Page:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 1.djvu/387

ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY.

195 what is less generally known, that tamarind stones, reduced to fine powder and made into a thick paste with water, has the property, when merely smeared on the skin, of rapidly promoting suppuration in indolent, or what are called hlind, boils. The same powder boiled into a paste with thin glue forms one of the strongest wood cements. Cassia is a very large genus con- taining so-.re most useful plants, but generally its species are of little value under any point of view. The section Cathartocarpus all the species of which are trees and of great beauty, ought in my opinion to constitute a distinct genus as proposed by both Willdenow and Persoon, but reunited by DeCandolle. The flowers sufficiently correspond with those of the rest of the genus, but the cylindrical indehiscent legumes with hard transverse partitions and albuminous ! seed enveloped in pulp ( for such they certainly are in C. fistula, C. Roxburghii, C. bacillus Roxb. also in C. rhombifolia, Roxb. (if distinct from C. fistula) all tend to their separation from the rest of the genus, and I cannot help remarking that were genera generally separated from each other by equally sufficient marks, we should have little reason to complain of excessive multincation of them which is not always the case now. The sweet pulp which envelopes the seed of C. fistula, is a powerful but mild aperient, a small quantity producing the effect, it further possesses the property of colouring the urine of a deep brown colour, a fact, of which patients requiring to use it habitually, ought to be warned, as I have known such refuse to take it, on the supposition that it had a tendency to heat the system and excite a bilious habit, even when doing them much good. To what extent the other species enjoy this property I am unable to say, in C. rhombifolia Roxb. the pulp is bitter. None of the species of true Cassia, have equally pulpy legumes, hence it is not to be expected that they should possess similar virtues, but cathartic properties of great energy are found in the leaves of several, more especially of those belonging to the section Senna, all of which are readily distinguished by their very compressed falcate legumes. Of these, the Cassia (Senna) lanceolata and C. elongata are the most important, several millions of pounds weight of the dried leaves being annually consumed in Europe, exclusive of what is used in this and their native countries Egypt and Arabia. C. obtusa a procumbent plant common in this country is used by the natives for similar purposes. Dr. Lindley considers the C. lanceolata of Royle's Illustrations and of our Prodromus, which are the same plant, distinct from the true C. lanceolata of Forskahl and names it C. elongata. He remarks of it, " the dried leaves form the finest Senna of commerce known by the name of Tinnevelly Senna" under " C. lanceolata Forsk" he describes a species differing from ours in having a sessile gland above the base of the petiol, and pods, linear, villous, compressed, incurved : to this species he appends the following note.

"As this sheet was about to be printed off I was so fortunate as to meet with the C. lanceolata of Forskahl, in a collection of Arabian plants (No. 71) collected by Dr. S. Fischer, in palm grounds in the valley of Fatme, flowering at the end of February. The leaflets are in 4 or 5 pairs, never more ; oblong, and either acute or obtuse, not at all ovate or lanceolate, and perfectly free from downiness even when young ; the petiols have constantly a small round brown gland a little above the base. The pods are erect, oblong, tapering to the base, obtuse, turgid, mucronate, rather falcate, especially when young, at which time they are sparingly covered with coarse scattered hairs. The species is therefore quite distinct from C. elongata, as I at first supposed; and consequently, excellent as the Tinnevelly Senna is, a sort of still finer quality may be expected from India, as soon as this, the true Senna of Mecca shall have been introduced into the Peninsula."

A variety of other species of this genus are recorded as possessing medical or other useful properties, but of these I shall only mention C. auriculata, the bark of which is constantly used for tanning and C. sophora and C. alata, the latter much cultivated in gardens in this country as an ornamental plant, the juice of the leaves of both of which is considered a sovereign remedy against ringworm and other similar herpetic eruptions,* a virtue which I am much disposed to doubt. Cassia alata is easily known by its pods being apparently nearly square through the valves winged on the back.

been long used as a remedy against pustular eruptions, have recently been tried to a great extent by a medical officer, and found a most efficient application. He reduces the leaves to a pulp by beating them in a mortar, they are then fit, for use. Applied in (his form he says they act like a charm in removing the most intractable forms of Psora and other pustular eruptions.
 * I ma} 7 here mention that the leaves of the Margosa tree Azadiraclda indlca, which in native practice have