Volume 1

Medical botany; or, descriptions of the more important plants used in medicine, with their history, properties, and mode of administration / By R. Eglesfeld Griffith ... With upwards of three hundred illustrations.

  • Griffith, R. Eglesfeld (Robert Eglesfeld), 1798-1850.
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical botany; or, descriptions of the more important plants used in medicine, with their history, properties, and mode of administration / By R. Eglesfeld Griffith ... With upwards of three hundred illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    48/730 (page 42)
    other granulated, which is either white or brown. The first is whitish, with a somewhat reddish tint; it has a faint odour. . Under the microscope it is found to consist of oval or ovate particles, many of which appear as if trun- cated, so as to be more or less mullar-shaped. They are usually more or less broken, and most of them have an irregular or tuberculated surface. The hilum, when perfect, is circular, and cracks either with a simple slit, or in a cruciform or stellate manner. The surface is annulated, but less distinct than in potato starch. The granular sago consists of the same kind of particles, but larger, more broken, and less regular in their form. Sago is obtained from several: species of Sagus. | Tapioca. Is in small irregular lumps or- grains, partially soluble in cold water. When examined under the microscope, they fh Rig are found to consist of entire and broken particles ; the 2] © @. first.of which appear circular or mullar-shaped, with a ‘Sy QV GQ iistinet and marked hilum. Sometimes the mullar- WW (x formed ones have a contracted base; at others, instead of the flat end, there are two faces meeting at an obtuse angle. The hilum is surrounded by rings and cracks in a stellate form. Suear. There are several kinds of sugar, some capable of undergoing fermentation, the others not:-~To the first class belong cane, grape, or starch sugar, and to the latter liquorice sugar, mannite, &c. Cane Sugar. This is found principally in the sugar cane, but also exists in some quantity in the root of the beet, in the sap of the maple, &c. It crys- tallizes in oblique rhombic prisms, and requires one-third its weight of cold water to dissolve it. When acted on by dilute acids, it is converted into grape sugar. Its composition is C*? H*? O11, _ Grape Sugar. This exists in grapes, honey, figs, &c., and can also be obtained by the action of dilute sulphuric acid on starch, lignin, &c., and even by the same means from cane sugar. Much of it exists in molasses. It is less soluble than cane sugar. Its composition is C1? Ht* O%, Mannite. Forms the greater portion of pure manna, and is also found in the celery and other plants. It is not capable of fermentation. Its composi- tion is C6 H7 O8, ! | Liquorice Sugar. This is very soluble in water, but cannot be made to crystallize ; with acids it forms compounds which are very sparingly soluble. It is incapable of fermentation. Gum. This substance exudes in a fluid form from many plants, and be- comes hard by an evaporation of its watery particles. When pure, it is co-