The Parent Plant 3 



Col( hinini aiit iniiiKile.^'^ tlial )jroduces flowers in autmuii followed by 

 leaves, triiits, and seeds the next spring. Siuli an unusual habit must 

 have attracted these pharniacobotanists.-^ 



Perhaps the best link between ancient and modern medicine is 

 seen in the two drugs tound in Oriental ba/aars: the Surinjan-i-talkh 

 and the Sininjan-i-chirrin." These corms are distinguished as bitter 

 and sweet surinjan and are obtained from the Kashmir hermodactyls 

 growing in the northwest Himalayan foothills.' Botanically the drugs 

 are identified as (1) Colchicum luteum. the bitter, and (2) Meren- 

 dera persica, the sweet; both contain colchicine, 0.2 per cent and 0.02 

 per cent, respectively.-^" Pharmacists advise their use for rheumatism 

 as well as for aching joints. 



If these same hermodactyls entered the drug trade from the Orient 

 to Arabia, then early Arabian physicians may have borrowed their 

 ideas for treating gout from this source. It is difficult to determine 

 how many centuries have passed since the Hindu specialists began 

 collecting the hermodactyls and other plants useful in medical prac- 

 tice. But their knowledge of herbs has been handed down for count- 

 less generations to their successors of the jjresent day. 



The ancient usage of ColcJiicum. along with an antiqiuty in medi- 

 cine, can be established through several somces: the Ebers Papyrus, 

 a drug traffic from the Orient, and the evidence about a pharmaco- 

 botanical trade practiced by the Rhizotomi. Present-day surinjan 

 may link the past to modern medicine. 



Our discussion of the knowledge of Colchicum in the ancient 

 world turns for a moment to Greek history and mythology, and it is 

 in Greece that the jjeriod we are examining will close with the or- 

 ganization of medical knowledge aroiuid the system of Hippocrates. 



Colchicinii is named for the land of Golchis at the eastern tip of 

 the Black Sea.^'- -- In this area the plants are most abundant. When 

 Colchis was mentioned to the Greek, visions of sorcery immediately 

 arose. This was the land where Jason secured the Golden Fleece. 

 Here he met the sorceress Medea, famous for her powerfid life-giving 

 brews. She was said to have rejuvenated Jason's aging father by sub- 

 stituting a special potent mixtine for his blood. Many of her direc- 

 tions for poisonous mixtines recjuired iniderground roots. Magic 

 powers were associated with these ingredients that figured in Medea's 

 sorcery.^' 



Among the instruc lions for making a certain mixture were specilic 

 details for collecting the poisonous plants.'' In one instance, only 

 during a hoarfrost could roots be dug. While boiling the juices in 

 a pot, it was said olive branches touching the brew woidd immediately 

 bring forth flowers and fruits. 



The ancient Colchian kings had gardens containing ])()is()nous 

 species. Undoubtedly the knowledge of the toxic projjerties of jilants 



