Cacao butter is a white substance, slightly yellowish, unctuous to the touch, brittle; with the agreeable odor peculiar to cacao, and a sweet and pleasant taste. Its density is 0.961, it melts at 30-33, and solidifies at 25. It dissolves in 20 parts of boiling alcohol, in 100 parts of cold alcohol and in twice its weight of benzin. Cacao butter is obtained by grinding or mashing the roasted seeds in a hot apparatus and mixing the mass with a fifth or tenth of its weight of boiling water. It is then pressed between two hot iron plates and the butter thus obtained is refined by boiling water. It is then put aside in earthen pans, or still better, in moulds, where it solidifies. It does not easily become rancid and, for this reason, enters into the composition of many ointments and pomades, or is used alone. It serves as the base for suppositories and is, finally, a highly valued cosmetic. A common substitute is made by mixing oil of almonds, wax and animal fat.

Before going further let us describe the composition of Spanish chocolate according to the French chemist Boussingault:

Cane sugar 41.40 grams. Cacao butter 29.24 grams. Starch, glucose 1.48 grams. Theobromine 1.93 grams. Asparagin a trace Albumin 6.25 grams. Gum 1.42 grams. Tartaric acid 1.98 grams. Tannin and coloring matter 0.022 grams. Soluble cellulose 6.21 grams. Ash 2.34 grams. Water 4.36 grams. Undetermined material 3.27 grams. ——— 100.00

Botanical Description.—A small tree about 10 high, with leaves broad, 6-12' long, hanging or drooping, lanceolate, entire, and somewhat pubescent on both surfaces. Petioles very short with 2 deciduous stipules at the base. Flowers in clusters on the roots, trunk and branches. Peduncle very long. Nectary divided in 5 parts, straight, awl-shaped and 2-nerved. Calyx, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals curved upward in the form of a bow as far as the middle, where they form a hollow with two little horns; then curving downwards, then upwards, widening at the end, the edge finely dentate. Stamens 5, inserted on the nectary, and alternating with the lobes of the latter. Anthers 2 on each filament, concealed in the hollows of the petals. Ovary globose. Style awl-shaped. Stigma cleft almost to the middle, 5-parted. Fruit broad, spindle-shaped, 4' or more long, dark reddish, warty, 10-ribbed, with 5 compartments each containing many compressed, ovoid seeds.

Habitat.—Common in orchards and gardens throughout the islands.



GERANIACE.

Geranium Family.



Oxalis corniculata, L. (O. Acetosella, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Taingan dog, Susokayoli, Tag.; Darasig, Vis.; Malabalugbug dagis, Ayo, Kongi, Yayo, Pam.; Indian Sorrel, Eng.

Uses.—The part of the plant used in medicine is the leaf which is acid by virtue of the potassium oxalate which it contains. The decoction is used internally as an antipyretic in fevers and in dysentery. Mistaking the properties of the plant it is given for vesical calculus which, if composed of oxalates, would be increased instead of diminished by the treatment. In fact the salt of sorrel in the leaves contains a large quantity of oxalic acid mixed with potassium oxalate. In China, India and the Philippines the entire plant is used as an antiscorbutic.

The cold infusion of the leaves is given internally in doses of from 30 to 60 grams, but it is not a medicine to be given indiscriminately, because in addition to its power of adding to the bulk of calculi of the oxalates, the contained potassium oxalate is poisonous in doses of 25 to 30 grams. If a concentrated solution is taken, it operates as a corrosive poison, producing violent pains in the stomach, vomiting, faintness and great weakness. If the solution is dilute its absorption is rapid and it operates very energetically. When a patient is poisoned by a concentrated solution, the stomach-pump is contraindicated, because the mucous membrane of the organ is corroded and ulcerated; if by a dilute solution, use the pump to remove as much of the poison as possible. The best antidote is a watery solution of a soluble salt of lime, i. e., the saccharate, which forms an insoluble salt with oxalic acid.

The juice of the leaves is an antidote for the Datura (Stramonium). In India they make a decoction of the plant, mix it with onion juice and apply it to the head as a fomentation in hemicrania.

Botanical Description.—A plant 1 high, with a creeping, glabrous stem, leaves horizontal, ternate with common long petiole. Leaflets sessile, obcordate, with downy borders. Flowers axillary or terminal, from 1 to 3 in number on a common long peduncle. The pedicel is also long. Calyx common to the family. Corolla, 5 petals ending in small claws. Stamens 10, monadelphous, the 5 shorter ones bearing each a small gland on the outer surface of the base. Ovary large, fluted. Styles 5, short. Stigmas hemispherical. Seed vessel pyramidal, containing many seeds enveloped in an elastic aril by which they are ejected when the fruit opens.

Habitat.—Abundant in Luzon, Panay and Ceb.



Biophytum sensitivum, DC. (B. cumiagianum, Turez.; Oxalis sensitivum, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Makahiya, Damonghiya, Tag.; Mahihiin, Iloc.

Uses.—A decoction of the leaves is used internally as an expectorant. The bruised leaves are used as an application to wounds and contusions. In Java the decoction is used internally in asthma, phthisis and snake bites.

The peculiar property which this plant possesses of closing its leaves when touched, has caused the natives of India to attribute to it mysterious virtues. Symbolism has determined its therapeutic application and the Hindoos pretend that it endows with delicacy and modesty women who lack these virtues and that it restores virginity.

Botanical Description.—A plant about 7' high. Stem straight, nodose and without branches. Leaves abruptly pinnate, the place of the odd leaflet taken by a stylet. The leaflets nearly linear with a small point at the apex, 11-13 pairs, 2 stipules to each pair. Common petioles long, cleft at the base and disposed in whorls around and on the end of the stem. Flowers sessile, verticillate, on the ends of several very long peduncles which rise from the midst of the petioles. Calyx, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals, clawed, rounded at the end and slightly notched, forming a tube. Stamens 10, free. A small gland on the outer surface of the base of each short stamen. Styles 5. Seed vessels ovate, 5-angled, containing many seeds.

Habitat.—Common in all parts of the islands.



Averrhoa Bilimbi, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Kamias, Kalamias, Tag.; Kilingiwa, Vis.; Pias, Iloc.

Uses.—The small fruit of the camia springing from the branches and trunks of the trees is widely known in the Philippines, where they eat it green, pickled, and in salad; and when ripe fresh and preserved. Its qualities and therapeutic applications are the same as those of the following species.

Botanical Description.—A tree 4-5 meters high with odd-pinnate leaves. Leaflets 12 pairs, ovate, linear, acute, soft and downy. Flowers small, pinkish or purplish, on trunk and branches. Stamens 10, five alternately longer. Pistils divergent. Fruit oblong, obtuse at the end, with five broad ribs.

Habitat.—Very common throughout the islands.



Averrhoa Carambola, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Bilimbin, Balimbin, Tag.

Uses.—The common name of this tree, whose fruit is so common, causes it to be confused with the name which Linnus gives to the former species. Balimbin is a fruit of an acid taste, agreeable when ripe, serving the same uses for food as the camia. Its acidity is due to the presence of oxalic acid, which makes the green fruit useful for removing ink and rust stains from clothes. The juice of the fruit is refreshing and is given internally mixed with water and sugar as a refreshing drink in fevers and as an antiscorbutic. For the latter the ripe fruit is eaten uncooked.

In Mauritius the juice is used to treat dysentery and hepatitis. Padre Blanco says that the natives use a decoction of camias and unthreshed rice in diarrhoea and bilious colic. In connection with the subject of camias and balimbins we should mention the fruit treatment of the bilious diarrhoea of the tropics, spoken of by the French physicians of Cochin China. Dr. Van der Burg of the Dutch Indies also strongly recommends the treatment of diarrhoea by fruits; in temperate regions using fruits like peaches, pears, etc., and in the tropics, lychies, mangosteens, etc. In regard to the mangosteens we must not forget that, while the bark is given because of the amount of tannin it contains, the composition of the pulp is very different. The fruit acids seem to exercise great influence in the cure of this obstinate disease and I do not hesitate to recommend for this purpose the camia and the ripe balimbin.

Botanical Description.—A tree much like the former. Leaves odd-pinnate. Leaflets, 3-4 pairs, obliquely ovate, acute, the terminal leaflet nearly lanceolate. Flowers on the trunk, branches and in the axils of the leaves. Fruit oblong, with 5 very prominent acute-angled ribs.

Habitat.—It grows, like the former plant, in all parts of the islands.



RUTACE.

Rue Family.



Ruta graveolens, L. (L. angustifolia, Pers.)

Nom. Vulg.—Rudu, Sp.; Rue, Eng.

Uses.—The rue of the European, American and Indian pharmacopoeias is emmenagogue, antispasmodic, anthelmintic, excitant, diaphoretic, antiseptic and abortive. It contains an essential oil, and rutinic acid (C25H28O15, Borntrager), starch, gum, etc. The essential oil is greenish-yellow, thick, acrid and bitter; specific gravity 0.911. It boils at 228, is slightly soluble in water, and soluble in absolute alcohol. It is promptly oxidized by nitric acid, and is converted into pelargonic acid and other fatty acids.

Rutin (or rutinic acid), according to Weiss, is a glucoside which exists in the form of fine needles, bright yellow in color. It is slightly soluble in cold water and more so in boiling water. It melts at 190, and solidifies at freezing point, forming a resinous mass. Its physiological properties are as yet unknown. The part of the plant employed is the leaves, which owe their property, apparently, to the essential oil they contain, from which they also derive their strong and disagreeable odor and their bitter, acrid and nauseous taste.

It is used principally as a uterine stimulant or emmenagogue, for which purpose it is given in doses of 0.10-0.15 centigrams of the freshly powdered leaf and 0.05-0.10 centigrams of the fresh leaves infused in a liter of water. The dry powder of the leaf should not be used because the essential oil volatilizes and a large proportion of it is lost, which is the most active principle of the drug. It is an agent which should be prescribed with the greatest prudence for large doses are poisonous even to the point of causing death. The symptoms following such doses are colic, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea and tenesmus.

It is also used as an antihemorrhagic after childbirth, but its action is slow, not being felt for several hours after the administration of the drug; for this reason it cannot take the place of ergot, though it seems to be superior to the latter in passive hemorrhages. The essential oil is given internally in doses of 2-6 drops on a piece of sugar. It is sometimes used as an antispasmodic in hysteria, epilepsy and chorea.

The Chinese make extensive use of this drug and it is one of their principal abortives. In Hindostan the dried leaves are burnt and the smoke inhaled as a cure for catarrh in children. They are careful not to administer it to pregnant women.

Botanical Description.—A plant, 1 meter high, with leaves alternate, compound, the inferior ones 2-3-cleft; leaflets narrow, oblong, slightly fleshy. Flowers greenish-yellow, hermaphrodite, arranged in corymbose terminal cymes. Corolla, 4-5 free, concave petals. Calyx deeply divided, persistent. Stamens 8-10, free, in two whorls, inserted beneath a thick disc. Ovaries 5, unilocular, many-ovuled. Styles 5, first free, then united, forming a column terminating in a small stigma. Follicles 5, united at the base, 1 centimeter long, free superiorly, hard, rounded, rugose, opening on top. Seeds ovoid, angular, blackish, albuminous.

Habitat.—Common everywhere in the Philippines.



Xanthoxylum oxyphyllum, Edgew. (X. violaceum, Wall.; Fagara piperita, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kayutana, Tag.; Salay, Saladay, Vis.

Uses.—The trunk bark is stimulant and is used as a sudorific in the treatment of fevers. The fresh bark is quite irritating, for which reason it is best to use bark taken from the more mature parts of the trunk, powdered and desiccated. The dose is 1/2-2 grams 2-3 times a day. Its stimulating properties render it useful in colic and in India it is used as a stomachic and digestive. Is seems also to possess diuretic properties.

Botanical Description.—A tree 30-35 high, with trunk thickly set with large spines. Leaves odd-pinnate. Leaflets ovate, acute, obtusely serrate, small transparent vesicles on the surface, spines on the midrib and common petiole. Calyx very small, monophyllous. Corolla twice as large as the calyx, 4 petals. Stamens 4, inserted on the receptacle, the same length as the petals. Ovary superior, 4-angled. No style. Stigmas 2.

Habitat.—Batangas, Morong, Manila.



Murraya exotica, L. (M. paniculata, Jack.; Connarus foetens, and C. santaloides, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kamuning, Tag.

Uses.—The leaves are stimulant and astringent, and are used in infusion (15 grams, to water one liter) to treat diarrhea and dysentery. The root and trunk barks are used for the same treatment and they as well as the leaves owe their properties to an essential oil and a bitter principle present in all parts of the plant. Vry has demonstrated the presence of a glucoside which he has named murrayin (C18H22O10); it crystallizes in small, white needles, is slightly bitter, soluble in hot water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, slightly soluble in cold water. It melts at 170, and dissolves in alkaline solutions coloring them green. Boiled in dilute acids it splits into murrayetin and glucose. Murrayetin (C12H12O10) crystallizes in white needles, inodorous, tasteless, slightly soluble in cold water and in ether, soluble in hot water and alcohol. Heat destroys its green color in solutions; alkalies, in the presence of cold, increase it. The leaves and the bark of the plant contain an essential oil.

The foregoing description of this species applies equally well to the following species.

Botanical Description.—A small tree 12 high with leaves alternate, odd-pinnate. Leaflets lanceolate, almost entire, rigid with small dots on each surface. Flowers in axillary, very short, compound racemes. Calyx very small, monophyllous, 5 lanceolate lobules. Corolla much longer than the calyx, 5 lanceolate petals. Stamens 10, joined, but not entirely united at the base; 5 alternate stamens longer than the others. Anthers sessile, regular. Ovary superior, compressed and borne on a disc. Style 1, same length as the stamens. Stigma thick, depressed, apparently 4-angled. Fruit fleshy, ovoid, acute and somewhat curved at the end enclosing a seed with coriaceous, downy testa.



Murraya Koenigi, Spreng. (Bergera Koenigi, L.; Connarus sp., Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—(?)

Botanical Description.—Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate. Leaflets obliquely ovate, acute, entire and glabrous. The testa of the seed bears no down, and may be divided into two parts. The decoction of the leaves of this species as well as the former is used to allay toothache.



Citrus acida, F. (C. notissima, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Limn, Sp.; Dayap, Tag.; Lemon, Eng.

Uses.—The essence (essential oil) and juice of the fruit are the parts of the plant used in therapeutics. The essence extracted from the rind is yellow, fragrant, slightly bitter; density, 0.856; boiling point 165. The juice which is turbid and pale yellow in color contains 9% citric acid, 3-5% gum and sugar and 2-8/10% inorganic salts. The essence is used to flavor certain pharmaceutical preparations, and is a diffusible stimulant which may be given internally in doses of 3-6 drops on a little sugar. The bitter rind is occasionally used in infusion as a stomachic and stimulant. The juice is most commonly used in lemonade, a cooling drink which, used intemperately in the Philippines, is apt to cause gastro-intestinal trouble, so commonly attributed to "irritation," but really the result of a general atony of the digestive organs. Lemon juice is also used with very good results as a local cleansing application for sore throat, as well as externally on fetid ulcers. In some forms of malarial fever it seems to have given satisfactory results, administered internally.

In many navies lemon juice forms a part of the sea ration as a preventive of scurvy, upon which it exercises a real and noteworthy action. The Danish navy adopted it for this purpose in 1770, the English navy followed, then the French and possibly others. The English call it lime-juice, and its preventive dose is 30-40 grams a day. Its curative dose is 100-150 grams a day. To preserve the lime-juice it was bottled with a layer of oil, which, floating on the surface kept it from contact with the air; but this process gave it a bad taste as did also the addition of sulphate of calcium, and at present the English add, to each liter of juice, 60 grams of alcohol, which preserves it perfectly. Fonssagrives says that the antiscorbutic action of lemon juice is due rather to the vegetable juice itself than to the citric acid which it contains.

Botanical Description.—A most familiar tree 11 or more high, trunk with solitary thorns. Leaves ovate, obtuse, acute-toothed, the petiole bearing serrate wings. Calyx 4-6-toothed. Corolla, 4 thick petals. Filaments 10-25 on the receptacle, some joined and bearing 2-3 anthers. Fruit thin-skinned, globular, about 1' in diameter; the rind adheres closely to the pulp.

(This fruit closely resembles, if it is not identical with the lime fruit, C. Limetta, or C. Bergamia, Risso, though Gray states that the leaf of the latter has a wingless petiole.—J. B. T.)

Habitat.—Common to all parts of the islands.



Citrus Bigaradia, Hook. f. (C. vulgaris, Risso; C. aurantium, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Naranjas del pas, Sp.; Kahel, Kahil, Tag.; Native Orange, Eng.

Uses.—The rind of the cagel is the so-called bitter orange peel, the best of which comes from Curaao and Barbadoes. It is tonic and is used in decoction and in syrup. The infusion of the leaves, 5-10 grams to the liter, is useful as a sedative and diaphoretic in hysterical and nervous attacks; the infusion of the flowers is similarly used. When distilled the flowers yield a very sweet essential oil called neroli, which is used as a perfume only.

Botanical Description.—A tree 15-20 high, trunk bearing solitary spines. Leaves medium lanceolate, serrate, the apex notched, petioles winged. Flowers usually solitary. Calyx 4-5-toothed. Corolla 4-5 petals. Filaments joined or separate. Anthers about 20. The fruit, a small orange 2' or more in diameter, the peel closely adherent.

The C. aurantium verum or C. reticulata (Blanco) has a yellow pulp and the rind is readily separated from it, a thin net of fibers intervening.



Citrus decumana, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Suha, Lukban, Tag.; Toronjas Penins.; Naranjas, Sp.-Fil.

Uses.—The fruit, which is handsome and large, and the leaves and flowers, are used for the same purposes as those of C. bigaradia.

Habitat.—The above species are cultivated in all parts of the islands, and, like the variety C. aurantium verum, H. f. (C. reticulata, Blanco), commonly called naranjita, are among the most abundant of native fruits.



gle decandra, Naves. (Feronia ternata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Malakabuyaw, Tag.; Tabog, Pam., Tag. (A species of Bael-Fruit Tree.)

Uses.—We do not know the medicinal use of this plant in the Philippines. Probably it has none, but we may give those of the species. R. marmelos, Cor., the fruit of which is almost identical with that of our species and is called Bela or Bael in India. The fruit of the Malakabuyaw is ovoid and full of a mucilaginous pulp, aromatic and acid, the same as that of the Bael. The uses of the latter are the following: The pulp acts as an astringent, but it would be more correctly called a tonic of the intestinal mucosa, for it has been experimentally proved that, although it checks diarrhoea, it also acts as a laxative in chronic constipation. In both conditions it seems to operate by toning and regulating the functions of the intestine.

Martin, an English physician, was the first to call attention to the properties of Bael, and according to Dr. Green one dose of the pulp of the ripe fruit, prepared with sugar and given every morning, is an efficient remedy in the treatment of the dyspepsia of Europeans in India, especially in the form characterized by constipation and flatulence. The green fruit is a powerful astringent used by the Hindoos for diarrhoea. In cholera epidemics Dr. Bose advises the daily use of an ice made from the pulp of the ripe fruit, the object being the regulation of the functions of the intestine.

The Pharmacopoeia of India contains the following preparations:

Mixture.—Pulp of the ripe fruit 60 grams. Water 120 grams. Sugar 60 grams.

Mix, and if desired add chopped ice. This forms a very agreeable drink which has the aroma of the fruit itself, and may be repeated 2-3 times a day. When the fruit is ripe, this preparation is not only astringent in cases of diarrhoea, but possesses the additional property of increasing the appetite. If the patient's stomach is very weak, the preparation may produce vomiting in which event it is necessary to give it in small doses or to employ the extract.

Extract of Bael.—Pulp of the ripe fruit is placed in a vessel and sufficient water added to cover it. It is then heated and evaporated to the consistency of a soft extract. The dose is 2-4 grams, 2, 3 or 4 times a day.

Fluid Extract of Bael.—

Pulp of Bael 500 grams. Water 3 liters. Rectified alcohol 60 grams.

The Bael is macerated in a third of the water and at the end of 12 hours the liquid is decanted and another third of water is added; the maceration is repeated and the same process followed till the last third of water is used. Express the residuum, put all the liquid into one vessel, filter and evaporate till reduced to 800 grams, then cool and add the alcohol. Dose, 4-8 grams.

The fluid extract is less active than the freshly prepared solid extract.

According to Dr. G. Bidie, the fruit of the Feronia elephantum, Correa (the species that grows in the Philippines), possesses the same properties as Bael. Its leaves are astringent, aromatic and carminative, and the gum with which the trunk of the tree is covered is a good substitute for gum arabic.

Botanical Description.—A tree 7-8 meters high, the trunk covered with large, solitary spines. Leaves alternate, ternate. Leaflets lanceolate, scalloped and glabrous, the middle one larger than the others. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla, 5 thick petals, linear, much longer than the calyx. Stamens 10. Ovary cylindrical. Style and stigma thick. Fruit oblong, more than 3' long and 2' thick, with a surface irregular with prominences and grooves; 10 or more compartments, each containing several ovoid, compressed seeds, ending with a woolly tuft.

Habitat.—San Mateo, Montalbn (Manila); Arayat (La Pampanga).



Feronia elephantum, Correa. (Murraya adorata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Panoan, Pamunoan, Vis.; Wood-apple, Eng.

Uses.—The pulp of the ripe fruit has an agreeable odor and is edible. In India the green fruit is used as an astringent in diarrhoea and dysentery; the ripe fruit is given in diseases of the gums and as a gargle. Mir Muhammad Husain states that the ripe fruit is a refrigerant, astringent, cardiac and general tonic, and is very efficacious in the treatment of salivation and ulcers of the throat, strengthening the gums and operating as an astringent. A sorbet made of the ripe fruit whets the appetite and the pulp is used locally for bites of venomous animals. In the latter case the pulverized bark may be used if the fruit cannot be obtained.

The fruit of Ferona is a substitute for Bael (gle Marmelos), and is used as such by the English physicians in the hospitals of India. The tender leaves have an agreeable aroma similar to that of anise and are used internally in decoction as a stomachic and carminative.

The incised trunk exudes a gum which is used in India as a substitute for gum arabic and there is an active trade in this gum in the bazars of Bombay and Calcutta. According to Pereira, it was at one time imported into England from the east of India under the name of gum arabic. It exists in the form of irregular, semitransparent pieces, of a brownish-red color. With water it forms a mucilage as adhesive as gum arabic, and this solution reddens litmus paper. It is dextrogyrous and is precipitated by the neutral acetate of lead and by caustic baryta.

Botanical Description.—Tree 3-4 meters high. Leaves fragrant, opposite, odd-pinnate. Leaflets, 2 pairs, lanceolate, entire, and glabrous. Common petiole flattened above. Flowers terminal, white, racemose, with 2 flattened peduncles. Calyx inferior, with 5-6 divisions. Corolla, 5-6 petals. Anthers oval. Ovary oblong, 5-lobuled. Style short, caducous. Stigma spindle-shaped. Ovules numerous, compressed, in several series. Fruit pulpy, globose, with woody rind, one compartment and many compressed, oblong seeds.

Habitat.—Mountains of Angat. Woods of Catugn (Iloilo).



SIMARUBACE.

Quassia Family.



Samadera Indica, Gaertn. (Niota tetrapela, DC. & Blanco; Manungala pendula, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Manungal, Tag., Pam., Bicol.; Manunagl, Linatoganak, Palagarium, Daraput, Vis.

Uses.—The wood and seeds contain an intensely bitter principle. The Filipinos make cups and vases of the wood and allow water to stand in them 6-12 hours, thus preparing a solution of the bitter principle of the plant which they use in various stomach disorders.

Vrij has extracted from the seeds a 33% oil of a bright yellow color, composed, according to Oudermans, of 84 parts olein to 16 of palmitin and stearin.

The bitter principle contained in the root, wood and bark was discovered by Blunse who named it samaderin; it is a white, crystalline, foliaceous substance, more soluble in water than in alcohol, fusible. Nitric and hydrochloric acids color it yellow. Sulphuric acid immediately forms a violet red color which disappears as iridescent, feathery crystals are precipitated. (D. Beaumentz et Egasse.)

The Filipino "herb-doctors" concoct an oil of manungal that in reality contains none of the ingredients of the seeds; it is simply cocoanut oil in which chips of the wood have been soaked. They use it in doses of 30-60 grams as a purgative, externally as an application to the abdomen in colic or indigestion and with friction in rheumatism or contusions. In India the oil extracted from the seeds is used locally with friction in rheumatism.

The decoction of the wood and the powdered wood are given in fevers, in dyspepsia and as a general tonic.

Infusion.—Chips of the wood 20 grams. Water 500 grams.

A wineglassful several times a day in cholera, fevers, diarrhoea, etc.

Botanical Description.—A small tree, trunk straight, the wood white and very light in weight. Leaves 4-5' long, alternate, acute, oval, entire, glabrous, coriaceous, veined. Petioles very short, no stipules. Flowers in terminal umbels, each composed of 4-6 flowerets with moderately long pedicels. Common peduncle, very slender, very long, drooping. Calyx of same color as corolla, inferior, very small, 4-lobuled. Corolla purplish, very long, 4 straight, linear petals. Stamens 8, inserted on the receptacle. Filaments of equal length with the petals, with 1-2 appendices at the base. Anthers spiral. Ovary 5-lobuled, borne on small stalk. One style of equal length with the stamens, situated above the center of the 5 lobules of the ovary which develop into 5 future pods. Stigma simple. Fruit 5 woody pods, short, united centrally above a small base, semi-lunar in form, medianly expanded, venate, containing a small wrinkled, kidney-shaped seed attached by a seed-stalk to the superior suture.

Habitat.—Very common and well known everywhere in the Philippines. Blooms in February.



BURSERACE.

Myrrh Family.



Garuga pinnata, Roxb. (G. Madagascarensis, DC.)

Nom. Vulg.—Bugo, Tag.

Uses.—The fruit is slightly acid and edible. The trunk exudes an abundant gum, of the odor of turpentine, translucent, greenish-yellow, forming small masses slightly soluble in alcohol, soluble in water, with which a mucilage is formed. The juice of the leaves is used for asthma. The sap is used in Bombay to remove opacities of the cornea. There is another species in the Philippines, G. floribunda, Decsne (Icica Abilo, Blanco), abilo, Tag., the root of which furnishes a decoction used for phthisis. This species also produces a gum-resin similar to that of the bugo.

Botanical Description.—A tree, with leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, without stipules, bunched on the ends of the branches, with opposite, serrate leaflets. Flowers yellowish-white in panicles, compound, polygamous. Calyx bell-shaped, 5-toothed. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 10, free, in 2 series. Ovary inferior, 5-lobuled. Fruit, a globose, greenish-yellow drupe with numerous bony seeds.

Habitat.—Everywhere in Luzon, Panay and Balabac.



Canarium commune, L. (C. album and C. Luzonicum, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Pili, Tag.; Java Almond Tree, East Indian Elemi, Eng.

Uses.—The ripe pili nut is edible and sold in confectioneries. It yields a fixed oil, an excellent sample of which was sent by the Manila pharmacist D. A. del Rosario to the Paris Exposition of 1889. "It is an oil very similar to oil of almond and owing to its physical properties may be used as a substitute for the latter for all the requirements of pharmacy. The only inconvenience connected with its use is the slight one that it solidifies at 3 C. It could furthermore be very advantageously used in the manufacture of fine grades of soap." (D. A. del Rosario.)

The incised trunk exudes a gum-resin called brea blanca (white pitch) in the Philippines and elemi in Europe. Until recently it was not known in Europe what tree yielded the gum elemi, some authors stating that according to Blanco it was the resin of the Icica abilo, Blanco (Garuga floribunda, Decsne); it is not true, however, that Padre Blanco ever attributed such origin to that product or named his Icica the "pitch-tree." On the contrary in speaking of the Canarium, Blanco states that it yields a resin called "pili-pitch." I do not know the reason for this confusion of terms, but presume it to be due to imperfect knowledge of Spanish on the part of those who thus quote Blanco.

Pili-pitch, or elemi, as they call it in Manila, is a substance existing in soft masses, slightly yellowish or gray, resembling old honey in appearance. Its odor is strong and agreeable, somewhat like that of lemon and turpentine. Its taste is acrid and bitter.

The French pharmacist Meaujean demonstrated in 1820 that elemi contains two resins, one soluble in the cold, and the other in hot spirits of wine. Other chemists, among them Baup, Flckiger and Hanbury, have found elemi to be composed of a resinous substance and a colorless essential oil; the proportion of the latter Flckiger gives as 10% and further states that it is dextrogyrous. Sainte-Claire Deville found the essential oil levogyrous, a fact that emphasizes the probability of there being different products in the market bearing the name of elemi.

Baup obtained several principles from it: (1) A resin, brein, fusible at 187, soluble in cold alcohol, crystallizable in oblique rhombic prisms; (2) another crystalline substance, bryoidin, soluble in 360 parts water at 10, and melting at 13; (3) a small amount of breidin, a body soluble in 260 parts water and melting at 100+; (4) another resin soluble in boiling alcohol, called amyrin.

White pitch is used in the Philippines to make plasters which they apply to the back and breast of patients suffering from bronchial or pulmonary complaints; it is also applied to indolent ulcers. We believe that elemi possesses the same properties as copaiba, and that its indications for internal use are the same.

Botanical Description.—A tree 30-40 meters high, with leaves alternate, odd-pinnate; leaflets opposite, coriaceous. Flowers yellowish-white in axillary, compound panicles, hermaphrodite. Calyx 3-toothed. Corolla, 3 oblong, concave petals. Stamens 6, inserted on the base of the disc. Ovary free, of 3 lobules each containing 2 ovules. Style simple. Stigma, 3 lobules. Drupe oblong, size of large prune, fleshy, containing a hard, 3-sided pit.

Habitat.—Very common in all Philippine woods especially in Camarines.



MELIACE.

Melia Family.



Melia Azedarach, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Paraiso (Paradise), Sp.-Fil.; Pride of India, China Tree, Eng.

Uses.—The root was official in the U. S. P., 1880, as an anthelmintic; it is administered in the following form:

Fresh root bark 120 grams. Water 1 liter.

Boil till reduced one half.

Dose.—For a child 1 soup-spoonful every 15 minutes till nausea is produced.

In view of the narcotic effects produced by this drug, the foregoing method of administration seems to us imprudent; we prefer to give 30-70 grams of the decoction and follow with a purgative such as castor oil.

This drug is also tonic, febrifuge and astringent, and a decoction of its leaves and flowers is used as a wash for ulcers. Some believe that the leaves and fruit contain toxic principles, which may well be true considering the effects of large doses of their preparations. It has also been observed that the bark collected in March and April may cause dilatation of the pupil, stupor, etc.; this may be explained by the fact that at this season the sap is rising in the tree and the bark contains an increased amount of active ingredients.

The fruit yields a fixed oil, and by fermentation and distillation produces alcohol.

The root bark referred to is bitter and nauseous, if taken from the superficial roots—the part usually employed; the bark of the deeper parts is astringent by virtue of the contained tannin.

Jacobs analyzed the bark and isolated an amorphous resin of yellowish color and very bitter taste. It is soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform, slightly soluble in sulphuret of carbon, insoluble in turpentine or benzin. He believes that it is the active principle of the root, and produces the anthelmintic action already mentioned: the proper dose is 0.20 centigrams to a child of 4 years, followed by a purge of calomel.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 30-40 high, with leaves alternate, compound, odd-pinnate; leaflets opposite, ovate, pointed, dentate. Flowers in large axillary compound panicles. Calyx, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals, rose-colored within, lilac-colored without. Stamens 10, united into a cylindrical tube, expanded at both ends, the mouth 15-toothed. Anthers inserted near the apex of the tube, short, fleshy, bilocular. Ovary free, of 5 biovuled cells. Style of equal length with the tube. Stigma button-shaped. Fruit a drupe, about the size of a small olive, yellow when ripe, with a dark brown pit of 5 one-seeded cells.

Habitat.—Native of China; is cultivated in most gardens in the Philippines.



Dysoxylum Blancoi, Vidal. (D. salutare, F. Villar; Turroca virens, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Igiw, Agiw, Taliatan, Tag.; Ananangtang, Bakugan, Makasili, Vis.; Malabangaw, Pam.; Basiloag, Iloc.

Uses.—The bark of the trunk, dry and finely powdered, is used in doses of 1 1/2-2 1/2 grams as an emetic, and, according to Padre Blanco, its effect is very certain.

It is also a febrifuge, and Padre Mercado states that it cures "all forms of asthma, suffocative affections of the chest, and griping pains of the belly." He also states that it yields marvelous results in malarial fevers, given during the cold stage in doses of 4-8 grams in water or wine in which it has macerated 12 hours. He also recommends its use before breakfast as an anthelmintic in lumbricoids, and finally attributes to it virtues as an emmenagogue.

Padre Blanco calls attention to the species D. schizochitoides, Turcz. (Turroea octandra, Blanco), Himamaw, Tag., as a substitute for D. Blancoi.

The Tagalo "herb-doctors" pretend that the part of the bark near the earth is doubly efficacious, for which reason they administer only that portion which is within one meter of the ground, giving it in the doses already mentioned.

Botanical Description.—Tree 16-20 meters high. Leaves glabrous, odd-pinnate, petioles very long; leaflets entire, opposite, short-petiolate, acute, oblique at the base. Flowers in axillary panicles. Calyx, 5 imbricated sepals. Corolla, 5 linear, lanceolate petals united at the base. Staminal tube, 10-toothed and 10-anthered. Ovary 5-celled, each cell containing two ovules. Style somewhat longer than the stamens. Stigma thick and depressed. Seed vessel globose, depressed, somewhat downy, 5-angled; with 5 compartments each containing 2 seeds.

Habitat.—Batangas and Laguna.



Sandoricum Indicum, Cav.

Nom. Vulg.—Santol, Tag.

Uses.—The santol is doubtless one of the best known fruits in Manila. The most savory portion is the center, which consists of seeds covered with a white pulp of a delicious flavor in the ripe fruit of good quality. The fleshy covering is edible only in the center of the fruit and only a very thin layer of that, the rest having very little flavor. The whole fruit is used in making a confection often prescribed as an astringent. Padre Mercado compares it very appropriately to the quince. The root of the santol is aromatic, stomachic and astringent, by virtue of which latter property it is used in Java in the treatment of leucorrhoea.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 30-40 high, well known in the islands. Leaves ternate; leaflets 4-5' long, half-ovate, obtuse, entire, stiff and downy, the middle one elliptical. Flowers in panicles. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla much longer than the calyx, 5 greenish petals, linear and curved downwards. Nectary a cylindrical tube attached to the corolla for half its length, mouth 10-toothed, containing 10 sessile anthers. Style somewhat longer than the stamens. Stigma 5-parted. Fruit about size and form of a small apple, thick, brown, pericarp indehiscent, 5 or more one-seeded compartments.

Habitat.—Grows in all parts of the islands, commonly along the roads.



Carapa Moluccensis, Lam. (Xylocarpus granatum, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Tabigi, Nigi, Kalumpang sa lati, Tag.; Migi, Pam.

Uses.—The seeds contain a yellow oil, bitter and astringent, with a characteristic odor, having a taste somewhat resembling the odor. In decoction they are used for diarrhoea and dysentery, on account, doubtless, of the tannin they contain. The dose is 1-2 seeds dried, pounded and infused with 200 grams of sweetened water.

The bark, also bitter, is said to be useful in fevers.

In America they extract an oil from the species of the C. Guianensis, Aubl., with which the negroes anoint themselves to keep away stinging insects. Wood soaked in this oil is also proof against insects.

Botanical Description.—This tree, 20 high, grows in swampy districts. Leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate. Two pairs of wedge-shaped leaflets, entire and glabrous. Petiole very short. Calyx inferior, 4-5-toothed. Corolla, 4-5 concave petals, slightly notched at the end. Nectary notched, ovate, 8-9-toothed. No filaments. Anthers equal in number to the teeth of the nectary and inserted between them. Ovary very thick, globose. Stigma shield-shaped. Drupe globose, resembling a very large orange, 5 chambers, each containing 1, 2 or more seeds, convex on one side and concave on the other, angular and much crowded. Testa hard and porous.

Habitat.—Common throughout the Archipelago.



Cedrela Toona, Roxb. (C. odorata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kalantas, Tag., Pam.; Lanigpa, Vis.

Uses.—The infusion of the flowers is antispasmodic. The trunk bark is an excellent astringent, and Dr. Waitz recommends it in extract as a treatment for infantile diarrhoea, for which I also have found it very useful. Blume says that it contains marked antispasmodic virtues, and Dr. G. Kennedy confirms it. Other physicians of India, among them Ros and Newton, have recommended the bark as a substitute for cinchona, given dry in doses of 30 grams.

Infusion.—

Bark dry, pounded 30 grams. Water 150 grams.

Filter and add:

Syrup of cinnamon 20 grams.

Dose.—Several dessert-spoonfuls a day.

The powdered bark is very useful as an application to indolent ulcers which it instantly deodorizes; like powdered quinine it is used in the treatment of superficial gangrene.

Botanical Description.—A large tree. Leaves odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, lanceolate, acuminate, entire, glabrous, 5-6 pairs. Flowers yellow, in terminal panicles. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla, 5 oblong petals. Stamens 5, free, inserted on the apex of a disk. Ovaries sessile, 5 many-ovuled cells. Style short. Stigma on a disk. Seed vessel coriaceous, 5 compartments, septicidal, 5-valved. Seeds compressed, pendulous, prolonged in a membranous wing.

Habitat.—Very common in the islands.



CELASTRACE.

Staff-Tree Family.



Celastrus paniculata, Willd. (C. alnifolia, DC.; C. Rothiana, Roem.; Diosma serrata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Bilogo, Tag.

Uses.—I am not acquainted with the medicinal uses of this plant in the Philippines. In India, by means of a primitive system of distillation, they extract from the seeds a dark-colored oil of empyreumatic odor, which under the name of Oleum nigrum was once proclaimed by Dr. Herklots as the sovereign remedy for beriberi.

This oil in doses of 10-15 drops a day is a very powerful stimulant, the action of which is manifested by profuse perspiration several hours after its administration. Malcolmson reports that it has given him good results in several cases of beriberi, particularly in recent cases and those in which nervous and paralytic symptoms predominated. In Concan, the juice of the leaves is given in doses of 30 grams as an antidote for opium. The bruised seeds made into a paste with cow urine are used locally in treatment of itch. They are also used in the treatment of leprosy, gout, rheumatism, and other diseases which according to their medical theories, are derived from "cold humors." For these purposes they give the seeds internally, beginning with one and increasing daily until 50 are taken. At the same time they make external applications of the oil or of another compound prepared in the following way:

Place in an open pot with one opening, seeds of C. paniculata, cloves, benzoin, nutmeg and mace. The pot having been previously heated, is covered with another, inverted over the opening. On the sides of the latter a thick black oil condenses which Herklots very appropriately named Oleum nigrum.

Botanical Description.—A climbing shrub, 6-9 high, without spines. Leaves 6-7' long by 5' broad, alternate, petiolate, entire, glabrous, half-ovate. Flowers small and paniculate. Calyx, 5 divisions. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, inserted in a disc. Anthers oblong. Ovary 3-celled. Stigma 3-lobulate. Style short. Seed vessel the size of a pea, globose, 3-celled, loculicidal, with pulpy seeds.

Habitat.—Tayabas, Laguna, Ilocos North, San Mateo, Albay. Flowers in April.



RHAMNACE.

Buckthorn Family.



Zizyphus Jujuba, Lam. (Rhamnus Jujuba, L. & Blanco; Z. Mauritania, Wall.)

Nom. Vulg.—Manzanitas, Sp.-Fil.; Jujube Fruit, Eng.

Uses.—The small fruit known commonly as manzanitas has an agreeable taste, although ordinarily offered for sale before they are quite ripe. They are among the most popular dainties at the fairs and festivals in the provinces of Manila and are the only part of the plant used in medicine. They possess emollient qualities and are official in the codex. They enter in the composition of the so-called pectoral remedies (composed of equal parts of figs, dates, Corinthian raisins and manzanitas).

Botanical Description.—A shrub, with hooked thorns, leaves alternate, petiolate, coriaceous, entire, 3-nerved, 2 thorny stipules, one of them crooked. Flowers small, greenish, axillary. Calyx, 5 oval divisions. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, free. Ovary bilocular, situated on the disc. Styles 2-3, divergent; small papillary stigmas. Drupe pulpy, globose, resembling a crab-apple in size and taste, enclosing a hard, 2-celled seed.

Habitat.—Common in all parts of the islands.



Rhamnus Wightii, W. & Arn. (Ceanothus Wightiana, Wall.; R. Carolianus, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kabatiti, Tag.

Uses.—The dried trunk bark is the part employed in medicine. Hooper analyzed it in 1888 and found a crystalline principle (0.47%), a brown resin (0.85), a red resin (1.15), a bitter principle (1.23), sugar, starch, calcium, oxalate, etc.

As the active principles exist in the resins, an alcoholic tincture of the latter is the best preparation for administration. In India it is used as a tonic and an astringent.

Botanical Description.—A small tree that grows near the sea coast. Trunk 9-12 high, straight, many-branched, devoid of thorns. Leaves alternate, ovate, acutely serrate, glabrous, short-petioled. Flowers greenish-white, axillary, perfect. Calyx 5-toothed, inversely conical. Corolla, 5 petals, smaller than the teeth of the calyx, oval, without claws, notched at the apex. Disc fleshy, smooth, slightly concave. Stamens 5, hidden within the petals. Filaments flattened. Anthers rounded. Ovary fleshy, inserted at the bottom of the calyx tube. Style short. Stigmas 3, divergent. Fruit oval, its base adherent to the calyx, 3 seeds.

Habitat.—Batangas. Blooms in July and October.



ANACARDIACE.

Cashew Family.



Mangifera Indica, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Manga.

Uses.—The dried and pulverized kernel of the seed is used as an anthelmintic in doses of 1 1/2-2 grams both in India and Brazil. The same preparation is used in the Philippines in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea and its effect is doubtless due to the large quantity of tannin it contains. It is administered as follows: The pounded kernels of 20-25 seeds are brought to a boil in 2 bottles (sic) of water. When the liquid has evaporated a third, it is removed from the fire, cooled, decanted, and again placed on the fire after adding three to four hundred grams of sugar. This time it is allowed to boil till reduced to one bottle. The dose is 50-60 grams 2-3 times a day. Incisions in the trunk exude a brownish resin which solidifies in the air, is slightly acrid, bitter, dissolves in alcohol and partially in water. In Malabar it is given internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, mixing it with white of egg and opium. But the curative value of the combination is more likely due to the albumen and opium than to the resin. Dissolved in lemon juice it is a useful application in the itch. The trunk bark is astringent and is employed in decoction as a wash for ulcers and eczema and as an injection in leucorrhoea.

The fruit is one of the most highly prized in the Philippines, and resident Europeans are able to eat large quantities of it without ill effects unless the fruit is over-ripe, in which case it often causes transient diarrhoea, which should be treated with a mild purge.

In Mauritius the following compound powder is used in dysentery:

Dried slices of manga fruit 30 grams. Dried manga kernels 60 grams. Plantain seeds 15 grams. Dried ginger 8 grams. Gum arabic 15 grams. Pulverize each ingredient separately; add powdered candy sugar 30 grams.

Mix.

Dose.—For an adult one dessert-spoonful every 4 hours; may be given in cauge or arrowroot.

The flowers, testa and bark are, in Hindoo therapeutics, considered "cold," and "astringent," and are used especially in diarrhoea. In certain throat affections the Hindoos employ the burning leaves for inhalation. They also use the gum made by evaporating the juice of the ripe fruit, as a confection and an antiscorbutic. Dr. Linguist recommends the bark as a local astringent in uterine, intestinal and pulmonary hemorrhage and employs the following:

Fluid Extract.—

Fluid extract of manga bark 10 grams. Water 120 grams.

Mix. Dose, 1 teaspoonful every 1 or 2 hours.

Botanical Description.—A noble tree, 30 to 40 high, dome-like or rotund in outline. Leaves dark green, lustrous, alternate, lanceolate, entire; short petioles. Flowers racemose, in verticillate panicles. Calyx, 4, 5 or 6 sepals. Corolla white, fragrant, 4, 5 or 6 petals. Stamens 5, of which perhaps 1, 2 or 3 are fertile. Style on one side of the ovary. Stigma simple. Fruit large, reniform, fleshy, yellow when ripe; contains a large, flattened, reniform pit. Blooms from January even till June. The natives force the fruit by building fires under the trees when but little air is stirring.

Habitat.—Common throughout the islands.



Anacardium occidentale, L. (Cassuvium reniforme, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kasuy, Tag.; Caskew Nut, Eng.

Uses.—The pericarp of the nut contains an essential oil which is very irritant and used by the Hindoos as a vesicant; it severely blisters the lips and tongues of imprudent persons who break the nut without taking the precaution of cleansing it of the oil before opening it. In addition to the oil called cardol, the pericarp contains an especial acid anacardic, a little tannin and ammonia. Cardol (C21H31O2) is an oleaginous, yellow liquid very unstable, neutral, soluble in alcohol and ether, insoluble in water, volatile, and vesicant if applied to the skin. "Anacardic" acid is white, crystalline, odorless, with a burning, aromatic taste. It melts at 26 and decomposes at 200 forming a colorless oil; it is not vesicant, burns with a dark flame, and has the odor of rancid oil. A tincture of the pericarp has been made (1 part to 10 of alcohol) and given internally as a vermifuge in doses of 2-10 drops. Cardol, according to some authors, does not exercise a vesicant action in the gastro-intestinal canal, because it is not dissolved by the gastro-intestinal juices; I am sure, however, that I have seen a choleraic diarrhoea brought on by swallowing, in fun, the pericarp of one nut and a half. Cardol is eliminated by the urine.

The kernel is edible and has a very agreeable taste when roasted. By expression it yields a sweet, yellowish oil, density 0.916.

The trunk exudes a gum resin in masses varying in color from red to yellow.

The fleshy part, called the fruit, is edible but contains a certain quantity of cardol not only evidenced by the odor but by the smarting of the mouth and throat after eating. It is very juicy and the expressed liquid is fermented in Bombay and distilled to make a very weak alcohol which sells for the very low price of 4 annas (5 cents gold) a gallon. This alcohol is again distilled and a stronger obtained which sells for 1 1/2 rupees a gallon. The Portuguese of India make a sort of wine from the fermented juice of the fruit, which, like the weak alcohol we have mentioned, is a well-known diuretic and is used as a liniment.

The gum resin of the trunk contains 90% of anacardic acid and 10% cardol. Wood soaked in it is preserved from the ravages of insects, especially of white ants, for which purpose it is used by bookbinders also. Therapeutically it is used externally in leprosy, old ulcers and to destroy corns, but on account of its rubefacient and vesicant qualities it is necessary to use it cautiously.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 18 high, with leaves cuneiform, glabrous, stiff, short-petioled. Flowers polygamous in terminal panicles. Calyx with 5 erect segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla, 5 linear, lanceolate petals, curved and imbricated. Stamens 8-10, all fertile. Filaments united to one another and to the disc. Ovary heart-shaped. Style filiform and eccentric. Stigma defective. Ovule solitary. Fruit a reniform nut enclosed in a pulpy pyriform body, formed by the matured disc and extremity of the peduncle. Seed reniform, testa membranous.

Habitat.—Common throughout the Archipelago. Blooms in February.



Odina Wodier, Roxb.

Nom. Vulg.—Amugis, Tag. and Vis.

Uses.—The bark is very astringent and in decoction is used for chronic ulcers. In India Dr. Kirkpatrick has used it as a lotion in impetigo. It has also given good results as a gargle in affections of the pharynx and buccal cavity.

The trunk exudes a gum called in India "kanni ki gond," an article of commerce. It is almost odorless and has a disagreeable taste. It is only partially soluble in water, forming a viscid mucilage. It is used in the treatment of contusions and sprains and is edible when mixed with cocoanut milk.

Botanical Description.—A tree, with leaves bunched at the extremities of the branches, oblong, oval, acuminate, odd-pinnate, 3-4 pairs of opposite leaflets. Flowers greenish-white, polygamous, in terminal panicles. Calyx gamosepalous, 4 rounded lobules. Corolla, 4 imbricated petals. Stamens 8, free. Ovary 4-parted. Pistillate flowers; ovary sessile, oblong, unilocular. Style 4-parted, thick. Drupe oblong, compressed, unicellular. Testa hard, with 1 non-albuminous kernel.

Habitat.—San Mateo.



MORINGE.



Moringa pterygosperma, Gaertn. (M. oleifera, Lamk.; M. poligona, DC.; Guilandina Moringa, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Malungay, Kamalungay, Kalungay, Tag.; Dool, Malungit, Vis. and Pam.; Horse Radish Tree, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The root is vesicant and the Filipinos bruise it and use it for sinapisms. I have often observed, however, that it is quite painful used in this way. Dr. Waitz states that it is a good plan to add a few drops of the root juice to mustard sinapisms, a proceeding which seems to me superfluous, especially in the case of children as he advises it.

The Bengal pharmacopoeia contains the following official preparations:

Compound Spirit.—

Small pieces of moringa root } Orange peel } aa 600 grams. Nutmeg 20 grams. Spirit of wine 4 1/2 liters. Water 1 liter.

Mix and distil 4 liters.

Dose.—8-30 cc. as a stimulant and diuretic.

Compound Infusion.—

Moringa root, small pieces, bruised } Mustard seed } aa 30 grams. Boiling water 1/2 liter. Let stand 2 hours, filter and add compound spirit. 30 grams.

Dose.—30-60 grams a day, as a strong stimulant.

The expressed seeds yield a fixed oil, which is irritating and in my opinion should not be used internally.

The green pods, the flowers and the tender shoots of the leaves are eaten stewed. The juice of the leaves is given internally in India, as an emetic, in doses of 30 grams.

Botanical Description.—A well-known tree, 5-6 meters high. Leaves 3-pinnate, their terminal divisions odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, glabrous, entire. Calyx, 5 unequal petaloid segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla white, 5 unequal petals. Stamens inserted on the border of a disc, unequal, 5 opposite the petals bearing anthers, 5 alternate without anthers. Anthers dorsal, unilocular. Ovary pedunculate, lanceolate, unilocular, with many ovules in 2 series, inserted on the parietal placent. Fruit a pod terminating in a beak, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, very large, winged, embedded in a spongy substance.

Habitat.—Common throughout the islands. Blooms in November.



LEGUMINOS. (PAPILIONACE.)

Pulse Family.



Agati grandiflora, Desv. (Sesbania grandiflora, Pers.)

Nom. Vulg.—Katuray, Tag.

Uses.—The flowers are edible. They and the leaves are purgative and are given in decoction for this purpose, 30-40 grams to 200 of water. The juice of the flowers is a popular remedy in India, for migraine and coryza. The trunk bark is bitter and tonic.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 4-6 meters high, with drooping limbs; leaves long, very narrow, abruptly pinnate; many caducous leaflets, linear, elliptical. Flowers large, white, fragrant, in axillary racemes. Calyx bell-shaped with two indistinct lips. Corolla papilionaceous, white. Standard oval, a slight notch at the apex. Wings almost as large as the keel which is strongly arched. Stamens 10, diadelphous. Anthers uniform. Style and stamens equally long. Stigma a small head. Pod 1-2 long, linear, 4-sided, containing many oval seeds, separated by filamentous partitions.

Habitat.—Grows in all sections of Luzon and Panay.



Abrus precatorius, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Saga, Sagamamin, Bangati, Tag.; Bangati Gikosgikos, Vis.; Kanaasaga, Pam.; Bugayon, Iloc.; Jequiriti, Prayerbeads, Eng.

Uses.—The part of the plant most important in therapeutics is the seed, the size of a small pea, bright red with a black spot, hard and shining. The Filipino children use them to make rosaries and other decorations. In the distant past the Filipinos used these seeds to weigh gold, a practice followed even to-day by the Hindoos. The famous Susrutas, author of the "Ayur Veda," recommends them internally for nervous diseases; modern therapeutics, however, limits their use to one disease, though that is frequent and stubborn enough, namely chronic granular conjunctivitis.

Some physicians state that these seeds are poisonous and others the contrary, but the fact that they are used as food among the poor classes of Egypt, demonstrates their harmlessness in the digestive tract at least; when introduced into the circulation they undoubtedly exercise a toxic effect. We have already mentioned that their use is limited nowadays to the therapeutics of the eye; the decoction of the seeds known in Europe under the name of "Jaqueriti"—so named in Brazil—produces a purulent inflammation of the healthy conjunctiva and it is precisely this counter-irritant effect which makes it useful in chronic granular conjunctivitis, the persistence of which has defied the most heroic measures of therapeutics. The French oculist, Dr. de Wecker, was the first to employ jequirity for this purpose, in the form of a 24 hours' maceration of the seeds, 10 grams to 500 grams of water. It is necessary to use a product recently prepared and with this several applications a day are made. It is now known that the inflammation of the healthy conjunctiva is not caused by germ-life contained in the solution but by an inorganic ferment discovered by Bruylans and Venneman and named jequiritin; they state that it is produced during the germination of the seeds or of the cells in the powdered seeds. Warden and Waddell, of Calcutta, have isolated an essential oil, an acid named "bric" and an amorphous substance called abrin, obtained by precipitation with alcohol from a watery infusion of the pulverized seeds. Its action is identical with that of "jequiritin."

The infusion appears to possess considerable value as a stimulating application to indolent ulcers.

The root is a good substitute for licorice, is emollient and has an agreeable taste. The extract is useful in catarrhal diseases of the bronchi and in dysuria. The leaves contain the same properties as the root and an extract prepared from them is used as a substitute for licorice.

Botanical Description.—A vine, with leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate, a stylet taking the place of the terminal leaflet. Leaflets linear, entire, glabrous, tipped with a small point. Common petiole with 2 awl-shaped stipules at the base. Flowers in small racemes. Calyx gamosepalous, caducous, 4-5 short teeth. Corolla papilionaceous, wings horizontal. Stamens 9, monadelphous with bilocular anthers. Style very short. Stigma globose. Pod 4-5 cm. long, truncate at the ends, with 5-6 red seeds, each with a black spot.

Habitat.—Common in all mountainous regions of the islands. Grows near houses and roads.



Mucuna pruriens, DC. (M. prurita, Hook.; M. utilis, Wall.; Dolichos pruriens, L.; Carpopogon pruriens, Roxb.)

Nom. Vulg.—Nipay, Lipay, Vis.

Uses.—The pods are official as an anthelmintic in the Pharmacopoeia of India. They are used in the form of an electuary triturated to the proper consistency with honey or syrup. The dose for adults is one soupspoonful, and for children a teaspoonful, given every morning for 3-4 consecutive days. The last day a purge is given to expel the lumbricoids.

Botanical Description.—A vine with ternate leaves. Flowers red, keel larger than the standard and wings. Pods about as thick as the little finger, lacking transverse grooves, curved in the form of the letter f, covered with bright red down, which causes an unendurable itching. They are divided into 3 or 4 oblique cells each containing a brown, shiny seed.

Habitat.—Luzon and Panay.



Erythrina Indica, Lam. (E. corallodendron, L.; E. carnea, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Dapdap, Kasindik, Tag.; Dapdap, Kabrab, Vis.; Dapdap, Sulbang, Pam.; Indian Coral Tree, Eng.

Uses.—This tree is well known on account of the beauty of its crimson flowers. The decoction of the leaves is a useful cleansing and deodorizing application for ulcers. The bruised leaves are used locally in painful affections of the joints and to abort syphilitic buboes and abscesses of all kinds. The juice of the tender leaves is used in Concan to destroy maggots in ulcers, and the powder has a similar use. A decoction is used locally in ophthalmia.

The root and the leaves are used as a febrifuge in the Philippines and in India, according to Wight. In Brazil the bark is given in small repeated doses as a hypnotic and in the Philippines as a diuretic and purgative; a decoction of the leaves is similarly used. The bark contains an alkaloid discovered by Rochefontaine and Rey, called erythrin, which acts upon the central nervous system, diminishing its normal functions even to the point of abolishment, without modifying motor excitability or muscular contractility. W. Young isolated a glucoside, migarrhin, similar to saponin, but possessing the additional property of dilating the pupil.

In bronchitis with dyspnoea the following infusion of bark is very useful:

Fresh bark, } Freshly bruised leaves, } aa 2 grams. Water 1,500 grams.

Boil till reduced one-half, filter and add:

Simple syrup 200 grams.

Dose: Wineglassful every two hours.

Botanical Description.—A large tree, 20 high, thorny, with ternate leaves. Leaflets rhomboid, broad, entire, glabrous. Secondary petioles: that of the middle leaflet long, bearing 2 glands, those of the others short, bearing 1 gland each. The leaves fall at the end of the rainy season and the flowers bloom. They are a handsome scarlet color, large, in terminal racemes. Calyx half-cylindrical, oblique, truncate, entire. Corolla papilionaceous; standard elongated, lanceolate. Wings short. Keel very short, 2-lobuled. Stamens diadelphous. Anthers large. Ovary woolly. Stigma thick. Pod curved, rounded, furrowed in parts corresponding to the seeds which are numerous, oval, pointed at the ends.

Habitat.—Common throughout the islands. Blooms in February.



Clitoria ternatea, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Kolokanting, Pakingang, Tag.; Kolokating, Vis.; Butterfly-pea, Eng.

Uses.—The pounded seeds mixed with oil are used locally for painful joints. They possess purgative and emetic properties and Dr. J. Shartt has employed a mixture of the powdered roasted seeds, 8 grams, with double the quantity of acid tartrate of potassium. Its action is gentle, but sure. The alcoholic extract of the root, a soft, brown, resinous substance with an odor recalling that of jalap, is a very active cathartic, producing sharp effects in doses of 30-60 centigrams; in fact it produces such severe tenesmus that its use in such doses should not be recommended.

The root bark is used internally in an infusion (4-8 grams to 1 liter of water) as an emollient in irritability of the bladder and urethra and has been recommended for such a purpose by Mooden Sheriff. It is a diuretic which frequently acts as a purgative, a fact that is not surprising in view of the above-mentioned properties of the alcoholic extract.

The roasted seeds used as a purgative are so trustworthy that they deserve the further attention of physicians.

Botanical Description.—A vine very well known by its blue flowers. Leaves alternate with 3 pairs of oval leaflets. Stipules persistent. Flowers axillary, solitary, 1-1 1/2' in long diameter. Calyx in 5 acute divisions, the two upper ones smaller. Corolla papilionaceous. Standard open, notched at the end. Keel shorter than the wings and covered by them. Stamens 10, 9 united and 1 free. Stigma downy, thick. Pod full of short hairs, with more than 6 surrounded with a tow-like substance, reniform, with black spots.

Habitat.—Common along the roads and in gardens. Flowers in July and November.



1. Pterocarpus santalinus, L. [5]

Nom. Vulg.—Narra, Naga, Tag.; Apalit, Daytanag, Pam.; Red Saunders or Red Sandalwood Tree, Eng.

2. P. Indicus, Willd. (P. pallidus, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Asana, Tag.; Naga, Vis.

3. P. erinaceus, Poir. (P. echinatus, Pers. & DC.)

Nom. Vulg.—Asana, Narra, Tag.

Uses.—The wood of the first is the so-called "red sandalwood." It is used for building purposes and, in medicine, as an astringent. In decoction it is used as a gargle for sore throat. The second is also an excellent building material and is used medicinally for its astringent properties. A decoction of sufficient strength to color the water a light blue is used as a mouth wash in toothache and has some reputation as a solvent of vesical calculi. All three species yield a resin known in pharmacy under the name of "kino." The true gum kino is really produced by the P. marsupium, Roxb., but the Philippine product, especially that of the second and third species, has for a long time been exported to Europe under the name of "red astringent gum" or "kino." This name is given to the sap of these trees dried without the aid of artificial heat. The bark is the part which produces it and the following extractive process is employed in Madras: a vertical incision is made in the trunk and lateral incisions perpendicular to it and a receptacle is placed at the foot of the tree. This soon fills and when the gum is sufficiently dried by air and sun it is packed in boxes and exported.

In respect to appearance, solubility and chemical composition, Flckiger and Hanbury were unable to discover any difference between the kino of P. marsupium, Roxb., and that of P. erinaceus, Poir. It is therefore interesting to consider a product that is identical with that described in the pharmacopoeias as produced by the P. marsupium, Roxb., though the latter does not grow in the Philippines.

Kino is at present used but little in therapeutics and its action is analogous to that of tannin and catechu. It is given internally for its astringent effect in chronic diarrhoea, leucorrhoea, blenorrhoea and hemorrhages. The dose of the powder is 1-4 grams, and of the alcoholic tincture, containing 20 parts kino to 100 of alcohol, 5-10 grams. In prolapse of the rectum and anal fissure the following solution is used by enema:

Kino 3 grams. Water 500 grams.

For vaginal injections a solution of 20 to 250 water.

Botanical Description.—The "pterocarpus," L., is a tree of the first order with odd-pinnate leaves. Leaflets alternate and coriaceous. Flowers yellow, in racemes, with caducous bracts and bractlets. Calyx turbinate, with short teeth. Petals exserted, markedly unguiculate. Standard and wings curled. Keel obtuse with its petals slightly or not at all coherent. The staminal tube, cleft above and below or above only. Stamens superior, often almost, and at times entirely, free. Anthers versatile. Ovary pedunculate, with 2 ovules. Style curved. Stigma terminal. Pod orbicular, smooth or spiny, usually containing one seed, encircled by a broad, rigid wing, the point curved downward.

Habitat.—In the mountains of Luzon, Panay and Mindoro. Blooms in March.



Pongamia glabra, Vent. (Robinia mitis, L.; Gadelupa maculata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Balikbalik, Tag.; Butong, Vis.

Uses.—The oil expressed from the seeds is used in India for lighting purposes, and in addition is of notable therapeutic value. It is an excellent local remedy for the itch, for herpes and especially for pityriasis versicolor, used alone or emulsified with lemon juice. In stubborn cases Dymock recommends the addition of oil of hydrocarpus, camphor and powdered sulphur. Dr. Gibson states that he knows of no plant in the vegetable kingdom possessing more notable curative properties in itch, herpes and other cutaneous diseases than the plant under consideration. It is also used as an embrocation in articular rheumatism.

The powdered leaves mixed with common salt and pepper are given internally with a little milk, as a remedy for leprosy.

The juice of the root makes a useful wash for gangrenous ulcers and a good injection for fistula.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 18 high, with leaves opposite, odd-pinnate. Leaflets in 3 pairs, ovate, lanceolate, entire, glabrous and membranaceous. Flowers slightly spotted, racemose. Calyx bell-shaped, with 5 scarcely visible toothlets. Corolla papilionaceous, petals equal, clawed. Standard with 2 callosities athwart the base. Stamens 10, diadelphous. Pod with one seed, which is flat, smooth, veined, bright red.

Habitat.—Luzon and Panay. Blooms in October.



LEGUMINOS.

Brasiletto Family.



Csalpinia Bonducella, Flem. (Guilandina Bonducella, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—Bayag-Kambing, Kalambibit, Tag.; Dalugdug, Vis.; Fever Nut, Physic Nut, Bonduc Seeds, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The seed is the part of the plant employed and is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India. It is used as a tonic and antiperiodic in intermittent fevers and in general where tonic treatment is indicated. It has given good results in the malarial fevers of India, according to English physicians. The Pharmacopoeia of India contains the following preparation under the name of "Compound Powder of Bonduc" (Pulvis bonducell compositus).

Seeds of Bonduc, powdered 30 grams. Pepper 30 grams.

Mix and keep in a well-corked flask.

Dose.—1-2 grams 3 times a day.

In the Philippines the powdered seed is given in affections of the digestive tract, especially in diarrhoea and feeble digestion. The same name of Bonduc is given to the seeds of another species that grows in the Philippines, C. Bonduc, Roxb.; Kamot-Kabag, Bayan-Kambing, Tag. The seeds are identical in chemical composition and therapeutic indication.

The two principal substances contained in the seeds are an oil, 24% and a resin, 1.88%. The former is straw-colored and slightly bitter by virtue of the presence of a resin that may be precipitated by alcohol. The resin or bitter principle exists as an amorphous powder, white, bitter, not acrid, soluble in chloroform, alcohol, acetone, crystallizable acetic acid, fixed and essential oils; slightly soluble in ether and bisulphide of carbon, insoluble in water and petroleum ether. The alkalies do not affect it. It melts at 140, decomposing and leaving only a carbon. Its discoverers, Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen, have given it the name bonducin (C14H15O5). Hydrochloric acid colors it red; sulphuric acid, a maranthin red in half an hour.

Bonducin seems to be the active principle of the seeds and is given internally in doses of 10-20 centigrams; according to Dr. Isnard, of Marseilles, this dose has given as good results in fevers as the same quantity of quinine.

Botanical Description.—A shrub with prostrate stem bristling with thorns. Leaves twice abruptly pinnate, a thorn taking the place of the terminal leaflet. Leaflets in 10-14 pairs, ovate, expanded, with a spine at the apex. Common petioles thorny, with 4 leaf-like stipules at the base. Flowers yellow, in racemes. Calyx 5-parted, curved downward. Corolla inserted on the calyx, 5 petals, 4 nearly equal, the uppermost broader and shorter. Stamens 10. Filaments very unequal in height, inserted on the calyx, united and woolly at the base. Pistil very short. Stigma thick. Pod rhomboidal before maturity, prickly, containing 2 semi-globose seeds with testa hard, mottled and tough.

The other species, C. Bonduc, Roxb., is distinguished by leaflets unequal at the base, by the absence of stipules, and by the bright orange yellow seeds.

Habitat.—Common in Luzon, Panay and Jol. Blooms in December.



Csalpinia Sappan, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Sibukao, Sapag, Tag.; Palo del Brasil, Sp.; Sappan Wood, Eng.

Uses.—The decoction of Sibukao is given in hemorrhages, especially of the lungs. It is probably the red color of this decoction which originated the idea of giving it to check bleeding, and this is the practice of the native Filipino doctors, as well as of the Arabs and Hindoos. The natives of Cochin China, reasoning in an opposite manner, prescribe it as emmenagogue. Some authors recommend Sibukao as a substitute for logwood. The decoction is administered in chronic diarrhoea, especially that of children. A few cases of phlebitis have been reported as occasioned by its use. The extract is made as follows:

Sibukao in small pieces 500 grams. Boiling water 4 1/2 liters.

Macerate for 24 hours, boil until reduced by half, filter and evaporate the filtrate to a syrupy consistency. Do not use iron vessels.

Sibukao contains much tannin and gallic acid, and a peculiar substance which distinguishes it from logwood, brasilin (C22H20O7), which gives a red color to alkaline solutions instead of blue or purple. It is a crystalline pigment which may be considered a compound of hematoxylon and fenol.

Botanical Description.—A very common tree, 12-15 high, with spiny trunk, leaves twice abruptly pinnate. Leaflets linear, notched at the apex. Flowers racemose. Calyx boat-shaped. Corolla, 5 petals, the uppermost broad, short, spotted red. Stigma bifid. Pod sabre-like, woody, with 3-4 seeds separated by partitions. The wood is well known everywhere in the Philippines, being a very important article of commerce, and there is no fear of logwood being substituted for it, as the latter is more expensive, and substitutions are not ordinarily made under such circumstances. In commerce it occurs in large pieces of all shapes and forms, since the branches and trunks are cut into pieces which vary from 1/2-2 meters in length. Its color is reddish-yellow or white with more or less red grain. Blooms in September.



Csalpinia pulcherrima, Swartz. (Poinciana pulcherrima, L. & Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Flores y Rosas Caballero, Caballero, Sp.-Fil.; Barbadoes Flower-Fence, Eng.

Uses.—The leaves are emmenagogue, purgative like those of senna, and excitant. The bark especially is a powerful emmenagogue, used in some countries for criminal purposes. The decoction of the flowers is pectoral and febrifuge and is given in bronchitis, asthma and malarial fever. The flowers contain a bitter principle. The roots are acrid and poisonous. The seeds of the green fruit are eaten frequently by children; when ripe they contain gallic and tannic acids, by virtue of which they are used in tanning hides and to dye yellow combined with alum, and black combined with salts of iron. They also contain a pigment and a resin.

Infusion of the Flowers.—

Flowers of the caballero, dry 20 grams. Water 500 grams. Sugar 70 grams.

Mix. Dose, a wineglassful several times a day.

Botanical Description.—A shrub, with prickly trunk. Leaves twice abruptly pinnate. Leaflets 5-8 pairs, glabrous, ovate and elliptical, bearing a spine at the extremity, 3 stipules to each pair of leaflets. Flowers yellow and red, in racemes on the ends of the branches. Calyx divided almost to the base, with 5 concave parts. Corolla, 5 petals 1' long with short claws, one petal very small and straight, the others larger, with wavy edges. Stamens 10, crimson, 3' long, free, woolly, united at the lower end. Pistil the same length as the stamens. Stigma somewhat concave. Ovary sessile, unilocular, many-ovuled. Pod compressed, with 7 or more seeds inserted on the superior suture and separated from each other by fleshy divisions.

Habitat.—Very common in gardens where it is cultivated for its beautiful flowers. Blooms throughout the entire year.



Cassia fistula, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Caafistula, Sp.; Lombayong, Ibabaw, Baloyong, Vis.; Purging Cassia, Eng.

Uses.—The pod known in pharmacy under the name of "Caafistula" contains a blackish, sweet pulp, which is a mild purgative if combined with carminatives, but it produces severe colic if given alone. The urine sometimes takes on a dark color after taking it. The laxative dose is 4-8 grams, the purgative 30-60.

Extract of Cassia.—

Pulp and seeds of ripe pods 1 kilo. Water 1 liter.

After mixing the pulp with water the liquid is strained through a woolen cloth; the material which remains in the strainer is washed with a little more cold water which is added to the other liquid and the two are evaporated to the consistency of the extract.

Dose.—15-30 grams.

Dr. Irving states that the root is a very energetic purgative. In Concan the juice of the tender leaves is used in the treatment of impetigo.

Botanical Description.—A tree with trunk about as thick as the human body, with leaves opposite and abruptly pinnate. Leaflets, the lower ones smaller, 5 pairs, ovate, lanceolate, glabrous and rather tough. Common petiole, cleft at the base, lacking glandule. Flowers bright yellow, in long, pendulous racemes. Calyx, 5 ovate sepals. Corolla, 5 unequal petals. Stamens 10, free, 3 longer than the rest. Ovary unilocular, many-ovuled. Pod cylindrical, pointed at the end, woody, black, 1-2 long, with many circular seeds, surrounded by a blackish pulp and separated by partitions.

Habitat.—Common in Luzon and Panay. Blooms in March.



Cassia occidentalis, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Tighiman, Balotangaso, Tag.; Tambalisa, Vis.; Western Senna, Styptic Weed, Eng.; Negro Coffee, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—In Brazil they use an infusion of the root as a tonic and diuretic, 4 grams of the root bark and 180 of boiling water to be taken in one day. In Dahomey the leaves are used as a febrifuge. Thirty grams of fresh leaves are boiled in 300 grams of water till the liquid is reduced to 250 grams. The patient takes this decoction hot the first day of the fever and a profuse perspiration promptly breaks out. As a rule the effect is immediate and the fever does not recur. This treatment of fevers is more common in that country than that by quinine and they claim that it has the advantage over the latter of acting as a stomachic tonic. By adding a small quantity of the roots to the decoction it is rendered diuretic. The seeds possess the same properties and are used in decoctions of 30 grams to 300 of water. According to De Lanesan the roasted seeds are used in La Runion in infusion similar to coffee in the treatment of gastralgia and asthma. In some countries they mix them with coffee just as chicory is used in Europe.

Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen have made a very complete study of the plant and we quote the following from their works:

Chemical composition of the seeds.—

Water 8.850 Fats and pigments soluble in petroleum ether 1.600 Fats and pigments soluble in chloroform 1.150 Odorous material and traces of tannin 5.022 Glucose 0.738 Gummy, mucilaginous and pectic matter 15.734 Soluble albuminoids and aleuron 6.536 Cellulose 7.434 Insoluble albuminose 2.216 Lignose 32.727 Fixed salts 17.976 Lost material .017 ———- 100.000

Previous to the studies of the above authors the seeds had been therapeutically tested by Delioux de Savignac and Professor Clouet. Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen have confirmed the febrifuge virtues of the seeds and are uncertain as to the active principle since they found no glucoside or alkaloid in their analysis. The antiperiodic properties are comparable with those of quinine and have even proved effective in some cases in which quinine failed. It seems quite clear that the tannin is the active principle which is the more probable because its anti-periodic virtues are now recognized by all therapeutists.

It is given in maceration or infusion, 2-15 grams of the seeds to 3 or 400 of water to be taken several times a day. The treatment causes no very marked physiological effects. It seems to act as a sedative to the nervous system.

Botanical Description.—An annual plant, .60-1 meter high. Root central with lateral rootlets. Stem straight, ramose. Leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate with a stylet in place of the odd leaflet. Leaflets, 5-6 pairs, the lower ones smaller, ovate, oblong, margins and lower face downy. Common petiole swollen at the base, 2 stipules and 1 glandule. Calyx, 5 unequal sepals. Corolla, 5 nearly equal petals, sulphur yellow, concave, the posterior one further developed. Two verticils of 5 stamens each. Of the 5 stamens superior to the sepals, 2 are fertile, larger and arched; of the other 5 stamens 4 are fertile and small. Pod compressed, linear, smooth, 5' long, containing many compressed, heart-shaped seeds, separated by thin partitions.

Habitat.—Common in Luzon. Blooms in October.



Cassia alata, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Acapulco, Sp.-Fil.; Katand, Gamut sa Buni, Sonting, Tag.; Sunting, Kansits, Vis.; Pakayomkom-kastila, Pam.

Uses.—This is one of the most popular Philippine remedies and its usefulness is vouched for by many physicians practicing in many different lands. Its antiherpetic properties are notable and the Tagalo name of the plant, "Gamut sa Buni," means literally "medicine for herpes." The natives use the juice of the leaf applied locally to the affected part. These properties have long been familiar to the Malays and to the Hindoos who in their medical works give the plant the Sanscrit name of "Dadrughna," meaning "to cure herpes." The Pharmacopoeia of Bengal recommends cassia in the form of an ointment made by mixing the crushed tender leaves with simple ointment. This preparation is, in our opinion, undesirable on account of its liability to become rancid and vaseline should be the excipient used. Another application for herpetic eruptions is the juice of the leaves mixed with an equal quantity of lemon juice. The Malays use the leaves dried in the sun, adding to them a little water and rubbing them briskly on the affected parts, the vigorous treatment being an important part of the cure.

The decoction of the leaves is a laxative and according to Mr. J. Wood the tincture has an action similar to that of senna. Dr. Pulney Andy of India states that the extract prepared from the tender leaves is a good substitute for extract of colocynth.

Mr. A. Porte claims to have obtained the best results with an acetic extract of the fresh leaves. The following is his formula:

Fresh leaves of C. alata 100 grams. Acetic acid diluted in 2/3 water 450 grams.

Macerate 10 or 12 days, filter and express, then filter again and evaporate to the consistency of an extract.

The seeds contain vermifuge principles.

The activity of this plant in herpes is due to the chrysophanic acid contained in it. The more recent the eruption the more certain is the effect.

The following species, all of which grow in the Philippines, contain principles analogous to those of the C. alata, viz.: C. sophera, L. and C. tora, L., called in Tagalo manimanihan.

Botanical Description.—A shrub, 7-9 high, with a straight, ramose trunk 3-4' in diameter. Leaves 1 1/2-2 long, opposite, abruptly pinnate, a thick stylet taking the place of the odd leaflet. Leaflets 10-13 pairs, the smaller ones 1-2' long. Common petiole with 2 horizontal stipules at the base. Flowers in conspicuous, erect racemes. Calyx, 5 free concave, unequal sepals. Corolla, 5 petals of a beautiful yellow color. Stamens perigynous, 10 in number, 3 upper ones very small and frequently sterile, 3 lower very large. The bilocular anthers open by 2 pores. Ovary many-ovuled with filiform style. Pod long with 2 prominent wings on the sides and many seeds which slightly resemble a cross with blunt ends.

The C. sophera, L., is characterized by 10 stamens, all fertile and a smooth, linear, bivalved pod full of seeds separated by false partitions. The C. tora, L., bears a quadrangular pod about 15 centimeters long by 2 in diameter.

Habitat.—Grows in all parts of the islands and is universally known by the natives. Blooms in May.



Tamarindus Indica, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Tamarindo, Sp.; Sampalok, Tag., Pam., Bik.; Sambak, Sumalagi, Kamalagi, Vis.; Tamarind, Eng.

Uses.—The pulp of the fruit is used to make a sort of sweet preserve and is very popular among the Filipinos. They prepare a refreshing drink from the pulp mixed with sweetened water and believing it to be beneficial to the liver, stomach and blood, they use too much of it. Its excessive use is rather prejudicial to the health, but given in moderation it is very efficient in allaying the thirst of fever patients. The pulp contains weak laxative properties and it is customary to administer it in solution with cream of tartar. Its chemical composition is as follows:

Citric acid 9.40 Tartaric acid 1.55 Malic acid 0.45 Potassium bitartrate 3.25 Sugar 12.50 Gum 4.70 Vegetable gelatin 6.25 Parenchyma 34.35 Water 27.55

(Vauquelin.)

At the end of any sickness, especially after labor, the first bath given to the convalescent is with a decoction of the leaves of the "sampaloc," to prevent convulsions, the native herb-doctors say.

Botanical Description.—A large tree, somewhat resembling the elm in contour, with leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate. Leaflets 12 or more pairs, linear, with a notch at the apex, entire, glabrous. Flowers yellow-white, spattered dark red, racemose. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 5 lanceolate petals with crispate borders. Stamens monadelphous, dividing into 7 filaments above. The ripe pod is chocolate color, oblong, slightly compressed, straight or curved, 6-15 centimeters long, full of a light-brown pulp in which rest the seeds enveloped in a cellular membrane. These seeds are flattened, almost quadrangular; testa hard, of a chestnut color, shiny and without albumen.

Habitat.—Very common everywhere in the islands. Blooms in May.



Bauhinia malabarica, Roxb. (B. tomentosa, Wall. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Alibangbang, Tag., Vis., Pam.

Uses.—The leaves of this tree and of the species B. tomentosa, L., are quite acid and the Filipinos use them as an ingredient of many dishes. The fresh flowers possess anti-dysenteric virtues for which purpose they are given internally in infusion of 10-20 grams of the flowers to one-half liter of water. The decoction of the root bark is a common remedy for liver troubles along the coast of Malabar according to Rheede.

Botanical Description.—A tree 20 high, with leaves alternate, peltate, slightly cordate, orbicular, the apex divided into two large lobules with a stylet between them, glabrous above, somewhat downy beneath; 2 large, flat glandules are situated at the base. Petioles short. Flowers cymose. Peduncle long. Calyx inferior, funnelform, with 4-5 sepals as long as the corolla. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 10, 5 alternate ones longer than the others. Stigma thick, peltate, 2 lobules. Pod 1 long, with linear stalk, containing many seeds separated by filamentous isthmuses.

Habitat.—Common everywhere. Blooms in November.



LEGUMINOS.

Mimosa Division.



Entada scandens, Benth. (E. Pursoetha, DC. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Gogo, Tag.; Bayogo, Balogo, Gohong bakay, Vis. and Pam.; Gilla Nuts, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The use made of the mashed bark of this tree is well known throughout the Philippines. Cut in strips and beaten thoroughly between stones it is sold under the name of "gogo"; it is macerated in water, to which it imparts a reddish color, and forms a substitute for soap. The Filipinos use this preparation for bathing, especially the hair, for which purpose there is no more useful or simple preparation. It cures pityriasis, and renders the hair very soft, without drying it too much as is usually the case with soap. The natives use it in treating the itch, washing the affected parts with the maceration and at the same time briskly rubbing them with the bark; in this way they remove the crusts that shield the acari. The treatment is successful in direct proportion to the energy of rubbing.

The seeds of "gogo" are very large, lenticular, flattened, 3-4 centimeters in diameter. Their chemical composition has been studied by Pettit. Alcohol dissolves the active principle, perhaps a glucoside, the study of which the author has not completed. Five centigrams of this substance administered to a guinea-pig causes paralysis of the hind quarters without any apparent inflammation. He also found saponin in the seeds, but it exists in much greater quantity in the trunk. In the Sunda Islands they eat the seeds roasted and also extract from them an illuminating oil.

The maceration of gogo is emetic and purgative; it is used in the treatment of asthma; it is exceedingly irritating, the slightest quantity that enters the eye causing severe smarting and a slight conjunctivitis for one or two days.

Botanical Description.—A high climbing shrub with stem as much as 7-8' in diameter. Leaves opposite, twice abruptly pinnate, a stylet replacing the terminal leaflet; 5 pairs of elliptical leaflets, entire, glabrous and notched at the apex. Common petiole with 2 stipules at the base. Flowers in delicate spikes. Calyx obliquely truncate, 5-toothed. Corolla, 5 oval petals much larger than the calyx. Stamens 10-13. Filaments longer than the corolla. Anther with 1-2 white, globose glandules. Pod woody, 4-6 long by "4 fingers" broad, with large notches on the borders, many compartments containing many large, compressed, circular seeds with dark-colored testa, 3-4 centimeters in diameter.

Habitat.—Mountains of Luzon and Panay. Blooms in May.



Parkia Roxburghii, G. Don. (P. brunonis, Grah.; P. biglobosa, Benth.; Mimosa peregrina, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kopang, Tag.

Uses.—The fruit is edible. Its pulp is golden yellow with a sweetish taste and an odor like that of violets.

The roasted seeds are used in certain parts of Africa to make an infusion like coffee, for which reason they have been called "Soudan Coffee."

The pulp was analyzed by Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen in 1887; it contains 60% of its weight of sugar (a mixture of dextrose and levulose), 0.98% of free tartaric and citric acids, fats, albuminoids, etc.

Botanical Description.—A large tree of the first order. Leaves opposite, twice abruptly pinnate. Leaflets small, linear, more than 40 pairs. Principal petiole with one glandule at the base and often another higher up. Calyx long, tubular, with 5 unequal lobules. Corolla, 5 equal petals. Stamens 10, monadelphous. Ovary free, unilocular, multi-ovulate. Pod, 1 1', woody, much compressed, brown, with many seeds embedded in a yellow pulp.

Habitat.—Abounds in the provinces of central Luzon. Blooms in December.



Acacia Farnesiana, Willd. (A. Indica, Desv.; Mimosa Farnesiana, L. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Aroma, Sp.; Cassie Flower, Eng.

Uses.—The trunk bark is astringent and in decoction is of use in the treatment of prolapsed rectum and as an injection for leucorrhoea. A poultice of the tender leaves is applied to ulcers and sores previously washed with the decoction.

The tree exudes an abundant gum very similar to gum arabic which latter is the product of another species of acacia (A. Arabica, Willd.). The Manila pharmacist, D. Anacleto del Rosario, sent to the Paris Exposition of 1899 a specimen of this gum obtained on the plantation of D. P. P. Roxas, in Batangas. This specimen differed in no respect from gum arabic and it will surely sooner or later take the place of the latter in the Philippines, both for pharmaceutical and industrial purposes. It would be superfluous to describe here the properties of gum arabic.

Botanical Description.—A small tree 9-12 high, very well known, trunk bristling with long thorns. Leaves twice abruptly pinnate. One or more pairs of leaflets, very small, linear. Common petiole with two thorns united at its base and a small glandule on the upper part. Flowers yellow, aromatic, axillary, joined in a globose head 1/2-3/4' in diameter, consisting of more than 50 minute flowerets. In each axil are 2 peduncles. In some heads all the flowerets are staminate, in others hermaphrodite. The hermaphrodite flowers have a calyx with 5 small teeth. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 40 or more. Pistil same length as the stamens. Staminate flowers: calyx, corolla, stamens and anthers as in the hermaphrodite flowers. Pistil none. Pod round, curved, with 8 or more elliptical, compressed seeds.

Habitat.—Grows everywhere, but forms dense thickets in the provinces of La Laguna and Batangas. Blooms in January.



CRASSULACE.

Orpine Family.



Kalanchoe laciniata, DC. (Cotyledon laciniata, Roxb.; Bryophyllum serratum, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Siempreviva (Live-for-ever), Sp.-Fil.; Katakataka, Tag.

Uses.—The fleshy leaves are beaten up and applied to chronic ulcers and sores on which they exert a stimulant action. Applied to the temples they relieve headache. Ainslie testifies to the good effect of its local use in inflammations and as a wash for ulcers. The juice of the leaves is used in Concan in the treatment of bilious diarrhoea and gall stones.

Botanical Description.—A well-known plant, about 2 high, with leaves sessile, opposite, oval, serrately toothed, fleshy. Flowers yellow, in umbels, the stalks reaching a height of 3. Calyx very short, with 4 lanceolate, acuminate sepals, united at the base. Corolla salver-shaped, persistent, with border having 4 small lobules. Stamens 8, fertile. Ovaries 4, free, each with 1 many-ovuled cell. Styles same length as the stamens. Stigmas awl-shaped. Four seed vessels, each with 1 compartment containing many oblong seeds.

Habitat.—Common in all parts of the islands.



COMBRETACE.



Terminalia Catappa, L. (T. molucana, Lam.; T. mauriciana, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Talisay, Tag.; Almendro, Sp.-Fil.; Talisay, Banilak, Nato, Hitam, Vis.; Kalisay, Pam.; Lugo, Pandan, Iloc.; Indian Almond, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The kernel is edible and has a very agreeable taste. It yields about 50% of a fixed oil, sweet and savory. If left for some time, it deposits an abundance of stearin. It closely resembles oil of sweet almonds for which it, as well as the oil of Pili (Canarium commune, L.), which we have already described, makes a good substitute.

The trunk bark is astringent and in decoction is used for atonic diarrhoea and as a lotion for ulcers.

Decoction.—

Bark (ground and pounded) 12 grams. Water 150 grams. Simple syrup 40 grams.

To be given by the tablespoonful in 24 hours.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 6-8 m. high. Branches horizontal and radiating from the trunk. Leaves purplish, bunched, cleft at the base, sometimes transversely ovate, sometimes oval, notched, glabrous. Petiole very short. Flowers axillary, racemose, with a scale at the base of the peduncle, some hermaphrodite and others lacking pistils. Staminate flowers: calyx downy within, with 5 lobes. Corolla wanting. Stamens 10, inserted on the calyx. Hermaphrodite flowers: pistil same length as stamens. Drupe, fleshy, inferior, oval with the borders turned upward containing a very hard and fibrous nut; seed long and sharp-pointed.

Habitat.—Common in Luzon. In Manila it is cultivated extensively as an ornamental tree, especially along the Sabana Walk, General Solano Ave. and in Sampaloc and Malacaan.



Terminalia Chebula, Retz. (T. reticulata, Toth.; Bucida cuminata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Dinglas, Diglas, Tag.; Black Myrobalan Tree, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The ripe fruit, called myrobalans in India, is purgative and six of them pounded up and given in decoction operate with certainty, producing 4 or 5 copious evacuations without nausea or other disagreeable symptoms. Dr. Waring has experimented with them and recommends them highly. The taste may be made more agreeable by adding a little cinnamon to the decoction. Dymock states that three fruits are sufficient, and Dr. Hove gives one as the effective dose. This lack of agreement may be explained by the fact that the fruits are of different sizes, and probably Waring refers to those of medium size. Contrary to what one would imagine, judging from its purgative action, the fruit contains astringent principles, and makes an effective injection for leucorrhoea as a substitute for nut galls. It is also of some merit in the treatment of piles.

The green fruit is highly esteemed by Radja Kalikesen as a carminative, tonic and purgative. Dr. Twining also mentions these same properties, recommends it as a tonic and aperient of great benefit in atony of the digestive organs and expresses surprise that the Europeans make no use of it. According to the same author a dose in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery is 4 grams twice a day. He quotes a case of hypertrophy of the spleen which he cured with this fruit.

Some of the leaves bear horn-shaped galls, flattened, narrow and hollow. They are caused by an insect which stings the leaves and deposits its eggs in them. These leaves with galls are astringent and very useful and effective in dysentery and diarrhoea, especially that of children. The dose for a child of more than one year is 0.40 to 0.50 gram a day, administered in fractional doses every two or three hours.

Fridolin has obtained from its fruit an acid, which he calls chebulinic (C28H25O10) and presumes to be a mixture of tannic and gallic acids. As Stenhouse had formerly indicated, no principle has been discovered to which the purgative properties can be attributed, unless it be a green oleo-resin turned red by nitric acid, obtained from the fruit by Apery.

Botanical Description.—A tree of the second order, with leaves 3' long, alternate, lanceolate, entire and glabrous. Petioles short. Flowers terminal, in spiked panicles. Calyx superior, bell-shaped, colored, downy within, 5-toothed. Corolla wanting. Stamens 10, longer than the calyx. Anthers roundish. Ovary cylindrical. Style curved and longer than the stamens. Stigma simple. Fruit ovoid, 2-4 centimeters long, 5-10 acute angles, wrinkled, with blackish, hard, compact mesocarp; contains 1 seed.