82 PHARMACOGNOSY [BoT. Absts., Vol. VIII, 



PHARMACEUTICAL BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY 



Heber W. Youngken, Editor 

 E. N. Gathercoal, Assistant Editor 



(See also in this issue Entries 135, 604, 631) 



580. Anonymous. The eradication of weeds. Agric. Gaz. New South Wales 31:881. 

 1920. — Attention is called to poison tulip (Homer ia collina), known to have toxic properties. — 

 L. R. Waldron. 



581. Cabannes, E. Contribution a I'etude des proprietes physiologiques et de la poso- 

 logie du Geranium maculatxun. [Contribution to the study of the physiological properties and 

 the dosage of Geranium maculatimi.] Bull. Sci. Pharm. 27: 22-25. 1920. — It was found that 

 therapeutically valuable preparations can be made from the plant and that it may be used 

 as a substitute for rhatany and at times for ergotin, cinchona, and calumba. — H. Engelhardt. 



582. Delaunet, P. Extraction de glucosides de deux Orchidees indigenes ; identification 

 de ces glucosides avec la Loroglossine. [The extraction of glucosides from two orchids and 

 the identification of these glucosides as Loroglossine.] Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris 171 : 

 435-437. 1920. — A glucoside found in Orchis Simia and Ophrys aranifera proves to be iden- 

 tical with Loroglossine found, in 1919, in Loroglossum hircinum. The various tests are applied. 

 — C. H. Farr. 



583. Gonnermann, M. Der Eisengehalt der 6le, Fette, Wachsarten, Harze, Gummi- 

 harze, Gimimiarten ; sowie einige Analysen iiber den Gehalt an Kieselsaure und Tonerde. [The 

 iron content of oils, fats, waxes, resins, gxmi-resins, and gimis ; also some analyses of silicic acid 

 and alumina content.] Biochem. Zeitschr. 95 : 286-295. 1919. — The analyses include materials 

 from animal and vegetable sources, many of the latter being of pharmaceutical interest. 

 Senegal gum appeared to be the only plant material which showed no iron content. The 

 other substances of plant origin showed iron in quantities ranging from a trace to 29.7 per 

 cent. — W. W. Bonns. 



584. Goris, a., et Vischniac, Ch. Constitution du primeverose, de la primeverine et de 

 la primulaverine. [Constitution of primeverose, primeverin and primulaverin.] Bull. Soc. 

 Pharm. 27 : 67-70. 1920. — From Primula officinalis two glucosides, primeverin and primula- 

 verin, and a sugar, primulaverose, have been isolated. Primeverin yields on hydrolysis prime- 

 verose and the methyl ester of beta metoxyresorcylic acid, while primulaverin is split up 

 into the same sugar and the methyl ester of metametoxysalicylic acid. Primeverose is com- 

 posed of glucose and xylose. — H. Engelhardt. 



585. Greenish, Henry G. Gum Arabic and senna. Pharm. Jour. 105: 448-449. 1920. — 

 Gum Arabic is obtained almost exclusively from Acacia verek distributed throughout the 

 African sub-desert from Senegal to Erythraea. Gum is yielded only by those trees located 

 in soil which becomes thoroughly dry during the dry season, only on the younger branches 

 where the cork is thin, and only after wounding or piercing of the bark. It apparently not 

 only serves to seal the wound but also to retain moisture for the p'ant. All of the nice grades 

 of the gum are obtained from trees artificially wounded or "tapped." Experiments on propa- 

 gation and the influence of various methods of tapping are under way. Senna is obtained 

 from wild and cultivated plants of Cassia acutifolia, but wild plants of Cassia angustifolia and 

 Cassia ohovata are common. Leaflets from cultivated plants are somewhat thinner, narrower, 

 and more elongate than from the wild plants. — E. N. Gathercoal. 



586. GuERiN, P., et a. Goris. Une nouvelle plante a coumarine: Melittis melissophyllum 

 L. [A new source for coumarine: Melittis melissophyllum.] Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris 

 170: 1067-1068. 1920. — Coumarin is produced by the leaves of this plant, which is related to 

 the official lavender, which also produces it. — C. H. Farr. 



