Medicinal Plants

of the

Philippine Archipelago



The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines

By

T. H. Pardo De Tavera

Doctor en Medicina de la Facultad de Paris, Comisionado Cientifico de S. M. en las Islas Filipinas y Delegado General en las Mismas de la Socit Acadmique Indo-Chinoise de Francia, Miembro Fundador Correspondiente de la Sociedad Espaola de Higiene, Etc.

Translated and Revised by

Jerome B. Thomas, Jr., A.B., M.D.

Captain and Assistant Surgeon, U. S. V.

Philadelphia:

P. Blakiston's Son & Co.

1012 Walnut Street.

1901



Copyright, 1901, by

P. Blakiston's Son & Co.



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

This translation was undertaken with the especial object of facilitating the study of the native medicinal plants by the numerous medical officers stationed at small posts throughout the Philippines. In order to aid in the recognition of these plants, the botanical descriptions have been revised to the extent of adding, where possible, the size and shape of the plant, English name, length of leaves, color of flowers, etc., in many instances supplying the entire botanical description where it had been omitted on account of general familiarity with the plant. Comparing the few analyses that I have had an opportunity to make with corresponding ones in the native works from which Dr. Tavera has taken his botanical descriptions, I am impressed with the necessity for a revision of the Botany of the Philippines. However, as the therapeutic properties of the flora are of foremost interest to the medical profession I have not hesitated to publish the book in its present form as an entering wedge, leaving to those better fitted the great work of classifying the flora of these islands in accordance with modern botanical science.

Dr. Tavera has faithfully described the Malay and Hindu therapeutics of the present day, enriching his description by observations founded on a long practice in Paris and in his own native Luzon. From this potpourri of scientific therapeutics and ignorant, superstitious drugging the interested physician will elicit not a few useful data concerning the treatment of disease in the tropics, and at the same time gain a more intimate knowledge of both the people and plants of our new Asiatic possessions.

I take this occasion to gratefully acknowledge my obligations to Mr. A. P. Tonielli, stenographer and translator of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, for typewriting the manuscript of this translation.

Jerome B. Thomas, Jr.

Manila, P. I.



PREFACE.

Commissioned by His Majesty's Government to study the medicinal plants of my native country, I returned there and spent two years in collecting data regarding the use that the Filipinos make of their plants in the treatment of disease. At the same time I collected and carefully preserved some with the purpose of taking them to Europe, to study their chemical composition in the laboratories of Paris under the direction of the eminent men who had been my instructors in medicine.

The work I did in the Philippines was preliminary, a preparation for the more extended study of the subject which I wished to make in Paris, where I went with my notes and collection. Unfortunately, upon leaving Manila, I confided the mounting and pressing of my plants to an inexperienced person who stupidly placed in the midst of them several succulent tubers which decomposed during the voyage and spoiled the other plants. At the same time I received in Paris an important collection of the vegetable drugs of the Philippines, sent by my friend the pharmacist, M. Rosedo Garcia, and destined for the World's Fair of 1889. I opened with great pleasure the wood and zinc box in which the collection came, anticipating that I should be able to carry out my plan of study and at the same time win for my friend, Garcia, a well-deserved premium. Imagine my disappointment upon finding that, by an unfortunate coincidence, his plants had arrived in the same condition as mine, having also been packed with tubers of ubi, gabi, etc., and several cocoanuts which had decomposed.

Many times since then I have tried to obtain from Manila, through exchange or payment of money, a similar collection, but have been unable to secure a single leaf of the plants I so desired. If in the future I have the good fortune to procure any, I shall make a study of those at hand and publish the results.

I herewith publish the results of my investigations and experiments in Manila, where, especially in the neighboring towns of San Mateo and San Miguel, I often had opportunities for using, with good results, the plants of which this volume treats. I may add that in spite of the limited means at my disposal in Manila and the short time left me by my regular occupations I was able to conduct a few laboratory experiments owing to which this work contains some personal observations reinforcing those quoted from medical literature.

The flora of the Archipelago is known to-day through the works of Fathers Blanco, Llanos, Fernandez del Villar and Naves, and of the engineers Jordano, the brothers Vidal and Soler and others who have brought such honor to Spanish science, preparing the way for the study of the therapeutic and industrial applications of that wonderfully rich plant life with which our islands have been endowed. Their works help us to recognize the plants whose medicinal virtues are herein described and it is to them I owe the botanical descriptions in this treatise.

Father Blanco, in describing certain plants, mentions their medicinal uses in the Philippines, but his descriptions are few and very deficient as one would expect in a work of the scope of his Flora. A Jesuit of some reputation, Father Clain, published in Manila in 1712 a book entitled "Remedios fciles para diferentes enfermedades?" in which he speaks of the medicinal virtues of some of the indigenous plants, almost the same ones that appear in another work, a frank and pleasing little treatise written by Father Santa Maria. Father Mercado is the only one who has written a special treatise on the subject and his manuscript remained unedited until the Augustinian Fathers of Manila published it in the last edition of Father Blanco's "Flora"; but neither this work nor those of Clain or Santa Maria are useful to a physician, nor are they as accurately written as works of a scientific character should be. From time to time superficial articles have appeared in the Manila papers regarding the virtues of some plant or other and these books and articles comprise the whole literature on the subject up to this time.

Some physicians regard with small favor the therapeutic application of plants by the Filipino "herb-doctors" (curanderos) as being entirely empirical. This disparagement is unjustified because in all the most rational and scientific remedies that we make use of, the first step towards the final development of their relative position among remedies is due to empiricism which is founded on daily experience, on observation of results obtained in specific cases, facts that are handed down from father to son for generations. The scientific explanation is lacking, but those first ideas frequently owing their origin to chance, or, perhaps, to superstition, have often been based upon the observation of facts which, although fortuitous, are none the less positive.

Many of the plants mentioned in this book are official in the Pharmacopoeia of India and we see no reason why their use should be proscribed in the Philippines. Filipino physicians not only can but should employ many indigenous plants in their therapeutics; in many instances they would find them more useful than the exotics, which are not always fresh and are commonly reduced in strength by long keeping or damaged by some circumstance of voyage or climate. The price is another argument in favor of the use of native drugs. If the pharmacists would prepare extracts and keep on hand the crude drugs most in demand the public would gain a great advantage and the druggists be well repaid for their labor. Physicians and pharmacists will surely understand these advantages and when finally one considers that the patients generally prefer to be treated with native plants, I feel justified in the hope that their use will spread rapidly in the Philippines.

To employ therapeutically the drugs described in this work is not to experiment "in anima vilis," as some would have us believe. To experiment is to employ unknown remedies of unknown virtues and properties.

In this treatise I am not attempting to fix the indications for this or that product, but simply make known the diseases in which the Filipinos and the natives of other countries employ the products. Any physician has a perfect right to prescribe these drugs, as have also the "curanderos" and even the laity, with this difference, however, that the physician is capable of observing results and guiding himself by the physiologic action of the drugs. His knowledge of the physiologic and anatomo-pathologic problems of the human body, will enable the physician to make scientific inferences that would be hidden from the common "curandero."

As neither the Manila nor the provincial physicians keep these medicinal plants in stock, with the exception of those that are official in the European and American pharmacopoeias, it will be necessary for the physician who wishes to use them, to busy himself with seeking them and laying in a sufficient stock to serve him when the opportunity presents itself. It is necessary to preserve them by drying and this is best done by exposing them several days to the fresh air in a dry place—for example, the corridors of the house—being careful not to expose them to the rays of the sun, in which latter event the fleshy and juicy plants which do not desiccate rapidly, putrefy or ferment.

A convenient way to get them is to visit the Binondo Square where there has been market for native drugs from time immemorial. The gardeners from the neighboring towns, especially those from Pasay and Singalon, regularly offer the plants for sale and will undertake to supply you with any that may not be on hand. Inasmuch as the common names of the plants lead to many mistakes and much confusion, it is indispensable to acquaint one's self with the description of the plant and be sure that the actual product conforms in all respects to the description. For this purpose it is well to obtain flowering specimens, and bearing this fact in mind I have been careful to indicate the flowering season of each plant. By making excursions to the towns of San Mateo and Angono I have obtained an abundance of whatever I sought and at the same time have learned by talking with the mountaineers and "curanderos," what uses they make of their plants. The "curanderos" know a great deal concerning these uses, but become very reticent as soon as they are questioned about them. Whether it is dread of ridicule or selfishness or fear that silences them, the fact remains that it is no easy matter to glean any useful facts from them. And yet by tact and friendliness one may elicit much more information from them than first impressions would lead one to hope.

Leaves should be gathered when fully developed, rejecting the old, dried and worm-eaten ones.

The best time to gather bark is one month before the period of inflorescence, when it is rich in sap. The flowers are best gathered when about half expanded. The fruit is gathered green or ripe according to the active principle sought. The seeds should always be mature.

Not all parts of the plant are equally provided with the active principle which may be localized in the root or the flower; or distinct principles may exist in different parts of the same plant. Therefore the part indicated, and only that part, should be employed.

In the root the active substance usually resides in the bark, sometimes in the parenchyma that envelopes the woody tissue and rarely in the woody tissue itself, as, for example, in "rhubarb" and "pareira brava."

The stem bark is also a frequent seat of the active principle, of which the outer portion contains the greater amount, according to the valuable experiments of Howard.

Some plants owe their therapeutic importance to their wood, others to their leaves or flowers, and regarding the localization of the active principle in these parts we have nothing especial to indicate. The fruit, however, may have a pericarp consisting of mucilage, starch, sugar and gum, etc., while the seeds contain fatty matter, fixed or essential oils or alkaloids, as is the case with coffee and cacao. In view of these facts, we repeat that it is indispensable to use that part of each plant which I have indicated as applicable to a determined case or condition.

I earnestly hope that the physicians and pharmacists practising in the Philippines may undertake investigations and experiments regarding the therapeutic properties of the plants of my native land, and that my endeavors may have acted as a stimulus or inspiration to the loyal and earnest study of the subjects that are now awakening such interest, not only in Europe and America, but in India and Japan.

I should be pleased to receive notes, plants or reports of researches from any one interested in the subject matter of this book, and I shall consider it a pleasure, as well as a duty, to devote my forces, small as they may be, to aiding any one who may do me the honor to claim my assistance.

T. H. P. de Tavera.

Paris, April, 1892.



CONTENTS.

Dicotyledonous, Polypetalous.

Dilleniace—Tetracera macrophylla 17-18 Magnoliace—Illicium anisatum, Michelia Champaca 18-20 Anonace—Artabotrys odoratissimus, Anona squamosa, A. reticulata, A. muricata 20-22 Menispermace—Tinospora crispa, Anamirta Cocculus, Cissampelos Pareira 22-27 Nymphace—Nympha Lotus, Nelumbium nucifera 27-28 Papaverace—Argemone Mexicana 29-30 Crucifer—Brassica juncea, Raphanus sativus 30-31 Capparidace—Cleome viscosa, Cratva religiosa 31-32 Bixine—Bixa Orellana, Pangium edule 32-34 Portulacace—Portulaca oleracea 34 Guttifer—Garcinia mangostana, G. venulosa, G. Cambogia, G. morella, Ochrocarpus pentapetalus, Calophyllum Inophyllum, Mesua ferrea 35-40 Dipterocarpe—Dipterocarpus turbinatus 40-42 Malvace—Sida carpinifolia, Abutilon Indicum, Urena sinuata, Hibiscus Abelmoschus, H. tiliaceus, H. Rosa-Sinensis, Thespesia populnea, Gossypium herbaceum, Bombax malabaricum, Eriodendron anfractuosum 42-51 Sterculiace—Sterculia foetida, S. urens, Kleinhovia hospitata, Helicteres Isora, Abroma fastuosa, Theobroma Cacao 51-57 Geraniace—Oxalis corniculata, Biophytum sensitivum, Averrhoa Bilimbi, A. Carambola 58-61 Rutace—Ruta graveolens, Xanthoxylum oxyphyllum, Murraya exotica, M. Koenigi, Citrus acida, Bigaradia decumana, gle decandra, Feronia elephantum 61-70 Simarubace—Samadera Indica 71-72 Burserace—Garuga pinnata, Canarium commune 72-75 Meliace—Melia Azedarach, Dysoxylum Blancoi, Sandoricum Indicum, Carapa Moluccensis, Cedrela Toona 75-80 Celastrace—Celastrus paniculata 80-81 Rhamnace—Zizyphus Jujuba, Rhamnus Wightii 81-82 Anacardiace—Mangifera Indica, Anacardium occidentale, Odina Wodier 82-86 Moringe—Moringa pterygosperma 86-88 Leguminos (Papilionace)—Agati grandiflora, Abrus precatorius, Mucuna pruriens, Erythrina Indica, Clitoria ternatea, Pterocarpus santalinus, P. Indicus, P. erinaceus, Pongamia glabra 88-95 Leguminos (Csalpine)—Csalpinia Bonducella, C. Sappan, C. pulcherrima, Cassia fistula, C. occidentalis, C. alata, Tamarindus Indica, Bauhinia malabarica 96-106 Leguminos (Mimose)—Entada scandens, Parkia Roxburghii, Acacia Farnesiana 106-109 Crassulace—Kalanchoe laciniata 109-110 Combretace—Terminalia Catappa, T. Chebula, Quisqualis Indica 110-113 Myrtace—Psidium pomiferum, Eugenia Jambolana 113-116 Melastomace—Melastoma malabatrichum 116-117 Lythrace—Ammannia vesicatoria, Lawsonia alba, Punica Granatum 117-122 Onagrace—Jussia suffruticosa 122-123 Passiflorace—Carica Papaya 123-127 Cucurbitace—Trichosanthes palmata, T. anguina, T. cucumerina, Lagenaria vulgaris, var. Gourda, var. courgourda, var. clavata, Luffa gyptiaca, Momordica balsamina, M. charanta, Citrullus Colocynthis 127-134 Ficoide—Trianthema monogyna 134 Umbellifer—Hydrocotyle Asiatica, Carum copticum, Foeniculum vulgare, Coriandrum sativum 134-138 Cornace—Alangium Lamarkii 138-139

Dicotyledonous, Gamopetalous.

Rubiace—Hymenodictyon excelsum, Oldenlandia corymbosa, Randia dumetorum, Ixora coccinea, Coffea Arabica, Morinda citrifolia bracteata, M. tinctoria, Pderia foetida. 140-149 Composit—Eupatorium Ayapana, Blumea balsamifera, Sphoeranthus Indicus, Spilanthes Acmella, Artemisia vulgaris, Carthamus tinctorius 149-155 Plumbagine—Plumbago Zeylanica 155-156 Sapotace—Achras Sapota, Mimusops Elengi 156-158 Oleace—Jasminum Sambac 158-159 Apocynace—Allamanda cathartica, Thevetia nerifolia, Cerbera Odallam, Plumeria acutifolia, Alstonia scholaris, Nerium odorum 159-167 Asclepiadace—Calotrops gigantea, Tylophora asthmatica 167-170 Loganiace—Strychnos Ignatii 171-173 Boraginace—Ehretia buxifolia 173 Convolvulace—Ipomoea hederacea, I. pes-capr, I. Turpethum 174-176 Solanace—Solanum nigrum, Capsicum fastigiatum, Datura alba, Nicotiana Tabacum 176-182 Scrophulariace—Limnophila menthastrum 182-183 Bignoniace—Oroxylum Indicum 183-184 Pedaliace—Sesamum Indicum 184-185 Acanthace—Acanthus ilicifolius, Barleria Prionitis, Justicia Gendarussa, Adhatoda vasica, Rhinacanthus communis 185-190 Verbenace—Lippia nodiflora, Tectona grandis, Vitex trifolia, V. Negundo, Clerodendron infortunatum 190-194 Labiat—Ocimum basilicum, O. gratissimum, O. sanctum, Coleus aromaticus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Anisomeles ovata, Leucas aspera 195-199 Plantaginace—Plantago erosa 199 Nyctaginace—Mirabilis Jalapa 199-200 Amaranthace—Amaranthus spinosus, Achyranthes obtusifolia 200-202 Chenopodiace—Chenopodium ambrosioides 202-203 Aristolochiace—Aristolochia Indica 203-204 Piperace—Piper Betle, P. nigrum 204-207 Chloranthace—Chloranthus officinalis 207-208 Laurace—Cinnamomum pauciflorum, C. tamala, Cassytha filiformis 208-210 Euphorbiace—Euphorbia pilulifera, E. neriifolia, E. Tirucalli, Phyllanthus reticulatus, P. Niruri, P. urinaria, Jatropha Curcas, Aleurites Moluccana, Croton Tiglium, Acalypha Indica, Echinus Philippensis, Ricinus communis 210-223 Urticace—Artocarpus integrifolia, Laportea gaudichaudiana 223-225 Casuarine—Casuarina Sumatrana 225-226

Monocotyledons.

Musace—Musa paradisiaca, M. sapientum 227-228 Zingiberace—Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa, Elettaria Cardamomum 228-231 Amaryllidace—Crinum Asiaticum 231-232 Liliace—Aloes Barbadensis, Allium sativum, A. Cepa 232-234 Palm—Areca Catechu, Cocos nucifera, Nipa fruticans 234-238 Cyperace—Cyperus rotundus 239 Gramine—Zea Mays, Andropogon Schoenanthes, Saccharum officinarum, Oriza 240-243 Bambuse 243-244



EXPLANATION.

For the common words of the different Filipino dialects I have adopted the orthography which in my various treatises on those dialects I have demonstrated to be the easiest, most rational and convenient. I should be inconsistent as to my own theories and convictions if I continued to follow the old form of spelling. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the matter I will state that the consonants are pronounced as follows:

g always as in get. h gutturalized aspirate. k as in English. w always as initial w in English, win, wan. ng as ng in sing, hung, etc.



ABBREVIATIONS.

Bic.—Bicol. Eng.—English. Iloc.—Ilocan. Indo-Eng.—Indo-English. Pam.—Pampango. Pan.—Pangasinan. Sp.—Spanish. Sp.-Fil.—Spanish-Filipino. Tag.—Tagalog. Vis.—Viscayan.



MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

DICOTYLEDONOUS, POLYPETALOUS.



DILLENIACE.



Tetracera macrophylla, Vall. (T. monocarpa, T. sarmentosa, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Malakatmn, Tag.

Uses.—The wood of malakatmn is one of the best known and popular drugs of the Binondo [1] market place. It is used as an infusion internally in the hmoptysis of consumptives, and externally in the treatment of sore throat, its action being due to the large amount of tannin it contains. It is also employed in Malabar in the form of an infusion of the leaves of the species, T. Rheedi, to treat sore throat, mixing it with a decoction of rice called cange.

The Filipinos do not distinguish this species from the T. Assa.

Both are called malakatmn, and are employed indiscriminately to accomplish the same results. The silicious concretion obtained from the leaves is used as a polish in the form of polish paper.

Dose.—In infusion for internal use, 4 grams of wood to 1 liter of water; as a gargle, 10 to 15 grams to the liter.

Botanical Description.—A shrub with leaves alternate, oval, serrate, finely dentate with very short and stiff hairs. Flowers of a strong, rather agreeable odor, axillary, in panicles. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 4 petals. Stamens indefinite, expanding at the upper end and bearing 2 anthers. Carpels 3, with ovules indefinite in two series. Seeds with red arils.

Habitat.—In the vicinity of Manila. Blooms in July.



MAGNOLIACE

Magnolia Family.



Illicium anisatum, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Anis estrellado, Badiana, Sp.; Sangki, Tag.; Star Anise, Eng.

Uses.—Although this plant does not grow in the Philippines, the use of its fruit is so common there that it demands a place in this work. It is employed chiefly as a condiment in the preparation of food, and its essential oil is used to prepare the native "anise cordial" by mixing it with alcohol obtained from the palm or from sugar cane.

The decoction of the fruit is given after meals as a tea-like beverage, to aid digestion or for its carminative effect in flatulent colic.

Star anise has an aromatic taste, slightly bitter and acrid, and a very marked perfume of anise which with its star-like form gives the plant one of its names. It is a very useful stimulant, tonic, stomachic and carminative.

It is official in all Pharmacopoeias and the pericarp is the part employed.

The dose is from 1 to 2 grams to 100 of water in infusion, to be taken in one draught.

According to Schlegel it contains the following substances: An essential oil 4.675; a green waxy material which melts at 51, a resin, a gum and saponin. The essential oil is (almost) identical with that of anise from which it is impossible to distinguish it chemically. The only difference is that the former has a blander odor and solidifies at 1.25 instead of 10, as does the oil of anise.

Botanical Description.—The plant grows in the mountains of Yunnan, China, and in Tonquin. The part used in the Philippines is the fruit, being indeed the only part known here. This is composed of 8 woody follicles arranged about a central column in the form of a star. These follicles open at maturity and reveal the seeds, which are shining, smooth, ovoid, hard, of a pretty chestnut-red color. In the Philippines they are sold even in the smallest food-vending shops.



Michelia Champaca, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Tsampaka, Sampaka, Tag.; Champaca, Fil.-Span.

Uses.—The bark of the trunk is well known as a febrifuge and emmenagogue in India. It is slightly bitter and aromatic. Dr. H. Folliat has used it with success in the Island of Mauritius in the treatment of the common intermittent fevers; he administered the infusion (bark 30 grams, water 600 cc.)—or the decoction (bark 30 grams, water 1,200 cc.); boil till reduced to 600 cc.—giving a wine-glassful every hour just before and after the paroxysm.

An astringent decoction made from the leaves is used as a gargle in sore throat. The root is emmenagogue and the seeds are used in the treatment of anal fissure.

Dr. Hooper has found the following substances in the bark of the Champana: a volatile oil with a pine-like odor; a fixed oil, insoluble in alcohol, melting at 15 and forming soap with soda; a resin extremely bitter, acrid, brown in color; tannin; sugar; a bitter principle, albuminoids, coloring matters, mucilage and starch.

Botanical Description.—A tree 15-18 high; leaves alternate, 6 2', stipulate, simple. Flowers fragrant, saffron-colored, hermaphrodite, solitary and axillary. The receptacle, conical at its base, becomes narrow, lengthens and then enlarges, forming a column which is bare at its narrow part. At its base is inserted the perianth composed of 6 overlapping leaflets arranged in two series. Stamens indefinite, fixed in the base of the column of the receptacle on the superior portion of which are inserted the ovaries which contain many ovules arranged in two vertical series.

Habitat.—Common in all parts (of the islands).



ANONACE.

Custard-Apple Family.



Artabotrys odoratissimus, R. Br. (A. hamatus, Bl.; Uvaria Sinensis and Unona uncinata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Ilang-ilang de China, Sp.-Fil.; Alang-ilang Son-son, Tag.

Uses.—A decoction of the leaves of this species is used to treat cholera in some of the islands of the Malay group; in the island of Java they use for the same purpose a decoction of the leaves of the species A. suaveolens, Bl., which is commonly called Susong Damulog in the Pampanga dialect. The active principles of these plants are so powerful that one must beware of giving a large dose, as hemorrhages, nervous phenomena and abortion may follow.

Botanical Description.—A tree 15-18 high with leaves alternate, lanceolate, glabrous, and petioles very short. Flowers very sweet, axillary, solitary. Petals 6, fleshy, concave at the base. Stamens indefinite, closely packed, overlapping. Peduncle curved like a crook.

Habitat.—Cultivated in gardens.



Anona squamosa, L. (A. tuberosa, Rumph.)

Nom. Vulg.—Ates, Tag.; Custard Apple, Eng.

Uses.—The fruit of the mature ates is edible and is one of the most delicious that grows in the Philippines; its white and delicately perfumed pulp has a delicious flavor. The unripe fruit is exceedingly astringent. The fermented juice of the ripe pulp is used in certain parts of America to prepare a popular drink. The powdered seeds make a useful parasiticide especially when used on the scalp, but it is necessary to avoid getting any of the drug in the eyes on account of its irritant effect.

Botanical Description.—Tree 8 or 9 high with leaves alternate, oblong, the edges pubescent. Flowers greenish-yellow, axillary, solitary; peduncle not curved. Petals 6, convergent. Stamens crowded, indefinite. Fruit fleshy, covered with scales or rather rounded tubercles; beneath is the white and fragment pulp, covering the long-oval seeds.



A. reticulate, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Anonas, Sp.-Fil.

Uses.—The fruit of this species is neither as much prized nor as abundant in the Philippines as that of the ates. When unripe it possesses the same properties as the latter. The large proportion of tannin which both species contain in their unripe state, makes them very useful in treating diarrhoea and dysentery. They are administered in the form of a decoction, by enema. The sap of the trunk is very irritating. The roots are used by the American Indians to treat epilepsy. Lemon juice is the antidote for the sap of this species.

I wish to call attention to the similarity of the common name of this plant to another entirely distinct species commonly used in the Tagalo therapeutics; namely, the anonang (Cordia), with which it must not be confused.

Botanical Description.—Tree 10 high with leaves lanceolate, pubescent. Flowers in a sort of umbel. Corolla like that of A. squamosa. Fruit without the plainly visible tubercles of the foregoing species, their presence being merely suggested by a sort of net traced on the surface.



A. muricata, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Guanbano, Goyabano, Sp.-Fil.

Uses.—The ripe fruit possesses antiscorbutic properties; the unripe fruit is used in treating dysentery. It is said that the ripe fruit is used in diseases of the liver.

Botanical Description.—Tree with leaves oval, alternate and glabrous. Flower solitary, terminal, whitish. The fruit is much larger than that of the other species, is covered with scales that end in a soft point or thorn and has a very pronounced acid taste.

Habitat.—All three species are common in all parts of the Archipelago.



MENISPERMACE.

Moonseed Family.



Tinospora crispa, Miers. (Menispermum crispum, L.; M. rimosum, Blanco; Cocculus crispus, DC.)

Nom. Vulg.—Makabuhay, Tag.

Uses.—Makabuhay is one of the most widely known and used plants in the Philippines; a sort of panacea applied to all bodily afflictions. Its Tagalo name means literally "you may live." A shoot deprived of roots and dropped in some moist place is soon covered with bright green leaves and adventitious roots. This peculiarity of the plant made it possible for me to take a large number of sprouts from Manila to Paris where they arrived perfectly fresh after a voyage of forty days, during which they lay almost forgotten in the ship and the cars.

The stem is the part employed in medicine. A decoction is given internally in the various forms of malarial fever and of dyspepsia. Externally it is most useful as a wash for ulcers of all kinds, rapidly improving their appearance.

In India the species T. cordifolia is used; it differs but little from T. crispa. It is official in the Pharmacopoeia and has been introduced into Europe. T. cordifolia has given excellent results in the mild forms of intermittent fever; in general debility following long and severe cases of illness; in chronic rheumatism, and in the second stage of syphilis. As the two species are so much alike we shall add the preparations and dose of T. cordifolia which we have used on several occasions with good results.

Tincture of T. cordifolia.—Stems of the dried plant, 100 grams. Alcohol 21 (Cartier), 500 cc. Macerate seven days in a closed vessel stirring from time to time. After decanting add enough alcohol (21) to bring the quantity up to 500 cc., and filter.

Dose.—4-8 grams.

Maceration.—Fresh stems cut in small pieces, 30 grams, water 300 grams. Macerate for two hours and filter.

Dose.—30-90 cc. a day.

Extract.—Dry makabuhay in small pieces 500 grams. Water 2 1/2 liters. Macerate for twelve hours, filter the liquid and express the macerated drug which is then macerated a second time in 2 1/2 liters of water. Express again, unite the two liquids and filter. Evaporate in a water-bath to the consistency of a pill mass.

Dose.—1/2-1 1/2 grams a day in fractional doses.

Botanical Description.—A vine whose runners entwine themselves among the tops of the highest trees, giving off many adventitious roots which seek the earth. The stem is covered with projecting tubercles. Leaves heart-shaped, pointed, entire with five well-marked nerves. Flowers yellowish-green, dioecious, growing in axillary racemes. The male flowers have a corolla of six petals, the three smaller ones arranged alternately. In the female flower the stamens are represented by three glands situated at the base of the petals. Fruit, an elliptical drupe.



Anamirta Cocculus, Wight & Arn. (Menispermum Cocculus, (L.) Blanco; M. lacunosum, Famk; Cocculus lacunosus, C. suberosus, DC.)

Nom. Vulg.—Laktang, Liktang, Suma, Lanta, Lintang bagin, Tuba, Balasin, Bayati, Tag., Vis., Pam.

Uses.—One of the uses to which the India berries (Cocas de Levante) are put in the Philippines, is to throw them into small sluggish streams or into lakes with the object of intoxicating the fish which soon come to the surface and float there as if dead. This custom is very extensive in Malaysia, in India and even in Europe, where, in order to avoid the cases of poisoning which this practice has occasioned in the consumers of fish taken in this way, it has been found necessary to forbid the sale of the berries except in the pharmacies. These restrictions are practiced in France.

In the Binondo market in Manila the root of this plant may be found in abundance; it is yellow and very bitter. The natives use the infusion (5-10 grams to 300 cc. of water) in fevers, dyspepsia and menstrual derangements. In India also the root is used in the same complaints.

The fruit contains the highly toxic principle picrotoxin, and others as follows:

Menispermin (C18H24N2O2) is an alkaloid which crystallizes in pyramidal prisms, is soluble in alcohol and ether and insoluble in water. Hot nitric acid converts it into oxalic acid and a yellow substance of a resinous appearance.

Picrotoxin (C30H24O13) is not an alkaloid as may be seen from its formula. Its properties are not well known at the present time. It crystallizes in small quadrilateral prisms, white and transparent, or in needles grouped in stars. No odor, taste bitter, insoluble in water, partly soluble in alcohol and in ether, freely soluble in acids and alkalies. A solution in concentrated sulphuric acid has a saffron-yellow color. Nitric acid transforms it into oxalic acid.

Picrotoxinin exists in picrotoxin in the proportion of 32 to 100, and may be separated by boiling in benzine. It is bitter, poisonous, reduced by Fehling's solution and nitrate of silver. Sixty-six per cent. of picrotoxin consists of another bitter substance, non-poisonous—picrotin, which is insoluble in benzine and is reduced by Fehling's solution and nitrate of silver. Lastly, anamirtin is found in the mother water of picrotoxin; it is not bitter, not poisonous, and not reducible by the aforementioned reagents.

The fruit of the anamirta, the "coca de Levante" is an acrid, narcotic poison, which may not be employed internally; its uses are limited to external medication. In the Pharmacopoeia of India is given the formula for a parasiticide ointment, highly recommended in the treatment of pediculi:

Unguentum anamirt:

4 grams Cocculus berries, powdered, 30 grams Vaseline. M. Fiat unguentum.

In applying this ointment it is necessary to make sure that there is no wound or abrasion of the skin through which absorption might take place.

Botanical Description.—A vine with leaves alternate, entire, glabrous, broadly oval, pointed, with 5 nerves which unite at the base, long petioles. Flowers dioecious, in compound racemes. Male flowers consist of a perianth without corolla, the sepals arranged by threes in two or three whorls. The end of the receptacle expanded like a bead, bears a large number of stamens in 6 vertical series, with anthers sessile and 4-lobed. Female flowers analogous as regards the perianth, with 6-9 sterile stamens. Carpels formed of 5 ovaries, free, unilocular, containing one ovule each. Fruit, a drupe of a purple color, the size of a filbert, kidney-shaped, the albumen horny.



Cissampelos Pareira, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Sansawsansawan, Tag.; Chinchaochinchauan, Sp.-Fil.

Uses.—Although this plant formerly bore the Portuguese name of Pareira brava, the U. S. P. and B. P. recognize now under this title only the root of Chondrodendron tomentosum. It is diuretic and tonic and apparently exercises an astringent and sedative action upon the mucous membrane of the genito-urinary organs. The root is used in acute and chronic cystitis.

In Brazil it is used as a diaphoretic and as such is employed in cases of venomous snake bites. It is also used there as an emmenagogue and diuretic, in intermittent fevers, dropsy and suppression of the lochia in women recently confined.

It is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India.

Decoction.—Root of cissampelos, small pieces, 50 grams. Water 600 grams.

Dose.—30-100 grams.

Boil 15 minutes; filter and add enough water to bring the total bulk up to 600 cc.

Extract.—Root of cissampelos in powder 500 grams. Water 5 liters.

Dose.—.5-1 gram.

Digest the powder for 24 hours in 500 cc. water, pour the mixture into a filter and add water gradually until the percolate amounts to 5 liters. Evaporate the percolate in a water-bath to the consistency of a pill mass.

Fluid Extract.—This is prepared in the same manner as the extract and is allowed to remain in the bath until reduced in bulk to 400 grams. It is then removed and 100 grams of alcohol (36) are added.

Dose.—1.75-7 cc.

Chemical Composition.—Flckiger has isolated a bitter principle analogous to berberin; also buxine and paracine, which latter received the name pelosine from Wiggers in 1839. The former chemist proposed the name buxine for all these analogous principles. Pelosine or buxine is precipitated by a concentrated solution of HCl, by sal ammoniac, by potassium nitrate and potassium iodide. He also discovered a neutral substance, deyamitin, which crystallizes in microscopic tablets; sulphuric acid added to these gives a pretty dark blue color which changes to green.

Botanical Description.—A climbing shrub with cylindrical woody stem, with leaves simple, alternate, entire, petiolate, ovoid, broad at the base. The inferior surface of the leaf is pubescent, especially in the intervals between the ribs. Flowers dioecious, small, racemose. Calyx of 12 sepals arranged in 3 whorls, the inner ones broad and petaloid. Corolla of 6 petals arranged in 2 whorls. Stamens sterile or rudimentary in the pistillate flower, the staminate flower bearing 6; anthers innate, 2-celled. Drupes oval, 2 or 3 cm. long, black, closely resembling a grape seed.



NYMPHACE.

Water-Lily Family.



Nympha Lotus, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Lawas, Talaylo, Tunas, Gaway-gaway, Tag., Vis., Pam.; Water Lily, Eng.

Uses.—The anaphrodisiac virtues attributed to this plant and to all the water-lily family are purely imaginary. Its juice being slightly bitter and astringent is used in decoction as an injection in gonorrhoea. It possesses mild narcotic properties, for which some use the juice of the whole plant, rubbing the forehead and temples with it to produce sleep.

Botanical Description.—An aquatic plant, with leaves solitary, terminal, floating on the water, dentate, glabrous, broad, deeply cleft at the base, with a very long petiole. Flowers solitary, persistent in the ripe fruit, oval. Stamens indefinite in fine whorls or verticils.

Habitat.—Common on the shores of the Laguna de Bay.



Nelumbium nucifera, Gaertn. (N. speciosum, Willd.; N. Asiaticum, Rich.; Cyamus Nelumbo, Sm.; C. mysticus, Salis.)

Nom. Vulg.—Bayno, Tag.; Sukaw, Iloc.; Sacred Lotus, Eng.

Uses.—An infusion of the flowers is used internally in dysentery. In India they use, for diarrhoea and vomiting, the viscid juice obtained from the petioles and the peduncles of the flowers. The rootstock contains a large quantity of starch which has been utilized for food in the periods of famine which have desolated India and Egypt. This flower was the Sacred Lotus of the Egyptians and the people of India have dedicated it to Lakshmi, the goddess of health and prosperity.

Infusion.—Petals, dried 5 grams. Water 250 grams.

Sig. To be taken during 24 hours.

Botanical Description.—An aquatic plant with fleshy rootstock which creeps along the muddy bottoms; from its nodes spring the stalks of the leaves and flowers. Its leaves are alternate, polymorphous, some above and some below the surface of the water, concave in the center whence ribs separate, shield-shaped. Petioles very long, bearing soft, short spines. The flowers white or pink, solitary; peduncle long and, like the petioles, covered with soft, short spines. Calyx of 4-5 unequal sepals, imbricated. Corolla with an indefinite number of unequal petals, the inner ones shorter. Stamens indefinite, inserted in the base of the receptacle. Receptacle expanded above the androecium, in the form of an inverted cone, containing a large number of alveoli with circular openings.



PAPAVERACE.

Poppy Family.



Argemone Mexicana, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Kasubhang-aso, Iloc.

Uses.—Padre Blanco says that the yellow juice of this plant "is used by the natives (Filipinos) to treat fissures of the corners of the eyes."

The negros of Senegal use the decoction of the root to cure gonorrhoea. The milky juice to which Blanco refers is used in different countries to treat various skin diseases, including the cutaneous manifestations of syphilis and leprosy; to remove warts, and as an eye wash in catarrhal conjunctivitis.

The English physicians of India state that it is dangerous to use the milky juice as an application to the eye, although Dymock claims the contrary.

The flowers are narcotic by virtue of a principle resembling morphine, perhaps identical with that alkaloid.

The seeds yield a fixed oil on expression, which is laxative and relieves the pains of colic, probably by virtue of its narcotic properties. Physicians in India praise this oil highly; not only is it a sure and painless purgative, but it is free from the viscidity and disgusting taste of castor-oil; besides it has the advantage of operating in small doses, 2-4 grams. Its activity is proportionate to its freshness. Dr. W. O'Shaughnessy does not value this oil highly, but the experience of many distinguished physicians of India has proved the purgative and other properties that have just been mentioned. Possibly the differences of opinion may arise from the fact that oils from different plants were used in the trials.

The seeds yield a fixed oil, yellow, clear, of sweet taste, density 0.919 at 15; it remains liquid at -5; is soluble in an equal volume of alcohol at 90; characterized by an orange-red color on adding nitric acid. From its soap Frolicher has obtained acetic, valerianic, butyric and benzoic acids. Charbonnier claims to have found morphine in its leaves and capsules. Dragendorf has isolated from the seeds an alkaloid which presents the principal characters of morphine. It is, then, probable that morphine is the narcotic principle possessed by this plant, which is not hard to believe when one considers the family to which it belongs.

Botanical Description.—A plant of American origin nowadays acclimated in almost all warm countries. Its stem is green, pubescent, 30-40 centimeters high. Leaves alternate, thin, sessile, lanceolate, covered with rigid green thorns. Flowers hermaphrodite, terminal, yellow. Calyx, 3 sepals with conical points. Corolla, 6 rounded petals. Stamens indefinite, free, hypogynous. Ovary free, triangular. Capsule expanded, oblong, angular, thickly set with prickles: it opens inferiorly by 5 valves.



CRUCIFER.

Mustard Family.



Brassica juncea, Hook. & Thom. (Sinapis juncea, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—Mostaza, Sp.; Mustard, Eng.

Uses.—The seeds are used in the same way as those of white or black mustard (Sinapis alba and S. nigra, L.).

Botanical Description.—Plant with a glabrous stem, leaves sessile, glabrous, lanceolate, the upper ones serrate, the lower ones almost entire. Flowers in racemes. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 4 rounded, unguiculate petals. Stamens 6, two of them short and the other four longer and united in pairs. Ovary flattened. Seed vessel quadrangular, nodular, glabrous, containing many oval seeds.



Raphanus sativus, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Rbano, Sp.; Radish, Eng.

Uses.—Used principally as food; it possesses the antiscorbutic properties common to the greater part of the Crucifer.

It is an herbaceous plant, the root of which is so commonly known that its description would be useless.



CAPPARIDACE.

Caper Family.



Cleome viscosa, L. (C. icosandra, L.; Polanisia viscosa, DC.)

Nom. Vulg.—Balabalanoyan, Apoyapoyan, Tag.; Wild Mustard, Eng.

Uses.—The seeds possess the same properties as those of mustard and are used in place of the latter in Manila. In America the leaves are used as a poultice in otitis, their action being rubefacient. In India the seeds are given internally for their anthelmintic and carminative effect; the dose is one teaspoonful twice a day. The juice of the leaves mixed with cocoanut oil is used in the form of eardrops in suppurative otitis.

The natives give the same common name to the Gynandropsis pentaphylla, DC. (Cleome pentaphylla, L.; C. altiacea or C. alliodora, Blanco), which is distinguished from the former by its six stamens inserted on the pistil and its violet-colored stem. Its therapeutic properties are identical with those of the Cleome viscosa. Dr. Sir W. Jones believes that the plant possesses antispasmodic properties, basing his belief on its odor, which resembles asafetida, though not so disagreeable. In India the juice of the leaves is a popular remedy for earache. It is also used there as a rubefacient.

Botanical Description.—An annual, the stem channeled and bearing glandular hairs. Leaves compound, alternate; leaflets lanceolate with glandular hairs. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 4 petals, yellow. Stamens 14-16, encircling the pistil. Seed vessels cylindrical, with channels and glandular hairs. The whole plant is sticky and emits a garlicky odor.

Cratva religiosa, Forst.

Nom. Vulg.—Salingbobog, Tag.; Balay-namuk, Iloc.

Uses.—It is in common use in India as a tonic and stomachic. It seems also to possess laxative and diuretic properties. In Concan the juice of the leaves mixed with cocoanut oil is used as a liniment in rheumatism.

Infusion.—Leaves, fresh 50 grams. Water 500 grams.

Dose.—50-100 grams a day as a tonic or stomachic.

Botanical Description.—A shrub 15-20 high with compound trifoliate leaves with long petioles; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, smooth, dark green. Calyx of 4 imbricated sepals. Corolla of 4 unguiculate petals, between white and straw color, 1' long. Stamens indefinite, violet-colored. Ovary unilocular, many-ovuled. Berry spherical with many seeds buried in pulp.

Habitat.—Blanco has seen the plant growing in Ilocos and Imus.



BIXINE.



Bixa Orellana, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Atsuiti, Achuiti, Tag.; Achiote, Achuete, Sp.-Fil.; Annatto, Eng.

Uses.—The principal use of the seeds is in cookery and everybody knows the yellow color which Filipino cooks impart to almost all their dishes. In medicine the fine powder that covers the seeds is used as a hmostatic and internally as a stomachic. On account of the astringent qualities of the coloring matter it is used in some countries to treat dysentery, a fact which suggests its possible therapeutic or rather hygienic usefulness as a condiment. It seems to effect a cure in dysentery in the same manner as ipecac.

In India, Brazil and the Antilles the natives make a sort of paste of achuete known under the name of rocu. There is a hard, odorless form of rocu and another soft, unctuous, of a delicate red color and an odor rendered highly disagreeable by the urine added to it to keep it soft. Rocu is the preparation of achuete that has been subjected to chemical analysis. Its composition is as follows: Two coloring matters, bixin (C28H34O5), of a red color, resinous, soluble in alcohol, ether, alkaline solutions and benzine, crystallizing in microscopic lamin, quadrangular, red, of a metallic violet lustre; orellin, yellow in color, soluble in alcohol and in water.

Botanical Description.—A well-known tree growing to a height of 5-7 meters, with leaves alternate, simple, oval, heart-shaped at the base, sharply pointed, glabrous, short petioles. Flowers in panicles. Calyx, 5 rounded sepals, tuberculate at the base, imbricated, caducous. Corolla of 5 rose-colored petals. Stamens very numerous, free, inserted on the receptacle. Capsule round, dark red, bristling with stout hairs of the same color. The seeds are covered with a fine, yellowish-red powder.



Pangium edule, Reinw. (Hydonocarpus polyandra, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Pangi, Tag.

Uses.—All parts of this tree are anthelmintic. The seeds, fruit, leaves and bark all possess narcotic properties dangerous to man and the symptoms following an excessive dose are sleepiness, headache, a sort of intoxication or an attack of delirium that may end in death. These narcotic properties have been utilized in Java to stupefy the fish in the rivers by throwing the bark in the pools and quiet portions of the stream. The juice of the leaves is used in the treatment of chronic skin diseases. In Amboina the natives eat the seeds, the toxic quality of which is removed by brushing and macerating in pure water for a certain time. After such treatment they may be eaten with impunity and an oil may be extracted from them which is useful as a food.

Botanical Description.—A tree with leaves 5' long, alternate, ovate, broad, entire, glabrous, palmately nerved. Petiole long with 2 persistent lateral stipules. Flowers dioecious, the male ones in panicles, the female solitary. Calyx gamosepalous, dividing unequally when the flower opens. The male flower has a corolla of 5-7 petals, violet-colored, concave, half oval, with pubescent borders; at its base a flat scale. Stamens free, numerous, thick filaments, anthers bilocular. In the female flower the perianth is the same as in the former, the stamens sterile. Ovary unilocular, with 2-4 parietal placent with many ovules. Fruit as large as a man's head, with thin woody pericarp and many seeds embedded within its pulp.



PORTULACACE.

Purslane Family.



Portulaca oleracea, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Verdolagas, Sp.; Olasiman, Kolasiman, Tag.; Purslane, Eng.

Uses.—The entire plant is edible, in the form of a salad or as a condiment with meat or fish. The leaves are succulent and acid, and the juice expressed from them is used as an eyewash to remove corneal opacities; it is also used in superficial erysipelas and other skin affections. The bruised leaves are used as a poultice for abscesses, contusions and on the temples for headache. The juice is given internally to check hmoptysis and in diseases of the lungs and bladder; the seeds also are used in these complaints.

Botanical Description.—A plant with prostrate stem. Leaves fleshy, wedge-shaped. Flowers small, sessile, terminal, pale yellow. Calyx of 2 large teeth, deciduous. Corolla, 4-5 petals with a notch at the end. Stamens 9-14. Style of equal length with the stamens. Stigma in 4-6 divisions. The seed vessel, which dehisces horizontally, contains many small, heart-shaped seeds.

Habitat.—It grows in all parts of the islands.



GUTTIFER.

Gamboge Family.



Garcinia mangostana, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Mangostn, Sp.; Mangosteen, Eng.

Uses.—The seed of the fruit is astringent and is given internally as an infusion in dysentery and chronic diarrhoea. The decoction is very useful as an injection in leucorrhoea.

The following potion has given excellent results to Dr. Ed. J. Waring in chronic dysentery and the diarrhoeas of tropical countries:

Dried peel of mangosteen 60 grams. Cumin seed 5 grams. Coriander 5 grams. Water 1,200 grams.

Boil till reduced to 600 grams. Take 120 grams twice a day. Tincture of opium may be added.

An analysis of mangosteen peel by W. Schmidt demonstrated a large quantity of tannin, a resin and a crystallizable principle named mangostin (C20H23O5) which exists in the form of fine, golden yellow lamin, tasteless, soluble in alcohol, ether and the alkalies, insoluble in water. With the perchloride of iron it gives a blackish-green color, and sulphuric acid colors it red.

Botanical Description.—The mangosteen grows only in the southern islands of the Archipelago and its delicious fruit is the part of the plant known in Manila. The peel is at the present time almost universally employed in medicine. The fruit is about the size of a small Manila orange, the pericarp a dark red or chocolate color, tough and thick, crowned with the remains of the calyx. On breaking it open the edible portion of the fruit is seen, consisting of 6-18 seeds covered by a white, sweet pulp, cottony in appearance, of a delicious slightly acrid flavor.



1. Garcinia venulosa, Choisy. (Cambogia venulosa, Blanco.) 2. G. Cambogia, Desrouss. (Cambogia binucao, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Binukaw, Tag., applied to both trees, though the first is also called Gatasan pul in Tagalo and Taklang-anak in Pampango.

Uses.—The fruit of the second species, the true name of which is binucaw, is acid and edible. The fruit and the trunk of both species, when cut, exude a gum-resin very much like gamboge which is obtained from the G. morella or G. pedicellata, Desr. These gum-resins, however, seem to be much inferior to gamboge; they contain an essential oil which does not exist in the latter and their color is paler.

Botanical Description.—The G. venulosa is a tree with leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, entire and glabrous, the inferior surface covered with nervelets which converge at the apex. Petioles short and flattened. Flowers tetramerous. Calyx, 4 persistent sepals. Corolla, 4 petals, overlapping, fleshy, ovate, of the same color as the calyx. Stamens numerous; no filaments; anthers round and very small. Style very short and thick, stigma peltate, divided into 10 parts. Fruit globose, depressed, no well-marked ridges when ripe.

G. Cambogia differs from the foregoing in the leaves which present no nervelets on the lower surface and the fruit which presents 8 angles or rounded ridges.

Habitat.—Very common throughout the islands, abounding in the mountains of San Mateo and Morong. Blooms in August.



Garcinia morella, Desr.

Nom. Vulg.—I do not know the name given by the Filipinos to this tree, which Vidal and Soler have seen in Montalvn, Tiwi (Albay) and San Mateo (Province of Manila); but it is highly important in medicine as the true gamboge is obtained from it. Gamboge Tree, Eng.

The Gamboge of the U. S. P. and B. P. is obtained from G. Hanburii which differs somewhat botanically from G. morella.

Uses.—All parts of the plant contain a thick, yellow, milky juice which constitutes the gamboge. In Malabar, Ceylon, Canara and Singapore the following method of extraction is followed: At the beginning of the rainy season a spiral incision is made around the bark of about half the tree trunk, and a piece of bamboo is fixed in place to collect the juice which slowly exudes from the cut for several months, soon becoming viscid and then solid after contact with the air. One tree, as a rule, yields enough sap to fill three internodal segments of bamboo, each 50 cm. long by 3-5 cm. in diameter.

Gamboge is a laxative in doses of 10-15 cgm., produces abundant evacuations with violent colicky pains in doses of 30-50 cgm., and is an irritant poison in large doses. In other words it is a highly energetic hydragogue cathartic, especially indicated when we wish to drain off the fluid element of the blood, as in dropsy, asthma, pulmonary and cerebral congestion. It is also used as a vermifuge.

It is rarely given alone, but is combined with calomel, aloes, jalap, rhubarb, etc.

It is official in all pharmacopoeias.

Botanical Description.—A tree 10-20 meters high, with leaves opposite, elliptical, lanceolate, narrowed at both extremities, acuminate, entire, coriaceous, glabrous, 10-12 cm. long by 3-4 cm. broad, with short petioles. Flowers dioecious. Male flower axillary, solitary or in groups of 3-6, pedunculate with small bracts. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 4 petals, orbicular, thick, fleshy. Stamens 30-40, sessile, adherent at the base. Anthers unilocular. Female flower sessile, solitary, axillary, larger than the male; calyx and corolla equal; staminodia 20-30, jointed at the base, forming a membranous corolla from the upper edge of which spring a few short filaments which support each a suboval sterile anther. The ovary is superior and almost spherical, with 4 cells each containing 1 ovule. The fruit, almost spherical, is 2 1/2 cm. in diameter, corticate, bearing at its base the persistent calyx; each of its 4 cells contains a seed.



Ochrocarpus pentapetalous, Blanco. (Tovomita pentapetala, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Namakpakan, Tagudin, Iloc. (?).

Uses.—An oil expressed from the fruit is used in Ilocos for illuminating purposes. The flowers are astringent and are used in infusion in cases of diarrhoea. The oil of the fruit is also used locally in rheumatism, tumefactions and other painful conditions. In some countries of Malaysia the oil is used in the same way especially in beriberi and the periarticular inflammations incident to puerperium.

Botanical Description.—Straight trunk about 8' in diameter, with milky sap. Leaves 1 1/2' long, sessile, opposite, ovate, expanded, minutely notched and glabrous, with a small downy swelling at the base, superior and glued to the branch. Flowers terminal, in racemes, with opposite pedicels. Calyx white, of 2 rounded leaflets bent downwards. Corolla white, 5 petals (not 4), oval, concave, twice as long as the calyx. Stamens numerous, joined to the receptacle. Filaments slightly longer than the corolla. Anthers oval, 2-celled. Ovary superior, oval. Style longer than the stamens. Stigma peltate, sometimes bilobed, sometimes 4-lobed. Fruit about the size of an acorn, oval, fleshy, containing a milky juice; it is 2-celled and each cell contains a solitary, hard seed; of these one aborts.

Habitat.—It grows near the sea. Blooms in December.



Calophyllum Inophyllum, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Palo Maria, Sp.-Fil.; Bitanhol, Tamawian, Dankalan, Dinkalin, Tag.; Dankalan Bitaog, Vis., Pam., Bik.

Uses.—From the seeds of the fruit there exudes a yellowish-green oil, bitter and aromatic. It is used in some districts for illuminating purposes. Its density is 0.942 and its point of solidification 5 above zero. In India it is used by inunction in rheumatism and in the Philippines locally over the stomach in indigestion and colic. The bark of the tree when incised exudes a green resin of a very agreeable odor, which is used as an application to wounds and old sores. In India it is used in the same way. This resin is fusible and dissolves completely in alcohol. It has been mistaken for the tacamahaca of India, which, however, is a product of the C. calaba, L. Mixed with equal parts of pitch and wax it is applied to the chest as a plaster in bronchitis. A decoction of the leaves is used for purulent ophthalmia in some parts of India and Mauritius. The pounded bark is applied locally in orchitis and epididymitis. We have had occasion to use a mixture of equal parts of the resin with white vaseline spread on linen and applied between the shoulder blades; in the persistent cough of senile bronchitis the relief was marked.

Botanical Description.—A large tree with beautiful, dark green leaves 4-5' long, opposite, entire, large, oval with nerves numerous, fine and perpendicular to the midrib. Petioles very short. Flowers large, white, sweet-scented, axillary, in racemes of 7-9. Calyx white, of 4 sepals. Corolla white, of 4 petals. Stamens numerous, polyadelphous. Ovary rudimentary in the male flower; unilocular and uniovulate in the female. Style single and large. Drupe superior, with a hard, bony pit, containing a thicker, softer substance which envelopes a seed of like consistency.

Habitat.—It is found in central Luzon and in the Provinces of Tayabas, La Union and Ilocos. Blooms in November.



Mesua ferrea, L. (Calophyllum apetalum, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Malabukbuk (?), Tag.

Uses.—We do not know to what use the Filipinos put this plant, but in India the sweet flowers are dried and sold in the bazars under the name of Nag-Kasar or Nagesur, which is used as a mild stimulant, but especially as a perfume.

A dark oil is expressed from the seeds, its density 0.954 and its solidifying point 5 above zero. In northern Canara it is used locally in rheumatism. The incised root bark exudes a resinous sap which is a good bitter tonic. The infusion of the wood is equally good. The dried flowers, finely powdered and mixed with oil or lard make a useful ointment for acute hemorrhoids. The fruit is acrid and purgative.

Botanical Description.—A tree with leaves long-petioled, oblong, lanceolate, acuminate, rounded at the base, thick, coriaceous, upper surface lustrous, lower surface greenish or covered with a waxy, ash-colored powder. Flowers terminal or axillary, solitary, yellowish. Calyx 4 imbricated sepals, orbiculate, slightly pubescent. Corolla 4 persistent petals, wedge-shaped, short, with rounded points. Stamens indefinite, free, in 5-6 series. Ovary free, 2-celled, each cell containing 2 ovules. Style bilobed. Fruit nearly unilocular, ovate, acuminate, encompassed at its base by the sepals, the lower part of the petals, and crowned by the style. Pericarp woody, dehiscent at the tip by 2-4 valves; contains 1-4 seeds, slightly orbiculate, coriaceous.

Habitat.—Common in the forests.



DIPTEROCARPE.



Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Gaertn. (D. Indicus, Bedd.; D. Mayapis, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Mayapis, Tag.; Gurjun, Kanyin, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—This tree yields an oleo resin, used in medicine and known under the name of blsamo de gurjun. Other species of Dipterocarpus (D. alatus, Roxb.; D. incanus, Roxb.; D. trinervis, Bl., etc., etc.) produce the same substance. Balsam of Gurjun is a stimulant of the mucous membranes, especially those of the genito-urinary tract, and is diuretic. It is also indicated in bronchial catarrh and as a local application in ulcer. The first to recommend the use of gurjun as a substitute for copaiba was Sir W. O'Shaughnessy in 1838, and in 1852 this property was confirmed by Waring with highly satisfactory results. Dr. Enderson of Glasgow employed it in cases that received no benefit from copaiba, giving a teaspoonful t. i. d. in emulsion. Dr. Rean also classed it as equal to copaiba in efficiency.

The daily dose ranges from 5-20 grams, in liquid or pill.

The following is an excellent formula for an emulsion:

Cinnamon water 125 grams. Sodium carbonate, crystals 2 grams. Balsam of gurjun 25 grams. Syrup of gum 25 grams. Sulphuric ether 2 grams.

Mix and shake.

Dose.—6-12 large spoonfuls each day, for the declining stage of gonorrhoea.

In Burmah they extract the balsam by the following method: A large hole is cut in the trunk of the tree and a fire is built in this cavity and kept up till the wood of the trunk begins to burn, by which time the oleo resin has collected in abundance in the segments of bamboo placed to receive it. When the exudate diminishes, fire is again placed in the cavity and one tree may tolerate 2, 3 or even 4 of these cavities. The exudate on standing separates into 2 parts; a solid called "guad" which forms the lower layer, and a supernatant liquid which is the balsam. It is dense, viscid and very fluorescent; opaque and gray-green by reflected light. It has an odor similar to that of copaiba, is bitter and aromatic. Its density is 0.964. It is soluble in benzine, in bisulphuret of carbon, chloroform, the essential oils and less so in ether and acetic acid. It becomes turbid and coagulates if it be kept at 100 for some time and it solidifies at 200, while copaiba remains liquid at this temperature.

A specimen of the balsam examined by Flckiger consisted of 54.44 parts semifluid resin and 45.56 volatile material. Upon distillation it yields an essential oil, of slight odor, straw-colored; formula C20H32 (Werner). If purified its density is 0.915. It is soluble in amylic alcohol, scarcely so in absolute alcohol. Hydrochloric acid colors it a beautiful blue. The resin remaining after distillation, dissolved in alcohol 0.838 with the addition of ammonia, yields as a precipitate a crystalline acid (gurjunic acid), C44H64O8, soluble in alcohol 0.838, in ether, in benzol and bisulphide of carbon. It melts at 220 (Werner), solidifies at 180 and is decomposed at 260.

Botanical Description.—A very large, handsome tree with leaves about 5' in length, alternate, ovate, broad and lanceolate, entire, glabrous and membranaceous. Petioles very short. Flowers terminal, paniculate, handsome, fragrant. Calyx free, 5 lanceolate sepals, of which 2 are slightly longer than the others. Corolla, 5 yellow oblong petals longer than the sepals. Stamens numerous, attached to the receptacle. Filaments very short. Anthers of 2 divisions each ending in a long beard. Ovary half buried in the receptacle. A single thick style. Three simple stigmas. Seed vessel of 3 cells, seeds in pairs.

Habitat.—In Luzon in the mountains of Tala, Angat and San Mateo; in Mindanao, Paragua, Balabac and Negros. Blooms in June.



MALVACE.

Mallow Family.



Sida carpinifolia, L. (S. acuta, Burm.; S. stipulata, Cav.; S. frutescens, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Wawalisan, Eskobanghaba, Pamalis, Higot-balato, Mamalis, Tag., Vis., Pam.

Uses.—The root is emollient and bitter. The decoction is used as a lotion for ulcers, and internally as a sudorific and tonic-astringent. The physicians of India prescribe the powdered root with milk for fevers and for nervous and urinary diseases. The leaves are used locally in ophthalmia.

The juice of the root is employed as a wash for all kinds of sores and ulcers and the juice of the entire plant is given for spermatorrhoea. After experimenting with the root, the compilers of the Bengal Dispensatory announced their uncertainty as to whether or not it possessed antipyretic properties; however, they pronounce it diaphoretic, an exciter of the appetite and an excellent bitter tonic. In Goa the Portuguese consider it diuretic and use it especially in rheumatic affections.

The root of S. carpinifolia gives a blue color with the salts of iron. It does not precipitate gelatin and contains asparagin.

Botanical Description.—A plant 2-4 high with woody, branching stem, leaves alternate, oblong, pointed, serrate, under surface neither hoary nor tomentose as in some other species of Sida. Petioles very short, curved near the leaf, 2 stipules near the base. Flowers axillary, solitary. Calyx simple, in 5 parts. Corolla, 5 petals notched obliquely. Stamens numerous, inserted on the end of a column. Anthers globose. Styles 5, mingled with the stamens. Stigmas globose. Cells of the same number as the styles, verticillate, with solitary seeds.

Habitat.—Common in Luzon, Panay, Mindanao, Paragua, Ceb and Balabac.



Abutilon Indicum, Don. (Sida Indica, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kuakuakohan, Giling-gilingan, Tag.; Tabing, Malis, Dulupag, Pilis, Vis.; Malvas de Castilla, Sp.-Fil.

Uses.—The trunk bark is slightly bitter, and in decoction is used as a diuretic. An infusion of the leaves and flowers is used as an emollient in place of mallows. The infusion of the root is used for the same effect, as a lotion or injection. I have often had occasion to employ this plant and would never use the Philippine mallow in place of it.

Botanical Description.—A plant 3-4 high, all its parts covered with hairs, simple and tomentose. Leaves heart-shaped, angular, obtuse, unequally serrate, smooth, soft, the lower surface hoary and bearing 9 well-marked nerves. Petioles longer than the leaves, with 2 stipules at the base. Flowers yellow, axillary, solitary. Peduncles long, with a node near the end. Calyx, 5 sepals, as in all the Malvace. Corolla, 5 petals with a small notch at the end. Stamens very numerous as well as the styles. Both arise from the summit of a very short column and twist in all directions forming a tassel or tuft. Fruit much higher than the calyx, of 10-20 cells or carpels which are broad, compressed, hairy, the walls united toward the center, each containing 2-3 seeds.

Habitat.—Common in Luzon, Panay, Mindanao and other islands. Blooms in September.



Urena sinuata, L. (U. morifolia and muricata, DC.; U. multifida, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kulutan, Kulutkulutan, Molopolo, Tag., Vis., Pam.

Uses.—The infusion of the root is used internally as an emollient and refrigerant; externally in skin diseases accompanied by smarting and inflammation. The boiled and pounded leaves are used as a poultice in inflammation of the intestines and bladder.

Botanical Description.—A spreading plant 4-6 high, with straight stem, leaves cleft at the base, serrate and hairy; the larger ones have 5-6 lobules which subdivide into smaller ones and bear a small gland in the inferior surface of the midrib. Petioles short. Flowers terminal and racemose. Calyx double, composed of 5 narrow sepals externally, and 5 colored sepals internally alternating with the outer ones. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens numerous, inserted about a small column. Styles 10, on the end of the column. Stigmas thick, covered with little spheres. Five united carpels, kidney-shaped, bristling with short stiff hairs, containing solitary seeds.

Habitat.—Common in all parts of the Archipelago.



Hibiscus Abelmoschus, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Kastuli, Kastio, Kastiogan, Dalupan, Tag.; Marikum, Dukum, Marukum, Marapoto, Vis.; [2] Marsh Mallow, Eng.

Uses.—The bruised seeds emit an odor of musk, and for this reason the plant has received the name Kastuli, signifying musk in Sanscrit. They possess antispasmodic and stimulant properties, and the infusion is diuretic. Bonastre [3] analyzed Kastuli seeds as follows:

Water and parenchyma 52.00 Gum 36.00 Albumin 5.60 Fixed oil, resin, crystals and odorous principles 6.40 ——— Total 100.00

The fixed oil is greenish-yellow, fluid, but gradually solidifying in the air. The crystalline material is white, of an agreeable odor, soluble in ether, where it crystallizes in rays, fusible at 35. The odorous principle is a bright green, non-volatile liquid of the odor of musk.

Botanical Description.—A plant 5-6 high, the stem hairy and with few branches. Leaves heart-shaped, cleft at the base, with 5 large pointed lobes, serrate, pubescent. Petioles long with two awl-shaped stipules at the base, and a large violet spot in the axil. Calyx double; the outer sepals 8-9 in number, awl-shaped; the inner ones are larger and separate unequally when the flower expands. Both sets are deciduous. Corolla very large, yellow. Stamens very numerous, inserted around a column. One pistil. Five stigmas. Ovary very large, downy, ovoid, 5-angled, with 5 compartments, each containing many kidney-shaped seeds with numerous grooves concentric at the hilum.

Habitat.—Common in all parts of the islands.



Hibiscus tiliaceus, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Balibago, Tag., Pam.; Malabago, Vis.

Uses.—An infusion of the leaves is used as a wash for ulcers and indolent sores. The flowers boiled in milk are used to relieve the pain of earache (Blanco), the warm milk being dropped into the external canal. The powdered bark in dose of 3 grams is emetic(?) (Blanco).

Botanical Description.—A small tree 6-12 high with leaves 4-6' long, alternate, 7-nerved, cleft at the base, abruptly acute, scalloped, pubescent. Petioles long. Flowers axillary, in panicles of very small flowerets. Calyx double, the outer portion divided into 8-9 teeth, the inner into 5 longer parts. Stamens numerous, inserted about a column. Style 1. Stigmas 5. Ovary of 5 cells, each containing 2 seeds.

Habitat.—Abounds in all parts of the islands.



Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Takurangan, Aronganan, Kayanga, Tapulanga, Gumamila, Tag., Vis., Pam.; Rose of China, Eng.

Uses.—The flowers are emollient and are widely used by the Filipinos as a domestic remedy; they are bruised and applied to boils, tumors and all sorts of inflammations. The decoction is much used internally in bronchial catarrh for its sudorific effect.

The Chinese use the trunk bark as an emmenagogue, calling it Fu-yong-pi.

Botanical Description.—A small tree about 7 high commonly called Gumamela in Manila; the leaves are ovate, acute, with about 5 nerves, serrate from the middle to the apex, hairs growing sparsely on both surfaces, with a small group of dark-colored, deciduous hairs growing on the lower part of the midrib. Petioles short with 2 stipules at the base. Calyx double, the outer part divided almost to the base into 6-8 parts; the inner cylindrical, divided in 5. Corolla large, splendid scarlet-red, often double, on slender peduncles. Styles numerous. Fruit identical with that of the Hibiscus tiliaceus.

Habitat.—Universally common in the Philippines.



Thespesia populnea, Corr.

Nom. Vulg.—Babuy or Bobuy gubat, Tag.; Bulakan, Vis.

Uses.—The fruit yields a yellow juice which is used locally in the itch and other cutaneous troubles, after first washing the affected part with a decoction of the roots and leaves. The bark is astringent and is used as a decoction in the treatment of dysentery and hemorrhoids.

Botanical Description.—A tree of the second order with leaves 4-5' long, sparse, 5-nerved, heart-shaped, broad, acute, entire, glabrous, 6 small glands on the lower face of the base. Petioles of equal length with the leaves. Flowers large, axillary, solitary. Calyx double, the outer portion deciduous, consisting of 3 small, acute leaflets inserted on the base of the inner calyx; the inner is bell-shaped, larger than the outer, with 5 inconspicuous, persistent teeth. Corolla four times longer than the calyx, of 5 fleshy, fluted petals, their borders overlapping, much broader above. Stamens very numerous, arranged around and along a column. Filaments long. Anthers of half-moon shape. Style 1, very thick. Stigma cleft in 5 parts, which are twisted in spiral form. Seed vessels about the size of a filbert, 5-sided, with 5 apartments each containing 5 ovoid seeds attached by separate seed stalks to the central axis of the ovary. Seeds not woolly.

Habitat.—Mandaloya Tayabas, Iloilo.



Gossypium herbaceum, L. (G. Indicum, Lam.; G. Capas, Rumph.)

Nom. Vulg.—Algodn, Sp.; Bulak, Tag.; Cotton, Eng.

Uses.—The root bark is antiasthmatic, emmenagogue, and according to Daruty [4] is a substitute for ergot in uterine hemorrhage. The leaves are used in bronchial troubles and the seeds are sudorific. The negroes in the United States use the root bark in large doses as an abortifacient; but a dose of 60 grams to 1,200 of water in decoction is proper and useful in treating dysmenorrhoea.

For a long time the seeds went to waste but industry has learned to obtain from them a brownish-red oil which is used as a substitute for olive oil, from which it is hard to distinguish it, if the latter is adulterated by mixing the two; for both have the same density and a very similar odor and taste. For this reason the production of cottonseed oil is very considerable nowadays. It is cheap and excellent for domestic, industrial and pharmaceutic use.

The seeds are used in North America in dysentery and as a galactagogue, and the juice of the leaves as an emollient in diarrhoea and mild dysentery. The pulp of the seeds, after the oil is extracted, yields a sweet material called gossypose, which is dextrogyrous and has the formula C18H32O16 + 5H2O.

The cotton itself, the part used in commerce as a textile, is also the portion of the plant most widely employed in therapeutics; not only the fiber from this species is used, but also that of others that grow in the Philippines, the G. Barbadense, L. (nom. vulg. Pernambuko, Tag.), and the G. arboreum, L. (Bulak na bundok, Bulak na totoo, Tag.).

Cotton is used extensively in bacteriological laboratories as a filter of liquids and gases. This property possessed by cotton, of retaining in its fibers the germs of the air was utilized by the famous French surgeon Gurin in the treatment that bears his name. The denuded surfaces exposed to infection by airborne bacteria are completely protected against them when, according to the Gurin treatment, they are enveloped in large masses of fresh, raw cotton, presumably free from microrganisms. To avoid the possibility of infection by the cotton itself, it is now the practice to sterilize it either by means of chemicals such as carbolic acid, iodoform, etc., or by physical means such as high temperatures.

Raw cotton is used in compounding gun cotton or explosive cotton, also named pyroxylin, and this is used to make collodion, so extensively employed in medicine.

Pyroxylin is made by treating cotton with equal parts of nitric and sulphuric acids, then washing with water till the latter ceases to give a precipitate with chloride of baryta; then dry in the air.

Collodion is made by dissolving 5 grams of pyroxylin in the following mixture:

Sulphuric ether, rectified 75 grams. Alcohol at 95 20 grams.

Filter.

Elastic collodion:

Canada Balsam 1.50 grams. Castor oil .50 grams. Collodion 30.00 grams.

Mix.

Botanical Description.—A plant 2-3 high, of herbaceous stem, branches sparsely covered with small, black points; leaves cleft at their base, with 5 lobules and a small gland on the midrib. Petiole long with 2 stipules at the base. Flowers axillary, solitary. Calyx double; the outer portion divided in 3 parts, heart-shaped, and each with 5-9 long, acute teeth. Corolla bell-shaped, of 5 petals, pale yellow or turning rose color, purple at the base. Stamens many, inserted on a column. Stigma in 4-5 parts. Ovary of 3-5 compartments. Seeds enveloped in the fiber.

Habitat.—Batangas, Ilocos.



Bombax malabaricum, DC. (B. Ceiba, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Taglinaw, Bobuy gubat, Tag.; Talutu, Vis.

Uses.—In India the roots are used to obtain an astringent and alterative effect and form part of a well-known aphrodisiac mixture called Musla-Samul. If the trunk is incised, an astringent gum exudes and this they use in diarrhoea, dysentery and menorrhagia. Dose of the gum 2 1/2-3 grams.

Botanical Description.—A large tree covered with sharp, conical and tough spines. Leaves alternate, compound, digitate, caducous; leaflets 5-7 with long common petiole. Flowers solitary or in axillary cymes, hermaphrodite, regular. Calyx gamosepalous, cup-shaped, with 5 acute lobules. Corolla violet, with 5 deep clefts; stivation convolute. Stamens numerous, united at the base in 5 bundles, free above, bearing unilocular anthers. Ovary of 5 many-ovulate compartments, with a style ending in 5 short branches. Capsule woody, ovoid, loculicidal, with 5 valves. Seeds numerous, black, covered with cottony fibers.

Habitat.—Angat, Iloilo. Blooms in February.



Eriodendron anfractuosum, DC. (Bombax pentandrum, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—Boboy, Tag.; Doldol, Vis.; Bulak kastila, Pam.

Uses.—The principal use made of this plant in the Philippines is to stuff the pillows with the cotton that it yields. The leaves, pounded with a little water, yield a mucilaginous juice highly prized by the natives as a wash for the hair, mixing it with gogo. The root bark is emetic in dose of 1.25 grm. The cotton yielded by this tree should be used for the same therapeutic purposes as that of gossypium, and being of an exceedingly fine fiber it would give better results. The Filipinos use it to treat burns and sores. I have often used it, being careful always to impregnate it thoroughly with some antiseptic solution. In the treatment of burns it has been my custom to envelope the part in a thick layer of this cotton, after bathing it with a tepid 1-2,000 solution of corrosive sublimate and dusting with a very fine powder of boracic acid.

Botanical Description.—A tree 40-50 high. Trunk somewhat thorny, the branches horizontal, arranged in stars of 3-4. Leaves compound with 7 leaflets, lanceolate, entire, glabrous. Flowers in umbels of 8 or more flowerets. No common peduncle, the individual ones long. Calyx, 5 obtuse sepals, slightly notched. Corolla, 5 fleshy petals, obtusely lanceolate and bent downwards. Stamens 5. Anthers of irregular shape, peltate, with the borders deeply undulate. Stigma in 5 parts. Pod 4-6' long, spindle-shaped. Seeds enveloped in very fine cotton fiber.

Habitat.—Exceedingly common in all parts of the islands. Blooms in December.



STERCULIACE.

Sterculia Family.



Sterculia foetida, L. (S. polyphilla, R. Br.; Clompanus major, Rumph.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kalumpang, Tag.; Bangar, Iloc.

Uses.—A decoction of the leaves is used as a wash in suppurative cutaneous eruptions. The fruit is astringent and is used in Java as an injection for gonorrhoea. In western India and in the Philippines it is an article of diet. The seeds yield an oil that is used for illumination and as a comestible.

Botanical Description.—A large tree of the first order with digitate leaves of 6-8 leaflets, broad, oval, very acute, tough, glabrous, growing on a long common petiole. No petiole proper. Flowers of a foetid or feculent odor, hermaphrodite, in compound racemes. Calyx fleshy, soft pubescent internally, bell-shaped, in 5 parts. Corolla none. Nectary 5-toothed, on the end of a small column. Stamens 15, inserted on the border of the nectary by threes, forming a triangle. Filament almost entirely wanting. In the midst of the stamens is visible a small, hairy body of 5 lobules which are the rudiments of the ovaries. The style protrudes and twists downwards. Stigma thick, compressed, of 5 lobules. Fruit, five woody pods, semicircular, joined to a common center, each enclosing many oval seeds inserted in the superior suture.

Habitat.—Luzon, Mindanao, Ceb, Iloilo. Blooms in March.



Sterculia urens, Roxb. (S. cordifolia, Blanco; Cavallium urens, Schott. & Endl.)

Nom. Vulg.—Banilad, Tag.

Uses.—The root bark is pounded up and applied locally in orchitis and in severe contusions with supposed fracture of the bones; native charlatans pretend to cure the latter condition by this treatment.

The trunk exudes a sort of gum, which with water forms a sort of colorless, odorless gelatin which dissolves at the boiling point. I do not know to what use this gum is applied in therapeutics, but it is often found mixed with the Senegambian gum acacia.

Botanical Description.—A tree with leaves bunched, 7-9-veined, heart-shaped, ovate, broad and entire, glabrous upper surface, short white down on lower surface. Petioles of same length as the leaves. Flowers small, yellow, numerous, polygamous, growing in large, terminal panicles covered with a fine, sticky down. Calyx bell-shaped, 5 acute papyraceous divisions, each bearing a small gland near its base. No corolla. Stamens 10, united in a column, the upper ends free. Five pods joined at one point, half-moon shaped, with woody shell, glabrous within and with a short down on the outer surface. Three or four kidney-shaped seeds, the testa thin and crustaceous.

Habitat.—Ceb, Iloilo.



Kleinhovia hospitata, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Tanag, Tag., Vis.; Hamitanago, Vis.; Panampat, Pam.; Bitnong, Iloc.

Uses.—The decoction of the leaves is used, according to P. Blanco, to cure the itch. It is also used locally in all forms of dermatitis, and the tender leaves and sprouts are cooked and eaten.

Botanical Description.—Tree 25 high or more, with leaves alternate, heart-shaped, pubescent, almost entire. Petioles long with 2 stipules at the base. Flowers red, axillary, in large panicles. Calyx, 5 sepals, almost linear. Corolla the same size as the calyx, 5 linear petals, the lower shorter and curved. Nectary bell-shaped, of 5 parts, each 3-toothed; set on a column; at its base a wavy fringe with dentate edge. Stamens 15. No filaments. Anthers seated on the 15 teeth of the nectary. Ovary within the nectary, 5-angled, 5 apartments each containing an almost spherical seed.

Habitat.—Luzon, Mindanao, Panay, Ceb, Jol. Flowers in March and September.



Helicteres Isora, L. (H. chrysocalyx, Miq.; H. Roxburghii, G. Don.)

Nom. Vulg.—(?); Indian Screw Tree, Eng.

Uses.—I am ignorant of the use that the Filipinos make of this plant, though it is very possible that they do not employ it at all in medicine, which is usually the case with those plants to which they have given no name. In India the peculiar spiral form of the fruit has suggested its application, according to the theories of the doctrine of symbolism. Ainslie says that the Hindoos use it to treat diseases of the external auditory canal. On account of its emollient properties and probably on account of its twisted form, it is used internally as a decoction, in flatulence and the intestinal colic of children. It is indispensable in the marriage ceremonies of the caste of Vaisya, among whom it is customary for the groom to wear on his wrists in the form of bracelets, strings of this fruit combined with that of Randia dumetorum.

The root yields a juice which is employed in skin diseases, in abscess, acid in cardialgia. In Jamaica the juice of the leaves is sometimes used for constipation.

Botanical Description.—A small tree with leaves alternate, simple, entire, irregularly nerved or veined at the base, petiolate. Flowers of a handsome red color, hermaphrodite, regular, axillary. Calyx gamosepalous, tubular, of 5 parts. Corolla, 5 free petals slightly dentate at the point. Stamens numerous, united on a free column on the cusp. Compound nectary of 5 unilocular, many-ovuled ovaries. Styles 5, joined at the base. Fruit of 5 carpels, thin, twisted on themselves in spirals, forming a cone, pubescent, of a greenish-brown color, each containing a single row of angular seeds.

Habitat.—Luzon, Panay.



Abroma fastuosa, R. Br. (A. angulata, Lam.; A. communis, Blanco; A. augusta, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—Anibong, Tag.; Anabo, Vis.; Perennial Indian Hemp, Eng.

Uses.—The root bark is used in India as an emmenagogue in the congestive and neuralgic forms of amenorrhoea. It seems to act as a uterine tonic. The dose is 2 grams of the juice of the fresh root mixed with pepper which also acts as a carminative and stomachic.

Botanical Description.—A shrub 3-4 meters high with hairy branches. Leaves opposite, oval, oblong, serrate, tomentose. Flowers purple, solitary, terminal. Calyx, 5 sepals. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, united in the form of a tube. Ovary sessile, with 5 many-ovuled compartments. Styles 5, united in the form of a tube which divides into 5 stigma-bearing branches. Capsule membranous, 5-angled, truncate, dehiscent at apex. Seeds albuminous, covered with filaments of cotton.

Habitat.—San Mateo, La Laguna, Batangas, Iloilo.



Theobroma Cacao, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Cacao.

Uses.—The roasted bean ground with sugar constitutes chocolate, one of the most generally used foods of the Philippines.

It is very nutritious by virtue of the fat and sugar it contains, but all stomachs do not bear it well and its use is the unsuspected cause of much dyspepsia. The custom of drinking it very hot and following with a large quantity of cold water is a very common cause of dilatation of the stomach in the Philippines. The seed of the cacao contains several substances: cacao butter, albumin, theobromine, starch, glucose, gum, tartaric acid, free or combined, tannin, and mineral substances. Of these the butter and theobromine are the most important.

Theobromine (C7H8N4O2) is a weak alkaloid, crystalline, slightly bitter, slightly soluble in cold water, more soluble in hot water, less soluble in alcohol and ether; stable in the air up to 100; sublimes without decomposition at 290 in microscopic crystals of the form of rhomboid prisms ending in an octohedric point (Keller).

This alkaloid is very little used in therapeutics and its physiological action is said to be analogous to that of caffeine but weaker. It is better to use the salt of the alkaloid, and that most frequently employed is the salicylate of soda and theobromine in doses of from 2 to 6 grams daily in solution or pill. Lately, however, Dr. Gram has maintained that theobromine is a powerful diuretic operating when other diuretics fail and further that this effect is produced without injuring the heart. The double salt is non-toxic, though sometimes in exceedingly weak patients it produces vertigo. Dr. Gram administers 6 grams a day in one-gram doses.