Dipterocarpeæ.

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 bálsamo 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:

Dose.—6–12 large spoonfuls each day, for the declining stage of gonorrhœa.

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 Flückiger 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.

Malvaceæ.

Mallow Family.

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

Nom. Vulg.—Wawalisan, Eskobag̃haba, 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 spermatorrhœa. 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, Cebú and Balabac.

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

Nom. Vulg.—Kuakuakohan, Gilig̃-gilig̃an, Tag.; Tabig̃, 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 Malvaceæ. 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. Bonastre3 analyzed Kastuli seeds as follows:

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.—Takurag̃an, Arog̃anan, Kayag̃a, Tapulag̃a, 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.—Algodón, Sp.; Bulak, Tag.; Cotton, Eng.

Uses.—The root bark is antiasthmatic, emmenagogue, and according to Daruty4 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 dysmenorrhœa.

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 diarrhœa 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 Guérin 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 Guérin treatment, they are enveloped in large masses of fresh, raw cotton, presumably free from microörganisms. 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:

Filter.

Elastic collodion:

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 diarrhœa, dysentery and menorrhagia. Dose of the gum 2½–3 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; æstivation 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.

Sterculiaceæ.

Sterculia Family.

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

Nom. Vulg.—Kalumpag̃, Tag.; Bag̃ar, 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 gonorrhœa. 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 fœtid 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, Cebú, 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.—Cebú, Iloilo.

Kleinhovia hospitata, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Tanag, Tag., Vis.; Hamitanago, Vis.; Panampat, Pam.; Bitnog̃, 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, Cebú, Joló. 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.—Anibog̃, 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 amenorrhœa. 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.

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

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

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

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

Geraniaceæ.

Geranium Family.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Habitat.—Abundant in Luzon, Panay and Cebú.

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

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

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

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

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

Habitat.—Common in all parts of the islands.

Averrhoa Bilimbi, L.

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

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

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

Habitat.—Very common throughout the islands.

Averrhoa Carambola, L.

Nom. Vulg.—Bilimbin, Balimbin, Tag.

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

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

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

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

Rutaceæ.

Rue Family.

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

Nom. Vulg.—Rudu, Sp.; Rue, Eng.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Habitat.—Common everywhere in the Philippines.

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

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

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

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

Habitat.—Batangas, Morong, Manila.

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

Nom. Vulg.—Kamunig̃, Tag.

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

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

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

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

Nom. Vulg.—(?)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Habitat.—Common to all parts of the islands.

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

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

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

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

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

Citrus decumana, L.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Pharmacopœia of India contains the following preparations:

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

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

Fluid Extract of Bael.—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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