part i

.

Those of _C. grandis_ L. f. (_C. brasiliana_ Lamarck), a tree of Central America and Brazil, are of much larger size, showing when broken transversely an elliptic outline, whose longer diameter exceeds an inch. The valves have very prominent sutures and transverse branching veins. The pulp is bitter and astringent.

The legumes of _Cassia moschata_ H B K.,[864] a tree 30 to 40 feet high, growing in New Granada and known there as _Cañafistola de purgar_, bear a close resemblance to those of _Cassia Fistula_ L., except that they are a little smaller and rather less regularly straight. They contain a sweetish astringent pulp of a bright brown hue. When crushed and exposed to the heat of a water-bath, they emit a pleasant odour like sandal-wood. The pulp is coloured dark blackish green by perchloride of iron.

TAMARINDI PULPA.

_Tamarindus_, _Fructus Tamarindi_; _Tamarinds_; F. _Tamarins_; G. _Tamarinden_.

=Botanical Origin=—_Tamarindus indica_ L.—The tamarind is a large handsome tree, growing to a height of 60 to 80 feet, and having abruptly pinnate leaves of 10 to 20 pairs of small oblong leaflets, constituting an abundant and umbrageous foliage. Its purplish flower buds and fragrant, red-veined, white blossoms, ultimately assuming a yellowish tinge, contribute to its beautiful aspect and cause it to be generally cultivated in tropical countries.

_T. indica_ appears to be truly indigenous to Tropical Africa between 12° N. and 18° S. lat. It grows not only in the Upper Nile regions (Sennaar, Kordofan, Abyssinia), but also in some of the remotest districts visited by Speke, Grant, Kirk, and Stanley, and as far south as the Zambesi. According to F. von Müller,[865] it occurs in Tropical Australia.

It is found throughout India, and as it has Sanskrit names it may even be really wild in at least the southern parts of the peninsula. It grows in the Indian islands, and Crawfurd[866] has adduced reasons to show that it is probably a true native of Java. The mediæval Arabian authors describe it as growing in Yemen, India, and Nigritia.

The tamarind has been naturalized in Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico. Hernandez,[867] who resided in the latter country from 1571 to 1575, speaks of it as “_nuper ... ad eas oras translata_.” It abounds in the West Indies where it was also introduced together with ginger by the Spaniards at an early period. The tree found in these islands bears shorter and fewer-seeded pods than that of India, and hence was formerly regarded as a distinct species, _Tamarindus occidentalis_ Gärtn.

[864] Hanbury in _Linn. Trans._ xxiv. 161. p. 26; _Pharm. Journ._ v. (1864) 348; _Science Papers_, p. 318.

[865] Exposition intercoloniale,—_Notes sur la Végétation de l’Australie_, Melb., 1866. 8.

[866] _Dict. of Indian Islands_, 1856. 425.

[867] _Nova plantarum, animalium et mineralium historia_, Romæ, 1651. 83.

=History=—The tamarind was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans; nor have we any evidence that the Egyptians were acquainted with it,[868] which is the more surprising considering that the tree appears indigenous to the Upper Nile countries, and that its fruit is held in the greatest esteem in those regions.[869]

The earliest mention of tamarind occurs in the ancient Sanskrit writings where it is spoken of under several names.[870] From the Hindus, it would seem that the fruit became known to the Arabians, who called it _Tamare-hindi_, i.e. _Indian Date_. Under this name it was mentioned by Isaac Judæus,[871] Avicenna,[872] and the Younger Mesue,[873] and also by Alhervi,[874] a Persian physician of the 10th century who describes it as black, of the flavour of a Damascene plum, and containing fibres and stones.

It was doubtless from the Arabians that a knowledge of the tamarind, as of so many other eastern drugs, passed during the middle ages into Europe through the famous school of Salernum. _Oxyphœnica_ (Ὀζυϕοίνικα) and _Dactyli acetosi_ are names under which we meet with it in the writings of Matthæus Platearius and Saladinus, the latter of whom, as well as other authors of the period, considered tamarinds as the fruit of a wild palm growing in India.

The abundance of tamarinds in Malabar, Coromandel, and Java was reported to Manuel, king of Portugal, in the letter of the apothecary Pyres[875] on the drugs of India, written in Cochin, January 27th, 1516. A correct description of the tree was given by Garcia de Orta about fifty years later.

=Preparation=—Tamarinds undergo a certain preparation before being brought into commerce.

In the West Indies, the tree matures its fruit in June, July and August, and the pods are gathered when fully ripe, which is known by the fragility of the outer shell. This latter, which easily breaks between the finger and thumb, is then removed, and the pods deprived of shelly fragments are placed in layers in a cask, and boiling syrup is poured over them till the cask is filled. When cool, the cask is closed and is then ready for sale. Sometimes layers of sugar are placed between the fruits previous to the hot syrup being added.[876]

East Indian tamarinds are also sometimes preserved with sugar, but usually they are exported without such addition, the outer shell being removed and the fruits being pressed together into a mass.

[868] Sir Gardner Wilkinson (_Ancient Egyptians_, i. 1841, 78) says that tamarind stones have been found in the tombs of Thebes; but on consulting Dr. Birch and the collections in the British Museum we have obtained no confirmation of the fact.

[869] Barth speaks of it as _an invaluable gift of Providence_: _Reisen und Entdeckungen in Nord-und Centralafrica_, Gotha, 1858. i. 614; iii. 334. 400; iv. 173.—The same says Rohlfs, _Reisen durch Nordafrica_, Gotha (1872) 23.

[870] _Susrutas Ayurvedas_, ed. Hessler, i. (1844) 141, iii. (1850) 171.

[871] _Opera Omnia_, Lugd. 1515, lib. ii. Practices, c. 41.

[872] _Opera_, Venet. 1564. ii. 339.

[873] _Opera_, Venet. 1561. 52.

[874] _Fundamenta Pharmacologiæ_, ed. Seligmann, Vindob. 1830, 49.

[875] _Journ. de Soc. Pharm. Lusit._ ii. (1838) 36.—See also Appendix.

[876] Lunan, _Hortus Jamaicensis_, ii. (1814) 224; Macfadyen, _Flora of Jamaica_, 1837. 335.

In the Upper Nile regions (Darfur, Kordofan, Sennaar) and in Arabia, the softer part of tamarinds is, for the sake of greater permanence and convenience of transport, kneaded into flattened round cakes, 4 to 8 inches in diameter and an inch or two thick, which are dried in the sun. They are of firm consistence and quite black, externally strewn with hair, sand, seeds and other impurities; they are largely consumed in Egypt and Central Africa, and sometimes find their way to the south of Europe as _Egyptian Tamarinds_.

=Description=—The fruit is an oblong, or linear-oblong, strictly compressed, curved or nearly straight, pendulous legume, of the thickness of the finger and 3 to 6 inches in length, supported by a woody stalk. It has a thin but hard and brittle outer shell or epicarp, which does not split into valves or exhibit any very evident sutures. Within the epicarp is a firm, juicy pulp, on the surface of which and starting from the stalk are strong woody ramifying nerves; one of these extends along the dorsal (or concave) edge, two others on either side of the ventral (or convex) edge, while between these two there are usually 2, 3, or 4 less regular and more slender nerves,—all running towards the apex and throwing out branching filaments. The brownish or reddish pulp has usually an acid taste, though there are also sweetish varieties.

The seeds, 4 to 12 in number, are each of them enclosed in a tough, membraneous cell (endocarp), surrounded by the pulp (sarcocarp). They are flattened and of irregular outline, being roundish, ovate, or obtusely four-sided, about ⁶/₁₀ of an inch long by ³/₁₀ thick, with the edge broadly keeled or more often slightly furrowed. The testa is of a rich brown, marked on the flat sides of the seed by a large scar or oreole, of rather duller polish than the surrounding portion which is somewhat radially striated. The seed is exalbuminous, with thick hard cotyledons, a short straight included radicle, and a plumule in which the pinnation of the leaves is easily perceptible.

Tamarinds are usually distinguished in trade as _West Indian_ and _East Indian_, the former being preserved with sugar, the latter without.

1. _West Indian Tamarinds_, _Brown or Red Tamarinds._—A bright reddish-brown, moist, saccharine mass consisting of the pulpy internal part of the fruit, usually unbroken, mixed with more or less of syrup. It has a very agreeable and refreshing taste, the natural acidity of the pulp being tempered by the sugar. It is this form of tamarinds that is usually found in the shops.

2. _East Indian Tamarinds_, _Black Tamarinds._—These differ from the last described in that they are preserved without the use of sugar. They are found in the market in the form of a firm, clammy, black mass, consisting of the pulp mixed with the seeds, stringy fibres, and some remains of the outer shell. The pulp has a strong acid taste.

Notwithstanding the rather uninviting appearance of East Indian tamarinds, they afford a good pulp, which may be satisfactorily used in making the _Confectio Sennæ_ of pharmacy. In fact, on the continent this sort of tamarind alone is employed for medicinal purposes.

=Microscopic Structure=—The soft part of tamarind consists of a tissue of thin-walled cells of considerable size, which is traversed by long fibro-vascular bundles. In the former a few very small starch granules are met with, and more numerous crystals, which are probably bitartrate of potassium.

=Chemical Composition=—Water extracts from unsweetened tamarinds, sugar together with acetic, tartaric and citric acids, the acids being combined for the most part with potash. The neutralized solution reduces alkaline cupric tartrate after a while without heat, and therefore probably contains grape sugar. On evaporation, cream of tartar and sugar crystallize out. The volatile acids of the fatty series, the presence of which in the pulp has been pointed out by Gorup-Besanez, have not been met with by other chemists. Tannin is absent as well as oxalic acid. We have ascertained that in East Indian tamarinds, citric acid is present in but small quantity. No peculiar principle to which the laxative action of tamarinds can be attributed is known.

The fruit-pulp diffused in water forms a thick, tremulous, somewhat glutinous and turbid liquid. It was examined as early as the year 1790 by Vauquelin under the name of “_vegetable jelly_,”—the first described among the pectic class of bodies.

The hard _seeds_ have a testa which abounds in tannin, and after long boiling is easily separated, leaving the cotyledons soft. These latter have a bland mucilaginous taste, and are consumed in India as food during times of scarcity.

=Commerce=—Tamarinds are shipped in comparatively small quantities from several of the West Indian islands, and also from Guayaquil.

The export from the Bombay Presidency in the year 1871-72 was 6286 cwt., which quantity was shipped chiefly to the Persian Gulf, Sind, and ports of the Red Sea.[877] 128,144 centners were re-exported in 1877 from Trieste.

=Uses=—In medicine, tamarinds are considered to be a mild laxative; they are sometimes used to make a refrigerant drink in fever. In hot countries, especially the interior of Africa, they are regarded as of the highest value for the preparation of refreshing beverages. The _Black Tamarinds_ are said to be used in the manufacture of tobacco.

[877] _Statement of the Trade and Navigation of the Presidency of Bombay_, 1871-72, pt. ii. 65.

BALSAMUM COPAIBA.

_Copaiba_; _Balsam of Copaiba or Copaiva_, _Balsam Capivi_; F. _Baume ou Oléo-résine de Copahu_; G. _Copaivabalsam_.

=Botanical Origin=—The drug under notice is produced by trees belonging to the genus _Copaifera_, natives of the warmer countries of South America. Some are found in moist forests, others exclusively in dry and elevated situations. They vary in height and size, some being umbrageous forest trees, while others have only the dimension of shrubs; it is from the former alone that the oleo-resin is obtained.

The following are reputed to furnish the drug, but to what extent each contributes is not fully known.

1. _Copaifera officinalis_ L. (_C. Jacquini_ Desf.), a large tree of the hot coast region of New Granada as far north as Panama, of Venezuela and the island of Trinidad.

2. _C. guianensis_ Desf., a tree of 30 to 40 feet high, very closely related to the preceding, native of Surinam, Cayenne, also of the Rio Negro between Manaos and Barcellos (Spruce). According to Bentham it seems to be the same species as the _C. bijuga_ of Hayne.[878]

3. _C. coriacea_ Mart. (_C. cordifolia_ Hayne), a large tree found in the _caatingas_ or dry woods of the Brazilian provinces of Bahia and Piauhy.

4. _C. Langsdorffii_ Desf.[879] (_C. nitida_ Hayne, _C. Sellowii_ Hayne,? _C. Jussieui_ Hayne), a polymorphous species, varying in the form and size of leaflets, and also in dimensions, being either a shrub, a small bushy tree, or a large tree of 60 feet high. Bentham admits, besides the type, three varieties:—β. _glabra_ (_C. glabra_ Vogel), γ. _grandifolia_, δ. _laxa_ (_C. laxa_ Hayne). The tree grows on dry _campos_, _caatingas_ and other places in the provinces of S. Paulo, Minas Geraes, Goyaz, Mato Grosso, Bahia and Ceará; it is therefore distributed over a vast area. According to Gardner,[880] the Brazilian traveller, it yields an abundance of balsam.

In addition to these species, must be mentioned a tree described by Hayne and commonly cited under the name of _Copaifera multijuga_, as a special source of the drug shipped from Pará.[881] As its name implies, it is remarkable for the number of leaflets (6 to 10 pairs) on each leaf. But it is only known from some leaves in the herbarium of Martius which Bentham, who has examined them, informs us are unlike those of any _Copaifera_ known to him, though certainly the leaflets are dotted with oil-vessels as in some species. In the absence of flowers and fruits, there is no sufficient evidence to prove that it belongs even to the genus _Copaifera_. It is not mentioned by Martius in his _Systema Materiæ Medicæ Brasiliensis_ (1843) as a source of the drug.

=History=—Among the early notices of Brazil is a treatise by a Portuguese friar who had resided in that country from 1570 to 1600. The manuscript found its way to England, was translated, and was published by Purchas[882] in 1625. Its author notices many of the natural productions of the country, and among others _Cupayba_ which he describes as a large tree from whose trunk, when wounded by a deep incision, there flows in abundance a clear oil much esteemed as a medicine.

Balsam. _Copæ. yvæ_ is already enumerated in the 6th edition of the Pharmacopœa of Amsterdam, A.D. 1636.[883]

Father Cristoval d’Acuña,[884] who ascended the Amazon from Pará, arriving at Quito in 1638, mentions that the country affords very large Cassia fistula, excellent sarsaparilla, and the oils of Andirova (_Carapa guianensis_ Aublet, _Meliaceæ_), and _Copaiba_, as good as balsam for curing wounds.

Piso and Marcgraf,[885] who in 1636 accompanied the Count of Nassau to the Dutch establishments in Brazil, each give an account of the _Copaiba_ and the method of obtaining its oleo-resin. The former states that the tree grows in Pernambuco and the island of Maranhon, whence the balsam is conveyed in abundance to Europe.

[878] Hayne (1827) enumerated and figured 15 species, some of them founded on very imperfect materials. Bentham in the _Flora Brasiliensis_ of Martius and Endlicher (fasc. 50, _Leguminosæ_, ii. 1870. pp. 239-244) admits only 11, one of which is doubtful as to the genus.

[879] Fig. in Bentley and Trimen, _Med. Plants_,