Asclepiadaceæ.

Milkweed Family.

Calotrops gigantea, R. Br. (Asclepias gigantea, Willd. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kapal-kapal, Tag.; Swallow-Wort, Eng.; Mudar, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—This plant is official in the Pharmacopœia of India as an alterative, tonic, diaphoretic and emetic. J. J. Durant, having observed that the natives used it for dysentery, experimented with it quite successfully in that disease. For adults he gradually raised the dose from 1.10 to 4 grams, preferring smaller doses, however, for mild cases. To children he prescribed 5–10 centigrams for each year of age, 3 or 4 times a day. He remarked that the effects produced were identical with those of ipecac administered in Brazilian fashion.

The part of the plant used is the dry root powdered. The usual dose is 15–50 centigrams 3 times a day, gradually increased; as an emetic 2–4 grams.

The milky juice that escapes from the stem on the slightest abrasion is a drastic purgative, given commonly in dropsy, lumbricoids, etc. Pledgets of cotton impregnated with the juice and packed in the cavities of carious teeth, relieve toothache. It is applied locally for various skin diseases, including syphilitic ulcers, and as a depilatory.

Some races of India, such as the Rajputs of the districts of Allahab and of Khangor, use this milk-juice to poison their female infants whom they are accustomed to regard as a vexatious burden. Therapeutically they use it with honey, locally for sore throat.

The dry and powdered juice has been used in small doses as an alterative in the treatment of tuberculous leprosy, but it has not given results any better than many other drugs. In syphilis and mercurial cachexia its results are less doubtful.

In 1881 Dr. Riddell obtained a sort of gutta-percha from the juice, previously observed by Professor Redwood.

Mooden Sheriff states that the most active parts of the plant are the root bark and the dried juice. He adds that the action of the juice is irregular and even dangerous, and that the bark is active in direct proportion to its age. He recommends that the inert tuberous layer of the bark be removed; prepared thus and powdered it is emetic in doses of 2.50–3 grams.

Duncan claims to have isolated from the bark an active principle which he called mudarin from “mudar,” the Indian name of the plant. Following the same process Flückiger was unable to obtain the substance, but did isolate 1½% of an acrid resin, soluble in ether and in alcohol; a mucilage and a bitter principle decolorized by chloroform and ether. It is probable that this is the active principle of the “Calotropis gigantea.”

Warden and Waddell in 1881 isolated a substance crystallizable in nodular masses, with the formula C₁₇H₂₈O, analogous to the albana of gutta-percha.

Botanical Description.—A small tree, 7–8° high, with straight stem, branched and woody. Leaves sessile, opposite, cleft at the base, oval, fleshy and woolly. Flowers lateral in simple umbels of 3 or more flowerets. Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla monopetalous, 5 acute lobes, white, of rare and beautiful form. Nectaries 5, united throughout their length with the receptacle, their bases curved like the sides of the fleur de lis.

Above the nectaries is a 5-angled crown, the extremity of the receptacle; in each angle a black anther. Two large follicles narrowed at the ends, woolly, the apex somewhat curved to one side, containing many imbricated seeds, each with a tuft of long hairs.

Habitat.—Bauang, Taal and the volcanic island of Taal. Blossoms in April.

Tylophora asthmatica, Wight. (Asclepias asthmatica, Roxb.)

Nom. Vulg.—(?)

Uses.—We are ignorant of the uses the Filipinos make of this plant. It is official in the Pharmacopœia of India, the dry powdered leaf being the part employed, and its emetic, diaphoretic and expectorant properties are well known in that country. Roxburgh has used the root as an emetic and Anderson has employed it in the same manner as ipecac in dysentery. Later the experience of Anderson was confirmed by O’Shaughnessy; though in place of the root he used the leaf, the properties of which he regards as more certain and uniform.

Dr. J. Kirkpatrick has noted that the juice of the root and its powder are used by the natives of Mysore as an emetic, and adds that he himself has used it for that purpose in a thousand cases with good results. In its effect on dysentery as well as in its emetic effect it resembles ipecacuanha. He used the powder in doses of 1.20–1.80 gr., to which he added 3–6 centigrams of tartar emetic when he desired to obtain an energetic emetic action. Like O’Shaughnessy he prefers the powdered leaves. He considers it a good substitute for ipecac, not only as an emetic, but as a remedy in asthma, dysentery and catarrhal affections; Drs. Oswald and Mooden Sheriff have made the same observations. The latter advises the administration of the juice of the plant for snake bites till vomiting is produced; then follow with diffusible stimulants.

The emetic dose of the powdered leaves is 1.20–1.80 grams, the expectorant and diaphoretic dose 10–30 centigrams. The concentrated infusion of the leaves has an acrid taste. Tannic acid, the neutral acetate of lead and caustic potash produce with it an abundant precipitate; the perchloride of iron colors it a dark green. Broughton, of Ootaemund (India), informed Hanbury and Flückiger, from whom we quote, that in 1872 he obtained a very small quantity of crystals from a large quantity of leaves. He had not enough to make an analysis, but injected a solution of the crystals into a dog with resulting vomiting and diarrhœa.

Botanical Description.—A vigorous plant with scandent stem 2–4 meters long, the more recent growth woolly. Leaves opposite, entire, 5–12 centimeters long and 2–6 broad, oval or rounded. Petiole striated and short. Flowers in umbelliferous cymes, compound, axillary, solitary and alternate, with woolly peduncles; hermaphrodite, regular, small, of a pale green color inside and a light purple outside. Calyx gamosepalous, with 5 lobules. Corolla gamopetalous, 5 oval, twisted lobules. Staminal crown composed of 5 fleshy scales, joined to the staminal tube. Stamens 5, inserted on the throat of the corolla, filaments joined to form a very short tube with anthers straight, short and crowned by a membranous bilocular appendix. The gynœcium consists of 2 unilocular ovaries each containing an indefinite number of ovules. Style with a pentagonal stigma which bears in each angle a glandular body. Fruits compound with two separate follicles, large, lanceolate, smooth, 8–10 centimeters long and 5 in circumference. Each encloses a seed, hairy, albuminous with straight embryo and flattened cotyledons.

Habitat.—Mountains of San Mateo.

Loganiaceæ.

Logania Family.

Strychnos Ignatii, Berg. (S. Philippensis, Blanco; Ignatia amara, L.; Ignatia Philippinea, Lour.)

Nom. Vulg.—Pepita Fruta, Sp.-Fil.; Pepita sa katbalog̃an, Kabalog̃an, Tag., Pam.; Pangaguason, Aguason, Kanlara, Mananaog, Dankagi, Katalog̃a, Igasud, Vis.; St. Ignatius Bean, Eng.

Uses.—The part of the plant employed is the seed, known in addition to the above common names as Pepita de San Ignacio and Pepita de Cabalonga (for katbolog̃an). The natives handle it with the greatest imprudence, selling everywhere in the markets and in the Chinese shops, called tindag̃-bayag̃. It is not only a remedy among them, but a sort of panacea, to which they attribute, among other virtues, that of expelling evil spirits, simply worn about the neck. They grate it with a piece of earthen pot, mix with a little “tuba” vinegar and apply it to the temples for headache. In bites of poisonous animals they advise the application of the powdered seed over the wound, a treatment which instead of being beneficent might easily be harmful to the patient. Before proceeding further, let us give the chemical composition of the seeds in order that their uses may be the better understood.

Strychnine is found in them in the proportion of ½–1½ and brucine ½%–1.4%. Flückiger and Hanbury by drying it over sulphuric acid and burning it with “cal sòdica” obtained 1.78% of nitrogen which represents 10% of albuminoid material. Strychnine and brucine exist in combination with igasuric acid discovered by Ludwig in 1873. The proportion of both the alkaloids is greater than in the seeds of nux vomica which contain only .25–.50% strychnine and .12–.05% brucin, although some authors give it as high as 1.01%. Strychnine can be obtained more readily and in larger proportions from St. Ignatius bean, but it is generally obtained from nux vomica seeds on account of the cheapness of the latter.

It is more energetic than nux vomica and its use in medicine should be condemned, preference, however, being given to the official preparations among which the best known is that commonly called “Bitter Drops of Beaumé,” of which the following is the composition:

Macerate for 10 days, strain, express and filter. Dose, 1–16 drops in a little water or wine before each meal, for dyspepsia, anæmia, convalescence from fevers, and other conditions in which a tonic is indicated. The indications for the use of this drug are the same as those for nux vomica, keeping in mind the difference in dose.

Botanical Description.—This plant grows in the deep forests of Samar and Masbate. That industrious and distinguished botanist, D. Regino García, found it growing abundantly in Paranas, Island of Samar. It is a robust vine, the trunk sometimes as thick as a man’s thigh, climbing to the tops of the highest trees, apparently without preference as to its host, inasmuch as he saw it growing indifferently on Ficus, Dipterocarpus, Litsaca, etc. The seed which most interests us and is very common, is about the size of an olive, round and convex on one side, angulose and flattened on the other by being compressed with many others within the fruit which contains 50 of them. Its surface is blackish with a gray-blue tinge. It is hard and corneous. Its taste is extremely bitter.

Branches opposite, smooth, the ends square. Leaves opposite, oval, much pointed at the apex, entire, glabrous, with 3 prominent nerves. Petioles very short. Flowers in panicles of many flowerets. Calyx inferior, 5-cleft, very short. Corolla 6–7 times longer than the calyx, funnel-form, 5-lobed. Anthers 5, sessile, fixed in the throat of the corolla. Ovary very small. Style filiform, same length as the stamens. Stigma truncate and thick. Drupe globose, often oval, large, smooth, with thick, woody shell of a single compartment containing seeds as described above.

Boraginaceæ.

Borage Family.

Ehretia buxifolia, Roxb. (Carmonea heterophylla, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Mag̃it, Alag̃itg̃it, Tag., Vis.

Uses.—The leaves dried in the shade are used in some Visayan towns, in infusion to take the place of tea. The root is used by the Hindoo physicians as an alterative. Dr. R. Ross has employed it for that purpose in a decoction of 60 grams to 500 cc. of water; 60 cc. a day of this preparation gave him good results in secondary and constitutional syphilis. The Mohammedans of India consider the root an antidote for vegetable poisons.

Botanical Description.—Small tree, 5–6° high, trunk straight. Leaves alternate or bunched in 3′s or 4′s at the nodes, lanceolate or spatulate, 3-toothed at apex, sometimes serrate toward the apex, set with short, stiff hairs. Petioles very short. Flowers axillary, in racemose panicles of a few flowers each. Common peduncle long, pedicel short. Calyx free, bell-shaped, persistent, divided almost to base into 5 narrow, downy parts. Corolla bell-shaped, 5 oval lobules. Stamens 5. Ovary oval, within the flower. Style bifid. Stigmas simple, truncate. Drupe globose, with hard, slightly furrowed putamen of 6 locules and solitary seeds.

Habitat.—Malinta and many other parts of the Visayas. Blooms in January.

Convolvulaceæ.

Convolvulus Family.

Ipomœa hederacea, Jacq. (I. nil, Roth.; Convolvulus nil, L. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Bulakan, Tag.; Kala-Danah, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—This plant is not used as a medicine by the Filipinos, but is official in the Pharmacopœia of India from which we copy its indications and official preparations.

The seed is the part employed, its cathartic properties being much like those of jalap, though less energetic. An excellent substitute for the latter is 2 or 3 grams of kala-danah seeds in powder form, and no unpleasant effects attend its operation.

The official preparations are:

Extract of Kaladana.—Dose, 30–60 centigrams in pill.

Tincture of Kaladana.—Dose, 8–12 grams.

Compound Powder of Kaladana.—Dose, 3–3½ grams.

The last is an excellent substitute for the corresponding preparation of jalap.

Resin of Kaladana.—Dose, 30–50 centigrams. It is prepared like resin of jalap and is a safe and sure purgative. In mass it has a dark color, but is gray when powdered. The odor is rather unpleasant, the taste sweetish and then acrid, nauseous, persistent, exciting the saliva and irritating the fauces. It was introduced into practice by Dr. G. Vidie.

Botanical Description.—A twiner with round, downy stem. Leaves heart-shaped, 3-lobed, the middle one broad-lanceolate, the lateral ones rather rectangular with petioles of equal length with the leaves. Flowers large, rose color or pale blue, in axillary cymes of 2 or 3 flowers each. Calyx, 5 long, downy parts. Corolla bell-shaped, 5 faint lobes. Stamens 5, free, inserted in the corolla. Ovary free, 3 biovulate locules. Style simple. Stigma trilobed. Seed vessels globose with 3 locules each containing 2 seeds. Seeds convex on dorsum, 1/2 cm. broad by 1 cm. long, testa black.

Habitat.—Manila. Blooms in August.

Ipomœa pes-capræ, Roth. (Convolvulus pes-capræ L. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Katagkatag, Lagayray, Lampayog, Bagasoa, Kamigag, Daripay, Tagaray, Arodayday, Lambayog, Tag., Vis.; Lambayog, Iloc.

Uses.—The dry, powdered leaves are dusted over bruises and ulcers. The entire plant is very mucilaginous and the bruised fresh leaves are applied like poultices to cancers and ulcerating tumors. In India the boiled leaves are applied locally in colic and in rheumatism; the juice is given internally in dropsy as a diuretic, the pounded leaves at the same time serving as a poultice to the œdematous parts.

Botanical Description.—A plant that creeps extensively, the stem taking root. Leaves with 2 well-marked lobules. Flowers rose-lilac color, in axillary panicles with long pedicels. Corolla very large, bell-shaped, the limb 5-angled and 5-nerved. Stamens 5, unequal in height. Stigma globose, marked by a line; later it divides in two. Seed vessel ovate, 2-celled, in each cell 2 downy seeds convex on one side, angular on the other.

Habitat.—Very common on the seashore. Blooms in January.

Ipomœa Turpethum, R. Br. (Convolvulus Turpethum, L.; C. maximus, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Albohol, Sp.; Turpeth Root, Indian Jalap, Eng.

Uses.—The root, known in the Philippines as “turbita,” is a purgative and is a component part of the tincture of jalap, one of the most positive and active of known cathartics. But turpeth root is seldom used alone, for its action is so uncertain that Sir W. O’Shaughnessy pronounced the plant unworthy of a place in the Pharmacopœia of India. The dose of the powder is 1–4 grams, the resin 40–50 cgms., the decoction of the root 4–12 grams. The active principle is a resin soluble in ether and a glucoside, turpethin, C₃₄H₅₆O₁₆.

In the east of India they make offerings of the flowers to the god Shiva, and also put them to more practical use by applying them to the head for neuralgic headache.

Botanical Description.—A vine with quadrangular stem. Leaves heart-shaped. Flowers axillary, numerous, in umbels. Calyx deeply cleft in 5 imbricated, ovate, fleshy parts. Corolla bell-shaped, folded. Stamens 5, unequal in height. Ovary inserted on an hypogynous disk, with 2 biovulate compartments. Style same length as stamens. Stigma bilobulate, globose. Seed vessel square, encircled by calyx, 2 locules each with 2 seeds.

Habitat.—Common in Bauang and Pasig. Blooms in November.

Solanaceæ.

Nightshade Family.

Solanum nigrum, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Hierba mora, Sp.; Konty, Onty, Gamagamatisan, Tag.; Lagpakon, Bolagtob, Lubilubi, Vis.; Kuty, Lubilubi, Bic.; Black or Common Nightshade, Eng.

Uses.—In the Philippines the entire plant is boiled and used for food, with the precaution of pouring off the first 2 or 3 waters in which it is cooked, which contain an active principle capable of causing such disagreeable symptoms as vertigo and nausea. A decoction of the leaves serves to cleanse chronic sores and in fact improves their condition; it is also used as a lotion for various forms of dermatitis, for erysipelas and old burns.

The plant is narcotic, antispasmodic and like belladonna it dilates the pupil.

In India the decoction is given internally, 200–250 grams, for hypertrophy of the liver, and it is considered a good diuretic and alterative. For such uses they heat the above dose in a clay vessel till the color changes from green to brown, when it is cooled and given next day. Its action is diuretic and hydragogue-cathartic. Mooden Sheriff recommends this treatment highly, and for dropsy further advises the aqueous extract, 12 grams during the day divided into 3 or 4 doses. Small doses of 30–60 grams of the decoction prepared as above described, are of use in some chronic skin diseases such as psoriasis.

In 1821 Defosses, of Besançon, obtained solanine from the fruit, previously isolated from the S. Dulcamara.

Botanical Description.—A plant about 2° high, stem straight, 3–4-angled, with white dots. Leaves lanceolate. Flowers white, in 2-ranked racemes. Calyx inferior, 5 persistent teeth. Corolla, 5 petals somewhat down-curved. Berry small, black when ripe.

Habitat.—Universally common. Blooms in January.

Capsicum fastigiatum, Bl. (C. minimum, Roxb.)

Nom. Vulg.—Chili picante, Sp.-Fil.; Sili, Tag.; Capsicum, Red Pepper, etc., Eng.

Uses.—The fruit of this species of pepper plant is called agí in Cuba and Porto Rico; it is in common use as a condiment in the Philippines. As a tonic and stimulant it is a useful article of food in hot countries where the digestive functions become sluggish. Used in moderation it prevents dyspepsia and consequent diarrhœa. It is used as a gargle for hoarseness, decreasing the congestion of the larynx and vocal cords.

Gargle.—

Mix.

Recently capsicum in powder, extract, or tincture, has been recommended internally in the treatment of incipient hemorrhoids. The dose is .50 to 3 grams of the powder in pills or capsules; watery extract, 0.30–0.60; tincture, 10–30 drops.

The C. annuum, L., and other varieties of red pepper serve the same uses as the above.

Botanical Description.—Stem 4-angled. Leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, entire. Petioles short. Flowers greenish-white in little clusters, drooping. Corolla wheel-shaped. Fruit straight, conical, slender, scarcely 1′ long.

Habitat.—Universally common in the islands. Blooms at all times.

Datura alba, Nees. (D. Metel, Roxb. and Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Talamponay, Tag., Pam.; Takbibug̃, Vis.; Dhatura, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The applications of this species are identical with those of D. Stramonium and it is official in the Pharmacopœia of India. It is antispasmodic, narcotic and toxic, and is used quite commonly with criminal intent in India and Indo-China. The cooked and bruised leaves make an efficient poultice in articular rheumatism.

The symptoms of poisoning by “dhatura” are: dilatation of the pupil, general malaise, dryness of the fauces and skin, hallucinations, rapid pulse, coma and death or permanent mania.

The dry leaf is smoked to abort asthma, and though its action is uncertain, it is one of the many remedies that should be tried, which though ineffective in one case may in another afford positive relief in this distressing disease. Not more than 1.50 grams should be smoked in one day and their use should be discontinued if any symptom of intoxication supervenes. The Pharmacopœia of India contains a tincture made from 75 grams of the ground seeds and 500 grams of alcohol. Dr. Waring states that 20 drops of this tincture are equivalent to 6 centigrams of opium and that in some cases it has given him better narcotic results than the opium. The extract is made from 500 grams of the powdered seeds, 500 cc. ether, 500 cc. alcohol and 500 cc. water. Dose, 5–20 centigrams a day in 4 doses.

The D. fastuosa, L., known in Manila by the common name of Talamponay na itim, Tag., possesses the same properties as the above. The Filipino physician, Sr. Zamora, successfully employed a poultice of bruised leaves cooked in vinegar and applied to the forehead and backs of the hands to reduce the fever of tuberculous patients.

Neither the leaves nor seeds of these two varieties of Datura have been studied from a chemical standpoint, but there is little doubt that the active principle is the daturine (atropine and hyoscyamine) that exists so abundantly in D. Stramonium.

Botanical Description.—Plant 5–6° high, with nodose branches, forked. Leaves ovate, angled, somewhat downy. Flowers large, white, axillary, solitary. Calyx tubular, 5-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped, the limb 5-angled and 5-folded. Stamens 5, same length as calyx. Anthers long, flattened. Stigma thick, oblong, divisible in 2 leaves. Seed vessel globose, thorny, 4-valved over the base of the calyx. Seeds numerous, flattened, kidney-shaped. (Resembles closely the common Jamestown Weed of America, though much taller with much larger flowers.)

Habitat.—Common on the shores of the sea. The D. fastuosa is differentiated by its violet flowers and double corolla.

Nicotiana Tabacum, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Tabaco, Sp.; Tobacco, Eng.

Uses.—Tobacco is a powerful sedative and antispasmodic, but owing to the accidents it may give rise to, its use in therapeutics is very limited. Like all the active Solanaceæ it is effective against neuralgia and spasm of the muscular tissues and is therefore indicated in strangulated hernia and in intestinal obstruction. In these conditions the infusion of 1–5 grams of the dried leaf to 250 grams of water is given by enema. Trousseau advises non-smokers who suffer from chronic constipation to smoke a cigarette fasting, a practice which, according to him, stimulates defecation. For the same condition the people of southern India are accustomed to apply a poultice of the bruised leaves to the anal region.

Tobacco has been used by enema to combat tetanus; Dr. Lesth, of the General Hospital for Europeans, Bombay, claims to have obtained excellent results by applying a poultice over the entire length of the spinal column. Dr. Dymock has confirmed this practice.

A decoction of the leaves is used as a lotion to destroy “pediculi capitis and pubis,” and to wash gangrenous ulcers.

The daily increasing practice of smoking, like all other subjects, divides mankind into two camps, one for and one against the habit. Both parties exaggerate their arguments. The abuse of the plant without doubt sets up disturbances of the digestion, the heart and the nervous system. It is furthermore positive that persons of a certain disposition and with certain ailments are injured by even a moderate use of tobacco. The above facts serve as arms for the opponents of the habit; the robust who smoke and drink to excess and meet with an accidental death on a railroad or from an acute disease that overtakes them in the midst of perfect health, serve as arguments for the defenders, to prove the innocence of the custom. The antiseptic qualities of the smoke and of the entire plant also lend the smoker a defensive argument, as he may uphold the habit as hygienic and highly useful in preventing microbic infection. The antiseptic power of tobacco smoke is undoubted, but it is intolerable that a physician under the pretext of avoiding self infection should enter the house of his patient and continue smoking at the bedside.

Chronic nicotine poisoning is the result of a gradual intoxication by the absorption of the active principle of tobacco, the alkaloid nicotine. Excessive smoking conduces to nicotism, more common in Europe than in the tropics, because the natives of Europe smoke the pipe and being confined in closed dwellings, breathe continuously an atmosphere of smoke; in the Philippines, on the contrary, the pipe is almost unknown and owing to the nature of the dwellings the smoking is carried on practically in the open air. An injurious practice of the Filipino smokers is that of “swallowing the smoke,” and this is a fitting point to call attention to an error of Dujardin-Beaumetz, who states that “in those who habitually swallow the smoke the nicotine acts directly upon the stomach.” The expression “swallow smoke” (tragar el humo) does not mean to force it into the stomach by an act of deglutition, and I am sure no one attempts to dispose of it in that way; but to inspire or breath it into the air passages. It is evident that this latter habit does not involve the stomach, but those who practice it expose themselves more to nicotism than those who keep the smoke in the mouth or expel it through the nose.

The first cigar causes symptoms familiar to nearly everybody; dizziness, malaise, cold sweat, vomiting, diarrhœa, dilatation of the pupils and rapid heart action—an acute intoxication. Chronic intoxication or nicotism manifests itself by disturbances of digestion, vision and especially circulation. It has been assigned as one of the causes of early atheroma and of angina pectoris. It should therefore be proscribed in persons who present symptoms of gastro-intestinal or of heart disease, and in every patient who complains of slight precordial pains, commonly attributed to flatus, but in reality cardiac neuralgia, a fugitive symptom announcing the possibility of that grave accident, angina pectoris, capable of ending the life of the patient with one stroke.

Nicotine (C₁₀H₁₄N₂) is an oleaginous liquid heavier than water, colorless, changing to dark yellow on contact with the air. Nicotianin or “camphor of tobacco” is another substance found in the leaves, crystalline, tasteless, with an odor resembling tobacco. Nicotinic acid is a product of the combustion of nicotine.

Botanical Description.—The tobacco plant is so familiar to all Americans that its description here would be superfluous. It grows in all parts of the islands, the best qualities being cultivated in the northern provinces of Luzon, especially Cagayan and La Isabela.

Scrophulariaceæ.

Figwort Family.

Limnophila menthastrum, Benth. (Tala odorata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Tala, Taramhampam, Tag.; Talatala, Pam.; Taratara, Iloc.

Uses.—An infusion of the leaves is given as a diuretic and digestive tonic. The plant is aromatic. It is seldom used, but is given for the same troubles and in the same doses as chamomile and Eupatorium Ayapana.

Botanical Description.—A plant 1° high, with leaves opposite, lanceolate, ovate, serrate, hairy, many small pits on the lower face. Flowers rose color, solitary, sessile. Calyx, 5 sharp teeth. Corolla tubular, curved, compressed, downy within, limb cleft in 4 unequal lobes. Stamens didynamous. Ovary conical. Style shorter than the stamens. Stigma 3-lobuled. Seed vessel, 2 multiovulate chambers.

Habitat.—Known universally. Blooms in June.

Bignoniaceæ.

Bignonia Family.

Oroxylum Indicum, Vent. (Bignonia Indica, L.; B. quadripinnata, Blanco; Colosanthes Indica, Bl.)

Nom. Vulg.—Pinkapinkahan, Pinkapinka, Taghilaw, Abag̃abag̃, Tag.; Abag̃abag̃, Vis.

Uses.—The Hindoos consider the trunk bark an astringent and tonic and use it commonly in diarrhœa and dysentery. In Bombay it has a wide use in veterinary practice as an application for the sore backs of the domestic cattle. Sarangadhara recommends for diarrhœa and dysentery the infusion of the roasted bark mixed with infusion of Bombax malabaricum.

Dr. Evers experimented with the powder and an infusion of the bark obtaining a strong diaphoretic action. He obtained the same effect with baths containing the bark and reported successful results in thus treating 24 cases of rheumatism. The dose of the powder was 0.30–1 gram a day in 3 doses; the infusion (30 grams bark to 300 boiling water), 90 grams a day in 3 doses. Combined with opium it had more pronounced diaphoretic effects than the compounds of opium and ipecac. The plant possesses no febrifuge properties.

Botanical Description.—A tree, 5–6 meters high, trunk straight, hollow, the hollow space containing many thin partitions covered with small points; branches opposite. Leaves 4 times odd pinnate. Leaflets obliquely ovate, acute, entire, glabrous. Flowers in racemes with long, primary peduncles, large, fleshy, lurid, violet color, odor mawkish. Calyx inferior, cylindrical, monophyllous, entire. Corolla much longer than calyx, fleshy, bell-shaped, 5-lobed. Stamens 5, all fertile, fixed on the corolla, nearly equal in height. Style longer than stamens, flattened. Stigma cleft in 2 flat leaves. Silique or pod about 3° long and 2′ wide, flattened, borders grooved and curved downward, containing a great number of seeds encircled by a broad, flat, imbricated wing.

Habitat.—Common in many parts of Luzon, in Mindanao, Cebú and Paragua.

Pedaliaceæ.

Pedalium Family.

Sesamum Indicum, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Ajonjoli, Sp.; Lig̃á, Tag.; Log̃á, Vis.; Lag̃is, Pam.; Sesamé, Indo-Eng. (Benné Oil, Til Oil, Jinjili Oil.)

Uses.—The leaves are emollient and in the Philippines, India and the Southern States of North America they are commonly used to make poultices, as a substitute for linseed.

The decoction is prescribed internally as an emmenagogue and demulcent and externally as a lotion. It has the reputation of stimulating the growth of the hair and is used for this purpose quite commonly by the women of India.

The seeds are emollient, laxative, diuretic and emmenagogue; they contain an oil to which we shall refer presently. In some countries they form an article of diet; in the Philippines they are much used as a condiment. Waring reports good results in amenorrhœa, adding a handful of the bruised seeds to a hot sitz-bath. Two or 3 dessert-spoonfuls of the seeds eaten fasting and washed down with a glass of water, are very efficient in chronic constipation, both by their mechanical effect and the oil they contain; being non-irritant they are especially indicated in cases of constipation with hemorrhoids.

The seeds contain up to 45% of oil known in the Philippines under the name of lana, an Ilocano word meaning “oil.” It is bright yellow, viscid, does not easily become rancid and is used for illuminating purposes in some Philippine provinces. In Japan and among the poor of India it serves as a food; in the latter country it is also very commonly used as a cosmetic, perfumed with various essences and used to anoint the hair and the body after the bath. In America it is given in place of castor oil in doses of 30–60 grams. In pharmacy it may be properly substituted for olive oil, especially in Linimentum Calcis prepared for burns.

Botanical Description.—A plant 2–4° high, stem straight, square, grooved. Leaves trifoliate. Leaflets lanceolate, serrate, slightly downy. Common petiole long; secondary petiole very short. Flowers pinkish white, in spikes, each flower bearing 2 small glands. Calyx with 2 bracts at the base, top-shaped, monophyllous, 5 lanceolate teeth. Corolla large, 5-lobed, bell-shaped, expanded in the middle where it is spattered with small spots. Stamens didynamous. Anthers long. Ovary downy, quadrangular. Style same length as stamens. Stigma bifid. Seed vessel quadrangular, elongated, 4 opposite grooves, 4 chambers each containing many small ovoid seeds.

Habitat.—Universal. Blooms in October.

Acanthaceæ.

Acanthus Family.

Acanthus ilicifolius, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Diliwariw, Dolo-ariw, Tig̃log, Lagiwlagiw, Tag.; Titiw, Vis.; Dulawari, Pam.

Uses.—We are not familiar with the medicinal uses of this plant in the Philippines, but believe that its sole use is in the soap-making industry; the ash of the plant is rich in soda and potash salts and lye is prepared from it.

In Goa the leaves, rich in mucilage, are used locally in fomentations for rheumatism and neuralgia. Rheede mentions as useful the application of the bruised sprouts to snake bites. Bontius attributes expectorant properties to the plant. The natives of Siam and Cochin China use it as a cordial and as a medicine for paralysis and asthma.

In Concan the sweetened decoction of the plant with a little cumin seed is given for dyspepsia with pyrosis.

Botanical Description.—A plant about 3° high, stem straight, beset with sharp eminences. Leaves opposite, membranaceous, lanceolate, pinnatifid, large teeth ending in prickles. Petioles very short, 2 thorns at the base. Flowers purplish white in spikes. Calyx double; the outer one of 2 parts, the inner 4. Corolla bell-shaped, lower lip broad, keeled, fleshy, notched above. Upper lip wanting, a notch in its place. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary superior, conical. Style of equal length with stamens. Stigma bifid. Seed vessels 2-celled, each cell with 2 heart-shaped, flattened, rough seeds.

Habitat.—Very common in regions inundated by salt water.

Barleria Prionitis, L. (Barreliera Prionitis, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kokog̃manok, Kulanta, Tag.

Uses.—This plant is not used medicinally in the Philippines. The natives of Bombay are accustomed to use its juice to anoint the soles of their feet during the rainy season in order to toughen the skin and prevent fissures due to prolonged maceration.

The leaf juice is bitter and acid; it is a favorite with the natives of India in the treatment of the catarrhal fevers common among their children, administered in doses of 2 tablespoonfuls a day mixed with sweetened water.

In Concan the dry bark is given for whooping-cough and the juice of the fresh bark in doses of 2 “tolas” (7.60 grams) for anasarca. Dr. Bidie states that the action is diaphoretic and expectorant.

Botanical Description.—A plant 2–3° high, stem creeping, the ends rising; enlarged at the joints, glabrous. Leaves smooth, opposite, lanceolate, finely serrate, fringed, somewhat downy below, glabrous above. Petioles short, 4 axillary spines. Flowers straw-color, axillary, sessile, solitary. Calyx deeply cleft in 4 parts, ovate, ending in spines. Corolla funnel-shaped, tube short, throat nude, limb 5-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary 2-celled. Style same length as stamens. Seed-vessel ovate, flattened and sharp-pointed, 2-celled, each cell with a flat, heart-shaped seed.

Habitat.—In Guadalupe, Mandaloyon and San Juan del Monte. Blooms in April.

Justicia Gendarussa, L. (Gandarussa vulgaris, Nees.; Dianthera subserrata, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.—Kapanitulot, Tag.; Bunlaw, Vis.

Uses.—In the Philippines this plant has the same applications as the Lagundi or Vitex, soon to be described. In India they give a decoction of the leaves for chronic rheumatism, the action probably being diaphoretic. The juice is employed for the coughs of childhood and externally as a resolvent for enlarged cervical glands. The bark of the young branches has a purplish color; in Java it is considered a good emetic.

Botanical Description.—A shrub 5–6° high, stem straight, branches smooth, obscurely 4-angled. Stems and leaves violet color, emitting a disagreeable odor (Blanco). Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, glabrous, obtusely serrate. Flowers terminal, white-green, in racemes of 3 sessile flowers with lanceolate bracts. Calyx, 5 long teeth. Corolla, short tube, 2-lipped, upper lip notched, lower lip broad with palate, ending in 3 lobules. Seed vessel with 4 seeds in its lower part.

Habitat.—Luzon, Mindanao, Panay.

Adhatoda vasica, Nees. (Justicia Adhatoda, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—(?)

Uses.—The Filipinos are but slightly familiar with this plant and it has no place in their therapeutical armamentarium. In India, however, it is very common and enjoys much reputation in the treatment of catarrhs, the grip, asthma and non-febrile, especially chronic, bronchial affections. The flowers, leaves and roots, but especially the flowers, possess antispasmodic properties and are prescribed in certain forms of asthma; they are bitter and slightly aromatic, and are given in infusion or electuary.

Drs. Jackson and Dott have testified from their own experience to the usefulness of the drug in chronic bronchitis, asthma and afebrile catarrh. Dr. Watt states that the natives of Bengal find relief for asthma in smoking the leaves. In Bombay its expectorant action is commonly known and its juice is used, mixed with borax and honey.

The dose of the aqueous extract made by evaporating the juice of the leaves, is .25–1 gram. The tincture is preferable, made by dissolving this extract in alcohol; dose 2–4 grams. Its efficiency is increased by the addition of pepper seeds (Waring). The Sanscrit writers recommend for cough, 3.80 grams of the leaf juice with honey. “It is very desirable that further trials be made to test the value of this remedy.”—Pharmacopœia of India.

Botanical Description.—A shrub with straight, smooth, ashy-gray trunk. Branches of same color but smoother. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, smooth on both faces, 12–15 cm. long by 3–4 broad, petioles short. Flowers irregular and hermaphrodite in axillary spikes with long peduncles, opposite, large, white, covered with rusty spots, the lower part of the 2 lips purple. Calyx gamosepalous, regular, five deep clefts. Corolla gamopetalous, irregular, short tube, limb 2-lipped, the lower lip ending in a spur. Ovary free, 2-celled, each cell containing 2 ovules. Style filiform, long, inserted in a sort of canal formed by the upper lip of the corolla. Stigma bilobulate. Seed vessel depressed, 4 flattened, lenticular seeds.

Habitat.—Luzon and Panay.

Rhinacanthus communis, Nees. (Justicia nasuta, L.)

Nom. Vulg.—Tagaktagak, Tag.; Nagamulli, Indo-Eng.

Uses.—The plant has much reputation in India in the treatment of skin diseases, and indeed its efficiency is great in the stubborn Tinea circinata tropica, known throughout the Orient as “dhobie-itch.” In this disease it is applied for several days to the affected part in the form of a paste composed of the bruised leaves, the juice of the leaves and lemon juice. The fresh root also may be employed. The Hindoo physicians state that the root decoction in milk is aphrodisiac; the root is also regarded as an antidote for the bite of the “cobra da cabelho,” but its virtue is purely imaginary. Of late years the plant has been used in Europe under the name of “tong-pang-chong,” to treat chronic eczema.

Liborius made an analysis of the root in the laboratory of Dorpat, separating 13.51% ash and 1.87% rhinocanthin, as well as other ingredients. Rhinocanthin (C₁₄H₁₈O₄) is supposed to be the active principle of the root. It is analogous to quinon and resembles in many particulars chrysophanic and frangulic acids. It forms a resinous, amorphous mass, cherry red, odorless and tasteless, slightly soluble in water, forming a mildly alkaline solution in alcohol. It does not yield glucose when boiled with dilute hydrochloric acid. Liborius believes that it exists only in the intercellular spaces of the “root bark.”

Botanical Description.—A shrub, about 4° high, stem ash-colored, no spines. Leaves lanceolate, undulate, downy. Flowers white in spikes. Calyx gamosepalous, 5-toothed. Corolla long, filiform, limb 4-lobed, the 3 lower lobes ovate, the upper pointed. Stamens 2. Ovary free, 2 biovulate locules. Style simple. Stigma bifid. Seed vessel club-shaped, 4 seeds in the upper part.

Habitat.—Common in the gardens of Manila.