An introduction to the study of materia medica : being a short account of the more important crude drugs of vegetable and animal origin designed for students of pharmacy and medicine / by Henry G. Greenish.

  • Greenish, Henry G. (Henry George), 1855-1933.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to the study of materia medica : being a short account of the more important crude drugs of vegetable and animal origin designed for students of pharmacy and medicine / by Henry G. Greenish. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    134/560 (page 106)
    Uses.—Cayenne pepper is applied externally as a stimulant and counter-irritant; internally it is used as a pungent sto- machic carminative and stimulant, to dispel flatulence and rouse the appe- tite. ■ Varieties.—The fruits of Capsi- cum anmium, Linn., are largely used in Hungary, Spain, and Italy, in which countries the plants are culti- vated. They vary much in size and shape, as weh as in colour; they are usually much larger than those of G. minimum, of a deeper colour and less pungent taste. The pericarp is more leathery, and the dissepiment does not extend throughout the entire length of the fruit, which is therefore two-celled near the base, but becomes one-celled towards the apex. The ■Em. bl.-Gapsicum annuuvi ggeds are similar in shape to those fruit. Natural size. (Bent- ^ • • ley and Trimen.) of G. minimum, and not much larger. The fruits of C. annuum, like those of G. minimum, contain capsaicin, chiefly in the dissepiment between the two cells. LAUREL BERRIES (Bay Berries, Prnctus Lauri) Source &C.—Laurel berries are the ripe fruits of Laurus nohilis, Linn. (N.O. Laurinece), a shrub that has already been referred to under the heading ' Laurel Leaves ' (see p. 40). Description.—The laurel produces one-celled, one-seeded, drupaceous fruits, which are collected when ripe, and dried. As seen in commerce, they are nearly black in colour and .ovoid in shape, attaining a little over i inch in length; they are slightly pointed at the apex, and bear at the base the scar of the peduncle. The surface is glabrous, shiniug, and coarsely wrinkled. The pericarp is thin and brittle, and encloses a single seed, the kernel of which lies loose in the