Hortus medicus, or figures and descriptions of the more important plants used in medicine, or possessed of poisonous qualities; with their medical properties, chemical analysis, &c. &c. ... The chemical and medical departments by John Davie Morries / by George Graves.

Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hortus medicus, or figures and descriptions of the more important plants used in medicine, or possessed of poisonous qualities; with their medical properties, chemical analysis, &c. &c. ... The chemical and medical departments by John Davie Morries / by George Graves. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    PIMENTA vulgaris. Pimento or Allspice. Class and Order, Icosandria Monogynia. Nat. Ord. MYitTACEiE. Gen. Char. Calix of five segments; Petals five; Ovary two-celled ; Ovules solitary, ap- pense ; Style straight; Stigma somewhat capitate. Pimenta vulgaris; flowers trichotomous, panicled; leaves oblong, lanceolate, acuminate. Myrtus vulgaris, Lin. Sp. PL 676. Woodville, Med. Bot. i. p. 77. Bat. Mag. t. 1236. This species was separated from the genus Myrtus by Professor Lindley, from the dif- ference in the structure of its fruit; is a native of the West Indies, where it is an ever- green tree, growing to the height of thirty feet; it produces its flowers at the extremities of the branches in large loose bunches ; they are pale greenish-yellow, and are followed by purple berries, each containing- two seeds ; as soon as they are nearly ripe they are gather- ed, and either dried in the sun or by artificial means; when perfectly dry they are packed for exportation.—G. The Pimento berries or Allspice belong to the same class of remedies with the clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. They derive their name of Allspice from combining the flavour of these three aromatics, and they may be used as a substitute for any or all of them in practice. They are not, however, much used in medicine, but are frequently taken as con- diments. Bonastre has examined both the kernel and the husk of the Pimento. His results are as follow : Husk. Kernel. Volatile oil, - 10.0 5.0 Soft green resin, - - 8.0 2.5 Concrete fixed oil, 0.9 1.2 Extract containing tannin, 11.4 39.8 Gum, - 3.0 7.2 Brown gelatinous matter obtained by the action of potass, , 4.0 8.8 Resinoid matter, - 1.2 3.2 Extract containing sugar, by decoction, 3.0 8.0 Malic and gallic acids, - - , 0.6 1.6 Vegetable fibre, - 50.0 16.0 Ashes containing various salts, 2.8 1.9 Water, - - 3.5 3.0 Loss, - 1.6 1.8—J. DM. 4