not  of  others).    A.  Iwarancusa,  Boxb.  {in  part)  ? 
Not  previously  figwred. 

Description. — ^A  large  perennial  herb,  with  a  long  slightly 
branched,  partly  aerial  rhizome,  reaching  \  inch  in  diameter,  and 
strongly  ringed  with  the  closely  placed  scars  of  the  leaf-sheaths, 
the  remains  of  which  persist  on  the  npper  portion,  and  giving  ofF 
numerous  tough  root-fibres.  Stem  reaching  6  feet  or  more  high, 
erect,  stout,  cylindrical,  solid,  smooth  and  shining,  partially  con- 
cealed by  the  leaf-sheaths,  scarcely  thickened  at  the  nodes,  which 
are  approximated  below  but  widely  separated  above,  flat  or  chan- 
nelled on  one  side  in  the  upper  portion.  Leaves  very  large  and  long, 
numerous,  erect,  lower  ones  sometimes  reduced  to  their  sheaths ; 
sheaths  thick  and  strong,  about  6  inches  long,  close  but  not 
entirely  enveloping  the  stem,  quite  smooth,  striate ;  ligule  short, 
brown,  lacinate,  scarious;  blade  about  2  feet  long,  linear,  very 
much  attenuated  at  the  apex,  tapering  below,  minutely  denticulate 
with  forward  points  on  the  edges,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  pale 
somewhat  glaucous  green,  lighter  beneath.      Spikelets  very  small, 

*  Andropogon,  from  dvyip,  a  man,  and  ircaywv,  a  beard,  from  the  tufts  of  hair 
beneath  the  spikelets. 

t  Nardvs.  The  name  vdpdoe  was  applied  by  the  Greeks  to  certain  plants 
yielding  an  aromatic  oil,  of  which  Indian  nard  or  spikenard,  vapHtrraxvq,  was 
the  most  celebrated.  LinnsBus  (see  his  Mat.  Med.,  p.  11)  thought  spikenard  to 
be  probably  this  grass,  and  others  have  referred  it  to  some  Andropogon,  but 
Boyle  makes  it  to  be  the  rhizome  of  a  Yalerianaceous  plant  of  the  Himalayas, 
Nardo$tachya  Jatamanai,  DO. 


297    ANDBOPOGON  NARDUS 

arranged  in  couples,  one  stalked,  containing  one  male  flower,  the 
other  sessile,  with  one  hermaphrodite  and  often  one  barren  flower ; 
the  couples,  to  the  number  of  3  or  4,  articulated  on  alternate  sides 
of  a  short,  flattened,  jointed  rachis  clothed  along  the  edges  with 
long  white  silky  hairs  tufted  beneath  the  spikelets,  forming  a 
short  acute  spike  about  ^ — f  inch  long ;  the  spikes  arranged  in 
pairs  on  a  common  slender  stalk,  at  the  bent  basal  node  of  which 
is  a  large,  erect,  acute,  leafy,  striate,  orange-red,  shining  bract, 
scarious  at  the  edges,  which  encloses  the  pairs  of  spikes  before 
expansion ;  the  pairs  of  spikes  very  numerous,  placed  on  the  some- 
what zic-zac,  elongated,  smooth,  slender,  erect,  flattened  branches 
of  elongated  panicles,  which  come  off  in  clusters  from  the  axils  of 
the  upper  leaves,  the  whole  forming  a  very  large,  tufted,  elongated, 
somewhat  drooping  inflorescence,  often  2  feet  or  more  in  length ; 
glumes  nearly  equal,  acuminate,  membranous,  smooth,  purplish^ 
boat-shaped,  the  lower  one  of  the  sessile  spikelet  flattened  on  the 
back  against  the  rachis  and  without  a  midrib,  those  of  the  stalked 
spikelets  with  several  parallel  strong  veins;  pales  of  the  lower 
spikelet  2,  or  with  a  third  representing  a  barren  flower,  very 
unequal,  the  lower  very  small,  deeply  bifid  with  two  long  cusps^ 
from  between  which  comes  off  a  long,  slender,  slightly  kneed 
purple  awn,  about  twice  the  length  of  the  glumes,  and  projecting 
considerably  beyond  the  spikelet,  the  upper  much  larger,  acute  but 
without  an  awn,  very  delicate  and  membranous,  without  veins ;  in 
the  flower  of  the  upper  spikelet  there  is  but  a  single  membranous 
non-awned  pale.  Lodicules  2,  oblong,  truncate,  longer  than  the 
ovary.  Stamens  8,  anthers  purple.  Stigmas  2,  spreading,  protruded 
from  the  flower,  plumose,  bright  red-purple.  Fruit  not  united  with 
the  pales. 

Habitat. — This  beautiful  grass  is  a  native  of  Ceylon,  where  it 
grows  up  to  the  level  of  3000  feet;  in  parts  of  the  Madras 
presidency  of  continental  India  it  is  also  found  abundantly  (as 
about  Travancore),  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  is  met  with 
further  to  the  north.  It  is  rather  extensively  cultivated  about 
Galle  in  Ceylon  and  at  Singapore. 

Plants  have  been  grown  at  Kew  for  many  years,  but  there  is  no 


297    ANDROPOGON  NABDUS 

record  as  to  the  source  whence  they  were  derived.  The  cultivated 
plant  from  which  onr  drawing  was  made  is  very  mach  more  lax  than 
in  the  typical  specimens  of  Hermann's  herbarium  (now  in  the  British 
Museum)  upon  which  Linnaeus  founded  the  species^  and  the  awns 
are  much  longer ;  indeed,  in  this  and  other  specimens  the  awns  are 
entirely  included  within  the  glumes ;  but  both  of  these  characters  are 
variable,  Thwaites'  specimens  being  intermediate  between  the  Kew 
and  Hermann's  plants  in  each  particular. 

The  best  characters  for  distinguishing  A.  Nardus  from  allied 
species,  according  to  General  Munro,  to  whose  notes — the  result  of 
great  research  and  kindly  placed  at  our  disposal — ^we  are  much 
indebted,  are  to  be  found  in  its  rufous  colour,  short  spikes  and 
narrow  leaves. 

There  is  still  great  confusion  amongst  the  species  of  Andropogon 
affording  grass  oils.  A.  Schoenanthus,  Linn.,  the  Ginger-grass  of 
North  and  Central  India,  is  the  best  known  and  most  widely  dis- 
tributed. This  is  the  true  A.  Martini,  Roxb.  and  A.  pachnodes, 
Trin,,  and  has  been  figured  by  Trinius  (Sp.  Gram.  III.,  t.  327). 
It  is  cultivated  in  Bombay,  and  also  in  Jamaica  and  Mauritius,  and 
is  not  uncommon  in  gardens  throughout  the  tropics.  A  Himalayan 
form  of  this  was  considered  by  Royle  to  be  certainly  the  ''  Calamus 
aromaticus''  of  the  ancients,  and  this  he  has  figured  in  his  111. 
Bot.  Himal.  (t.  97)  under  the  name  of  A.  Calamus-aromaticus. 
This  formerly  valuable  substance  has  been  referred  by  others  to 
Acorus  CalamuSy  L.  (see  no.  279).  The  spice  called  "Calamus'' 
and  ''  Sweet  Cane  "  in  the  English  version  of  the  Bible,  one  of  the 
ingredients  of  the  holy  anointing  oil  of  the  Jews,  may  have  been 
one  of  these  fragrant  Andropogons,  but  Hanbury  thinks  it  more 
probably  referable  to  Cassia  bark. 

A.  citrai/us,  DC,  the  Lemon  grass,  is  less  known.  It  only  occurs 
in  a  cultivated  state  and  very  rarely  flowers.  In  Ceylon  and 
Singapore  it  is  grown  along  with  A.  Nardua  ;  and  is  cultivated  in 
gardens  for  its  foliage  in  other  hot  countries.  The  leaves  are  more 
glaucous  than  in  the  last.  According  to  Munro,  it  is  the  plant 
figured  as  A.  Schcenanthus  in  Wallich's  Plant.  Asiat.  Bar.,  t.  280. 

A.  laniger,  Desf .  (-4.  Olivierij  Boiss.)  has  a  very  extensive  distribu- 


297    ANDROPOGON  NARDUS 

tion  throngliout  Northern  Africa  from  Algeria  to  Egypt^  and  extends 
throngh  Arabia  and  other  desert  regions  to  Northern  India.  This 
species  is  the  "  Schoenanthns''  or  ''Juncus  odoratus''  of  the  pharma- 
cists, which  has  been  long  known.  The  plant  is  figured  in  Trinius' 
Icones  Gram.,  t.  326 ;  it  is  probable  also  that  the  A.  Iwa/rancuaa 
of  Roxburgh,  as  shown  by  his  specimens,  is  to  be  referred  to  it, 
as  well  as  Blane's  ''  Spikenard  '*  figured  in  his  paper  in  the 
'  Philosophical  Transactions,'  of  which  is  an  authentic  specimen 
in  the  British  Museum. 

All  these  species  belong  to  the  section  of  And/ropogon  called 
Oymhopogoriy  distinguished  by  the  large  bracts  and  by  the  vena- 
tion of  the  glumes.     There  are  about  40  species  described. 

Linnsens,  Fl.  Zeylanica,  p.  18;  Roxb.,  Fl.  Indica,  i,  p.  274,  280 ; 
Blane,  in  Phil.  Trana.,  bmc  (1790),  p.  284 ;  Royle,  HI.  Huna- 
layan  Bot.,  p.  425 ;  Kunth,  Enam.  Plant.,  i,  p.  493;  LindL  Fl. 
Med.,  p.  612 ;  Fluck.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr.,  p.  660.  ' 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Oleum  Andeopogi  Nardi  :  the  volatile 
oil  obtained  by  distillation  from  the  fresh  plant  (I.  P.). 

The  volatile  oils  obtained  by  distillation  from  the  fresh  plants  of 
Andropogon  citratus,  BO.  {Oleum  Andropogi  citrati) ;  and  of 
Andropogon  pachnodes^  Trin.  (A.  Schoenanthus,  Linn.),  are  also 
official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  These  oils  are  not  official 
in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United 
States. 

These  oils  are  commonly  known  under  the  general  name  of 
Orarss  oils  or  Indian  Orass  oils.  The  oil  of  Andropogon  Na/rdus  is 
also  specially  distinguished  as  Oitronella  oil  or  Oil  of  Citroryelle  ; 
that  of  A.  citratus  as  Lemon  Orass  oil.  Oil  of  Verbena,  or  Indian 
Melissa  oil,  and  in  Java  under  the  name  of  Sir  eh;  that  of  A. 
pojchnodes  as  Rusa  oil.  Oil  of  Ginger  Orass,  Oil  of  Geranium^  or 
sometimes  as  Orass  oil  of  Nimdr  or  Namur. 

Production  and  Commerce. — Andropogon  Nardus  and^.  citratus 
are  largely  cultivated  in  Ceylon  and  Singapore ;  and  A.  pack- 
nodes  in  Northern  and  Central  India^  for  the  distillation  of  their 
respective  volatile  oils.  The  consumption  of  these  oils  has  very 
much  increased  of  late  years. 


297    ANDROPOGON  NARDUS 

Oeneral  Characters. — Grass  oils  vary  somewhat  in  colour,  that 
of  Oil  of  Citronelle  being  commonly  light  greenish-yellow ;  that  of 
Lemon  grass  oil  from  a  pale  sherry  colour  to  deep  golden  brown ; 
and  that  of  Oil  of  Gringer  grass  from  pale  greenish-yellow  to 
yellowish-brown.  They  have  all  an  extremely  pungent  taste ;  and 
a  very  fragrant  odour,  resembling  a  mixture  of  rose  and  lemon. 
Lemon  grass  oil  also  receives  the  name  of  Oil  of  Yerbena  from  its 
odour  strongly  resembling  the  sweet-scented  Verbena  or  Lemon 
Plant  of  our  gardens  {Lippia  (Aloysia)  citriodora) ;  and  Oil  of 
Ginger  Grass  is  called  Oil  of  Geranium,  from  its  odour  resembling 
the  true  oil  of  geranium  derived  from  Pelargonium  Badula,  Ait. 
All  these  oils  are  devoid  of  rotatory  power,  are  lighter  than  water, 
and  have  no  action  on  litmus  paper. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Grass  oils  have  acquired  some 
reputation  in  India  for  their  stimulant,  carminative,  antispas- 
modic,  and  diaphoretic  effects,  when  administered  internally ;  and 
are  in  high  repute  when  locally  applied,  as  rubefacients.  They 
have  been  employed  with  some  success,  more  particularly  Lemon 
grass  oil,  in  flatulent  and  spasmodic  affections  of  the  bowels,  and 
in  gastric  irritability ;  and  Waring  states,  that  in  cholera.  Lemon 
grass  oil  ^'  proves  serviceable,  not  only  by  allaying  and  arresting 
the  vomiting,  but  by  aiding  the  process  of  reaction."  For 
external  application  these  oils  should  be  diluted  with  about  twice 
their  bulk  of  soap  liniment  or  olive  oil,  and  they  then  form  valu- 
able embrocations  in  chronic  rheumatism,  neuralgia,  sprains,  and 
other  painful  affections.  Oil  of  Ginger  grass  is  also  said  to 
stimulate  the  growth  of  the  hair. 

A  warm  infusion  of  the  leaves  of  And/ropogon  cii/ratus  is  like- 
wise stated  to  be  a  valuable  diaphoretic  in  febrile  affections.  The 
fresh  leaves  of  the  same  plant  are  also  sometimes  used  as  a 
substitute  for  tea;  and  the  centre  of  the  stem  for  flavouring 
curries,  &c. 

The  principal  consumption,  however,  of  these  oils  is  in  Europe 
and  the  United  States,  where  they  are  largely  used  by  the  per- 
fumer and  soapmaker.     Busa  oil,  called  in  Hindustani,  Biisa  ha 


297    ANDROPOGON  NARDUS 

tel,  is  also  very  extensively  employed  in  European  Turkey,  for 
adulterating  Attar  of  Rose,  as  is  mentioned  by  us  in  describing 
"  Bosa  oentifolia/' 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  pp.  132-136;  Pharmaoographia, 
p.  660;  PharmacopoBia  of  India,  pp.  255  and  464;  Stenhouse, 
in  Phartn.  Joorn,,  vol.  iv,  ser.  1,  p.  276 ;  Hamilton,  in  Pharm. 
Jonm.,  vol.  vi,  ser.  i,  p.  369 ;  Goibonrt,  Hist.  Nat.  des  Drogues, 
4me  6dit.,  t.  2,  p.  114. 


DBSCRIPTION    OF    PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  in  Kew  Gardens  flowering  in  May. 

1.  A  portion  of  the  inflorescence. 

2.  A  couple  of  spikelets. 

3.  A  joint  of  the  rachis. 

4.  Glumes  of  the  lower  spikelet. 

5.  The  lower  glume. 

6.  Pales  of  the  lower  spikelet. 

7.  Stamens. 

8.  Lodicules  and  pistil. 

9.  The  upper  spikelet  opened. 

10.  A  leaf. 

11.  Base  of  stem  and  rhizome. 

(2-9  enlarged.) 


298 

N.  Ord.  GsAMiirBiB. 

Tribe  And/ropogonea. 

Genus  Saooharum,*  Linn,  Kuntb,  Enam.  PL,  i,  p.  575. 
Species  (mclading  Erianthua)  about  50,  natives  of  tbe 
warmer  portions  of  botb  worlds. 


298.  Sacchamm  offloinanim,  Lmn.y  8p.  Plant,  ed.  l,  p.  54 

(1753). 

Sugar-cane. 

JV*re».— Woodville,  t.  266 ;  Tussac,  Fl.  Antilles,  i,  tt.  23—25,  cop.  in 
Hajne,  ix,  tt.  30,  31,  and  Nees,  t.  33—35 ;  Stepb  &  Ob.,  t.  148  ; 
Hook.,  Bot.  MisoelL,  i,  t.  26. 

Description. — A  very  large  perennial  herb,  with  a  tbick^  Bolid^ 
jointed  rbizome^  giving  off  root-fibres  above  each  joint.     Stems 
nnmerons^  erect^  attaining  a  height  of  from  6  to  12  feet  or  more^ 
cylindrical^  solid^  succulent    within,   with  numerous   joints    at    a 
distance  of  1^ — 3  inches,  the  intemodes  shorter  at  the  base,  slightly 
swollen,    about     1^     inch    in     diameter,    smooth,    shining     and 
polished,    yellow,   purple,  or  striped^  not  branched,  but  with  a 
bud  at  each  node^  and   with  numerous   scar-like  dots  arranged 
in  3  irregular  rings  above  each  node,  from  which  at  the  lower 
ones  proceed  root-fibres.     Leaves  very  large,  numerous,  distichous, 
closely  placed,  soon  deciduous  from  the  lower  part  of  the  stem, 
sheaths  a  foot  long,  rather  close,  striate,  smooth  or  with  white  fari- 
nose pubescence  which  is  easily  removed,  ligule  very  short,  entire, 
blade  3  feet  or  more  long,  at  first  erect,  then  spreading,  3  inches  or 
more  wide,  acute,  very  finely  serrulate  on  the  margin,  smooth  on 
both  surfaces,  ciliate  on  the  sides  at  the  base  with  long,  erect 
white  hairs,  central  vein  wide  and  thick,  prominent  on  the  back. 
Spikelets   small,  very  numerous,   1 -flowered,  all    hermaphrodite, 
arranged  in  pairs^   one    being    sessile,   the    other   stalked,   each 
surrounded  by  a  dense  ring  of  long,  white,  straight,  spreading 

*  Saeeharum,  in  Greek  <raKxap  or  <raicxapov,  the  name  of  sngar  in  Pliny  and 
Dioscorides ;  words  of  Sanskrit  origin. 


298    SACCHABUM  OFnCIHABUM 

silky  hairs^  arinng  immediately  below  and  coming  away  with  ihe 
spikelei ;  tbe  oooplea  placed  rather  distantly  on  alternate  sides  of 
the  Fery  long^  slender,  erect  or  carved,  straight  or  flexaose^ 
smooth  brandbes  of  greatly  elongated  narrow  panicles^  which  are 
themselves  branches  (angular^  villoas  at  the  base)  given  off  in 
irregular  whorls  of  6—8  from  the  stont^  erect,  smooth,  obtusely 
angled  rachis,  the  whole  forming  a  very  large,  feathery^  somewhat 
drooping,  terminal^  grey  inflorescence^  2  feet  or  more  in  length ; 
glomes  2,  nearly  equal,  oblong-lanoeohite,  acute^  not  awned,  mem- 
branaceous, the  lower  2-nerved,  somewhat  ciliated  at  the  upper 
part,  the  upper  1-nerved,  slightly  keeled ;  pale  solitary,  enclosed 
in  the  upper  glume  than  which  it  is  slightly  shorter,  membranous^ 
pink,  ovate-lanceolate,  rather  obtuse,  quite  smooth,  without  veins. 
Lodicules  2,  free,  truncate,  2 — 3-lobed  or  torn.  Stamens  3, 
anthers  linear-oblong,  pale  yellow.  Ovary  smooth,  styles  2, 
spreading,  the  upper  portion  densely  plumose,  dark  purple. 
Fruit  not  seen. 

Habitat. — ^If  the  wild  form  of  the  Sugar-cane  is  to  be  anywhere 
now  met  with,  it  is  in  India,  of  which  country  it  is  undoubtedly  a 
native^  and  where  it  has  been  cultivated  from  the  earliest  antiquity. 
Whether  the  species  grown  in  China,  8.  ehinense,  Bozb.,  is  speci- 
fically the  same  is  scarcely  determined  with  certainty,  but  it  is 
probably  native  in  that  country.  The  culture  of  the  plant  spread 
westward  in  the  early  middle  ages  to  Persia,  and  was  carried  by 
the  Arabs  to  the  Mediterranean  districts,  Sicily,  Cyprus,  Spain,  and 
Italy.  It  quickly  spread  over  other  parts  of  the  globe,  and  in  the 
New  World  was  introduced  to  S.  Domingo  as  early  as  1494,  and  into 
Brazil  early  in  the  16th  century.  At  the  present  day  the  cane  is 
grown  in  all  suitable  countries  throughout  the  world,  and  especi- 
ally in  the  West  Indies,  Mauritius,  British  Guiana,  &c.  The  only 
part  of  Europe  where  the  culture  is  still  continued  is  near  Malaga 
on  the  Mediterranean  coast  of  Spain.  The  Sugar-cane  is  grown 
in  stoves  in  this  country,  but  does  not  flower  here. 

There  are  many  varieties  recognised  by  cultivators,  depending 
on  the  thickness,  texture,  and  colour  of  the  stems,  of  which  an 
account  is  given  in  Tussac^s  work  quoted  below. 


2d8    SAGCHABUM  OFFIOINABUM 

The  grain  appears  to  be  rarelj  produced^  and  we  have  not  found 
mature  specimens  in  the  herbarium.  It  is  said  never  to  ripen  seed 
in  Jamaica.  The  spikelets  are  often  described  as  2-flowered4  ^^^ 
there  was  but  a  single  flower  in  the  specimens  examined. 

Roxburgh,  Fl.  Indica,  i,  p.  237;  Kuntb,  Enum.  Plant.,  i, 
p.  475;  Stendel,  Sjn.  Oram.,  p.  405;  Macfadyen,  in  liook. 
Bot.  Misc.,  i,  p.  95  (1830) ;  DO.  G6ogr.  Bofc.,  p.  836 ;  LindL, 
Fl.  Med.,  p.  613  ;  Fliiok.  and  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr.,  p.  649 ; 
Tussac,  Fl.  Antilles,  i,  p.  151. 

Official  PaH8  and  Names. — 1.  Sacohabuh  Pueipicatum;  pure 
cane  sugar  prepared  from  the  juice  of  the  stem:  2.  Thbriaca; 
the  uncrystallised  residue  of  the  refining  of  sugar  (B.  P.).  1.  Pure 
cane  sugar  prepared  from  the  juice  of  the  stem  :  2.  The  uncrjs- 
tallised  residue  of  the  refining  of  sugar  (I.  P.).  1.  Saocharuh; 
the  sugar  of  Saccharum  officinarum,  refined:  2.  Sybupus  Fuscus^ 
Molasses  ;  the  impure^  dark-coloured  syrup^  obtained  in  making 
sugar  from  Saccharum  officinarum  (U.  S.  P.). 

1.  Sacchabum  PuBiFiCATUK^  or  Saochabum. — Before  describing 
the  characters  of  Refined  Sugar  it  will  be  necessary  to  allude 
briefly  to  the  mode  of  obtaining.  Baw  Sugar^  and  the  process  of 
Sugar  Befining. 

Preparation  of  Raw  Siigar, — ^The  ripe  canes  are  cut  close  to 
the  ground^  stripped  of  their  leaves^  and  subjected  to  pressure 
between  iron  rollers^  or  in  some  other  suitable  way.  The  cane 
juice  thus  obtained,  is  clarified  by  the  combined  use  of  lime  and 
heat.  The  heat  coagulates  any  albumen  which  may  be  present ; 
and  the  lime  neutralises  the  free  acid,  and  combines  with  a  peculiar 
albuminous  body  not  coagulable  by  heat  or  acids,  and  forms  with 
it  a  coagulum,  the  separation  of  which  is  promoted  by  the  heat. 
Part  of  it  rises  to  the  top  as  a  scum,  and  the  remainder  subsides. 
The  clarified  juice  is  then  drawn  o£E  into  the  boiler,  evaporated 
and  skimmed.  When  it  has  acquired  a  proper  tenacity  and 
granular  aspect,  it  is  emptied  into  a  cooler  and  allowed  to 
crystallise  or  grain.  The  concrete  sugar  is  then  placed  in  casks 
perforated  with  holes  in  the  bottom ;  and  the  sugar  is  left  to 
drain  for  three  or  four  weeks.     It  is  then  packed  in  hogsheads. 


298    SAOOHARUM  OPPIOINARUM 

and  exported  under  the  name  of  raw  or  muscovado  sugar.  The 
drainings  or  uncrystallized  portion  of  sagar,  constitute  molasses. 

Suga/r  Refining. — Raw  sugar  is  a  mixture  of  crystallizable  and 
uncrystallizable  sugar^  contaminated  by  various  organic  and  in- 
organic substances.  It  is  refined  as  follows  : — It  is  first  dissolved 
in  water  by  the  aid  of  steam ;  the  liquid  is  then  heated  with 
bullock's  blood  and  filtered  through  canvas  bags  ;  and  the  clear 
liquor  afterwards  allowed  to  percolate  slowly  through  enormous 
cylinders  containing  coarse-grained  animal  and  fresh  burnt 
charcoal.  The  filtered  liquor^  which  is  nearly  colourless^  is  then 
boiled  by  the  aid  of  steam,  under  diminished  atmospheric  pres- 
sure, at  a  temperature  of  about  1 70^.  When  the  requisite  degree 
of  concentration  has  been  attained,  the  syrup  is  transferred  to 
conical  moulds  whose  orifices  are  closed  ;  and  when  the  contents 
have  solidified,  the  stoppers  are  withdrawn  from  the  orifices,  and 
the  moalds  are  placed  in  pots  in  order  to  allow  the  trea^e  to  drain 
off.  The  loaves  are  then  sugared  by  pouring  on  their  base  a 
saturated  syrup,  which  by  slowly  percolating  through  the  mass, 
carries  with  it  the  colouring  matter  and  other  impurities,  but  does 
not  dissolve  the  crystallized  sugar. 

General  Characters. — Refined  sugar  is  in  compact,  crystalline, 
conical  loaves,  known  in  commerce  as  loaf  sugar.  Refined  sugar 
is  snow-white,  dry,  inodorous,  intensely  and  purely  sweet,  porous, 
friable,  and  made  up  of  small  crystalline  grains.  It  is  permanent 
in  the  air,  melts  when  heated,  and  soon  becomes  coloured  under 
such  circumstances ;  and  when  subjected  gradually  to  a  high 
temperature,  it  becomes  brown,  evolves  a  remarkable  odour,  loses 
its  sweet  taste,  acquires  a  bitter  one,  and  then  constitutes  what  is 
called  caramel  or  burnt  suga/r.  Cane  sugar  is  soluble  in  both  hot 
and  cold  water ;  and  also  soluble  in  rectified  spirit,  but  insoluble 
in  ether.  Its  watery  solutions  aided  by  heat,  decompose  some  of 
the  metallic  salts.  A  dilute  watery  solution  with  a  little  yeast 
undergoes  the  vinous  fermentation.  The  aqueous  solution  produces 
a  right-handed  rotation  on  a  ray  of  polarised  light.  By  the  slow 
cooling  of  a  saturated  aqueous  solution  of  sugar  we  obtain  the 
large    and  fine  crystals,  which    constitute  the  commercial  sugar 


298    SACOHARUM  OFPIOINARUM 

candy;  these  crystals  are  four-sided  oblique  rhombic  prisms^ 
with  dihedral  summits.  Sugar  fuses  at  320^^  and  on  cooling 
assumes  the  viscous  condition^  in  which  it  is  known  as  barley  sugar. 
Sugar  promotes  the  solubility  of  lime  in  water  ;  and  forms  both 
an  insoluble  and  soluble  compound  with  oxide  of  lead. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Sugar  is  of  little  importance  in 
a  medical  point  of  view.  In  the  form  of  lozenges^  sugar  candy^  &c.^ 
it  allays  tickling  cough  by  slowly  dissolving  in  the  mouth.  It 
is  nutritious,  but  in  consequence  of  not  containing  nitrogen,  it  is 
not  capable  in  itself  of  supporting  life.  It  is  a  powerful  antiseptic, 
and  is  largely  used  for  preserving  meat  and  fruit.  The  popular 
notion  that  sugar  is  injurious  to  the  teeth  is  unfounded,  as  a 
solution  of  sugar  has  no  action  on  the  teeth.  In  pharmacy,  sugar 
serves  to  preserve ;  to  give  flavour,  bulk^  form,  cohesiveness  and 
consistence;  to  subdivide,  and  to  suspend  oily  substances  in 
aqueous  fluids ;  and  to  preserve  some  inorganic  compounds,  hence 
its  use  in  the  syrup  of  iodide  of  iron,  and  saccharated  carbonate 
of  iron. 

The  consumption  of  sugar  in  this  country  otherwise  than  for  its 
medicinal  and  pharmaceutical  uses  is  enormous,  the  average 
imports  being  not  less  than  15,000,000  cwt. 

2.  Thebiaca,  Treacle.  Sybupus  Puscus,  Molasses. — Treacle  and 
molasses  are  thick,  dark  brown,  fermentable  liquids,  composed  of 
uncrystallizable  sugar,  crystallizable  sugar,  various  salts,  gummy 
and«colouring  matters,  water  Ac.  They  are  frequently  confounded 
together,  but  molasses  is  the  drainings  from  raw  or  muscovado 
sugar ;  while  treacle  is  that  which  drains  from  refined  sugar  in 
the  sugar  moulds.  Molasses  is  sometimes  termed  Oolden  Syrup. 
In  the  United  States  two  kinds  of  molasses  are  distinguished 
under  the  names  of  West  India  Molasses  and  Sugar-house  Molasses. 
The  former  is  the  molasses  of  this  country  ;  and  the  latter  our 
treacle.  Treacle  has  a  darker  colour  than  molasses,  is  thicker, 
and  has  a  somewhat  different  flavour ;  it  is  very  sweet,  does  not 
crystallise  by  rest  or  evaporation,  and  has  a  specific  gravity  of 
about  1*40.     It  should  be  free  from  a  burnt  odour  or  taste. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses, — Treacle  is  slightly  laxative.     It 


296    SACCHABUM  OFFIClXAIbGM 

is  lued  in  pharmacy  to  give  cohesiFeness  to  pill  maoocB^  to 
preserve  them  in  a  softened  state^  to  prevent  mouldinessy  and  to 
some  extent  to  check  chemical  changes. 

Both  treacle  and  molasses  are  capable  of  fermentation  by  yeast; 
and  then  by  distillation  yield  mm. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  toL  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  121 ;  Per.  Mat  Med,  by  B.  & 
B.,  pp.  410  &  413;  Phamuicogniphia*  p.  d52;  CooleT's 
Cyclopedia,  p.  1087 ;  U.  8.  IHsp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  754;  Watts* 
IHct.  Chem.«  toL  t,  p.  468 ;  Boyle,  Mat.  Med.,  by  J.  Hisiiej, 
p.'319. 


DXSCBIPTIOH  or  FLATl. 

The  reduced  fignre  of  the  whole  plant  copied  firom  Macfiidyen,  the  stem 
and  leaf  firom  Tossao,  the  flowers  from  specimens  in  the  British  Mnseom 
collected  in  Maoritins. 

1.  The  whole  plant  (about  -f^  nat.  size). 

2.  Portion  of  stem. 

8.  Portion  of  stem  with  leayes. 

4.  Portion  of  inflorescence. 

5.  A  pair  of  spikelets. 

6.  A  stalked  spikelet. 

7.  The  pale — 8.  The  lower — and  9.  The  upper  glume. 
10.  The  flower. 

(5-10  enlarged.) 


li'Hi>»il)]ll>jW 


I.I^IIJMJJJ;!!,*"'* 


V 


299 

N.  Ord.  Ltcopodiagba.    Lindl.,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  69.    Le  Maout 
&  Deo.,  p.  911. 

Genus  Iiyoopodium,*  Linn.    Species  over  100,  natives  of  all 
parts  of  the  globe. 


299,  I^ycopoditiin  clayatom,  lAnn.y  8p.  Plant.,  ed.  1,  p.  1101 

(1753). 

Common  Club-moss^     Siagshom, 

8yn. — L.  inflexum,  8v>. 

Figures. — Hayne,  viii,  t.  47 ;  Nees,  t.  13 ;   Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  28  a;   Sow., 
Eng.  Bot.,  t.  224 ;  Fl.  Danica,  1. 126. 

Description. — ^A  perennial  plants  with  prostrate,  creeping,  very 
slender,  toagh  and  flexible,  woody  stems,  extending  to  a  great 
length  (even  30  feet  or  more),  bat  not  increasing  in  diameter, 
much  branched  in  a  dichotomous  manner,  the  branches  short, 
ascending,  giving  off  at  intervals  from  the  nnder  snrface  solitary, 
straight,  simple,  wiry,  pale  yellow  roots.  Leaves  very  numerous, 
small,  persistent  for  many  years,  about  i  inch  long,  very  closely 
placed  all  over  the  stem  and  densely  imbricated,  the  points  all 
turned  somewhat  upwards,  sessile,  linear-oblong,  acute,  the  apex 
terminating  in  a  hair- like  process  often  as  long  as  the  leaf,  smooth, 
one-veined,  dry,  pale  yellow-green,  the  hair-points  reddish. 
Fructification  contained  in  cones  which  are  borne  singly  or  more 
usually  in  pairs,  at  the  extremity  of  erect  slender  stiff  branches 
set  with  smaller,  thinner,  more  distant,  paler  leaves  without  a 
hair  point ;  cones  about  1 — 2  inches  long,  cylindrical,  linear,  blunt, 
composed  of  an  axis  and  very  many  closely  placed,  strongly 
imbricated  bracts  which  are  shortly  stalked,  triangular-ovate,  ter- 
minated by  a  long  filiform  point  and  slightly  produced  at  the 
base  below  the  stalk  so  as  to  be  somewhat  peltate,  faintly  denti- 
culate at  the  margins,  sulphur-yellow,  at  first  erect,  but  somewhat 
spreading  after  the  discharge  of  the  spores.      Spores  very  minute, 

*  Lycopodium,  from  Xvcoc,  a  wolf,  and  irovc,  a  foot,  wolTs  claw ;  a  medi- 
8Bval  name ;  from  the  form  of  the  short  leafy  shoots. 


299    LTOOPODIUM    CLAVATUM 

bluntly  tetrahedral,  finely  reticulated,  pale  yellow,  containecl,  very 
many  together,  in  small  strong,  reniform  cases  (sporangia)  which 
open  by  a  fissure  along  their  whole  length  and  are  attached,  by 
short  thick  stalks,  one  at  the  base  of  the  inner  surface  of  each 
bract  of  the  cone. 

HabitaL — This  curious  plant  has  a  very  extensive  distribution 
over  the  globe,  being  found  in  the  temperate  and  colder  regions  of 
both  hemispheres  and  in  the  Old  and  New  Worlds.  It  occurs  in 
healthy  and  hilly  districts  throughout  Europe,  Northern  Asia  and 
North  America,  extending  to  within  the  Arctic  circle  and  to  the 
Himalayas.  It  also  grows  in  Australia,  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  and  in  Madagascar,  Java, 
Japan  and  tropical  America. 

In  this  country  it  is  frequent  in  suitable  situations,  but  is  far 
more  abundant  in  the  north  than  the  south,  where  it  has  become 
extinct  in  many  places.  The  cones  are  produced  in  July  and 
August,  and  are  in  some  years  very  abundant  and  in  others 
scarcely  to  be  met  with. 

Spring,  who  has  monographed  this  Order,  gives  nine  distinct 
varieties  of  this  nearly  cosmopolitan  plant. 

The  club-mosses,  like  the  Ferns,  are  asexual  plants.  The 
development  of  the  spores  of  L.  clavatv/m  has  not  been  traced  as 
yet,  but  those  of  L.  inundatum  are  known  to  form  a  prothallus, 
and  in  L,  annotinum  the  prothallus  has  been  observed  to  be  sub- 
terranean, with  rootlets  from  the  under  surface  and  the  male 
(antheridia)  and  female  (archegonia)  organs  on  the  upper;  from 
the  latter  of  these,  after  fertilization  by  the  former,  the  plant  is 
produced. 

The  spores  of  nearly  allied  species  are  quite  similar  in  structure 
and  properties  to  those  of  L.  elavatum. 

Hook,  f .,  Stud.  Fl.,  p.  470 ;  Wataon,  Oomp.  Cyb.  Brit.,  p.  417 ; 
A.  Gray,  Man.  Bot.  N.  U.  States,  p.  674;  Ledeboar,  Fl.  Boss., 
iy,  p.  499 ;  Spring,  Mon.  des  Ljcop.,  i,  p.  88. 

Official  Part  and  Name. — Ltcopodium;  the  sporules  of  Lyco- 
podium  clavatum,  and  of  other  species  of  Lycopodium  (U.  S.  P.). 


299    LTOOPODIUM    OLAVATUM 

It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or  the  Pharmaco- 
poeia of  India. 

Collection. — Lycopodium  is  collected  by  cutting  off  the  tops  of 
the  plants  when  the  spikes  or  cones  of  fruit  are  nearly  mature^ 
and  the  sporules  or  spores  are  subsequently  shaken  out  of  the 
sporangia^  and  then  separated  from  extraneous  substances  by  a 
sieve.  Lycopodium  is  chiefly  collected  in  Germany^  Russia^  and 
Switzerland^  in  the  months  of  July  and  August. 

Oeneral  Oha/racters  and  Oomposition, — ^Lycopodium^  or  as  it  is 
frequently  termed  vegetable  sulphur,  is  a  very  fine  mobile  powder, 
without  odour  or  taste,  and  of  a  pale  yellow  colour.  It  is  very 
inflammable,  but  burning  slowly  under  ordinary  circumstances ;  if, 
however,  it  is  thrown  into  flame  it  bums  with  rapidity  and  explo- 
sively, producing  an  instantaneous  flash  of  yellowiuh-white  light. 
It  floats  when  strewed  on  the  surface  of  water,  and  is  wetted  with 
difficulty ;  but  it  is  readily  miscible  with  oily  and  alcoholic  liquids, 
ether,  or  chloroform. 

The  principal  constituent  is  a  Jixed  oil,  which  is  found  in  the 
very  large  proportion  of  47  per  cent.  It  is  described  as  a  bland 
liquid  which  maintains  its  liquidity  even  at  the  low  temperature 
of  5°  above  the  zero  of  Fahrenheit. 

Adulterations  am^d  Substitutions, — Lycopodium  is  frequently 
adulterated,  and  even  in  some  cases,  other  substances  have  been 
substituted  for  it.  Thus  the  pollen  of  Pinus  sylvestris  and  of 
other  Conifer89,  and  that  of  other  plants  has  been  substituted 
for  it.  The  best  means  of  detection  in  such  cases  is  the 
microscope,  the  spores  being  readily  distinguishable  by  their 
peculiar  structure  from  all  kinds  of  pollen,  and  indeed,  from  all 
other  substances.  Pine  pollen  is  also  less  fine  and  mobile,  and 
mixes  more  readily  with  water  than  lycopodium.  8ta/rch,  dextrin, 
flour,  powdered  resin,  talc,  French  chalk,  gypsum,  and  other 
matters,  have  also  been  noticed  as  adulterants.  The  microscope  is 
a  ready  means  of  detection ;  but  starch,  dextrin,  and  flour  may  be 
also  easily  recognised  by  their  well-known  and  appropriate  tests ; 
and  inorganic  matters  such  as  talc,  gypsum,  magnesia,  chalk,  dbc, 
by  incineration,  the  ash  of  lycopodium  only  amounting  to  4  per 


299    LYOOPODIUM   CLAVATUM 

cent.  Inorganic  matters  also  commonly  sink  in  water;  whilst 
lycopodinm  floats  on  the  surface  of  that  liquid. 

Medical  Properiies  and  Uses, — In  medicine  lycopodinm  is  em- 
ployed as  a  dusting  powder  to  excoriated  surfaces^  as  in  the 
intertrigo  of  infants,  and  in  eczema,  erysipelas,  &c.  In  pharmacy 
it  is  used  for  enveloping  pills,  in  order  to  prevent  their  adhesion, 
and  cover  their  taste. 

The  chief  use  of  lycopodium  is,  however,  for  producing  artifi- 
cial lightning  at  the  theatres,  and  by  the  pyrotechnist. 

Formerly  both  the  spores  and  herb  were  employed  internally 
in  retention  of  urine,  plica  polonica,  calculous  complaints,  and 
other  diseases ;  but  they  have  now  entirely  fallen  into  disuse. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  67;  Fharmaoograpliia,  p.  665 ; 
U.  S.  Disp.,  by)W.  &  B.,  p.  535;  Chicago  Pharmacist, 
Sept.,  1873;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  1862,  1863,  1868, 
1873,  1874,  and  1875;  Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1875,  p.  26; 
Bep.  de  Pharm.,  1873,  p.  630,  with  figures. 


DBSCSIPTION   or  PLATX. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  in  the  British  Mnsenm,  collected  in  Yorkshire. 

1.  Middle  portion  of  a  stem  with  branches  and  cones. 

2.  A  leaf. 

3.  A  cone-scale. 

4.  Inner  view  of  the  same  with  sporangium. 

5.  Section  of  the  same. 

6.  Spores. 

(2-5  enlarged,  6  greatly  magnified.) 


ASFIUi'JlI  FILIX14.-.S,  Smra 


300 


N.  Old  FiucES.    LindL,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  78;  Le  Maont  &  Deo., 
p.  893. 

Tribe  PolypodiaeeiB. 

QeDUB  ABpidinm,*  Swartz.  Includes  Nephrodium,  Lasirea, 
&c.,  and  contains  about  300  species,  natives  of  all  parts  of 
the  world. 


300.  Aspidium  Filix-maB^t  8waHz,8yn.  Fil.,p.  55  (1806). 

Male  Fern. 

£f|^.— Poljpodium  Filix-mas,  Lvnn.     Lastrea  Filix-mas,  Fresh    Ne- 
pbrodium  Filix-mas,  Michx.    Dryopteris  Filix-mas,  SchoU, 

l^S^e.— Woodville,  t.  267 ;  Nees.  t,  19 ;  Berg  &  Sch.,  tt.  32  e  &  f ; 
Hook.,  Curt.  FL  Lond.,  iv ;  Moore  &  LindL,  Ferns,  tt.  14 — ^17. 

Description, — A  perennial  herbaceous  plants  with  a  shorty  nn- 
branclied^  Babterranean  rhizome  about  an  inch  in  diameter^  bnt 
apparently  about  2^  inches^  being  entirely  covered  and  concealed 
by  the  numerous  hard^  persistent^  imbricated^  dark-brown  bases 
of  the  fronds^  which  are  at  first  densely  covered  with  numerous 
elongated^  scarious,  transparent^  golden-brown^  chaffy  scales 
(ramenta)^  but  afterwards  bare;  roots  very  numerous^  filiform, 
cylindrical,  long,  slightly  branched,  dark  brown,  passing  outwards 
from  the  rhizome  between  the  frond- bases.  Fronds  (leaves)  large, 
several,  2 — 3  feet  long  or  rather  more,  arising  from  the  extremity 
of  the  rhizome,  erect,  somewhat  curved  outwards,  and  forming 
collectively  a  spreading  plume,  on  long,  stout,  stiff,  strongly 
channelled,  pale  brown  stipes  (petioles),  at  first  closely  covered 
for  their  whole  length  with  numerous  acute,  chaffy,  thin,  trans- 
parent, pale-brown  scales  and  hairs  of  various  sizes  and  shapes, 
which  soon  fall  off  from  the  upper  part,  blade  oblong-ovate  or  oval 
in  outline,  tapering  to  the  apex,  bipinnate  or  pinnate,  rachis  stiff, 
channelled,  pale  brown,   with   scattered    hairs,   pinnsd    (leaflets) 


*  Aapidiv/m,,  from  da-irie,  a  round  shield ;  referring  to  the  indusium. 
t  FiUx-maef  male  fern,  the  medieval  botanists'  and  pharmacists'  name  for 
this  species. 


300    ASPIDIUM  FILIXMAS 

alternate,  very  nameroas,  overlapping  or  separate,  nearly  sessile, 
linear-oblong  in  outline,  trancate  at  the  base,  tapering  and  acute 
at  tbe  apex,  diminishing  in  length  up  the  rachis  and  at  length 
confluent  at  its  end,  very  deeply  cleft  nearly  or  quite  to  the  mid- 
rib into  numerous  contiguous,  sessile,  broad  based,  broadly  oblong, 
obtuse  segments  or  separate  leaflets,  crenate  or  nearly  entire  on 
the  sides,  finely  crenate-serrate  at  the  ends,  somewhat  convex 
above,  smooth  on  both  surfaces,  venation  forked  or  simple ;  before 
expansion  the  whole  frond  is  strongly  rolled  in  on  itself  (circinate) 
and  forms  a  compact  crozier-shaped  body.  Fructification  con- 
sisting of  exceedingly  minute  (asexual),  ovoid,  brown  spores,  a 
number  of  which  are  contained  within  very  minute,  ovoid,  some- 
what compressed,  blunt,  membranous  cases  (sporangia),  which 
possess,  along  }  or  more  of  their  circumference,  an  elastic  longi- 
tudinal ring,  which  causes  an  irregular  transverse  dehiscence 
allowing  the  escape  of  the  spores;  sporangia  stalked,  attached, 
many  together,  at  a  common  point  to  form  a  circular  group  (sorus), 
which  is  covered  by  a  circular-reniform,  membranous,  smooth 
cover  (indusium)  attached  at  the  central  depression  of  its  notch ; 
son  numerous,  placed  at  definite  points  on  the  veins  on  the  back 
of  the  segments  of  the  pinnsa,  and  forming  a  single  row  on  either 
side  of  the  midrib,  usually  in  the  lower  half  or  three  quarters. 

Habitat. — This  is  one  of  our  commonest  ferns ;  after  the  Bracken, 
indeed,  the  species  most  frequently  met  with  in  England,  and  a 
familiar  ornament  to  woods  and  shady  hedgebanks.  It  has  a 
very  wide  range  over  the  world,  growing  in  all  parts  of  Europe, 
temperate  Asia,  Northern  India,  Northern  and  South  Africa,  the 
temperate  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Andes  of  South 
America.  The  numerous  varieties  presented  over  this  extensive 
area  have  received  names  for  which  reference  must  be  made  to 
special  treatises.  The  forms  of  the  male  fern  in  this  country 
alone  are  considerable,  the  most  marked  being  affine,  Borreri, 
pumilunij  abbreviatum,  and  elongatum. 

The  genus  Nephrodium  differs  from  Aspidium  as  often  now 
restricted,  merely  in  the  reniform  shape  of  the  indusium. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  description  that  the  fern  possesses 


300    ASPIDIUM  FILIX-MAS 

no  male  and  female  organs^  but  produces  spores  asexually.  The 
true  reproductive  organs  of  all  ferns  are  found  on  a  body  called 
the  prothallus,  a  minute  flat^  cellular^  somewhat  kidney-shaped 
plant  developed  by  the  germination  of  the  spores  above  described. 
Upon  the  under  surface  of  this^  near  the  concave  edge^  are  found 
the  female  organs  (archegonia),  and  among  the  rootlets^  near  the 
convex  edge^  are  the  male  organs  (antheridia).  The  young  fern 
grows  from  the  central  cell  of  the  archegonium  after  its  fertilisa- 
tion by  the  spermatozoids  of  the  antheridium.  Ferns  thus  afford 
very  marked  examples  of  '^  alternation  of  generations/' 

Hooker,  Species  Filicam,  iv,  p.  116 ;  Hook.  &  Baker,  Synopsis 
Fil.,  p.  272;  Moore  &  Lindl.,  Ferns  of  Gt.  Britain,  nature 
painted;  Hook.  f.  Stad.  Fl.,  p.  465;  Newman,  Hist.  Brit. 
Ferns,  ed.  8,  p.  183 ;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  619. 

Official  Parts  and  Name. — Filix  Mas  ;  the  dried  rhizome  with 
the  bases  of  the  footstalks  and  portions  of  the  root  fibres  (B.  P.). 
The  dried  rhizome^  with  the  bases  of  the  footstalks  and  portions 
of  the  root  fibres  (I.  P.).  Filix  Mas  ;  the  rhizome  covered  with 
portions  of  the  leafstalks  or  stipes  (U.  S.  P.). 

Collection  and  Preservation, — In  the  British  Pharmacopceia  and 
in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  male  fern  is  directed  to  be  col- 
lected in  the  summer;  and  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United 
States  it  is  ordered  that  "  when  used,  onlj  such  part  of  the  rhi- 
zome as  has  retained  its  green  colour  should  be  employed ;  and 
the  stipes,  being  inert,  should  be  removed.^'  M.  Peschier,  of 
Geneva,  also  recommends  male  fern  to  be  collected  in  the  summer, 
as  he  states  it  abounds  then  more  than  at  any  other  time  with  the 
active  principle.  He  also  says,  and  this  is  in  accordance  with  the 
results  of  subsequent  observers,  that  it  deteriorates  rapidly  when 
kept,  and  that  in  about  three  years  it  becomes  entirely  inert.  But 
Hanbury  and  Fliickiger  recommend,  that  '^  for  pharmaceutical  use, 
it  should  be  collected  in  the  late  autumn,  winter,  or  early  spring, 
divested  of  the  dead  portions,  split  open,  dried  with  a  gentle  heat, 
reduced  to  coarse  powder,  and  at  once  exhausted  with  ether. 
Extract  obtained  in  this  way  is  more  efficient  than  that  which  has 
been  got  from    rhizome  that    has    been    kept  for  some   time.^' 


300    ASPIDIUM  FELIX-MAS 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  yoL  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  62 ;  Per.  M&t.  Med.,  by  B.  &  R., 
p.  402 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  667 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  409;  Garr.,  Mat.  Med.,  p.  393;  B<>yle,  Mat.  Med.,  by  J. 
Harley,  p.  370;  Toson,  Yeterinary  PharmacopoBia,  p.  107; 
Bock,  in  Amer.  Joum.  of  Pharm.,  vol.  xziy,  p.  64 ;  Luck,  in 
Cbem.  Gaz.,  toI.  ix,  pp.  407  &  452;  Bonzel,  Jonm.  de  Pharm.. 
8e  sdr.,  iy,  474. 


DESCBIFTIOK  OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  collected  in  Kew  Gardens  and  at  Ben  Lomond, 
Scotland ;  the  prothallns  added  from  Berg  &  l^hmidt. 

1.  Terminal  portion  of  a  leaf. 

2.  Under  stirface  of  a  segment. 

3.  Lidnsinm. 

4.  Sporangium  and  spore& 

5.  Spores,  more  magnified. 

6.  Portion  of  rhizome. 

7.  Prothallus. 

8.  Antheridinm. 

9.  Archegoninm. 

(2, 3  enlarged;  4,  5,  7-9  much  magnified. 


EOCCELLA  TINCIOHIA.^tT 


301 

N.  Ord.  LiCHENES.    Lindl.  Yeg.Kingd.,p,  45.    LcMaout  &Dec., 
p.  940. 

Tribe  Boccellei. 

Genas  Bocoella,*  DC.  Nylander,  Syst.  Meth.  Lich.,  i,  p.  257. 
There  are  about  6  species,  found  in  warm  and  temperate 
parts  of  both  hemispheres. 


801.  Boccella  tinctoria,  DG.,  Flore  Fran^aise,  ii,  p.  334  (1805). 

Orchella  weed.      JDyer^s  vjeed.     Rock  moss, 

Byn, — Lichen  Koccella,  Linn.    B.  ph jcopsis,  Ach,    B.  pjgmsBa,  Dur. 

Figures. — Sow.,  E.  Bot.,  t.  211,  cop.  in  Steph.  &  Oh.,  t.  69  {B.  phycop- 
sis) ;  Nees,  t.  9 ;  Woodville,  toI.  y  ;  Lindsay,  Fop.  Hist.  Brit.  Lichens, 
t.  5 ;  Luerssen,  Med.  Pharm.  Bot.,  p.  226. 

Description. — A  perennial  thallophyte,  2 — 6  inches  high,  attached 
by  a  small  base.  Thallus  much  divided  from  the  base  into 
numerous  branches  which  are  ascending,  more  or  less  cylindrical 
or  oval  on  section,  solid,  often  somewhat  nodulose,  tapering  gradu- 
ally at  the  extremities,  sparingly  and  irregularly  branched,  pale  dull 
whitish-grey  or  yellow,  often  slightly  farinaceous  on  the  surface. 
Fructification  consisting  of  apothecia,  forming  small,  slightly 
prominent  worts  on  the  thallus  at  intervals,  circular  or 
irregular,  slightly  convex,  with  a  faintly  raised  margin,  nearly 
black.  Each  apothecium  is  composed  of  a  somewhat  convex  disk 
or  receptacle  on  which  stand  very  numerous  and  densely  crowded 
and  agglutinated,  erect,  elongated,  delicate,  linear  bodies  {para- 
physes)  thickened  at  their  extremities  which  together  form  the 
surface  of  the  apothecium ;  mixed  with  the  paraphyses,  but  fewer 
in  number  and  shorter,  are  numerous  flask-shaped  sacs  {asd) 
tapering  below  and  rounded  above,  with  a  very  delicate  trans- 
parent wall,  and  containing  when  mature  eight  ovoid- oblong,  nearly 

*  Boccella,  the  old  Italian  name,  first  (?)  met  with  in  Ferrante  Imperato's 
*  Hist.  Nat.'  (1599),  and  there  said  to  be  from  the  red  colour  yielded  by  the 
plant,  but  it  seems  more  likely  to  be  dei'ived  from  rocca,  a  rock,  in  allusion  to 
the  place  of  growth.  Another  derivation  is  given,  from  the  name  of  an  old 
Florentine  family  of  merchants. 


301    ROOCELLA  TINCTORIA 

straight  or  slightly  curved,  microscopic  spores  {ascospores)  whicli 
usually  have  three  septa  across  so  as  to  be  quadrilocular. 

Habitat, — This  Lichen  grows  on  sea-shore  rocks,  an  unusual 
locality  for  plants  of  the  Order,  within  reach  of  the  spray ;  hence 
in  the  old  botanical  writings  it  is  described  as  a  '^  fucus/^  It  is 
a  plant  of  very  extensive  geographical  distribution,  occurring  in 
nearly  all  the  warm  parts  of  tha  globe.  It  is  found  on  the  coasts 
of  India,  of  Madagascar  and  Mauritius,  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  of  Senegal,  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and  of  Western  Europe 
and  the  Mediterranean,  and  it  is  abundant  on  both  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  shores  of  Central  and  South  America.  As  a  matter 
of  course  it  is  variable,  and  many  botanists  consider  the  Euro- 
pean plant  to  be  a  distinct  species,  B,  phycopsis,  Ach.,  dis- 
tinguished by  its  smaller  size,  more  branched  habit^  less  cylindri- 
cal and  non-farinaceous  branches  and  other  slight  points.  It  is 
this  form  which  reaches  the  Channel  Isles  and  the  south-western 
shores  of  England,  the  Scilly  Isles^  Cornwall,  Devon,  and  Dorset, 
The  specimens  from  Scilly,  however,  like  many  of  those  from  the 
Mediterranean,  seem  quite  intermediate  between  typical  12.  tvnetoria 
and  JB.  phycopsis,  and  we  have  followed  Mudd  and  others  in  com- 
bining the  two.  Leighton  gives  both  species  as  natives  of  Eng- 
land in  his  most  recent  volume,  quoted  below.  12.  pygmaa,  Dur., 
is  a  minute  form  found  in  Algeria. 

B.  fuciformisj  Ach.,  differs  completely  in  its  large  size,  flat, 
often  ribbon-like  branches^  and  paler  colour.  Its  range  also 
includes  the  extreme  south-western  shores  of  England,  and  is  as 
wide  as,  or  wider  than  that  of  12.  tinctoria. 

Ferrante  Imperato,  Historia  Natarale  (1599),  p.  735,  with 
figures;  Hooker,  British  Flora,  v,  p.  222;  Crombie,  Lich. 
Brit.,  p.  23 ;  Leighton,  Lichen  Flora  of  Britain,  ed.  3  (1879), 
p.  73;  Lauder  Lindsay,  Pop.  Hist.  Brit.  Lich.,  p.  133; 
Njlander,  Syn.  Meth.  Lich.,  i,  p.  258. 

Official  Part  and  Names, — Litmus  ;  a  blue  pigment  prepared 
from  various  species  of  Roccella,  DO.  (B.  P.  Appendix).  The 
entire  lichen,  from  an  infusion  of  which  {Lacmus,  LitmiLs)  is  pre- 
pared by  the  action  of  soda  or  potash  (I.  P).     Litmus  is  official 


301    ROOOELLA  TINCTORIA 

solely  as  a  chemical  test  in  the  above  Pharmacopoeias.  It  is  not 
recognised  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States.  Litmus  or 
Lacmus  is  also  known  ander  the  names  of  Toumesol  in  cakes 
{Toumesol  en  pains)  ;    and  Dutch  turnsole. 

Source  and  Preparation. — A  considerable  number  of  lichens 
have  been  employed  by  man  on  account  of  the  colouring  matters 
which  they  yield  him.  Thus  species  of  Boccella,  Lecanora, 
Oyrophora,  Va/riolaria,  Parmeliay  Ac,  contain  organic  acids, 
such  as  orselUc,  erythric,  lecam,oricy  and  gyrophoric,  which  are 
colourless  while  in  the  plant,  but  under  the  united  influence  of 
water,  atmospheric  oxygen,  and  alkalies,  yield  coloured  products. 
Purple  and  blue  colours  are,  in  this  way,  obtained  fi'om  several 
lichens.  In  this  country,  purple  colours,  as  orchil  and  cudbear, 
are  alone  obtained  from  them  ;  but  in  Holland,  the  blue  colour 
litmus  is  also  prepared  from  the  same  lichens.  It  would  appear 
that,  any  of  the  lichens  which  serve  for  the  production  of  orchil 
may  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  litmus ;  but  the  best  quality 
is  prepared  in  Holland  exclusively  from  Boccella  tinctoria,  while 
inferior  sorts  are  made  from  species  of  Va/riolariaj  Lecanora,  and 
Parmelia. 

Litmus  is  prepared  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively,  in  Holland;  but 
it  is  difficult  to  obtain  accurate  information  about  its  manufacture, 
which  is  kept  very  secret.  It  appears,  however,  that  there  are  as 
many  as  nineteen  sorts  of  litmus  of  varying  quality  kept  by  the 
Dutch  manufacturers ;  some  of  these  are  more  than  six  times  the 
value  of  others,  notwithstanding  that,  according  to  the  observations 
of  Hanbury,  there  is  by  no  means  a  corresponding  difference  in 
richness  or  intensity  of  colour. 

The  process  essentially  consists  in  macerating  the  coarsely 
ground  lichens,  in  wooden  vessels,  under  shelter,  for  several  weeks, 
with  occasional  agitation,  in  a  mixture  of  urine,  lime,  and  potash 
or  soda,  by  which  fermentation  ensues,  and  the  mass  first  becomes 
red  and  then  blue,  when  it  is  removed  and  introduced  into  small 
moulds,  where  it  dries  in  the  form  of  rectangular  cakes.  To  give 
it  consistence  it  is  usual  to  mix  with  the  blue  pigment,  before  it 
is  dried  in  the  moulds,  some  calcareous  or  siliceous  matter ;  and  in 


301    ROOOELLA  TINOTORIA 

the  inferior  sorts  indigo  is  mixed  with  it  to  deepen  the  colour ;  or 
sometimes  litmns  powder  of  superior  quality  is  added  for  the 
same  purpose. 

Oeneral  Characters, — Litmus  occurs  in  the  form  of  rectangular 
cakes^  from  a  quarter  of  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  lengthy  which  are 
lights  friable^  finely  granular,  and  of  an  indigo-blue  or  deep  violet 
colour.  The  odour,  which  resembles  that  of  violets,  is  acquired 
while  the  mixture  from  which  it  is  prepared  is  undergoing  fer- 
mentation. Litmus  tinges  the  saliva  of  a  deep  blue  colour,  and 
has  a  somewhat  saline  and  pungent  taste.  It  differs  from  most 
vegetable  blues  in  not  being  rendered  green  by  alkalies.  It  is 
reddened  by  acids,  and  restored  to  its  original  blue  colour  by  alkalies. 
In  the  commoner  sorts  of  litmus  indigo  may  be  frequently  detected 
by  various  means,  that  is,  by  its  odour ;  by  the  coppery  lustre 
which  the  cakes  acquire  when  rubbed  with  the  nail ;  by  digesting 
the  cakes  in  oil  of  vitriol,  by  which  a  blue  solution  of  sulphate  of 
indigo  is  obtained;  and  by  heating  them  in  a  watch  glass,  by 
which  indigo  vapour,  known  by  its  odour  and  reddish- violet  colour, 
and  crystals  of  indigo  are  obtained. 

Uses, — Litmus  is  used  as  a  test  for  acids  and  alkalies,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  made  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  and  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  Thus  blue  litmus  paper,  which  is 
prepared  by  steeping  unsized  white  paper  in  tincture  of  litmus, 
and  subsequently  drying  by  exposure  to  the  air,  is  employed  to 
detect  the  presence  of  acids  and  acidulous  salts,  which  communi- 
cate to  it  a  more  or  less  red  tinge ;  and  red  litmus  paper,  which 
is  unsized  white  paper  steeped  in  tincture  of  litmus  which  has 
been  previously  reddened  by  the  addition  of  a  very  minute 
quantity  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  dried  by  exposure  to  the  air,  is 
used  as  a  test  for  alkalies,  and  salts  which  react  as  bases,  which 
restore  to  the  paper  the  blue  colour  of  litmus. 

A  decoction  of  Orchella  weed  is  said  to  possess  mucilaginous, 
emollient,  and  demulcent  properties,  and  to  be  useful  in  coughs  and 
catarrhs  and  in  other  cases  where  such  properties  are  required. 

Orchil  oe  Archil,  and  Cudbear. — As  already  noticed,  these 
colouring   matters   are  also  prepared  from  the   same  lichens  as 


301    BOCCELLA  TINOTORIA 

those  from  which  litmus  is  manafactared.  Orchil  differs  in  appear- 
ance according  to  its  mode  of  preparation^  thus  in  commerce,  we 
distinguish  two  kinds  under  the  names  of  blue  orchil  and  red  orchil. 
Both  are  thickish  liquids,  of  a  deep  purplish-red  colour,  and  ammo- 
niacal  odour ;  but  they  differ  in  the  degree  of  their  tint,  which 
is  redder,  as  the  name  implies,  in  red  orchil.  According  to 
Pereira,  they  are  prepared  as  follows : — Blue  orchil  by  steeping 
the  lichens  in  a  covered  wooden  vessel,  in  an  ammoniacal 
liquor,  which  either  consists  of  stale  urine  and  lime,  or  is 
prepared  by  distilling  an  impure  salt  of  ammonia  with  lime  and 
water ;  and  red  orchil  is  made  with  the  same  liquor  in  common 
earthern  jars,  placed  in  a  room  heated  by  steam,  and  called  a  stove. 

Cudbear  is  in  the  form  of  a  purplish-red  powder,  but  differing 
like  orchil  in  the  degree  of  its  tint,  hence  two  kinds  are  also  dis- 
tinguished under  the  names  of  red  cudbear  and  blue  cudbear,  the 
former  being  redder  than  the  latter.  Cudbear  is  prepared  in  the 
same  manner  as  orchil,  by  the  mutual  action  of  the  lichens,  air, 
and  an  ammoniacal  liquor;  but  when  the  proper  colour  is  developed, 
the  mixture  is,  in  this  case,  dried  in  the  air,  and  reduced  to 
powder. 

The  essential  difference  in  the  preparation  of  orchil  and  cudbear 
from  litmus  is,  that  potash  or  soda  is  added  in  the  production  of 
the  latter,  to  the  ammoniacal  liquor. 

Orchil  and  Cudbear  aroused  for  staining  and  dyeing  purple  and 
red  colours ;  and  also  occasionally,  as  tests  for  acids  and  alkalies. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  pp.  26,  32  and  37 ;  Per.  Mat- 
Med.,  by  B.  &  R.,  p.  399 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  1633 
Watts,  Diet.  Chem.,  vol.  iii,  p.  730. 

DESCEIPTION   OP  PLATE. 

Drawn  from  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  and  Museum  of  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Society. 

1.  A  plant  from  Lima. 

2.  A  specimen  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

3.  Poi*tion  of  a  plant  from  Madeira. 

4.  Vertical  section  of  an  apotbecium. 

5.  Portion  of  ttie  same  more  higbly  magnified. 

6.  Spores. 

(4,  enlarged;  5  &  6,  greatly  magnified.) 


302 

N.  Ord.  L1CHBNB8. 

Tribe  Cetrariei, 

QenuB  Cetraria»*  Ach.  Nyland.,  Syn.  Metb.  Licb.,  i,  p.  298. 
Tbere  are  4  species,  natives  of  tbe  bigb  nortbern  regions 
of  botb  worlds. 


802.    Cetraria  islandioa,  Ach.,  Meth.  Lich.,  p.  293  (1803). 

Icelcmd  Moss, 

8y7L — Licben  islandicns,  Linn. 

Figurea.—Woodyme,  t.  271;  Nees,  t.  10;  Stepb.  &  Cb.,  t.  69;  Berg 
and  Scb.,  t.  32  d;  Sow.,Eng.  Bot.,  t.  1330;  Luerssen,  Med.  Fbarm. 
Bot.,  pp.  177,  221—4. 

Description. — ^A  thallophyte  of  indefinite  duration.  Thallas 
about  2 — i  inches  high^  erect^  flattened  and  foliaceons^  much 
divided  in  a  dichotomous  manner^  the  lobes  variable  in  widths 
ofetnse  and  spreading^  the  margin  set  with  numerous  hard^  small^ 
spinous  prominences  giving  a  ciliated  appearance^  the  surface 
smooth^  more  or  less  crumpled  and  bullate^  greenish  brown  or 
reddish,  paler  on  one  side,  the  back,  which  is  marked  with  small 
white  depressed  spots,  often  blood-red  at  the  base;  apothecia 
rarely  produced,  situated  at  the  ends  of  the  thallus  on  the  upper 
surface  of  broader,  short  lobes,  large,  flat,  mor^  or  less  circular, 
chestnut  brown.  Spores  8  in  each  ascus,  small,  unicellular.  At 
the  summit  of  the  stiff  spinous  ciliations  are  often  produced 
spermogonia  which  discharge  minute  cylindrical  bodies  termed 
spermatia. 

Habitat. — In  spite  of  its  familiar  name,  this  is  no  more  a 
moss  than  Boccella  is  a  seaweed ;  both  are  Lichens.  The  present 
species  is  a  very  common  plant  in  northern  countries  and  in  the 
mountainous  parts  of  those  with  a  warmer  climate.  In  Great 
Britain  it  is  found  in  barren  stony  ground  on  the  higher  Scotch 
mountains,  and  is  especially  abundant  in  the  Grampians ;  it  also 
grows  on  Snowdon  and  other  Welsh  hills,  in  Yorkshire  and  even 

*  CdraHa,  from  cetra,  a  small  shield  or  buckler,  referring  to  tbe  form 
of  tbe  apothecia. 


302    OETRARIA  ISLANDIOA 

in  Norfolk,  and  in  the  South  West  of  Ireland.  The  fructification, 
however,  is  but  rarely  produced  in  most  of  its  localities.  Through- 
out Scandinavia  ani  Northern  Europe  it  is.  a  very  abundant  plant 
and  in  the  arctic  regions  comes  down  to  the  sea  level.  Its  range 
extends  round  the  Pole,  and  in  the  American  Continent  it  reaches 
along  the  mountains  as  far  south  as  North  Carolina,  whilst  in  the 
Old  World  it  occurs  on  most  of  the  great  mountain  chains  including 
the  Himalayas.  This  lichen  is  also  met  with  in  the  antarctic 
regions  at  Cape  Horn. 

Considering  its  great  range  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  very 
variable  plant ;  the  thallus,  however,  varies  in  size,  amount  of 
division  and  crisping,  as  well  as  in  colour.  It  is  sometimes  very 
much  crisped  and  curled. 

Very  little  is  yet  known  of  the  sexual  organs  of  Lichens,  or  of 
their  mode  of  fertilization.  The  structure  of  the  fructification  (as 
above  described)  is,  however,  precisely  like  that  of  many  Fungi 
of  the  tribe  Aacomycetes,  and  in  that  group  the  asci  with  their  con- 
tained spores  are  known  in  some  cases  (and  presumed  in  the  rest) 
to  arise  from  a  body  resulting  from  the  union  of  male  and  female 
organs  {pollinodia  and  carpogonia).  In  Lichens,  however,  these 
have  not  been  observed ;  but  in  one  tribe,  the  Oollemacei,  the 
spermatia  have  been  determined  to  be  male  or  fertilizing  bodies. 
Apparently  identical  bodies,  on  the  other  hand,  in  certain  Fungi 
have  been  found  to  germinate  and  reproduce  the  species. 

The  nature  of  Lichens  has  of  late  years  acquired  special  interest 
and  been  greatly  studied  in  connection  with  the  theory  first  pro- 
mulgated by  Schwendener,  that  they  are  compound  beings,  made 
up  of  two  elements,  an  unicellular  alga  (the  gonidia)  and  an 
ascomycetous  fungus  (the  hyphaa  and  fructification),  and  that  the 
latter  is  parasitic  on  the  former.  This  dual  nature  has  been 
strongly  corroborated  by  the  observations  of  several  good  experi- 
mental botanists,  but  some  physiological  considerations  render  it 
difiicult  to  accept  the  notion  of  a  parasitism  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term. 

Hook.,  Brit.  Flora,  v,  p.  221;   Leighton,  Lich.  Fl.  Gt.  Brit., 
p.  96;  Lindsay,  Pop.  Hist.  Brit.  Lichens,  p.  153;  Nj lander. 


302    OETRARIA  ISLANDICA. 

Syn.  Meth.  Lich.,  p.  298 ;  Hook,  f.,  PL  Antarctica,  ii,  p.  623 ; 
Lindl.,  P].  Med.,  p.  627;  Fliiok.  &  Hanb.,  Pharmacogr., 
p.  670. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Cbtraeia ;  the  entire  Lichen  (B.  P.). 
The  entire  Lichen  (I.  P.).  Obtbaeia;  (TJ.  S.  P.).  It  is  commonly 
known  as  Iceland  Moss. 

Oollection  and  Commerce. — Its  common  name  of  Iceland  Moss 
would  seem  to  imply  that  our  supplies  of  this  drug  are  derived 
from  Iceland^  but  such  is  not  the  case,  for  although  it  is  collected 
in  that  island  in  seasons  of  scarcity,  none  is  exported  from  thence. 
For  local  use  it  is  collected  in  Sweden,  Switzerland,  in  the 
mountainous  districts  of  Spain,  and  in  other  countries ;  but  we 
have  no  evidence  of  its  being  exported  from  any  country  except 
Sweden,  from  whence  our  supplies  appear  to  be  entirely  derived. 

General  Oha/ractera  and  Composition, — ^In  a  dried  state,  as  seen 
in  commerce,  Iceland  moss  has  generally  a  brownish  or  greyish- 
white  colour ;  the  upper  surface  darker  than  the  under,  which  is 
marked  at  irregular  intervals  with  depressed  white  spots.  The 
apothecia  may  rarely  be  found  towards  the  margin  of  the  thallus, 
as  flat,  shield-like  bodies,  of  a  dark  rusty  or  chestnut-brown  colour 
with  raised  borders.  The  thallus  is  smooth,  foliaceous,  with 
irregular  fringed  lobes,  crisp,  light,  somewhat  coriaceous,  almost 
odourless  when  dry,  but  when  moistened  having  a  feeble  seaweed- 
like smell ;  its  taste  is  mucilaginous  and  slightly  bitter.  A  strong 
decoction  gelatinises  on  cooling. 

Iceland  moss  contains  about  70  per  cent,  of  lichenin  or  lichen 
starch,  a  substance  agreeing  in  composition  with  that  of  starch  and 
cellulose.  It  becomes  blue  on  the  addition  of  iodine.  Lichenin 
contains  no  inorganic  constituents,  and  yields  but  slight  traces  of 
mucic  acid  when  boiled  with  concentrated  nitric  acid,  in  which 
particulars  it  differs  from  gums  and  mucilages.  The  bitter 
principle,  which  exists  in  Iceland  moss  in  the  proportion  of 
about  3  per  cent.,  is  termed  cetrarie  add  or  cetrarm.  This 
crystallises  in  minute  needles,  which  are  colourless,  very  bitter 
nearly  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  alcohol  and  slightly  so 
in  ether,  and  forming  with  alkalies,  bitter,  soluble,  yellow  salts. 


302    OETRARIA  ISLANDICA 

The  lichen  also  contains  about  1  per  cent,  of  a  peculiar  body  called 
lichenO'Stearic  acid,  a  little  sugar,  fumarie  acid,  and  oxalic  add  in 
small  proportion.  When  treated  with  solpharic  acid^  Iceland  moss 
yields  72  per  cent,  of  glacose,  which  may  be  conyerted  into  alcohol. 
Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^Iceland  moss  possesses  demulcent 
and  tonic  properties ;  and  when  deprived  of  its  bitter  principle^  it 
is  nutritive^  and  may  therefore  be  used  as  an  article  of  diet. 
Cetraric  acid  and  its  salts  have  been  recommended  for  use  in 
intermittents  as  a  substitute  for  quinine.  Iceland  moss  has  been 
found  serviceable  in  chronic  affections  of  the  pulmonary  and 
digestive  organs^  as  chronic  catarrh^  dyspepsia^  chronic  diarrhoea 
and  dysentery^  and  in  advanced  phthisis  where  stronger  remedies 
are  unsuitable.  Its  efficacy  as  a  medicine  has  been^  however^ 
much  exaggerated. 

It  is  best  administered  as  a  remedial  agent  in  the  form  of  the 
official  decoction.  But  when  employed  merely  as  an  alimentary 
substance^  the  bitter  matter  should  be  extracted^  either  by  heating 
the  lichen  once  or  twice  in  water  up  to  about  180°Pahr.,  by  which 
most  of  its  bitterness  will  be  removed ;  or  by  macerating  it  in  a 
weak  alkaline  solution  made  with  one  part  of  an  alkaline  carbonate 
in  375  parts  of  water,  by  which  the  bitterness  is  entirely  removed- 
The  lichen  may  be  then  boiled  in  water  or  milk ;  and  when 
sufficiently  concentrated  it  gelatinises  on  cooling.  It  may  be 
flavoured  with  sugar,  lemon  peel,  white  wine,  or  aromatics,  and 
then  forms  an  agreeable  kind  of  diet. 

It  was  formerly  used  in  this  country  and  elsewhere  in  a  ground 
state  mixed  with  chocolate  or  cocoa,  and  taken  as  a  beverage  at 
the  morning  and  evening  meal. 

In  times  of  scarcity  it  is  sometimes  *  employed  in  Iceland  and 

elsewhere,  as  an  article  of  diet,  for  which  purpose  it  is  ground 

and  mixed   with  the  flour  used  in  making  grain  soup,  or  it  is 

boiled  with  milk. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  22 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B., 
p.  396 ;  Pharmaoogi-aphia,  p.  670 ;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  253 ;  Joam.  de  Pbarm.,  vol.  xxiii,  p.  505 ;  Ann.  der  Pharm., 
vol.  Iv,  p.  144;  Dingier,  Polytecbnisches  Journal,  197  (1870), 
p.  177. 


302    CBTRARIA  ISLANDIOA 


DESCRIPTION    OP   PLATE. 

Drawnffrom  a  specimen  in  the  British  Museum,  gathered  in  Switzerland 
the  details  added  from  Berg  and  Schmidt,  and  Luerssen. 

1.  Whole  plant  in  fruit. 

2.  Section  of  the  th alius. 

3.  Section  through  an  apothecium. 

4.  The  same  more  highly  magnified,  showing  also  the  ereen 

gonidia  in  the  subcortical  layer  of  hyphsB. 

5.  A  spermogonium  discharging  spermatia. 

(2-^,  greatly  magnified.) 


303    CLAVIOEPS  PURPUREA 

violet-purple  in  colour,  white  internally,  hard  and  dense,  the 
tissue  of  the  ovary  having  been  wholly  replaced  by  closely-packed 
polygonal  cells.  Whien  fully  mature  the  ergot  projects  mucb 
beyond  the  pales,  which  are  forced  apart  by  it.  The  fructifica- 
tion is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  sphacelia  state,  and  exhibits 
a  more  perfect  condition  of  the  plant.  From  the  surface  of  the 
sclerotium  groups  of  several  little  mushroom-like  fungi  are  pushed 
out,  each  consisting  of  a  nearly  spherical  top  {receptacle),  about 
the  size  of  a  large  pin^s  head,  supported  on  a  slender  stalk 
J — i  inch  or  more  long.  The  surface  of  the  receptacle  is  rough 
with  little  prominences,  each  corresponding  with  the  orifice 
of  a  small  flask-shaped  cavity  {perithscium) ;  from  the  base  of  each 
perithecium  arise  numerous  elongated  sacs  (asci),  each  of  which 
contains  several  slender,  thread-like  spores  {ascospores) . 

Habitat — The  ergot  or  sclerotioid  condition  of  this  remarkable 
fungus  has  long  been  known,  and  was  formerly  thought  to  be  a 
peculiar  condition  or  hypertrophy  of  the  grain ;  thus.  Rye  affected 
by  its  presence  was  called  "  Secale  comutum ''  and  "  Secale  luxu- 
rians,^'  and  ''  Eared  or  Spurred  Rye.'^  The  parasite  is,  however, 
quite  a  distinct  organism  from  the  plant  it  attacks.  Unlike  most 
destructive  fungi,  it  confines  its  ravages  entirely  to  the  single 
flower  which  it  infests,  and  does  not  injure  the  general  develop- 
ment of  the  plant.  It  is  by  no  means  confined  to  Bye,  being 
found  frequently  on  wheat  and  barley,  and  on  a  large  number  of 
wild  grasses ;  it  is  especially  frequent  on  Olyceria  Jluitans,  a 
common  water- grass  in  this  country.  The  ergot  of  this  is  much 
smaller  and  narrower  than  that  of  Rye,  and  generally  the  size 
and  form  of  the  sclerotium  varies  according  to  the  species  on 
which  it  occurs.  Ergot  is  frequent  on  Lolium  temulentum,  and 
this  is,  perhaps,  the  cause  of  the  poisonous  properties  ascribed  to 
that  grass  (see  No.  295). 

The  structure  of  the  Ergot  was  well  investigated  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  beautiful  series  of 
drawings  by  Francis  Bauer,  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. 
He  figures  the  sphacelia,  which,  however,  was  not  so  called  till 
1827,  when  Leveille  described  it  as  an  independent  fungus.     The 


303    CLAVIOBPS  PURPUREA 

spermatia  were  first  observed  by  Quekett  in  1841,  and  are  the 
spores  of  his  Ergotatia  abortifaciens.  The  perfect  ascophorous 
fangus  had  been  observed  by  several  botanists  before  1853,  but 
was  not  understood  to  form  a  part  of  the  life-cycle  of  the  Ergot 
plant  till  Tnlasne,  in  his  fine  memoir  published  that  year,  traced 
out  the  whole  history  of  Olaviceps  pwrpurea. 

The  fungus  is  propagated  both  by  the  spermatia  and  the  asco* 
spores,  either  of  which  will  germinate  on  the  ovary  and  reproduce 
the  parasite.  The  ergots  are  fully  matured  and  hard  about  July, 
and  after  falling  from  the  plant,  remain  in  a  dormant  state  on  the 
ground  during  the  winter ;  in  spring  or  early  summer  they  pro- 
duce the  perfect  Claviceps,  the  spores  of  which  are  ripe  at  the  time 
when  the  grasses  are  coming  into  flower. 

Cooke,  Handbook  Brit.  Fangi,  ii,  p.  772 ;  Tulasne,  in  Ann.  So. 
Nat.,  ser.  3,  xx,  p.  1 ;  LindL,  Fl.  Med.,  p.  623 ;  Fliick.  &  Hanb., 
Fharmacogr.,  p.  672. 

Official  Part  a/nd  Names, — Eeoota;  the  sclerotium  (compact 
mycelium  or  spawn)  of  Claviceps  purpurea,  Tulasne,  produced 
within  the  paless  of  the  common  rye,  Secale  cereale,  Lirm,  (B.  P.). 
The  sclerotium  (compact  mycelium  or  spawn)  of  Claviceps  pur- 
purea, produced  within  the  paleae  of  the  common  rye  (I.  P.). 
Beoota;  the  sclerotium  of  Claviceps  purpurea,  Tulasne,  replacing 
the  grain  of  Secale  cereale  (IJ.  S.  P.).  It  is  commonly  known  as 
Ergot,  Ergot  of  Rye,  Spurred  Rye,  or  Homed  Rye. 

Commerce. — As  a  general  rule,  the  production  of  ergot  dimi- 
nishes as  agriculture  improves;  but  humidity  of  climate  is  also 
favorable  to  its  formation.  Ergot  is  largely  produced  in  Spain, 
chiefly  in  Galicia,  and  in  Southern  and  Central  Russia;  and  to 
some  extent  in  Germany,  Prance,  and  other  countries.  Our 
supplies  are  principally  derived  from  Vigo,  in  Spain,  and  from 
Teneriffe ;  but  also,  in  some  degree,  from  France  and  Hamburg. 

General  Characters. — Spurred  Rye  or  Ergot,  consists  of  grains, 
which  vary  in  length  from  about  one  third  of  an  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  half ;  and  in  diameter  from  half  a  line  to  four  lines.  In 
form    these    grains    are    subcylindrical   or    obscurely    triangular, 


303    OLA.VICBPS  PURPUREA 

tapering  towards  each  end,  with  obtuse  extremities,  generally 
arched  or  carved  somewhat  like  the  spar  of  a  cock,  hence  the 
name  of  spurred  rye,  longitudinally  furrowed  on  each  side,  but 
more  especially  on  that  which  is  concave,  and  often  irregularly 
cracked.  The  grains  are  violet-brown  or  blackish  externally,  and 
more  or  less  covered  by  a  bloom ;  and  pinkish-white  or  whitish 
internally.  They  are  firm,  somewhat  homy,  elastic,  moderately 
brittle,  and  break  with  a  close  fracture  when  dry.  When  in 
quantity  they  have  a  peculiar  nauseous,  fishy  odour,  which  becomes 
very  strong  if  the  ergot  is  powdered  and  the  powder  triturated 
with  solution  of  potash.  They  have  little  taste  at  first ;  but  sub- 
sequently they  are  mawkish,  rancid,  and  very  slightly  acrid. 

Preservation, — Ergot  is  liable  to  become  deteriorated  by  keep- 
ing, more  especially  when  in  a  state  of  powder,  partly  from  the 
attacks  of  a  species  of  mite  of  the  genus  Tromhidvum,  and  partly 
from  oxidation  of  its  contained  fixed  oil.  Various  methods  have 
been  tried  for  its  preservation ;  thus,  Dragendorff  thinks  that  if 
deprived  of  its  fat  immediately  after  powdering,  and  again 
drying,  the  resulting  powder  will  retain  its  activity  for  a  long 
time.  Camphor  has  also  been  employed  for  preserving  it;  and 
recently,  Mourrut  has  recommended  that  freshly-powdered  ergot 
should  be  mixed  with  5  per  cent,  of  powdered  benzoin,  by  which, 
he  says,  its  physical  and  medicinal  properties  are  preserved  with- 
out alteration.  Groves  has  suggested  that  if  ergot  be  pressed 
into  a  firm,  coherent  cake,  so  as  to  remove  the  oil,  it  would  with- 
stand the  attacks  of  insects  and  the  effects  of  the  atmosphere 
much  better  than  when  in  its  ordinary  condition.  H.  Ducros 
recommends  that  ergot  be  kept  in  glass-stoppered  bottles  covered 
with  a  copious  layer  of  powdered  wood  charcoal.  In  this  way,  he 
states,  he  has  preserved  ergot  for  years.  Our  experience  is,  that 
if  ergot  be  well  dried  at  first,  and  afterwards  kept  in  a  warm  and 
dry  place,  either  exposed  to  the  air  or  in  hermetically  sealed 
bottles,  it  will  keep  for  years. 

Oomposition. — Ergot  has  been  repeatedly  analysed,  but  as  the 
results  of  recent  investigations  are  somewhat  conflicting,  further 
experiments  are  desirable,  and  more  especially  upon  the  therapeu- 


303    OLAVIOBPS  PURPUREA 

tical  action  of  the  different  principles  which  have  been  indicated 
as  constituents.  Until  the  last  few  years  the  principal  constituents 
of  ergot,  as  determined  more  especially  by  Wiggers  and  Wenzell, 
have  been  regarded,  as  about  30  per  cent,  of  a  non- drying,  fatty, 
yellow,  saponifiable  oil,  a  small  quantity  of  choleatervn,  ab(}ut  one 
tenth  per  cent,  jof  the  sugar  found  in  several  other  fungi,  named 
wycosBj  nearly  7  per  cent,  of  resin,  and  two  peculiar  alkaloids  termed 
ecboUne  and  ergotine,  combined  with  a  volatile  acid  named  ergotic 
add.  The  resin  has  been  said  to  have  feeble  irritant  properties  ; 
ergotine  to  be  but  slightly  active ;  while  in  ecboline  the  special 
activity  of  the  drug  has  been  supposed  to  reside.  Of  late  years, 
however,  the  chemistry  of  ergot  has  been  considerably  advanced  by 
the  elaborate  investigations  of  Dragendorff  and  Padwissotzky,  and 
those  of  Buchheim,  and  Tanret.  The  active  constituent  is  regarded 
by  Buchheim  as  derived  from  the  gluten  of  the  rye ;  he  calls  it 
ergotin,  and  describes  it  as  a  substance  which  most  closely  re- 
sembles animal  gelatine.  It  appears  to  be  nearly  related  to  the 
ergotin  described  by  Wiggers  in  1830. 

According  to  DragendorS  and  Padwissotzky,  the  two  principal 
active  constituents  of  ergot  of  rye  are  a  slimy  substance,  which  they 
have  termed  scleromiuiin,  and  an  acid  named  sclerotic  add,  both  of 
which  are  soluble  in  water  and  contain  nitrogen;  and  both  are 
colloidal,  but  give  no  reactions  by  which  albuminoidal,  alkaloidal, 
or  glucosidal  properties  could  be  inferred.  Sclerotic  acid  is  recom- 
mended most  strongly  for  therapeutical  use.  The  authors  also 
describe  several  other  constituents  of  ergot,  as,  for  instance,  a 
red  colouring  matter  named  sdererytKri/n,  another  colouring 
matter  named  scleroiodin,  both  of  which  are  regarded  as  possess- 
ing some  activity  ;  and  other  substances  which  appear  to  be 
inactive.  The  authors  also  believe  that  Wenzel's  ergotine  and 
echoline  are  identical  and  inactive. 

The  investigations  of  Tanret  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
essential  active  constituent  of  ergot  is  an  alkaloid  which  has  been 
named  ergotinin  or  ergotinia.  He  has  obtained  this  alkaloid  both 
in  a  crystalline  and  amorphous  state,  and  he  attributes  the  rapid 
alteration  of  powdered  ergot  to  the  instability  of  this  principle. 


303    CLAVIOBPS  PURPUREA 

Dragendorff  and  Padwissotzky  do  not  consider  this  ergotimn  as  a 
chemically  distinct  substance,  but  an  admixture  of  their  sder- 
erythrin  and  other  substances.  The  more  recent  experiments, 
however,  of  Tanret,  seem  to  confirm  its  alkaloidal  nature. 

MecKcal  Properties  and  Uttea, — In  medicinal  doses  ergot  acts 
principally  upon  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  uterus,  causing  them 
to  contract  strongly  and  continuously,  more  especially  during 
labour  and  after  delivery,  hence  it  is  largely  used  to  promote 
contraction  of  the  uterus  in  cases  of  tedious  parturition,  or  to 
prevent  flooding  after  delivery.  The  administration  of  ergot  is 
also  most  beneficial  in  monorrhagia  and  leucorrhcea.  Moreover, 
as  ergot  causes  contraction  of  the  small  arteries  generally  by  its 
action  on  their  muscular  walls,  it  is  a  powerful  agent  in  checking 
hemorrhage,  whether  from  the  lungs  or  bowels ;  and  also  to  dimi- 
nish congestion  in  affections  of  the  cerebro-spinal  membranes,  and 
in  other  cases.  It  has  likewise  been  employed  to  cause  the  expul- 
sion of  coagula  of  blood,  polypi,  and  hydatids,  from  the  uterus. 

In  over  doses  ergot  produces  nausea,  vomiting,  colicky  pains, 
headache,  and  sometimes  delirium,  stupor,  and  even  death.  Taken 
for  a  length  of  time,  as  in  bread  made  with  diseased  rye,  it  acts 
as  a  poison,  producing  two  conditions  of  the  constitution,  termed 
respectively  gangrenous  ergotism  and  convulsive  ergotism,  both 
accompanied  with  formication. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  102 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  R., 
p.  386;  Pharmacographia,  p.  673;  U.  S.  Diap.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  377 ;  Royle,  Mat.  Med.,  by  J.  Harley,  p.  366 ;  Moarrat,  Rep. 
de  Pharm.,  May  10th,  1877 ;  Ducroe,  Zeitsch.  Oest.  Ap.  Ver., 
No.  1,  1876,  p.  8 ;  Dragendorff,  in  New  Remedies,  Feb.,  1877, 
p.  46,  from  Jabresb.  f.  Pbarm. ;  Pbarm.  Jl.,  ser.  3,  vol.  ix, 
p.  665;  Bucbbeim,  Proc.  Amer.  Pbarm.  Assoc.,  vol.  zxiv 
(1876),  p.  117,  from  Arcbiv.  Pbarm.,  July,  1875,  p.  32 ;  Dragen- 
dorff, in  Pbarm.  Jl.,  vol.  vi,  ser.  3,  p.  1001,  and  Proc.  Amer. 
Pbarm.  Assoc,  vol.  zxiv  (1876),  p.  119;  Tanret,  in  Compt. 
Rend.,  Nov.  15,  1875,  Joam.  de  Pbarm.  et  de  Cbim.,  Sept., 
1876,  and  Pbarm.  JL,  vol.  vii,  ser.  iii,  p.  249 ;  Tanret,  Rep.  de 
Pbarm.,  1878,  and  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pbarm.  Assoc,  vol.  xxvi 
(1878),  p.  604 ;  Blumberg,  in  Pbarm.  JL,  ser.  iii,  vol.  ix,  pp.  23, 
66, 147,  and  598. 


303    OLAVIOEPS  PURPUREA 


DESCEIPTION    OF    PLATB. 

Drawn  from  European  specimens  in  the  BritiBh  Museum ;  the  details  added 
after  Francis  Bauer  and  Tulasne. 

1.  An  ear  of  rye  affected  with  ergot. 

2.  A  young  ergot  capped  with  the  sphacelia. 

3.  The  same  more  advanced. 

4  and  5.  A  fuUy  developed  ergot. 

6.  Transverse  section  of  the  same. 

7.  Section  through  the  junction  of  the  sphacelia  and  the  sclerotium 

showing  the  spermatia. 

8.  9.  An  ergot  with  fructification. 

10.  Vertical  section  of  the  receptacle. 

11.  A  perithecium. 

12.  Asci  and  spores. 

(2,  3,  8,  9  enlarged ;  7, 10<-12  much  magnified.) 


FUCUS  VESICULOSUS,/«!/! 


304 

N.  Ord.  Alo-«.  Lindl.,  Veg.  Kingd.,  p.  8 ;  Le  Maont  &  Dec.,  p.  965. 
Tribe  Fucacea, 

Qenns  Fucub*,  Linn,  (in  part).    Agardh,  Sp.  Alg.,  i,  p.  207. 
Species  6,  natives  of  the  seas  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 


304.  FUCUS  yesiCQlOBlLSy  Linn.,  8p.  Plant,  ed.  l,p.  1158  (1753). 

Bladder  Wrack,     Cut-weed, 

Syn. — F.  spiralis,  Linn.  F.  divaricatus,  Linn.  F.  distichus,  Lighif. 
F.  balticns,  Ag.    F.  platjcarpns,  Thvret. 

Figures.— Bie^h.  &  Oh.,  1. 108 ;  Woodville,  vol  v ;  Sow.,  E.  Bot,  tt.  1066, 
1685;  Turner,  Fuci,  t.  88;  Greville,  Scott.  Crypt.  Flora,  t.  319; 
Harvey,  Phycol.  Brit.,  t.  271  (10) ;  Thnret,  in  Ann.  Sc.  Nat.,  ser.  4, 
ii,  tt  12—14,  and  Etudes  Phycolog.,  tt.  15—17. 

Description. — A.  thallophyte  of  perennial  duration^  erect,  varying 
in  height  from  2  inches  to  over  3  feet,  provided  at  the  base  with  a 
dilated,  hard  disk  of  attachment.  Frond  rather  fan-shaped, 
narrow  and  strap-shaped  at  the  base,  the  rest  fiat  and  foliaceons, 
wavy,  many  times  dichotomons  with  erect  divisions,  with  a  very 
strong,  broad,  compressed  midrib  mnning  to  the  apex;  margin 
quite  entire,  textnre  tongh  and  leathery,  olive-brown  the  younger 
portions  yellower,  shining ;  air-vesicles,  when  present,  developed 
in  the  substance  of  the  frond,  usually  in  pairs,  are  on  either  side 
of  the  midrib,  and  often  one  at  the  fork  of  the  divisions,  broadly 
oval  or  spherical,  attaining,  when  fully  grown,  half  an  inch  in 
diameter.  Fructification  contained  in  small  globose,  dioecious  or 
monoecious  concep tables  with  a  firm  wall  lined  with  very  numerous 
jointed  hairs,  and  sunk  in  the  surface  of  large  ovoid,  oblong  or 
narrower,  pointed  or  blunt,  swollen  receptacles,  filled  with  a  trans- 
parent, mucous  network ;  these  attain  an  inch  in  length,  and  are 
situated  at  the  ends  of  the  divisions  of  the  frond.  Male  organs 
{antheridia) : — ^Very  numerous,  minute,  oblong-ovoid  cysts  on  the 
branched  hairs  lining  the  conceptacles,  and  containing  microscopic 
antherozoids,  provided  with  a  delicate  cilia  at  either  end,  which 
are  liberated  by  the  rupture  of  the  antheridium.      Female  organs 

*  FticuSj  ^vKOQ,  the  classical  name  for  many  seaweeds  and  other  marine 
organisms. 


304    FUCC8  VKSICULOSUS 

(gpcrangta) : — Few,  globaUir  or  broadly  ovoid  cysts,  mncli  larger 
than  tbe  antheridia,  and  wben  mature  containing*  a  single  mass 
(octosfMwe),  which  escapes  by  the  mptnre  of  the  sporangium,  and, 
after  it  becomes  free,  resolres  itself  into  8  separate  spores,  which 
disengage  themselves  from  iheir  common  envelopes  and  are 
liberated* 

Habitat — Every  one  must  be  &mfliar  with  this  common  sea* 
weed,  which  abounds  around  our  coasts  on  stones  and  rocks  which 
are  left  uncovered  at  low  water,  and  extends  up  the  estuaries  of 
rivers,  growing  everywhere  on  the  sides  of  piers  and  quays.  It 
is  equally  common  on  all  the  shores  of  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean, 
from  Norway  and  Greenland  to  the  Azores  and  West  Indies,  and 
a  small  form  extends  up  the  Baltic ;  but  it  does  not  occur  in  the 
Mediterranean,  except  in  the  Adriatic.  It  is  also  found  on  the 
Pacific  coast  of  North  America  from  Kamptschatka  to  California. 
It  is  doubtful  if  it  be  met  with  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 

There  are  many  varieties,  but  they  chiefly  differ  in  size ;  a  very 
dwarf  state  grows  in  the  mud  of  river  mouths.  The  most  remark- 
ableis  F.plaiycarjpuSy  Thuret,  in  which  the  antheridia  and  sporangia 
are  found  together  in  the  same  conceptacles.  This  is  a  very 
common  form ;  the  receptacles  are  broader  and  blunter  than  in  the 
type,  and  it  is  usually  without  air-vesicles.  In  JP.  spiralis  the 
frond  is  often  spirally  twisted. 

The  fruit  is  found  in  perfection  at  the  end  of  autumn  and  in 
winter.  The  fertilisation  of  the  free  spores  is  effected  in  the 
water  by  the  liberated  spermatozoids,  which  are  endowed  with 
active  movement,  and  swarm  round  the  spore,  attaching  them- 
selves to  its  outer  surface.  After  fertilisation  the  spores  germi- 
nate, and  at  once  give  rise  to  a  young  plant  like  their  parent. 

Agardh,  Sp.  Alg.,  i,  p.  210 ;  Thuret.,  in  Ann.  So.  Kat.,  ser.  4,  ii, 
p.  197,  and  Etudes  Phycolog.,  p.  39 ;  Lindl.,  PL  Med.,  p.  630. 

Part  Used  amd  Names. — Fucus  vesiculosus  ;  the  entire  alga. 
It  is  not  o£Scial  in  the  British  PharmacopoBia,  the  Pharmacopoeia 
of  India,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States.  The  "  herb 
and   fruit''  were,  however,  formerly  recognised    in    the  Dublin 


304    FUCXJS  VESICULOSUS 

Pharmacopoeia^  bat  the  drug  was  omitted  from  that  volame  in 
1850.  It  was  also  official  in  other  Pharmacopoeias.  It  is  com- 
monly known  as  Bladder  Wrack,  Bladder  Fucus,  Sea  Wrftck,  Sea 
Lettace,  Black  Tang,  and  other  names. 

History. — ^This  facus  was  first  brought  prominently  into  notice 
as  a  remedial  agent  by  Dr.  Russell  in  17S0.  He  recommended  it  for 
use  in  the  forms  of  a  kind  of  charcoal,  which  was  subsequently  termed 
Vegetable  EthiopSy  and  of  a  jelly.  The  former  was  prepared  by  incin- 
erating the  fucus  in  a  crucible  covered  with  a  perforated  cover 
until  smoke  ceased  to  be  given  off;  and  the  latter,  either  by 
expressing  its  mucilaginous  liquid,  or  by  macerating  the  fucus  in 
an  equal  weight  of  sea  water  for  about  a  fortnight,  or  until  it  was 
converted  into  a  kind  of  jelly.  This  mucilaginous  liquid  or  jelly 
was  employed  by  Dr.  Russell  successfully  as  a  resolvent  in  scrofu- 
lous and  other  glandular  affections,  both  externally  and  internally. 
Dr.  Russell  also  administered  vegetable  ethiops  with  beneficial 
effects  in  similar  diseases.  The  successful  results  obtained  by  its 
employment  led  afterwards  to  its  admission  into  several  pharma- 
copoeias ;  but  after  the  introduction  of  iodine  into  medicine,  to 
which  its  effects  were  commonly  regarded  as  being  essentially  due, 
and  to  which  its  use  and  that  of  burnt  sponge  had  brought  pro- 
minently into  notice,  it  gradually  fell  into  disuse,  although  it  was 
still  recognised  in  the  Dublin  Pharmacopceia  until  the  year  1850. 

It  was  subsequently  tried  about  the  year  1862  by  Dr.  Duchesne- 
Duparc  in  chronic  psoriasis,  but  without  any  special  effect  in  that 
affection ;  he  noticed,  however,  that  under  its  employment,  an  un- 
expected result  was  obtained,  namely,  that  of  diminishing  obesity, 
without,  in  other  respects,  producing  any  disturbance  of  the 
general  health.  Dr.  Godefroy  subsequently  confirmed  these 
results  by  experiments  on  himself;  and  although  the  trials  of 
other  experimenters  have  not  always  led  to  any  marked  results,  it 
is  a  substance  which  deserves  more  complete  investigation  than  it 
has  hitherto  received. 

General  Characters, — In  substance  this  alga  is  thickish, 
flexible,  and  very  tough.  It  has,  when  fresh,  a  dark  olive-brown 
appearance,  being  paler  at  the  extremities,  and  becoming  nearly 


304    FUOUS  VESIOULOSUS 

black  by  drying.      It  has  a  strong  odour,  and  a  nanseons  saline 
taste. 

Duchesne-Duparc  lays  especial  stress  upon  the  necessity  of  dis- 
tinguishing this  fucus  from  others,  such  as  Fucus  nodosua,  Fucus 
serratus,  &c.,  which,  he  says,  are  often  substituted  for  it,  but  are 
of  very  inferior  value.  The  distinguishing  characters  of  the  frond 
or  thallus  of  Fucus  vesiculosus  from  these  are,  its  entire  margin  ; 
its  strong  distinct  midrib  running  throughout  the  entire  length 
both  of  it  and  its  branches ;  and  in  its  vesicles  or  air-bladders 
being  placed  in  pairs,  one  on  each  side  of  the  midrib. 

Preparation. — ^For  use  in  medicine  its  preparation  has  been  thus 
recommended  by  Dannecey.  He  directs  the  plant  to  be  gathered  at 
the  period  of  fructification,  about  the  end  of  June,  and  dried  rapidly 
in  the  sun,  when  it  becomes  brittle,  and  may  be  readily  reduced  to 
coarse  powder ;  but  if  dried  by  artificial  heat,  he  says,  it  always 
retains  its  hygroscopic  qualities,  and  does  not  become  brittle.  The 
coarsely-powdered  fucus  is  then  to  be  macerated  for  about  three  days 
with  four  times  its  weight  of  86  per  cent,  alcohol,  then  expressed, 
and  the  residue  subjected  twice  successively  to  a  similar  treatment 
with  54  per  cent,  alcohol.  The  tinctures  are  then  to  be  mixed, 
the  alcohol  distilled  off,  and  the  remainder  evaporated  to  the  con- 
sistence of  an  extract.  A  syrup  may  be  prepared  by  dissolving  a 
little  of  the  extract  in  diluted  alcohol,  and  mixing  this  with  syrup 
in  the  proportion  desired. 

Composition. — Bladder  wrack  has  been  frequently  analysed, 
from  which  it  appears  that  its  principal  constituents  are  the  same 
as  those  of  many  allied  algee;  these  are  mucilage,  mannite, 
odorous  oil,  hitter  principle,  and  a  considerable  proportion  of  saline 
matter,  varying  from  14  to  20  per  cent,  in  the  dried  plants,  and 
containing  iodine  and  bromine.     The  proportion  of  saline  matter  is 

also  said  to  vary  in  the  same  plant  when  obtained  from  different 

• 

localities,  and  when  gathered  at  different  seasons,  being  most 
abundant  at  the  period  of  fructification,  about  the  end  of  June,  at 
which  period,  as  we  have  already  mentioned,  bladder  wrack  is 
recommended  to  be  collected  for  use.  Marchand  found  in  the 
ashes  of  Fv^us  vesiculosus  0*709  per  cent,  of  iodine,  and  0*603  per 


304    FUOUS  VESI0UL0SU3 

cent,  of  bromine ;  he  also  ascertained  that  many  allied  algad  con- 
tained much  more  iodine^  thas  the  ashes  of  Laminaria  digitata 
contain  seven  or  eight  times  more.  Hence,  if  iodine  be  the  prin- 
cipal active  constituent,  the  latter  alga  woald  be  much  more 
valuable  than  the  former. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — ^The  uses  of  vegetable  ethiops 
and  the  jellj  prepared  from  Fucus  vesiculosus  in  scrofulous  tumours 
and  glandular  enlargements  have  been  already  referred  to.  Mr. 
Tamplin  had  a  high  opinion  of  fucus  or  sea-weed  wine  as  a 
remedy  in  diseases  of  the  hip  and  other  bones  and  joints  of  chil- 
dren. This  wine  was  made  from  the  following  formula : — Grapes, 
98  lbs. ;  distilled  water,  16|  gallons ;  white  sugar,  84  lbs ;  bitar- 
trate  of  potash,  16|  oz. ;  dried  Fucus  vesiculosus,  23  lbs.  9  oz. 
Crush  the  grapes,  and  pack  them  in  a  cask  with  alternate  layers 
of  the  fucus.  Dissolve  the  sugar  and  bitartrate  of  potash  in  the 
water,  and  pour  the  solution  upon  the  fucus  and  grapes.  Keep  in 
a  warm  place,  and,  if  necessary,  add  a  little  yeast  to  promote 
fermentation. 

The  chief  interest  in  reference  to  the  action  of  this  fucus, 
relates,  however,  to  its  reputed  value  as  a  remedy  for  obesity. 
From  experiments  of  Dr.  Gk)defroy  on  his  own  person,  which  we 
have  noticed  previously  under  the  head  of  history,  it  appears  that, 
in  the  period  from  the  6th  of  March  to  the  18th  of  May,  under  the 
use  of  the  extract  in  doses  of  4^  grains  taken  thrice  daily  at  the 
commencement  of  each  meal,  he  lost  about  5^  lbs.  in  weight ;  and 
that  beyond  its  effect  on  the  urine,  which  was  rendered  more 
abundant,  more  coloured,  and  more  odorous  than  usual,  he  observed 
no  physiological  effect.  Further  trials  are  necessary  before  any 
definite  conclusions  can  be  arrived  at  on  its  action  and  its  value 
as  a  remedy  in  obesity.  It  would  appear  that  it  is  the  essential 
constituent  in  the  nostrum  now  so  extensively  advertised  under 
the  name  of  Anti-Fat. 

Besides  its  employment  in  medicine,  this  fucus  has  important 
economical  uses ;  thus,  from  the  ashes  of  this  and  many  other 
algsD,  commonly  known  as  kelp,  iodine  is  principally  obtained. 
It  also  forms  an  excellent  manure  for  land,  for  which  purpose  it 


304    FUCUS  YESIOULOSUS 

is  largely  used  in  some  parts  of  Scotland,  the  Channel  Islands, 
and  other  countries.  Greville  says  that  during  the  winter,  in 
some  of  the  Scottish  islands,  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  are  fed  on 
it.  Linneus  also  states,  that  in  Gothland,  the  inhabitants  boil  it  in 
water,  and  mixing  a  little  coarse  meal  or  flour,  feed  their  hogs 
with  it,  for  which  reason  they  call  the  plant  avnne-tang.  And  in 
Scandinavia,  he  says,  the  poor  people  cover  their  cottages  with  it, 
and  sometimes  also  use  it  for  fuel. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  7 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  bj  B.  <&  B., 
p.  380;  U.  S.  Disp.,  by  W.  &  B.,  p.  1598;  Watts'  Diet.  Ohem., 
vol.  Y,  p.  210 ;  Steph.  &  Church.,  Med.  Bot.,  by  Burnett,  vol.  ii, 
pi.  108;  Bentl.,  Man.  Bot.,  3rd  edit.,  pp.  708  and  709;  Pharm. 
Jl.,  ser.  2,  vol.  ziv,  p.  131,  and  vol.  viii,  p.  616;  Joum.  de 
Pharu].,  Juillet,  1862,  p.  65,  and  Nov.,  1862,  p.  434;  Maiach., 
in  Amer.  Jl.  of  Pharmacy,  Sept.,  1876,  p.  395,  and  Phajrm.  JL, 
ser.  3,  vol.  vii,  p.  289 ;  Marchand,  in  Amer.  Jl.  of  Pharmacy, 
1854,  p.  438;  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  vol.  zxvi  (1878), 
p.  173,  from  New  Bemedies,  Nov.,  1877,  p.  322 ;  Report  on  the 
Exhibits  in  the  Paris  Exhibition,  by  Paul  Holmes,  and  Pass- 
more,  in  Pharm.  Jl.,  ser.  3,  vol.  ix,  p.  303. 


DX8CBIPTI0N    OF   FLATS. 

Drawn  from  a  plant  collected  at  Eastbourne,  Sussex,  by  Mr.  Boper ;  the 
details  added  after  Thuret. 

1.  Portion  of  a  frond  with  ripe  receptacles. 

2.  Transverse  section  of  a  receptacle. 

3.  Antheridia  on  the  branched  bail's  of  the  male  conceptacle. 

4.  Vertical  section  of  a  female  conceptacle. 

5.  Spores  of  the  octospore  fully  separated,  and  disengaging  themselves 

from  their  coverings. 

6.  A  spore  being  fertilised  by  the  antherozoids. 

(2  enlarged ;  3-6  much  magnified.) 


CHONDRUS  CRISPUS,  ^7-^/^ 


M3LNH.n'n.r-.  ,rl 


805 

K,  Ord.  Algje.   * 

Tribe  FloridetB, 

Genus   ChondruB,*  StackhoMse,     Ag.,   Sp.  Alg.,  ii,  p.   244. 
Bpecies  9,  natiyes  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans. 


306,  Chondrus  Crispus,  Lyngbye,  Tent.  Hydrophyt.  Dan.,  p.  15 

(1819). 

Carrageen  Moss.      Irish  Moss, 

8yn. — Fucns  crispns,  Linn.  F.  polymorphos,  Lamour.  F.  ceranioides, 
Gmel.    Spbffirococcus  crispus,  Agardh. 

Figures.'^Berg  &  Sch.,  t.  83  a;  Fereira,  Mat.  Med.,  ii,  pp.  10, 11 ;  Harv., 
Phyc.  Brit.,  t.  63  (197) ;  Sow.,  B.  Bot.,  t.  2285 ;  Turner,  Fuci, 
tt.  216,  217;  Greville,  Alg.  Brit,  t.  15;  Kiitzing,  Phyc.  Gener.,  t.  73. 

Description, — ^A  perennial  tliallophyte,  3  to  10  inches  in  height, 
consisting  of  a  flat,  dilated  frond  supported  on  a  slender  stalk 
expanded  at  the  base  into  a  radical  disk,  by  which  the  plant  is 
attached.  Frond  usually  very  broadly  fan-shaped,  and  repeatedly 
divided  dichotomously  into  wedge-shaped,  spreading  segments, 
which  vary  very  much  in  width,  and  are  obtuse  or  truncate  or 
lobed  or  sharply  bifid  at  the  apex,  often  much  curled  and  overlap- 
ping one  another,  the  margin  entire,  often  giving  off  young  fronds, 
texture  cartilaginous  without  any  nerves,  colour  various,  usually 
greenish-purple  or  purpUsh-brown  or  yellowish-green,  smooth  and 
shining.  Fructification  of  two  sorts : — 1,  the  most  usual  kind 
forming  circular  or  oval  spots  on  the  frond  {cystocarps,  favellidia), 
prominent  on  one  side,  usually  concave  on  the  other,  and  contain- 
ing in  their  central  part  a  branched,  filamentous  network  bearing 
the  spores ;  2,  more  rare,  forming  somewhat  similar  spots  on  the 
terminal  segments  {sori),  and  consisting  of  cruciately  divided 
spores  {sph^BTospores,  tetraspores). 

Habitat. — This  pretty  seaweed  is  nearly  as  well  known  as  the 
bladder  wrack,  being  a  very  common  species  on  our  shores  about 
low-water  mark,  and  thrown  up  copiously  by  the  waves.  It  is 
remarkable  for  its    extreme  variability,   scarcely  two   specimens 

*  ChondruSf  from  the  Greek  xov^o-oc,  cartiliige. 


305    CHONDBUS  CEISPUS 

being  qaite  alike  in  form  and  coloar.  The  difference  is  mainly 
due  to  the  great  diversity  in  the  width  of  the  segments  from 
qnite  linear  to  several  inches  across  ;  the  very  broad  forms 
are  especially  found  on  the  muddy  shores  of  estnaries  with 
brackish  water.  No  less  than  thirty-five  varieties  are  figared  by 
Lamonroaz. 

The  range  of  distribation  is  confined  to  the  shores  of  the  North 
Atlantic^  it  extends  from  the  coast  of  Norway  to  South  Portugal 
and  Gibraltar,  but  not  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  also  includes  the 
eastern  coast  of  North  America. 

Agardh,  Sp.  Mg.,  ii,  p.  246;  Lindl.,  Fl.  Medica,  p.  631;  Flack, 
and  Hanb.,  Pbarmaoogr.,  p.  679. 

Official  Part  and  Names. — Chondbus;  (U.  S.  P,).  The  dried 
plant  is  used.  It  is  not  official  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia^  or 
the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  It  is  commonly  known  under  the 
names  of  Irish  Moss  and  Carrageen. 

Collection,  Preparation,  and  Oommeree. — Cam^een  is  principally 
collected  for  use  on  the  west  and  north-west  coast  of  Ireland, 
Sligo  being  a  great  mart  for  it.  It  is  also  obtained  on  the 
southern  coast  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  United  States ;  and  some 
of  good  quality  is  also  imported  from  Hamburg.  When  collected, 
it  is  washed  and  dried  for  nse  in  medicine,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses. In  Massachusetts  it  is  said  to  be  collected  to  a  very  large 
extent  during  four  months  in  the  year,  the  gatherers  being  Irish 
emigrants ;  the  quantity  obtained  being  estimated  by  Mdzar,  in 
1860,  at  about  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  annually.  It  is 
prepared  for  the  market  by  spreading  it  high  up  on  the  beach  to 
dry  and  bleach  in  the  sun. 

General  Chara^^ters  and  Substitutes. — ^When  fresh,  as  already 
noticed  in  our  botanical  description,  this  alga  varies  in  colour  from 
yellowish  green  to  greenish-purple  or  purplish-brown,  but  as  seen 
in  commerce  in  a  dried  state,  carrageen  is  white  or  yellowish,  with 
occasionally  purplish  portions.  The  separate  pieces  are  two  to 
three  or  four  inches  long,  crisp  or  somewhat  homy,  translucent, 
mucilaginous  in  taste,  and  without  any  marked  odour.  Carrageen 
swells  in  cold  water  to  its  original  bulk,  and  then  acquires  a  sea- 


305    CHONDBUS  ORISPUS 

weed  smell ;  and  when  boiled  in  from  20  to  30  times  its  weight  of 
water  for  a  few  minutes^  it  gelatinises  on  cooling. 

From  ignorance,  or  the  careless  manner  in  which  carrageen  is 
usnallj  collected,  it  is  often  mixed  with  other  species  of  algad,  of 
which  by  far  the  most  frequent  is  Oigartina  mamilhsa,  J.  Ag. 
{Ghondrus  mamillosus,  Grey.) ;  indeed,  this  alga  appears,  in  some 
districts,  to  be  collected  indiscriminately  with  Ohondma  criapus. 
It  is  distinguished  from  carrageen  by  its  frond  or  thallus  being 
slightly  channelled  towards  the  base ;  but  more  especially  by  its 
fructification  being  placed  on  the  flat  portions  of  the  frond  on 
little  elevated  or  stalked  tubercles — that  of  (7.  criapus  being  either 
imbedded  in  the  frond,  or  scarcely  elevated  above  it.  Oigartina 
aeieularis,  Lamour,  is  another  species  sometimes  found  mixed  with 
carrageen,  but  it  is  readily  distinguished  by  its  slender  cylindrical 
branches.  Other  species  of  algas  may  be  readily  known  by  their 
different  botanical  characters. 

Composition. — Carrageen  contains,  amongst  other  constituents 
common  to  marine  algae,  a  notable  proportion  of  mucilage.  It 
has  been  frequently  analysed,  but  with  varying  results,  the  most 
recent  examination  being  by  A,  H.  Church,  who  found  in  100 
parts,  9*38  albuminoids,  54*54  mucilage,  &c.,  2*15  cellulose, 
14*15  ash,  and  18*78  of  water.  His  experiments  also  confirm  the 
presence  in  it  of  a  large  percentage  of  sulphur  compounds,  the 
nature  of  which,  however,  he  did  not  definitely  determine;  but 
from  carefully  cleaned  and  dried  carrageen,  he  obtained  6*41  per 
cent,  of  such  compounds. 

Medical  Properties  and  Uses. — Carrageen  or  Irish  Moss  pos- 
sesses emollient,  demulcent,  and  nutritive  properties.  In  the 
forms  of  decoction  and  jelly  it  is  a  common  popular  remedy,  in 
many  districts,  in  pulmonary  complaints,  diarrhoea,  affections  of 
the  kidneys  and  bladder,  and  in  bther  cases.  It  has  also  been 
employed  in  combination  with  chocolate  or  cocoa. 

As  a  dietetic  article  it  is  said  to  be  easy  of  digestion,  and  has 
been  used  in  the  preparation  of  blanc-mange,  jellies,  white  soup, 
&o.  Its  value,  however,  as  a  nutrient  substance  appears  to  have 
been  over-estimated. 


305    OHONDRUS  CRISPtJS 

Administration. — When  employed  in  medicine,  or  for  other 
purposes,  it  is  best  administered  in  the  form  of  decoction  or  jelly. 
The  decoction  may  be  made  by  macerating  half  an  ounce  of  carra- 
geen in  cold  or  warm  water  for  ten  minutes ;  then  boiling  in  three 
pints  of  water  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  straining  through  linen. 
Milk  may  be  substituted  for  water  when  the  decoction  is  required  to 
be, very  nutritious.  Sugar,  lemon-juice,  or  some  aromatic  maybe 
added  to  improve  the  flavour.  Carrageen  jelly  may  be  prepared 
either  by  adding  sugar  to  the  above- strained  decoction,  and  boiling 
down  until  the  liquid  is  sufficiently  concentrated  to  gelatinise  on 
cooling ;  or  by  employing  a  larger  quantity  of  carrageen.  If  milk 
be  substituted  for  water,  carrageen  blanc-mange  is  obtained. 
Flavouring  ingredients  may  be  added  to  the  jelly  as  in  the 
ordinary  decoction. 

Bandoline  or  fixature,  used  for  stiffening  the  hair  and  keeping 
it  in  form,  is  also  commonly  prepared  from  carrageen.  In  some 
parts  of  the  United  States  the  mucilage  of  carrageen  is  likewise 
much  employed  as  a  size  for  paper,  cotton  goods,  felt  and  straw 
hats ;  and  for  thickening  the  colours  used  in  calico  printing. 
Carrageen  is  also  employed  for  fining  beer,  coffee,  &c.,  in  America. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  9 ;  Per.  Mat.  Med.,  by  B.  &  B.. 
p.  381;  Pharmacographia,  p.  679;  U.  S.  Diep.,  by  W.  &  B., 
p.  259;  Melzar,  in  Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.  (1860),  p.  165; 
Bates,  in  Pharm.  Joarn.,  ser.  2,  toI.  xi,  p.  298;  Blondeaa, 
Joum.  de  Pharm.,  2  (1865),  p.  159;  A.  H.  Church,  in  Proc. 
Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc,  vol.  xxv  (1877),  p.  177,  from  Arch.  Ph., 
Jan.,  1877,  p.  61. 


DESCRIPTION  OF   PLATE. 

Drawn  from  a  specimen  sent  by  Mr,  Bioper  from  Eastbourne,  Sussex,  and 
from  others  in  the  British  Museum ;  the  fruit  added  from  Kiltzing. 

1.  A  plant. 

2.  Section  through  frond  and  part  of  a  cystocarp. 

3.  Young  spores  attached  to  the  filamentous  network. 

4.  Bipe  spores. 

5.  6.  Broad  and  narrow  varieties. 

(2-4  magnified.) 


■ 
■ 

I 


GRACILARIA  LICHENOIDES,  Grev 


J 


306 

N.  Ord.  Alga. 

Tribe  Floridea. 

Genus  Qraailaria^*  Grev.  Agardh.,  Sp.  Alg.,ii,  p.  584  There 
are  between  20  and  30  species,  natives  of  the  warmer  seas 
of  yarions  parts  of  the  world. 


306.  Oracilaiia  lichenoides,    GreviUe,  Alga  BHtann.,  p.   54, 

(1830). 

Ceylon  Moss. 

8yn. — Fucus    lichenoides,  Linn,     F.    gelatinosas,  Koenig.     Sphsro- 
coccus  lichenoides,  Agardh  non  Qrev.    Plocaria  Candida,  Nees. 

Figures. — Turner,  Fuci,  t.  118,  cop.    in   Pereira,  Mat.  Med.,  p.   14; 
Kiitzing,  Tab.  Phycolog.,  xviii,  t.  81. 

Description. — ^A  thallophyte  about  6 — 9  inches  high,  rising  from 
a  peltate  base  of  attachment.  Frond  elongated,  cylindrical,  about 
i  inch  in  diameter  at  its  thickest,  gradually  diminishing  upwards, 
soft  or  subcartilaginous,  smooth,  purplish  with  a  tinge  of  green 
when  fresh,  but  becoming  yeUowish-white  when  dried,  irregularly 
branched  dichotomously  and  rather  copiously,  the  branches  rather 
fastigiate,  bare  below,  but  again  divided  above,  with  tapering 
branchlets,  which  are  often  forked  at  the  apex  with  short  divari- 
cate segments.  Fructification  consisting  of  small,  more  or  less 
spherical,  slightly  elongated  bodies  {coccidiaj  cystocarps),  sessile, 
and  irregularly  scattered  over  the  primary  and  secondary  branches, 
bright  red,  open  at  the  apex  by  a  small  orifice  leckding  into  the 
hollow  interior,  which  contains  the  spores  (gemmidia),  supported 
on  filaments,  which  proceed  from  a  central  placenta-like  column. 

Habitat. — This  seaweed  is  found  on  the  coasts  of  the  Indian 
Ocean,  especially  in  Ceylon,  and  ranges  as  far  as  Burmah,  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  including  Java,  and  probably  also  Australia. 
As  generally  seen,  in  a  dry  state,  the  whole  plant  is  colourless  or 
pale  yellowish,  and  this  is  possibly  the  result  of  some  bleaching 
process. 

*  Gracilaria,  from  gracilis,  slender,  in  allusion  to  the  form. 


806    GRAOILARIA  LICHENOIDES 

The  Spharococcuis  lichenoides  of  Greville,  figured  in  his  '  Scottish 
Cryptogamic  Flora/  t.  841,  was  found  on  the  Devonshire  coast. 
It  is  now  referred  to  0.  compressa,  Ag.,  and  differs  from  the  true 
Eastern  8.  lichenoides  in  its  more  intense  red  colour. 

A  closely  allied  species,  O,  confervoides,  Grev.,  is  also  employed, 
especially  its  variety  tenuis  {Fivcus  edulis,  Gmel.),  which  is  often 
referred  to  O.  lichenoides.  The  reproductive  organs  of  this  species 
are  beautifully  figured  in  Thuret's  '  Etudes  Phycologiques,'  t.  40. 
It  is  dioecious,  the  very  numerous  minute  antheridia  being  im- 
mersed in  the  cortical  part  of  the  upper  divisions  of  the  frond  of 
the  male  plant,  and  containing  spherical  fertilising  corpuscles. 
The  female  plant  possesses,  besides  the  cystocarps,  another  form 
of  fructification  in  tetraspores,  which  are  immersed  in  the  cortex 
of  the  frond. 

Agardh.,  Sp.  Alg.,  ii,  p.  588 ;  Eiitziog,  Sp.  Alg.,  p.  776 ;  Fliick. 
&  Hanb.,  Phai*macogr.,  p.  681;  Thnret,  l^tudes  Phycoiogiques, 
p.  80. 

Official  Part  and  Names, — Gracilabia  ;  the  dried  plant  of  Graci- 
laria  lichenoides,  and  G.  confervoides,  Oreville  (I.  P.).  It  is  not 
ofiicial  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  commonly  known  under  the  names  of  Ceylon 
Moss  and  Jaffna  Moss ;  and  it  constitutes  the  Agar  Agar  Carang 
of  the  Malays. 

Collection  and  Commerce. — It  is  largely  collected  in  the  islands  of 
the  Indian  Archipelago,  where  it  is  more  especially  used ;  and  from 
whence  it  is  also  exported  in  large  quantities  to  China.  The  Ceylon 
Moss  of  commerce  is  said  to  consist  of  the  two  species  of  Qradlaria 
which  are  official  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India.  It  would  also 
appear  that  under  the  name  of  Agar  agar  or  Ceylon  Moss,  two  very 
different  articles  have  been  imported  into  this  country ;  thus.  Archer 
has  shown  that  specimens  received  at  Liverpool  consisted  of  Oigar* 
Una  spinosa  {Fucus  spinosus),  and  contained  no  portion  of  either  of 
the  official  plants.  It  seems  clear,  however,  that,  as  a  general  rule, 
the  principal  constituent  of  Ceylon  Moss  is  Oracilaria  liclienoides. 

General  Characters  and  Composition, — The  official  characters 
are  as  follows  : — ''  In  yellowish- white  or  light  purple   ramifying 


306    GBACILABIA  LICHENOIDES 

filaments^  from  one  to  several  inclies  in  length ;  at  the  base  the 
largest  fibres  do  not  exceed  the  thickness  of  a  crowquill^  the 
smaller  fibres  being  about  as  thick  as  fine  sewing-thread ;  con- 
sistence cartilaginous^  odour  resembling  seaweed^  taste  feebly 
saline/'  When  moistened  it  becomes  somewhat  translucent,  in- 
creases slightly  in  volume,  and  frequently  exhibits  small,  whitish, 
globular  or  mammiform  fruits  or  cystocarps. 

The  analysis  of  O'Shaugnessy  yielded,  in  100  parts  of  the  drug, 
54*5  of  vegetable  jelly,  15  of  starch,  18  of  cellulose,  4  of  gum,  and 
7*5  of  inorganic  salts.  The  vegetable  jelly  is  the  geloae  of  Payen, 
and  is  sometimes  regarded  a>s  identical  with  pectin.  It  is  also 
said  that  the  amount  of  this  jelly  varies  in  different  specimens 
from  37  to  78  per  cent. 

Medical  Properties  arid  Uses. — In  its  properties  it  resembles 
carrageen,  being  emollient,  demulcent,  and  nutritive.  In  the 
form  of  decoction  or  jelly,  it  may  be  used  as  a  light  and  readily 
digestible  article  of  food  for  invalids  and  children.  As  a  medicinal 
agent  it  is  useful  in  pulmonary  complaints,  and  in  cases  charac- 
terised by  irritation  of  the  intestinal  canal. 

The  official  decoction  of  the  Pharmacopceia  of  India  may  be 
taken  ad  libitum;  and  if  milk  be  substituted  for  water  in  the 
above  preparation,  it  is  usually  more  grateful  to  the  taste  as  well 
as  more  nourishing.  It  may  be  further  improved  by  the  addition 
of  some  aromatic.  Jelly  may  also  be  prepared  from  this  in  a 
similar  way  to  that  directed  for  making  carrageen  jelly,  and  it 
may  then  be  flavoured  in  a  similar  manner.  ' 

In  China,  and  in  the  Indian  Archipelago^  it  is  largely  used  with 
some  other  algss  for  making  jellies  and  sweetmeats;  and  for 
stiffening  purposes,  varnishes,  &c. 

Per.  Mat.  Med.,  vol.  ii,  pt.  1,  p.  13 ;  Pharmacographia,  p.  681 ; 
O'Shangnessy,  Bengal  Dispensatory  (1841),  p.  668;  Pharma- 
copoBia  of  India,  p.  260 ;  Bentl.,  Man.  Bot.,  p.  709 ;  Archer,  in 
Pharm.  Jl.,  ser.  1,  vol.  xiii,  pp.  313  &  447 ;  Simmonds,  in 
Pharm.  JL,  ser.  1,  vol.  xiii,  p.  355;  Payen,  in  Pharm.  Jl., 
Yol.  i,  ser.  2,  p.  470;  M.  0.  Cooke,  in  Pharm.  JL,  ser.  2, 
p.  504.  ,  ^ 


30G    GBACILABIA  LICHEXOIDES 


DESCBIPTION  or  PLATS. 

Drawn  from  a  speciinen  in  the  Moaeam  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society, 
the  details  added  after  Katzing. 

1.  Portion  of  a  plant. 

2.  Part  of  transyerse  section  of  the  frond. 

3.  Portion  of  frond  with  cystocarps. 

4.  Section  of  a  cystocarp  of  G.  eompressa, 

(3,  enlarged ;  2,  4,  mnch  magnified) 


cr 


INDEX 


Lt  the  follovting  Index  the  speeiea  figured  are  printed  in  email  capitals,  and  the  referencee  are 

made  to  the  descriptive  text  of  the  numbered  species. 


Abelmofichus  esculentus  .    36 

Allspice  . 

.   Ill 

Abies  balBamea 

.  263 

Almond  . 

.    99 

—  canadensis 

.  264. 

Aloe  barbadensis 

.  282 

—  excelsa     . 

.  261 

—  capensis  . 

.  284 

—  pectinata 

.  262 

—  ferox 

.  284 

Abietis  resina  . 

.  262 

—  indica 

.  282 

Abri  radix 

.    77 

—  littoralis  . 

.  282 

Abbus  fbecatobitjs 

.    77 

—  purpurescens 

.  283 

Absinthinm 

.  156 

—  8PICATA    . 

.  284 

Acacia  arabica 

.    94 

—  SnCOOTBINA 

.  283 

Acacia  Catbchu    . 

.    95 

—  vera          • 

.  283 

—  SEiraeAL 

.    94 

—  YTLOABIS 

.  282 

—  Suma 

.    95 

Aloes,  Barbados 

.  282 

—  Sandra     . 

.    95 

—  Cape 

.  284 

—  Verek 

.    94 

—  Socotrine 

.  283 

Acaciffi  gummi 

.    94 

—  Varieties  of 

.  284 

Achillea  Millbfolium  153 

Aloin 

.  283 

Achillea  . 

.  153 

Alpikia  officikabum    .  271 

Achira     . 

.  266 

ALBTOITIA  SCHOLABIS         .   173 

Acidum  benzoicum  . 

.  169 

AlstonisB  cortex       .        .173 

ACOBTJS  Calauub    . 

.  279 

Althjea  officinalis     .    35 

Aconite   . 

.      6 

Althsda    .         .         .        .35 

—  leaves 

6 

Alum-root       .        .         .42 

— ,  Nepal 

.      5 

American  dewberry         .  100 

—  root. 

6 

—  hellebore.         .         .  286 

Aconitia  . 

.      6 

—  pennyroyal       .        .  200 

Aconiti  ferocis  radix 

.      6 

—  savin        .         .         .  254 

—  folia 

.      6 

—  senna       .        .         .88 

—  heterophylli  radix 

.      7 

—  water  hemlock          .  119 

—  radix 

.      6 

Ammi  copticum       .        .  120 

ACONITXJH  PEBOX    . 

.      6 

Ammoniacum  .         .    130, 131 

—  HETBBOPHYLLUH 

.      7 

Amomxtm  Mblboueta    .  268 

—  Napellus 

.      6 

—  Qranum-Paradisi     .  268 

Aconitnm  Stoerkeannm 

.      6 

Amsool   .        .         .        .32 

Actsaa  racemosa 

8 

Amygdala  amara              .    99 

^eLB  Mabvelos   . 

.    55 

—  dnlcis                .         .99 

iEXHUSA  C7NAPIT71C 

.  125 

Amygdalus  communis      .    99 

African  Kino  . 

.    81 

Amylum ....  294 

Agar  Agar 

.  306 

Amyris  gileadensis  .        .     59 

Aguason . 

.  179 

AVACYCLTTS  OFFICIVABUH  152 

Ajowan  . 

.  120 

—  Ptbbthbum    .        .  151 

—  fmit 

.  120 

—  pseudo-pyrethrum    .  151 

Alder  buckthorn  bark 

.    65 

Anamibta  pahticulata  .    14 

Aleppo  galls    . 

.  249 

Andrographis    caules    et 

Alexandrian  senna  . 

.     90 

radix  ....  197 

Allifm  batitum    . 

.  280 

Andboobaphis  panicu- 

Allium    . 

.  280 

LATA    . 

.  197 

Andropogon       Calamus- 
aromaticus  .         .         .  297 

—  laniger     .         .         .  297 

—  citratus    .        .        .  297 

—  Iwarancusa      .        .  297 

—  Nabdub  .        .        .  297 

—  Schoenanthus  .  .  297 
Anethi  fructus  .  .  132 
Anethum  graveolens'       .  132 

—  Sowa  .  .  .  132 
Angustura  bark  .  43 
Anguzeh  .  •  .  127 
Anise      ....  122 

—  fruits  .  .  .  122 
Aniseed  ....  122 
Anisum  ....  122 
Anthemidis  flores  .  .  154 
Antheicib  nobilis  .  154 

—  Cotula  .  .  .156 
Anthophylli  .  .  .112 
Anti-fat .  .  .  .304 
Arabian  myrrh        .        .     59 

—  senna  .  .  .91 
Abachib  htpooaa  .  75 
Arbutus  Uva-ursi  .  .  163 
Archil  .  .  .  .301 
Abctobtaphylob     Uva- 

Ubsi  ....  163 
Abeca  Catechu  .  .  276 
Abenoa  bacchabifeba  .  277 
Argel  ....  175 
Abibtolochia    Sebpbn- 

TABIA  ....  246 

—  officinalis  .  .  246 
Armoracia  rusticana  .  21 
ArmoracisB  radix     .        .    21 

AbNICA  UONTAITA    .  .   158 

—  flowers  .  .  .  158 
Arnica  radix  .  .  .  158 
Arrowroot  .  .  .  265 
Artantheelongata  .  .  242 
Abtehibia  ABsnrTHiUM   156 

—  PAUCIFLOBA       .  .   157 

—  Cina         .  .  .  157 

—  Lerclieana  .  .  157 

—  Santonica  .  .  157 

—  Ytthliana  .  .  .  167 


INDEX 


AMgnM  oAdnalii  . 

.287 

Baroama  eckkmiana 

.    46    , 

Borneo  eamplior 

.  222 

Arbol  de  1a  Bre*     . 

.    61 

BarosmJD  folia 

.    46    , 

BOBWBLUA  CaBTUOI 

.    68 

Ashy        •        .        • 

.  171 

Banas    . 

.  256 

—  Bhan-Higiana  . 

.    58 

—  floweriDg 

.  170 

BaaUrdTeak. 

.    81 

—  Frafoana  • 

.     61 

—  iMTet 

.  171 

Baj 

.  221 

—  papjriiefa 

.    68 

Asia  Minor  opiam  . 

.    18 

—  berry 

.  110 

^"^"    ■HC'^ft 

.    68 

AiPinvM  Fujx-MAS 

.  300 

—  berries 

.  221 

—  thnrifera. 

.    68 

AiMfcetida               .  126, 127 

^—  ruin 

.  110 

Botiyopds  platyph jQa 

.    11 

AiTXAOALUS  eUVKIFSB  .     73 

Bead  tree 

.    62 

BKAflBICA.  AIMA 

.    23 

—  creiicm   • 

.    73 

Bearbeny  leares 

.  163 

—  VIOBA 

.    22 

—  Yerufl 

.    78 

Beberis  sulphas 

.  219 

Brayera  aothebnintica 

.  102 

Atif  or  Ateet  . 

.      7 

Bebeeni  bark  . 

.  219 

Brazilian  arrowroot 

.  235 

Atbopa  Bxllaoovva 

.  193 

Belssfnictiis  . 

.     66 

—  oocoa 

.    67 

Atropia  . 

.  193 

Belladonna 

.  193 

Brian^oa  manna 

.  260 

AtUr  of  rofe  . 

.  106 

Belladonna  folia 

.  198 

Brindall . 

.     32 

Aorantii  amari  cortex 

.    50 

—  radix 

.  198 

Brindonia  indica 

.     32 

—  dnleis  cortex    . 

.    51 

Bengal  Kino  . 

.    79 

Broom  tops 

.    70 

—  floree 

50,51 

—  qnince     • 

.    66 

Buchu    . 

45,47 

^-  f  mctuf    . 

.    50 

Benne  leares  . 

.  198 

—  folU                   45,46,47 

Anetralian  gom 

.    94 

Bensoicacid   . 

.  169 

Buckbean 

.  184 

—  Kino 

81,109 

Benaoin  officinale    . 

.  169 

Buckthorn 

.    64 

Anetrian  rbnbarb    . 

.  215 

Bencoinnm 

.  169 

Bugbane 

8 

AYKTA  8ATITA 

.  292 

Berberidis  cortex    . 

.    16 

Bnja 

.    81 

Avene  farina  . 

.  292 

Bbbbbbib  abibtata 

.    16 

Burgundy  pitch 

.  263 

Azadiracbta  indica  . 

.    62 

.     16 

BUTXA  BBOH]X)8A      . 

.    79 

Azadirachtn  cortex 

.    62 

—  Ljcium    . 

.    16 

Butea  Kino    . 

79,81 

—  folia 

.    62 

Bergamot 

.    62 

Butes  gnmmi 

.    79 

Azederach 

.    62 

BcTilacqna 

.  117 

Butter  nut  bark 

.  247 

Betel  nnt 

.  276 

—  weed 

.  149 

—  nnt  palm . 

.  276 

Bael  fniit 

.    53 

Bbaug    . 

.  231 

Baleuan . 

.    59 

Bibim    . 

.  219 

Cabbage  rose  petals 

.  105 

Balm  of  Oilead 

.    69 

Bili 

.    61 

Cacao 

.    88 

Baliahiorfir  . 

.  268 

Bird's-foot  violet 

.    25 

CJMAIf  nriA  BOBDUCXLLA    86 

—  of  Qilead. 

.  268 

Bish 

6 

—  Bonduc    . 

.    86 

—  of  Pern    . 

.    88 

Bissa  bdl 

69,60 

Caffea 

.  144 

—  of  Toln    . 

.    84 

Bistorte  radix 

.  212 

Ciguput  . 

.  108 

Baliamita 

.    88 

Bitter  orange  . 

.    60 

Calabar  beans . 

.    80 

Baliamo  bianco 

.    88 

—  orange-peel 

.    60 

Calamus . 

.  279 

Baisaxodbitdeux  Mtb- 

—  sweet 

.  190 

Caliaaya  bark . 

.  141 

BBA      . 

.    60 

—  wood 

.        .    57 

Cat<otbopi8  pbocbka 

.  176 

—  OFOBAII8AXUM 

.    69 

Blackberry,  Americ 
Black  alder  bark 

ian     .  100 

Calotrqpis  cortex    . 
—  gigantea  . 

.  176 

—  africannm 

.    60 

.    66 

.  176 

—  Ehrenbergianum 

.    69 

-»  catechn    . 

.    96 

Calumba 

.    13 

—  gileadenie 

—  Kataf      . 

.    69 

—  Hellebore 

2 

Calumbs  radix 

.     13 

.    60 

—  oak  bark . 

.  261 

Cambogia  Gutta 

.    33 

—  Kua 

.    60 

—  snakeroot 

8 

Camxllia  Thba 

.    34 

—  Mukul     . 

.    60 

—  tea  . 

.     84 

Camphors 

.  222 

—  Playfairii 

.    60 

Bladder  fncns 

.  804 

Canada  balsam 

.  263 

Balaamum  Peruviannm  .    88 

—  wrack 

.  804 

—  fleabane   . 

.  14Q 

—  Tolutanum 

.    84 

Blood-root 

.    20 

—  pitch 

.  264 

Balauatine  flowera  . 

.  118 

Blue  flag 

.  278 

—  turpentine 

.  263 

Bamia 

.    86 

—  gentian    . 

.  182 

Cavabium  oommuvb 

.    61 

Banda  paper   . 

.    86 

—  gum  tree . 

.  109 

—  album 

.    61 

Barbados  aloes 

.  282 

Blumea  camphor 

.  222 

—  luzonicnm 

.    61 

Barberry  bark 

.     16 

Boldo      . 

.  217 

—  zepbyrioum 

.    61 

—  fruits 

.     16 

Boldoe  folia   . 

.  217 

CAHBTiLA  AIBA 

.    26 

Barley     . 

.  298 

Bombay  aloes  . 

.  283 

Canella  alba    . 

.    26 

Bakobma  BBTULIKA 

.    45 

—  mastich   • 

.    68 

Canelle  albs  cortex 

.    26 

—  CBENULATA 

.    46 

Bondac  seeds  . 

.     86 

CAVlfA  BDUTJB 

.  266 

—  BBBBATIVOLIA  . 

.    47 

BonducellcB  semina 

.    86 

—  Lamberti. 

.  266 

—  crenata   . 

46,46 

Boneset  . 

• 

.  147 

—  starch 

INDEX 


Cakkabis  satiya   . 

.  231 

Chamomile,  true     . 

.  154 

Citrus  acida    . 

68,54 

—  indica 

.       .  231 

—  wild 

.  156 

ClTBUS  BSBaAHIA  . 

.    62 

Cape  aloes 

.  284 

Chandam         .        .     82,252 

—  Bigaradia 

.    60 

—  gum 

.    94 

Charta  siuapis 

.    22 

—  LncownM 

.    64 

Capsici  frnctas 

.  188 

Chatlum 

.  173 

—  Limetta  . 

63,64 

Capsioitk  AHNinJM 

.  189 

Chaulmoogra  odorata 

.    28 

—  MBDIOA     . 

.    53 

—  FASTIOIATUM    . 

.  188 

•—  oil    . 

.     28 

—  YULOABIB 

.    50 

—  longam    . 

.  189 

—  seeds 

.    28 

Clayiobps  PUBPUBBA 

.  303 

Capsicum 

188,189 

Chavica  officinarum 

.  244 

Clove 

.  112 

Carrageen  moss 

.  305 

—  Boxburghii 

.  244 

—  stalks 

.  112 

Caramania  gum 

.    73 

CUBMOPODIITM    ANTHBL- 

Cloves     . 

.  112 

Caraway . 

.  121 

HIimCTJK    . 

.  216 

Club-moss 

.  299 

—  fruits       . 

.  121 

—  ambrosioides    . 

.  216 

Coca 

.     40 

Cardamom 

.  267 

Cherry  laurel  leaves 

.    98 

Cocculus  cordifolius 

.     12 

Cardamom  am . 

.267 

Chian  turpentine    . 

.     69 

—  indicus    . 

.     14 

Carota    . 

.  135 

Chillies  .        .         .    188,189 

—  palmatus . 

.     13 

Carrot     . 

.  135 

Chimaphila  oobtubosa  165 

Cocoa  seeds 

.     38 

—  fruits       . 

.  135 

ChimaphiU     . 

.  165 

COOHLBABIA  ABHOBAOIA      21 

—  root 

.  135 

China  rhubarb 

.  214 

COFFBA  ABABIOA       . 

.  144 

Carui  fractus  . 

.  121 

Chiretta . 

.  183 

—  liberlca    . 

.  144 

Cabuh  Ajowan     . 

.  120 

Chocolate 

.    88 

Coffee      . 

.  144 

—  Cabfi     . 

.  121 

Chondbodbvdbon     to- 

—  leaves 

.  144 

Caryophyllum 

.  112 

MBNT08UM  . 

.     11 

Colchici  cormus 

.  288 

Caryophyllus  . 

.  112 

Chokdbub  OBIBFUS 

.  305 

—  radix 

.  288 

—  aromaticus 

.  112 

Chondrus 

.  305 

—  seminia     . 

.  288 

Cascarilla 

.  238 

Christmas  rose 

.       2 

COLOHIOUU  AUTUMITALR  .  288 

—  Bahama  . 

.  238 

Churrus  . 

.  231 

Collodion 

.    37 

—  Colorada . 

.  142 

ClOUTA  YIBOBA 

.  119 

Colocynth 

.  114 

—  cortex  -    . 

.  238 

Cicuta  maculata 

.  119 

Colocynthidls  pulpa 

.  114 

Cassava  . 

.  235 

CnCIOIPUOA  BAOBHOSA 

.      8 

Colophony 

.  258 

—  bread 

.  235 

Cimioifuga 

.       8 

Columbo 

.     13 

—  meal 

.  235 

ClKOHONA  CaLTBAYA 

.  141 

Conii  folia 

.  118 

—  root 

.  235 

—  condamiuea 

.  140 

—  f ructua    . 

.  118 

—  starch 

.  235 

—  OOBDIFOLIA       . 

.  143 

CONIXnC  MAOULATUM 

.  118 

Cassia  aoutipolia 

.    90 

—  laucif olia 

.  143 

CONVOLYULUB     SCAMMO- 

—  ANGUBTITOLIA  . 

.    91 

—  OB7I0INALIS      . 

.  140 

NIA       .           . 

.  187 

—  FlSTUT^A    . 

.        .    87 

—  BVOOIBUBBA       . 

.  142 

Copaiba  . 

.     93 

—  Mabilanpioa  . 

.    88 

—  Uritusinga 

.  140 

—  guianensis 

.    93 

—  OBOYATA  . 

.     89 

.  Cinchona  flava 

.  141 

COPAIPBBA  LaNSDOBPVII     93 

—  bark     ^    . 

.  223 

—  pallida     . 

.  140 

—  multijuga 

.    93 

—  buds 

.  223 

—  rubra 

.  142 

—  officinalis. 

.     93 

—  grandis    . 

.    87 

CinchoniB  flavsB  cortex 

.  141 

Coptidis  radix 

.      3 

—  lanceolata 

.      90,91 

—  pallidas  cortex . 

.  140 

COPnS  TBI70LIA      . 

3 

—  lignea 

.  223 

—  rubrsB  cortex    . 

.  142 

Coquetta  bark 

.  143 

—  moBchata. 

.    87 

ClNNAKODBKDBOK  OOBTI- 

Coriander 

.  133 

—  obtusata  . 

.     89 

COBUM 

.     27 

—  fruits 

.  133 

~  purging  . 

.    87 

Cinnamodendron     . 

.    27 

'         SOCu                           • 

.  133 

Cassia)  pulpa  . 

.    87 

CnnrAIIOMTTMCAMPHOBA  222 

CORIAVDBTJM  BATIYUU 

.  133 

Castor  oil 

.  237 

—  Cassia    . 

.  223 

COBinTB  PLOBIDA 

.  136 

Cataria   . 

.  209 

—  ZBYLAKIOUM     . 

.  224 

Cortex  cinchonse  durss  de 

Catechu  nigrum 

.    95 

Cinnamomum . 

.  223 

Carthagena 

.  143 

—  pallidum  . 

.  139 

Cinnamon 

.  224 

—  citrici  medicse  . 

.     53 

Catmint . 

.  209 

—  mountain 

.     27 

—  thymiamatis     . 

.  107 

Catnep    . 

.  209 

—  wild 

.    26 

Cotton    . 

.     37 

Cayenne  pepper 

.  188 

Cinnamomi  cortex  . 

.  224 

—  root  bark 

.    37 

Cedrela  febrifuga    . 

.     63 

CiSSAMPBLOB  PaBBIBA 

.     15 

—  seed  oil    . 

.     37 

CSPHABLIB  TPECACT 

rANHA  145 

ClBTTJB  0BBTI0U8      . 

.     24 

Cjwhage 

.    78 

Cerasus  serotina 

.    97 

Citric  acid 

.     52 

Cowbane 

.  119 

Cbtbaria  islahdic 

A      .  802 

Citron     . 

.     53 

Cow-itch 

.    78 

Cetraria  . 

.  302 

ClTBULLUB  COLOCYinPHIB   114 

Cranesbill 

.     42 

Ceylon  moss    . 

.  306 

—  vulgaris  . 

.  114 

Creyat    . 

.  197 

Chamomile  flowers  . 

.  154 

CiTBUS  AUBANTIUH 

.     51 

Crini  radix 

•  275 

4 

INDEX 

• 

Cbhttth  asiatiouu 

.276 

Diosma  betulina 

.    46 

Eugenia  cabyofhyl- 

—  tozicarium 

.  275 

—  crenata    . 

46,46 

LATA   ., 

.  112 

CSOOUS  SATIYUS       . 

.  274 

—  crenulata 

.    46 

—  aromatica 

.  112 

Crocos    . 

.  274 

—  odorata    . 

.    46 

EdPATOBITTM       FBBFOLI- 

Cboton  Eltttbbia 

.  238 

—  serratifolia 

.    47 

AT1TH  . 

.  147 

—  Sloanei     . 

.  238 

Dita  bark 

.  173 

Eupatorium    . 

.  147 

—  TlQLIVM. 

.  239 

Dog-rose  fruit 

.  105 

EUFHOBBIA    BBSimFBBA  240 

Crotonis  semina 

.  239 

Dogwood  bark 

.  136 

—  Beanmieriana  . 

.  240 

Crown  bark 

.  140 

—  flowering 

.  136 

—  ofllcinarum 

.  240 

Cubeba  officinaliB    . 

.  243 

DOBBMA  AhKONIAOUK    (130) 

Euphorbiniu    . 

.  240 

Cubebfl    . 

.  243 

131 

Euryangium  Sumbul 

.  129 

Cacnmber,  squirting 

f        .  115 

—  AUOHBBI 

(129)  130 

(130)  131 

EXOOOKIUM  PUBGA 

.  186 

Cacnmis  Colocynthi 

s       .  114 

—  odoriferum 

Extractum  glycyrrhizse 

.    74 

CUOUBBITA  PbPO    . 

.  116 

—  root 

.  130 

—  maxima  . 

.  116 

Dropwort,  water 

.  124 

—  moBchata 

.  116 

Dryobalanops  aromatica .  222 

Farina  tritiei  . 

.  294 

Cudbear . 

.  301 

Dulcamara    . 

.     190 

False  ang^tnra  bark 

.  178 

Culver's  root  . 

.  196 

Dwale  . 

.    193 

Fbbula  galbaniflua 

.  128 

Cnmini  fructus 

.  134 

—  Nabthbx 

.  126 

CuMiNinc  Ctminui 

C        .  134 

—  SOOBODOBMA     . 

.  127 

CUBOXTMA  IiONQA      . 

.  269 

East  Indian  aloes    . 

.  283 

—  SmcBUL  . 

.  129 

Carcuma 

.  269 

—  arrowroot 

.  269 

^  Assafoetida       .    126, 127 

—  starch 

.  269 

—  gum 

.    94 

—  erubescens 

.  128 

Currants 

.     66 

—  kino 

.    81 

—  persica     . 

.  127 

Cosparia  bark . 

.    43 

—  myrrh 

.    69 

—  rubricaulis 

.  128 

—  febrifaga 

.    43 

—  senna 

.    91 

—  Schair 

.  128 

Cnsso 

.  102 

Ecbalii  f  ructns 

.  115 

Ferulago  Carduchomm 

.  131 

Cutch 

.    95 

EOBALLIUM  ElATBBITM  .115     | 

Fern  rhizome  . 

.  300 

Cjdonia  ynlgaris 

.  106 

Echites  scholaris 

.        .  173 

Fennel    . 

.  123 

Cydonium 

.  106 

Egyptian  opium 

.    18 

—  fruit 

.  123 

Cynanchnm  Argel 

.  176 

Elaterium 

.  115 

Fenugreek 

.    71 

Cyprus  turpentine 

.    69 

Elder,  American 

.  138 

FlOtTB  Cabica 

.  228 

Cyttsttb  boofabiub 

.    70 

—  bark 

.        .  137 

Ficus 

.  228 

—  flowers     . 

.  137 

Figs 

.  228 

—  fruit 

.        .  137 

Filix  mas 

.  300 

Dandelion 

.  159 

—  leaves      • 

.  137 

Fir,  Balsam 

.     12 

—  root 

.  159 

Elecampane    . 

.  150 

—  Scotch 

.  257 

—  leaves 

.  159 

•—  root 

.  150 

—  silver 

.  262 

Dafhkb  Qvidiuk 

.  227 

Elemi 

.    61 

—  spruce 

.  261 

—  Laubbola 

.  226 

ElxttabiaCabdamomum  267 

—  wool 

.  257 

—  Mbzbbeum 

.  226 

Elm 

.  232 

oil 

.  257 

Darnel    . 

.  296 

—  bark 

.  232 

Flag,  sweet 

.  279 

—  seeds 

.  296 

—  red  . 

.  233 

—  white 

.  273 

Datuba  Stbamoni 

UM     .  192 

Emplenrnm  serrulatum  .    47 

Flax 

.    39 

—  tatula 

.  192 

English  rhubarb 

.  215 

Flaxseed 

.    39 

Dane!  radix 

.  136 

Ergot  of  rye   . 

.  303 

Fleabane,  Canada   . 

.  149 

Dauoxts  Cabota 

.  135 

Ergota    . 

.  303 

Flonr  of  mustard    . 

.     23 

Dkt.fhiwum  Stafi 

[IBAGBIA,  4 

Erigeron 

.  148 

FoBuiculi  fructus 

.  123 

—  consolida. 

4 

EBieSBON  CANADBNSB      .   149 

FCEKIOULUIC  OAFILLAOBUIC 

Dergmuse 

.  240 

—  HBTEBOFHYLLUH      .  148 

123 

Dhak 

.        .    79 

—  philadelphicum         .  148 

—  dulce 

.  123 

Dhatura . 

.  192 

Ervum  Lens    . 

.    76 

—  officinale  . 

.  128 

DiOHOFBIB  QUTTA 

.  167 

Ebtthboxylon  Coca    .    40 

—  Panmorium 

.  123 

Didin 

.    60 

Essence  de  bigarad 

e         .    51 

FoenugrsDci  semen    . 

.     71 

Digitalis  fttbfxji 

JUL      .  195 

—  de  citron 

.    54 

Fool's  parsley . 

.  125 

Digitolis  f oUa . 

.  196 

—  de  petit  grain 

.    51 

Foxglove 

.  195 

Dill  fmit 

.  132 

—  de  Portugal 

.    51 

Frankincense  . 

.    58 

Disemeston  gnmmi 

ferum  131 

—  of  cedrat 

.       *.     53 

Fbaxikijs  bxoblsiob 

.  171 

Diospyri  f  ructns 

.  168 

—  of  turpentine 

.  258 

—  Obkus     . 

.  170 

DiOSFYBOB    EhBB^ 

rOFTB- 

EUOAIiYFTUB  GlOBUIiUS  .   109 

—  rostrata   . 

.  171 

BIB 

.  168 

—  leaves 

.  109 

—  rotnndifolia 

.  170 

—  Yirginiana 

168 

—  kino 

.  109 

French  rhubarb 

.  215 

INDEX 


Prangula  vulgaris   .  .    65 

Frnmentam  indicum  .  296 

Fncus  crispus  .        .  .  306 

—  lichenoides       .  .  306 

—  TBSICTTLOSUS     .  .  304 

Galancral         .        .  .  271 

—  rbizoma  .  .  .  271 
Galbannm        .        .  .  128 

—  officinale  .  .  .  128 
GalipeaCuspabia.  .  43 
Galipea  officinalis  .  .  43 
Galipot  ....  256 
Galls  .  .  .  .249 
Gambier.  .  .  .  139 
Gambogo  .  .  .33 
Gaboinia  Hanbubii  .    33 

—  INDIOA      .  .         .32 

—  Morella    .  .33 

—  pictoria    .         .        .33 

—  pnrpurea .  .  .32 
GarcinisB  purpuresB  oleum  32 
Garlic  ....  280 
Gossjpii  radicis  cortex  .  37 
Goflsypium  .  .  .37 
Gaulthsbia  pboctmbbns 

164 

GeLSBMITTH  NITIDUM       .   181 

—  root  .  .  .  181 
Gentian  root   .        .        .  182 

— ,  yellow      .        .        .  182 

GXNTIANA  LI7TEA     .  .   182 

—  Catesbffii.        .        .  182 

GbBAITIUH  MAOTrLATUM  .     42 

—  rhizome  .  .  .42 
German  chamomiles        .  155 

—  pellitory  root  .         .  152 

—  rhubarb  .  .  .  215 
Gingeli  oil  .  ,  .  198 
Ginger  ....  270 
GlYCTBBHIZA  GIiABBA     .     74 

—  ecbinata  .  ,  .74 
GlycyrrhizBD  radix  .  .  74 
Gold  thread  ...  3 
Goovaka.         .         .        .  276 

GOSSTPIUM    BABBADEN8B      37 
GbAOILABIA  LICHENOIDES  306 

—  confervoides  .  .  306 
Grains  of  Paradise  .  .  268 
Granati  fructus  cortex  .113 

—  radicis  cortex  .  .  113 
Grapes  .  .  .66 
Grass,  citronella      .  .  297 

—  oils  ....  297 
Greenheart  .  .  ,  219 
Green  hellebore  root  .  296 

—  tea  .  .  .  .34 
Grey  bark  .  .  .  140 
Ground  nuts  .  .  .75 
Guaiaci  resina          .  .    41 

—  lignum     ...     41 

GUAIAOUM  OFPICINALE    .      41 


Guaiacum  sanctum  . 

.    41 

Hulled  barley . 

.  293 

Guarana  . 

.    67 

HuifULUB  LUPULUB 

.  230 

Guinea  grains 

.  268 

Humnlus 

.  230 

—  pepper     . 

.  188 

Hydnocarpus  . 

.  179 

Gulaucha 

.     12 

HyDBASTIS  GANABEirSIS  .        1 

Gailandina  Bonducella 

.    85 

HyDBOGOTTLE  ASIATIC  a  .   117 

—  seeds 

.    85 

Hydrocotyles  folia  . 

.  117 

Gum  arable     . 

.     94 

Hyoscyami  folia 

.  194 

—  thus 

.  258 

—  semen 

.  194 

Gun-cotton     . 

.     87 

HYosoYAinrs  kigbb 

.  194 

Gunjah   . 

.  231 

Gur^un  balsam 

.    93 

Gutta  percha  . 

.  167 

Iceland  moss  . 

.  302 

GyjrOOABDIA  ODOBATA 

.     28 

Icica  Abilo      . 

.     61 

GynocardisB  semina 

.    28 

Iguatia  amara 

.  179 

Illioium  avibatuh 

.     10 

HaBmatoxyli  lig^num 

.     86 

—  religioeum 

.     10 

HaMATOXTLOK      OAICPB- 

Indian  aconite 

.      5 

OHIANFM      . 

.     86 

—  Bael 

.     65 

HaGBNIA  ABTBSIiriOA 

.  102 

—  barberry  bark 

.     16 

Hardwickis  pinnata 

.    93 

—  com 

.  296 

Hashish  . 

.  231 

—  hemp 

.  231 

Hebradendron       cambo- 

—  ipecacuanha 

.  177 

gioides 

.    33 

—  liquorice 

.    77 

Hedboka  pulegioides  .  200 

—  rhubarb   . 

.  215 

Hedeoma      * . 

.  200 

Indigo    .        : 

.     72 

Hellebore,  American 

.  286 

Ikdigofbba  tinotobia 

.     72 

—  black 

.       2 

Inula  Hblbnium  . 

.  150 

—  white 

.  285 

Inula 

.  150 

Hbllebobus  nigbb 

.      2 

Ipecacuanha   . 

.  145 

Helleborus 

.      2 

—  Indian     . 

.  177 

Hemidesmi  radix     . 

.  174 

Ipecacuanhce  radix . 

.  145 

Hbmidbsmvs  indioub 

.  174 

Ipom(ba  Nil 

.     185 

Hemlock 

.  118 

—  Purga    . 

.     186 

—  fruits 

.  118 

—  simulans 

.    186 

—  leaves 

.  118 

Ibib  plobbntika    . 

.  273 

—  small 

.  125 

—  versicolor 

.  273 

—  water       .        .  119,  124 

Irish  moss 

.  305 

—  —  dropwort    . 

.  124 

Isonandra  Gutta     . 

.  167 

Hemp     . 

.  281 

Ispaghul 

.  211 

"■■"  seeus        .         • 

.  231 

Ispaghulse  semina  . 

.  211 

Hemprichia  erythrsa 

.     60 

Henbane  leaves 

.  194 

~^~  seeQS        .         • 

.  194 

Jaborandi 

.    48 

Hepatic  aloes  . 

.  283 

Jaffna  moss    . 

.  806 

Hibisci  capsulsB 

.    36 

Jalap 

.  186 

Hibiscus  b8Ctjx.entu8 

.     36 

Jamaica  kino  . 

.     81 

Himalayan  rhubarb 

.  215 

—  pepper     . 

.  Ill 

Hing 

.  126 

—  quassia    . 

.    67 

Hing^  .                 • 

.  126 

—  sarsaparilla 

.  289 

Hips 

.  105 

Jamalgota 

.  239 

Hop        .        . 

.  230 

Jasmine,  false 

.  181 

Hobdeuh  yttlgabb 

.  193 

Jateobhiza  Cat.uhba 

.     13 

Hordeum 

.  293 

Jatropha  Manihot   . 

.  235 

—  decorticatum   . 

.  293 

Java  almonds . 

.     61 

Horehoand     . 

.  210 

Jerusalem  oak 

.  216 

Horsemint 

.  208 

JUGLANS  OINBBEA   . 

.  247 

—  American 

.  208 

Jnglans  . 

.  247 

Horseradish 

.     21 

JUNIPEBUS  COMMUNIS 

.  255 

—  root. 

.     21 

—  Sabina    . 

.  254 

Horse- weed     . 

.  149 

—  Yirginiana 

.  254 

Huanuco  bark 

.  140 

Juniperos 

.  255 

INDEX 


Kaladana 

.  185 

Lettuce,  wild  . 

.  160 

Marrubium 

.  210 

Kamala  . 

.  236 

Levant  shell   . 

.    14 

Mar^maliow  root  . 

.    35 

Kariyat  . 

.  197 

Lichen  islaudicas 

.  302 

Marsh  rosemary 

.  166 

Kassnik  . 

.  128 

—  Roccella  . 

.  801 

Mastic    . 

.    68 

Katchung  oil  . 

.     75 

Lignum  santali 

.  252 

Mastiche 

.    68 

Kaijn-pati 

.  108 

—  vitsB 

.     41 

Matioo    . 

.  242 

Kelp 

.  soil 

Lime  juice 

.    52 

—  leaves 

.  242 

Khair      . 

.    95 

Limonis  cortex 

.    54 

Matonia  Cardamonum     .  267 

Kif 

.  231 

—  succas 

.     54 

MatbicabiaChaicomilla  155 

Kino 

.    81 

Linen 

.     39 

Matricaria 

.  155 

—  Beng^lensis 

.    79 

Lini  farina 

.     39 

—  inodora    . 

.  155 

Kokum  batter 

.    32 

—  semina     . 

.     39 

Maw  seeds 

.     18 

Kordof  an  gam 

.     94 

Linseed  . 

.     39 

May-apple 

.     17 

Kousso   . 

.  102 

Lint 

.     39 

Melalbuoa  aCINOB . 

.  108 

Kbahbria  Ixina 

.     31 

Lliririf  ITBITATISSIHUK 

.    39 

—  Cajuputi . 

.  108 

—  TBIAKDBA. 

.    30 

LiQum    . 

• 

.    39 

—  LeucAdendron . 

.  108 

—  tomentosa 

.     31 

Liquid  myrrh 

• 

.     59 

Melegueta  pepper   . 

.  268 

KramerisB  radix 

.     30 

—  storax 

• 

.  107 

Mblia  Azadibachta     .    62 

Katch     . 

.    95 

—  tar  . 

• 

.  257 

—  Azedarach 

.     62 

Kateera  gam  . 

.    73 

LiQUIDAMBAB     OBIBNTA- 

Menispermum  Cocculus  .     14 

IiIS 

.  107 

—  palmatum 

.     13 

Liquorice 

.    74 

Mbntha  pipbbita  . 

.  203 

Labdanam 

.    24 

—  Indian     . 

.    77 

—  PfTLBQlVlS. 

.  201 

Labnrnam,  Indian 

.    87 

—  root 

.    74 

—  YIBIDIB    . 

.  202 

Lacmns  . 

.  301 

Litmus    . 

.  801 

Mbvyanthbs  tbivoliata  184 

Laotuca  satiya 

.  161 

LOBBLIA  INTLATA 

.  162 

Menyanthes    . 

.  184 

—  VIEOSA      . 

.  160 

Lobelia   . 

.  162 

Mbtbozylon  Sagu 

.  278 

Lactuoa  . 

.  160 

Loblolly  . 

.  259 

—  Rumphii . 

.  278 

Lactacarium   • 

.  161 

Logwood 

.    86 

Mexican  sarsaparilla 

.  290 

Lancifolia  bark 

.  143 

Lolii  semina    . 

.  295 

Mezereon  bark        • 

225,  226 

Larch  bark 

.  260 

LOLIITM  TBlf  ULBKTUM 

.  295 

Mica  panis 

.  294 

—  manna 

.  260 

Lopez  root 

.    49 

Milfoil    . 

.  153 

—  tnrpentine 

.  260 

Loxa  bark 

.  140 

Mishmi  bitter. 

3 

Lariz  earopsoa 

.  260 

Luban     . 

.    58 

Molasses 

.  298 

Larkspar 

4 

Lukrabo  seeds 

.  179 

Momordica  Elateriam     .  115 

Laatrea  Filiz-mas 

.  300 

Lupulina 

.  230 

MONABDA  punctata 

•  208 

Laurel,  common 

.     98 

Lupulinio  glands 

.  230 

Monarda 

.  208 

—  true 

.  221 

Lupulus  . 

.  230 

Monkshood 

.       6 

—  sparge     . 

.  226 

Lyoopodiith  otiAyatum    299 

Mori  8UCCU8    . 

.  229 

Lanri  fractos  et  foL 

La      .  221 

Lycopodium    . 

• 

.  299 

Morphia 

.     18 

Laurocerasi  folia 

.    98 

Morocco  gum  • 

.     94 

Laubvb  kobilis 

.  221 

Mace 

• 

.  218 

MOBUB  NIGRA 

.  229 

—  Sassafras. 

.  220 

Maize 

• 

.  296 

Mother  cloves 

.  112 

LaYANDULA  TBBA   . 

.  199 

Mabura  . 

• 

.    55 

Moussul  gum  . 

.    73 

—  latifolia  . 

.  199 

Malabar  cardamoms 

.  267 

MUCUNA  PBUBIENB 

.    78 

—  Spica 

.  199 

—  kino 

■ 

.     81 

Mucuna 

.    78 

Lavandula 

.  199 

Male  fern 

• 

.  300 

Mudar  bark 

.  176 

Lavender 

.  199 

MaLLOTUB  FHTLIPPlVBir- 

Mulberry         •        , 

.  229 

—  flowers     . 

.  199 

BIS 

• 

.  236 

—  fruit 

.  229 

— , sea  . 

.  166 

Malt 

• 

.  293 

—  juice 

.  229 

Lecca  g^m 

.  172 

Mandrake 

• 

.    17 

Mustard,  black 

.    22 

Lemon    . 

.     54 

Makihot  tttilibsima 

.  235 

—  paper 

.     22 

Lbnb  bsgvlenta    . 

.        .    76 

Manihot  Aipi . 

• 

.  235 

— ,  white 

.     23 

Leontodon  Taraxaci 

im     .  159 

Manioc   . 

• 

.  235 

Mybibtioa  fbagbanb    .  218 

Leu-sung' k  wo 

.  179 

Manna    . 

.  170,171 

Myristica 

.  218 

Lentil     . 

.    76 

Mabanta  abvndinaoba    265 

Myroxylon  Pereine 

.     83 

Lentis  semina 

.    76 

Maranta  starch 

.  265 

—  peruiferum 

.     83 

Lentisk  . 

.    68 

Margosa 

.    62 

—  punctatum 

.    84 

Leptandra  root 

.  196 

—  bark 

.    62 

—  Toluifera 

.     84 

—  virginica. 

.  196 

—  leaves 

.     62 

Myrrh 

.    60 

Lettuce  . 

.  160 

Marjoram 

.  204 

Myrrha  . 

59,60 

— ,  garden 

• 

.  161 

Mabbitbixtm  yulgabb 

.  210 

Myrtus  acris   . 

.  110 

INDEX 


MyrtDS  Pimenta 

.  Ill 

Oil  of  lemon   . 

.    54 

Oleum  terebinthinn  256,  258, 

grass  . 

.  297 

259 

Narcotine 

.    18 

—  mace 

.  218 

—  theobroma 

.    88 

Nardas   .        , 

.  297 

—  mustard  . 

.    22 

—  thymi 

.  205 

Narthex  Assafostida 

.  126 

—  neroli 

.    51 

—  tiglii 

.  289 

—  Silphium. 

.  126 

—  orange  leaf 

.     51 

Olibanum 

.    58 

Natal  aloes 

.  284. 

—  origanum 

.  204 

Olive 

.  172 

NbOTANDBA  RODLfi 

I       .  219 

—  pennyroyal 

.  201 

Olives     . 

.  172 

Nectandra 

.  219 

—  peppermint 

.  203 

Ooshak    . 

.  181 

Nectandrso  cortex   . 

.  219 

—  pimento 

.  Ill 

Ophbua  Chibata  . 

.  183 

Nepal  aconite 

.      5 

—  rosemary. 

.  207 

Opium    . 

.    18 

Nbpbta  Catabia    . 

.  209 

—  rue  .        •        . 

.    44 

Opoidea  galbanif  era 

.  128 

N^i  camphor 

.  222 

—  sage 

.  206 

Orange,  bitter  or  Seville  .    50 

NioonAHA  Tabacv] 

ic      .  191 

—  savin 

.  254 

—  flower  water    . 

50,51 

—  fruticosa . 

.  191 

—  spearmint 

.  202 

— ~~i  sweet       •        ■ 

.    51 

Nicker  seeds  . 

.    85 

—  spruce 

.  264 

Orchella  weed . 

.  801 

Nightshade,  deadly 

.  193 

—  star  anise 

.     10 

Orchil     . 

.  801 

—  woody 

.  190 

—  thyme 

.  205 

Obigaitith  tulgabb 

.  204 

Nil          .        .        . 

.    72 

—  turpentine 

.  258 

—  Maijorana 

.  204 

Nim 

.    62 

—  verbena    . 

.  297 

Orizaba  root   • 

.  186 

—  bark 

.    62 

—  winter  green    . 

.  164 

Ornus  europtBa 

.  170 

—  leaves 

.    62 

—  wormseed 

.  216 

Orris  root 

.  273 

Nannari 

.  174 

Okra 

.    86 

Obtza  batita 

.  291 

—  root 

.  174 

Olba  bubofaa 

.  172 

Oryza 

.  291 

I^ntmeg  . 

.  218 

Oleum  amygdaliB 

.    99 

•  OryzsB  farina  . 

.  291 

Nqx  vomica 

.  178 

amane 

—  andropogi  citn 

.     99 
kti     .  297 

Otto  of  rose    • 

.  105 

Oak         .        .        . 

.  248 

—  —  nardi  • 

.  297 

—  bark 

.  248 

—  anethi 

.  187 

Palas 

.    79 

— ,  black       . 

.  251 

—  anisi 

.     10, 122 

Pale  bark 

.  140 

— ,  white 

.  250 

—  anthemidis 

.  154 

—  catechu    . 

.  189 

Oat         .         .         . 

.  292 

—  arachis    . 

.    75 

Palma-Christi 

.  287 

—  cake 

.  292 

—  bergpimii  . 

.     52 

Pafaysb  bhoeab    . 

.     19 

Oatmeal . 

.  292 

—  cajuputi  . 

.  108 

—  BOMKTVBBITM     . 

.     18 

Oats 

.  292 

—  can 

.  121 

Papaver  . 

.     18 

(Enanthb  obooata 

.  124 

—  carui 

.  121 

PApaveris  capsule  . 

.     18 

—  Phellandrinm 

.  124 

—  caryophylli 

.  112 

Papeeta  . 

.  179 

—  pimpinelloides 

.  124 

—  chenopodii 

.  216 

Para  rhatany  • 

.     81 

(Egilops  . 

.  294 

—  cinnamomi 

.  224 

.  Pereira  brava  . 

11,15 

Oil . 

.        .     75 

—  coriandri , 

.  133 

—  radix 

11,16 

—  of  Ajowan 

.  120 

—  crotonis   . 

.  239 

Partridge  berry 

.  164 

—  anise 

.  122 

—  cubebe    . 

.  243 

Paultjnia  sobbilib 

.    67 

—  berg^mot 

.     52 

—  hedeomsB. 

.  200 

Pearl  barW    . 
Pellitory,  German  . 

.  293 

—  cajuput    . 

.  108 

—  juniperi   . 

.  255 

.  152 

—  Canada  fleaban 

e        .  149 

—  lavandulsB 

.  199 

—  of  Spain  , 

.  151 

—  caraway  . 

.  121 

—  limonis    . 

.     54 

—  root 

.  151 

—  cassia 

.  223 

—  lini  . 

.    89 

PBTrCBDAHUX       GBATBO- 

—  chamomile 

.  154 

—  menthe  piperi 

ta      .  203 

LBVB    . 

.  182 

—  cloves 

.  112 

—  —  viridis 

.  202 

Pennyroyal     . 

.  201 

—  citronelle 

.  297 

—  monardsB. 

.  208 

— ,  American 

.  200 

—  coriander 

.  188 

—  myristicflB 

.  218 

Pennywort,  Indian . 

.  117 

—  cnbebs 

.  248 

expressum 

.  218 

Pepo 

.  116 

—  camin 

.  184 

—  olivsB 

.  172 

Pepper,  black 

.  246 

—  dill . 

.  132 

^~  pimentffi  . 

.  Ill 

—  bird         .        . 

.  188 

—  erigeron  . 

.  148 

—  pulegii    . 

.  201 

—  long 

.  244 

—  geraniam 

.  297 

—  ricini 

.  237 

—  pod.        .        , 

.  189 

—  ginger  grass 

.  297 

—  roesB 

.  105 

Peppermint     • 

.  203 

—  ground  nut 

.        .     75 

—  rosmarini 

.  207 

Persian  opium 

.     18 

—  hemlock  . 

.  264 

—  rut« 

.     44 

Persimmon 

.  168 

—  horsemint 

.  208 

—  sabinsB 

.  254 

Peruvian  rhatany    . 

.     80 

—  juniper     . 

.  255 

—  sesami      .       ^ 

.  108 

—  calisaya    . 

.  140 

—  lavender  . 

.  199 

—  sinapis     . 

.     22 

Petarcurrah    . 

.     28 

8 


INDEX 


Peuxus  Boldub    .  .  217 

Pharbitis  semina  .  185 

PHTBOSTieKAYBNIirOBUK    80 

Physostigmatis  faba  .    80 

Picea  vulgaris  .  .  261 

PlOBJBKA  BXOBLSA  .  .      67 
PlLOOABFUS   PENNATIFO- 

mvB    ....    48 

—  SelloanoB  .  .    48 

PlMBNTA  AOBIfl         .  .   110 

—  OFFIODTALIS      .  .111 

—  vulgaris  .  .  .  Ill 
Pimenta          .  .111 

PlMFIKBLLA  ANIBUM  .   122 

Piue,  maritime        •  .  256 

—  broom      .        ,  .  258 

—  Frankincense  .  .  259 
Pink  root  .  .  .  180 
PiNUB  Abibb  .  .  262 

—  ArSTBALIB  .  .  258 

—  BAL8AKBA  .  268 

—  CAKADBNBI8  .  264 

—  Labiz     .        .  .260 

—  PiCBA       .         .  .  261 

—  PlKABTBB     .  .  266 

—  BTLYBBTBIB  .  257 

—  Tada      .        .  .  259 

—  maritima.        .  .  256 
— *  palustris  .  .  258 

PiPBB  AKOUBTIFOLIUH  .  242 

—  CUBBBA    .  .  248 

—  LOKeUM  .         .  .  244 

—  NIOBUlf    .  .  .246 

—  caninam  .        .  .  243 

—  Jaborandi        .  .    48 

—  offioinarum  .  .  244 
Pipsissewa  .  .  165 
PiBTAOiA  Lbbtiboitb  .    68 

—  Tbbbbibthvb  .  .69' 
Pitch      .        .        .  .257 
Pix  arida         .        .    257, 262 

—  Bnrgnndica      .  .  262 

—  Canadensis       .  .  264 

—  liquida  .  .  .  257 
Plaktaoo  Ibpaghula  .  211 
Pbarbitis  Nil  .  .  .  185 
Plocaria  Candida  .  806 
Flam,  St.  Jnlien  .  .  96 
Poaya  ....  146 
Podophylli  radix     .  .     17 

—  resina  .  .  .17 
Podophyllum  PBLTATUM  17 
Poison-nut  .  .  .  178 
Poke,  Indian  .        .  .  286 

POLY&ALA  SbNEOA  .      29 

Polygonum  Bibtoeta  .  212 

Pomegranate  .         .  .113 

—  rind         .         .  .113 

—  root  bark  .  .  113 
Pod  pepper  .  .  .  188 
Poppy  cap««\le8        .  18 

—  heads  .     18 


Poppy,  red      .        •        .19 

—  white       .        .        .18 

POTBNTILLA  TOBMBimLLA 

101 

Prayer  beads  .  .77 

Prunes    .  .96 

Prunum .        .  .96 

PbUKUB  AMYaDALUB  .     99 

—  DOMBBTiOA,  var.  Ju- 
liana.       .        .        .96 

—  Laubogbbasus        .    98 

-*   BBBOnBA  .  97 

—  virg^niana  .  .  97 
Pdeudo-mastich  .  .  68 
Pterocarpi  lignam  .  .  82 
Ptbbooabpub      Mabbu- 

PIUM  .         .  .81 

—  BAHTALIirUB       .  .      82 

Ptychotis  Ajowan   .  .  120 

Paccoon  .        .        .  .20 

Pudding-grass         .  .  201 

Pulegium        .        .  .  201 

Pumpkin  seeds        .  .116 

PuNiOA  Obanatum  ,  113 
Pyrethri  Germanici  radix  152 

—  radix  .  .  .  151 
Pyrola  umbellata  .  .  165 
Pybub  Cydonli     .  .  106 


Quasnia  . 

—  amara 

—  Simaruba 

—  polygama 

—  wood 
Queen's  delight 

—  root 
Quercitron 

—  bark 

QUBBOUB  ALBA 

—  INFBCTOBIA 

—  ROBUB      . 

—  TIVOTOBLi 

—  alba  coccinia 

—  cortex 
Quetscben 
Quince    . 

—  fruit 

—  seeds 
Quinie  sulphas 


Radix  Indica  Lopeziana 

Raisins   . 

Ratanhia 

—  granatensis 
Rattlesnake-root 
Red  bark 

—  Carthagena  bark 

—  cinchona  bark 

—  elm  bark 

—  rose  petals 

—  sandaf  wood 

—  Saunder's  wood 


141, 


57 

57 

66 

57 

57 

241 

241 

251 

261 

250 

249 

248 

251 

251 

248 

96 

106 

106 

106 

143 

49 

66 

80 

81 

29 

142 

143 

142 

233 

104 

82 

82 


Resin      .        •        •        .  258 

—  of  podophyllum       .    17 
'-  of  scammony  .        .  187 

Resina  .  .  266,268,269 
Rhei  Anglici  radix  .  .  216 
Rbamni  franguUe  cortex    65 

—  succus  .64 
Rhamkub  cathabticub.    64 

—  Fbanoula  .  65 
Rhatany  root .  .30 
Rhei  radix  .  218,  214 
Rheum  emodi .  .  .215 
Rhbum  officikalb        .  213 

—  palmatum      .       .  214 

—  bhaponticum.        .  216 

—  sibiricum.         .        .  216 

—  undulatum  .  .  215 
RhoBados  petala  .19 
Rhubarb,  English    .        .  215 

—  Eiachta   .        .         .214 

—  Thibetan .        .         .213 

—  root  .  .  213,  214 
Rice        ....  291 

—  flour  .  .  .291 
Ricini  semina  .  .  .  237 
RionruB  oommunib         .  237 

ROOOBLLA  TIKOTOBIA        .  301 

—  fuciformis         .         .  801 

—  phycopsis  .  .  301 
Rock  moss  .  .  801 
Rohun     ....    63 

—  bark  .  63,  178 
Roman  chamomiles  .  155 

ROBA  CAKINA  .  .  .   103 

—  CBNTIFOLIA        .  .   105 

—  damascena  .  105 

—  OALLICA  .  .  .  104 

Rose  caninss  fructus       .  105 

—  centifolife  petalsB     .  105 
•»  GallicsB  petala  .         .  104 

Rose,  dog        .        .        .  103 

—  French    .  .104 

—  cabbage  .  .  105 

ROBMABIKUB  0FFI0INAL18  207 


Rosmarinus 
Rosemary 
— — ,  marsh      . 
Rottlera  tinctoria 

RUBUS  YILLOSUB 

RubuB     . 

—  canadensis 
Rae 

Rusa  ka  tel     . 

—  oil   . 
Rusot 

RUTA  GBAYEOLBNS 

Ruta 

Rye,  spurred  . 


Sabadilla  seeds 
Sabine  cacumina 


207 

207 

166 

236 

100 

100 

100 

44 

105 

105 

16 

44 

44 

303 


287 
254 


INDEX 


J5 


Sacchabtthoffioivabttm  298 

Sacchamm               .  .  298 

—  parificatum  .  298 
Saffiron,  meadow  .  288 
Saffron  ....  274 
Sage                .        .  .  206 

—  leaves  .  .  206 
Sago       .        .        .  277,  278 

—  palm  .  .  .  278 
Sagneras  Rnmphii  .  .  277 
SaguB      .        .        .  .277 

—  Iseyis,  Ac.         .  .  278 

—  vitieDsis  .  ,  .  278 
St.  Ignatius  Beans  .  .  179 
Salicin  .  .  .  .234 
Salicylic  acid  .  •  234 
Salix  alba  .  .  234 
Salvia  offioinalib  .  206 
Salvia  .  .206 
Sambaci  flores         .  .  137 

SAMBUOUB  OAlfADBNBIS    .   138 

—  NIGBA        .  .  .   187 

Sambucos  .  .  .  138 
Sandal  wood  .  .  .  252 
Sanders  wood,  red  .        .    8^ 

—  white  .  .  .262 
SAKGUINABIA    GAITADBK- 

BIS        .          .  .20 

Sangainaria    .  .20 

Saktaluk  album  .  .  252 

—  Yasi          .  .  .262 

—  citrinum.  .  .  262 
Santonica  .  .  167 
Santoninnm  .  .  157 
Sarsaparilla     .  .    289,290 

—  Indian      .  .  174 

—  Jamaica  .  .  .  289 

—  Vera  Cruz  .  .  290 
SarziB  radix  .  289 
Sabbafbab  offioihalb  .  220 
Sassafras  bark  .  .  220 

—  medulla   .  .  .  220 

—  pith          .  ,  .220 

—  root  .  .  .  220 
Savanilla  rhatany  .  .  31 
Savin       ....  264 

—  tops  .  .  .  254 
Scabious,  sweet  .  .  148 
ScammonisB  radix  .  .  187 

—  resina  .  .  .  187 
Scammouium  .  .  .  187 

SOHOINOOAnLON     OFFIOI- 

BALB    ....  287 

SciUa  maritima        .  .  281 

Sclerotium  Clavus  .  .  303 

Scoparii  cacumina  .  .     70 

Scoparius        .        .  .70 

Scorodosma  foetidum  .  127 

Scotch  barley           .  .  293 

Sedge,  cinnamon     .  .  279 

Secale  comutum  .  303 
Seneca    ....    29 


Seneca  snake  root   . 

.     29 

Stramonii  semina   . 

.  192 

Senegal  g^m  . 

.    94 

Stramonium   . 

.  192 

Senna      .                 .89.90,91 

—  leaves 

.  192 

—  Alexandrian     . 

89,90 

—  seeds 

.  192 

—  Arabian   . 

.    91 

Strasburg  turpentine       .  261 

—  indica 

.     91 

Strychnia 

.  178 

—  Nubian    . 

.     90 

Stbychnos  lQVA.m 

.  179 

—  Tinnevelly 

.    91 

—  Nirx  tomioa   . 

.  178 

—  wild  (of  America) 

.    88 

Stybax  BBBzonr  . 

.  169 

Serpentariae  radix   . 

.  246 

Styrax    . 

.  107 

Sesam^  oil 

.  198 

—  calamita  . 

.  107 

Sesami  folium 

.  198 

—  pneparatus 

.  107 

Sbbamtjic  ikdioum 

.  198 

Suakin  g^m    . 

.    94 

Silphium 

.  126 

Sugar      . 

.  298 

SiKABOUBA  AHABA 

.     56 

—  cane 

.  298 

—  glauca 

.    56 

Sulphate  bt  beberia 

.  219 

Simaruba  excelsa    . 

.     67 

—  quinia 

141, 148 

—  root  bark 

.    56 

Snmbul  . 

.  129 

Sinapis    . 

.    22 

—  root 

.  129 

—  alba 

.    28 

Surinam  quassia 

.     57 

—  nigra 

.    22 

Sweet  flag  rhizome . 

.  279 

Slippery  elm  bark   . 

.  233 

—  marjoram 

.  204 

Smilax  mbdioa 

.  290 

—  pigweed  . 

.  216 

—  OFFIOIBALIS      . 

.  289 

—  wood  bark 

.  238 

—  papyracea 

.  282 

Syrupus  f  uscus 

.  298 

—  Sarsaparilla 

.  289 

—  syphilitica 

.  289 

Snake  root,  black     . 

.      8 

Tabaci  folia    . 

.  191 

—  Virginian 

.  246 

Tabacum 

.  191 

—  wood 

.  212 

Tafrifa    . 

.  166 

Soootrine  aloes 

.  283 

Tailed  pepper . 

.  243 

SOLANUH  DCTLCAMABA 

.  190 

Tamarind  pulp 

.    92 

Solbkobtbhha  Abg^l 

.  176 

Tauabtndus  indioa 

.    92 

SOYHIDA  FBBBIFUaA 

.    63 

Tampico  jalap . 

.  186 

SoymidsB  cortex 

.     63 

Tapioca  . 

.  235 

Spartium  scoparium 

.    70 

Tar          ... 

.  257 

Sphcerococcus  lichenoides  806 

Taraxaci  radix 

.  159 

SPiaBLIA  MABILAKDIOA     180 

Tabaxaouk  offioibale   169 

Spigelia  . 

.  180 

Taxub  bacoata 

.  258 

Spirit  of  myrcia 

.  110 

Taxus     . 

.  253 

—  turpentine 

.  258 

Tea         .        .        . 

.    34 

Spogel  seeds    . 

.  211 

— ,  mountain 

.  164 

Spruce,  Hemlock     .  261,  264 

Terebinthina  . 

258,  259 

Spurge  flax 

.  227 

—  argentoratensis 

.  261 

Spurious  winter's  bark 

.     27 

—  canadensis 

.  263 

Spurred  rye     . 

.  308 

—  chia 

.     69 

Squill     . 

.  281 

Terra  japonica 

.  139 

—  bnlb 

.  281 

Thea 

.    34 

Squirting  cucumber  fruit  116 

—  chinensis. 

.     34 

Staote 

.     59 

Thbobboma  Caoao 

.     38 

Staphysagrie  semina 

4 

Theriaca . 

.  298 

Star  anise 

.     10 

Thorn-apple    . 

.  192 

fruit  . 

.     10 

Thoroughwort 

.  147 

Statics  caboliniaka 

.  166 

Thus 

.  262 

—  latifolia    . 

.  166 

—  Americanum    . 

258,  259 

Stavesacre 

4 

Thyme    . 

.  205 

^^^     DvCUo                    •                      « 

4 

THriCVS  VULGABIS . 

.  205 

Stillingua  btlvatioa 

.  241 

Til. 

.  198 

Stinking  goosefoot 

.  216 

Tinnevelly  senna    . 

.     91 

Storax 

.  107 

TiKOSPOBA  COBDIBOLIA  .      12 

—  bark 

.  107 

Tinosporse  radix  et  caules    12 

Stramonii  folia 

.  192 

Tisso  flowers   . 

.     79 

>■ 


\ 


w 


INDEX 


Tita  root 

3 

Tobacco  . 

.  191 

— ,  Indian 

.  162 

—  leaTcs 

.  191 

TODDALIA  AOTTLBATA 

.    49 

ToddaliflB  radix 

.    49 

TOLUIPERA  BALSAMUM 

.    84 

—  Pbbeulb 

.    83 

TormentiUa     . 

.  101 

Toomeaol 

.  301 

Tons  les  Mois . 

.  266 

Tow 

.    89 

Tragaoanth     . 
Treacle   . 

.    73 
.  298 

Tbigonblla       FcBiruic- 

eSXODM 

.    71 

Tbitiovm  BATinrM 

.  294 

Tukm-i-Nil     . 

.  185 

Tarmeric 

.  269 

Turpentine                       .  258 
Ttlofhoba  abthk  atioa  177 

Tylophone  folia 
—  radix 

.  177 
.  177 

Ulmi  cortex    . 

.  232 

UlMUS  OAXPBflTBIS 

.  232 

—  ¥ULTA 

.  238 

UircABiA  Gahbibb. 

.  139 

—  acida 

.  189 

llnta-mool 

.  177 

UnaiirBA  SoiUiA    . 

.  281 

Uva  paaaa 
—  nrsi . 

66 
.  163 

Uvas 

.    66 

UvsB  nni  folia  .  168 

Valerian.  .  146 

—  root         .  .  146 

VaLBBIAITA  OFFIOIKAIiia .   146 

Vanilla  planipolia  .  272 

VanilU   .  .272 

Vegetable  etbiops   .  .  304 

—  solphur  .  .  .  299 
Velvet-leaf  .  .  .15 
Venice  torpentine  .  .  260 
Vbbatbum  album  .  285 

—  TIBIDB     .         .  .  286 

—  Lobeliannm  .  285 

—  officinale  .  .287 

—  Sabadilla.  .  .  287 
Veratmm  yiridis  radix  .  286 
Verek                      .  .    94 

VbBOKICA  TIBGIKIOA  .   196 

Vine        ....    66 

Viola  odobata      .  .    25 

—  pedata  .25 
Violet     ....    25 

—  flowers     .        .  .25 

VlTIB  YIKITBBA  .      66 

Water  hemlock  .  119 

Wheat    .  .294 

—  starch  .  294 
Wheaten  flour  .  294 
White  balsam  .    83 

—  hellebore  root  .  .  285 

—  —  rhiiome  .  285 


White  oak  bark 

—  pepper     . 

—  wood 
Wildcheny    . 

bark  . 

—  marjoram 
Willow    . 

—  bark 

Winterania  Canella 
Winter  green 
Winter's  bark 
Wood  oil 

—  tar  . 
Woody  jalap 
Wormg^ss 
Wormseed 
Wormwood 
Wnrms  . 


.  260 
.  246 
.  26 
.  97 
.  97 
.  204 
.  234 
.  234 
.  26 

164,165 
.  26 
.  93 
.  257 
.  186 
.  180 

157,  216 
.  166 
.  236 


Xakthobbhizaapuvolia    9 
Xanthorrhixa ...      9 

Yarrow  ....  153 
Yellow  bark    .  .141 

—  jasmine  root  .  181 

—  root  .19 
Yew        .  .253 

Zansibar  aloes  .  283 

Zba  Matb  .296 

ZlKCHBBB  OFnOIHALB       .  270 

Zing^beris  radix  .  270 

Zwetschen       .        .    •    .    96 


PBINTBD   BT   J.   S.    ADLABD.  BABTHOLOMBW  CL08B. 


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