1. Cassia Obova'Ta

Cassia Obova'Ta. Leaflets, official 1830-1870. This was the first senna known, being introduced by the Moors into Europe as early as the 9th century, where even in the 16th it became very largely cultivated. Grows wild on sandy soil in Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia, Tripoli, Senegal, Arabia, India; cultivated in Jamaica, being called Port Royal or Jamaica Senna; leaves 5-7 pairs, leaflets obovate, obtuse. C. pubes'cens (C. holoseric'ea), Aden Senna, Abyssinia, rarely met with now; leaflets 2.5 Cm. (1') long, ovate, mucronate, hairy, sometimes mixed with Mecca senna. C. brev'ipes, C. America; leaflets resemble Indian senna, but have 3 longitudinal veins; infusion non-purgative.

2. C. marylan'dica. - Leaflets, official 1820-1880; United States, New England to S. Carolina, west to the Mississippi. Plant 1-1.5 M. (3-5°) high; leaves alternate, leaflets paripinnate, 8 pairs, 2.5-5 Cm. (1-2') long, 12 Mm. (1/2') wide; flowers August, yellow; fruit pod, 7.5 Cm. (3') long; in sandy soil, river banks, introduced into England in 1723, cultivated for ornament, collected Aug.-Sept.; contains cathartic acid, volatile oil, and is given in one-third larger doses than the official varieties; in infusion.

3. C. Fis'tula, Purging Cassia. - The dried fruit, official 1820-1910; E. India, Egypt, nat. in S. America, W. Indies. Handsome tree, 9-15 M. (30-50°) high; bark gray; leaves paripinnate, leaflets 3-7 pairs, 5-15 Cm. (2-6') long, ovate; flowers yellow. Fruit cylindrical, 25-60 Cm. (10-20') long, 20 Mm. (4/5') thick, blackish, longitudinal groove (ventral), slight ridge (dorsal), indicating the 2 sutures, inde-hiscent, 25-100 transverse compartments, each with a brown seed, 8 Mm. (1/3') long, embedded in blackish-brown pulp (30 p. c.) having prune-like odor, mawkish sweet taste; contains (pulp) sugar 60 p. c, mucilage, pectin, albuminoids, tannin, volatile oil, butyric acid, calcium oxalate. Laxative; costiveness, to promote bile flow; usually combined with other drugs (manna, tamarind, salines, etc.). Dose, 3j-2 (4-8 Gm.).

4. Dip'teryx odora'ta, Tonka Bean; Guiana. Large tree, fruit oblong-ovate, single-seeded; seed used in medicine, 4 Cm. (1 3/5') long, compressed, rounded at each end, testa dark brown, thin, wrinkled, somewhat glossy, often covered with small white crystals of coumarin; kernel light brown; oily; odor agreeably aromatic, resembling vanilla; taste bitter, aromatic; contains coumarin (coumarinum), C9H6O2 - anhydride of ortho-oxycinnamic acid (also prepared synthetically), the odorous principle in sublimable crystals, fixed oil 25 p. c, sugar, mucilage. There are two varieties: 1, Dutch; 2, English. Narcotic, stimulant, paralyzant to the heart; whooping-cough (fluidextract), as a flavoring ingredient - cigars, sachets, etc. Dose, gr. 5-10 (.3-.6 Gm.).

5. Melilo'tus officina'lis and Melilotus altis'simus, Sweet Clover. The leaves and flowering tops; Europe, United States. Plants 1-1.5 M. (3-5°) high, flowers yellow and white, in racemes on angular stems; leaves serrate, trifoliate; odor fragrant, honey-like, especially when in bloom, which becomes stronger and more agreeable upon drying, resembling tonka bean; taste aromatic, bitter; contains coumarin (chief constituent of tonka bean), melilotic acid, coumaric acid, meli-lotol (fragrant volatile oil). Used mostly locally to allay pain in abdomen, joints, etc., plasters, ointments, infusion, decoction.

Fig. 185. - Cassia Fistula.

Fig. 186. - Cassia Fistula: Part of pod, natural size.

6. Trigonel'la Fcen'um-grae'cum, Fenugreek. The seeds; India, Europe; cultivated in France, Germany, etc. Annual herb, .3 M. (1°) high, leaves trifoliate, leaflets dentate, flowers yellowish, fruit compressed legume containing 16 seeds; seeds 3 Mm. (1/8') long and broad, 2 Mm. (1/12') thick, rhombic, flattened, brownish-yellow, large diagonal groove; strong aromatic, to some pleasant, odor; taste mucilaginous, bitter; contains volatile oil, fixed oil 6 p. c., mucilage 28 p. c, pro-teids 22 p. c., bitter principle, choline, trigonelline .13 p. c. Powder sometimes adulterated with ground amylaceous seeds. Used similar to flaxseed, elm, althaea; emollient cataplasms, enemata, ointments, plasters, decoction, 5 p. c. (usually thick and slimy); demulcent in veterinary condition-powders.