Characters of the Peruvian Matico, 203 



The sample of Matico which I received consisted of the 

 leaves of the plant, which were of various sizes, from two to 

 eight inches long, and appeared to have been dried, as they 

 could easily be rubbed to powder between the hands. It is 

 indeed stated by Dr. Martius, that the Indians dry the leaves 

 over a fire, taking care not to allow them to be touched by 

 the flame or burnt. Another sample which I lately procured 

 had the same appearance, but contained, mixed up with the 

 leaves, a considerable quantity of the flowering twigs and 

 woody stems of the plant. The leaves and twigs were com- 

 pressed together and flattened into a cake. 



The botanical history of the Matico appears to be but im- 

 perfectly known ; and there exists a difference of opinion even 

 as to the class of plants from which it is derived ; Dr. Mar- 

 tius, in the Phar. Central Blatt, considering it to belong to 

 the Phlomis tribe, while in the Flora Peruviana it is described 

 as a Piper. By immersing a specimen of the plant, which 

 seemed tolerably perfect, in warm water, I was able to exa- 

 mine it with considerable accuracy, and certainly its charac- 

 ters appear very unlike those which belong to the Phlomis 

 family. The stems are woody, round and pubescent ; the 

 leaves sessile, acuminato-lanceolate, rugose and crenate, their 

 upper surface of a dark green, and their lower of a pale green 

 colour. It is said that the name of the plant is derived from 

 a Spanish soldier named Matico, who, lying desperately 

 wounded and bleeding to death, in his agony caught acci- 

 dentally some of its leaves, and by their application arrested 

 the haemorrhage and healed the wound. The leaves have a 

 strong aromatic, slightly astringent taste, and the smell and 

 taste of their infusion in water very much resembles that of 

 the tea prepared by the country people in Ireland from the 

 leaves of our indigenous Salvia verbenaca. 



The following experiments were undertaken to ascertain 

 the pharmaceutical characters of the leaves. 



Experiment 1. — Reduced half an ounce of the leaves to a 

 coarse powder and macerated in six fluid ounces of cold di- 

 stilled water. In ten minutes the liquid had a pale amber 

 colour and the specific gravity I'OOS; in thirty minutes its 

 density had increased to l'004< and its colour had become of 

 a deeper amber; it possessed the peculiar aromatic astringent 

 taste of the leaves. In two hours the liquid had specific gra- 

 vity r005, gave a deep olive precipitate with tinct. ferri 

 muriat., and a yellow white with acetate of lead; tartrate of 

 antimony produced no change. In three hours its colour was 

 rather more brown, specific gravity 1'005. In five hours spe- 

 cific gravity r005| ; when dropped into a solution of gelatine 



