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THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



BOTANY. 



PHARMACOGNOSY OF SOME RARE BARKS. 



P. Brandt, of Jurjew-Dorpat, makes 

 the pharmacognosy of a few rare barks 

 the subject of his inaugural thesis, from 

 which we extract the following : i. Cor- 

 tex Mimusopsis Elengi. The plant 

 which yields this bark belongs to the 

 Sapotaceae. The pieces of bark possess 

 a layer of dark- gray outer bark, which 

 has, to a great extent, dropped off. The 

 bark itself is reddish-brown and sparely 

 covered with white dots ; the inner sur- 

 face is of a light brown color, and is 

 composed of long fibers, studded with 

 dark spots caused by dried milk juice. 

 The corky layer consists of ten to fifteen 

 rows of cubical cells, which are thickened 

 on one side. Between these are layers of 

 parenchymatous cells. The parenchy- 

 matous layer lying next to the cork is 

 composed of polyhedral cells between 

 which isolated and grouped stony cells 

 are situated. Here are also found cal- 

 cium-oxalate crystals, remnants of med- 

 ullary rays, and bast-bundles. The 

 primary bark is usually found replaced 

 by the outer bark. In the exterior por- 

 tion of the secondary bark may be seen 

 small, isolated groups of stone cells 

 which lie between the scattered bundles 

 of bast-fibers. Short lactiferous ducts, 

 with gray, granular contents, are scatter- 

 ed throughout the field of the micros- 

 cope, i. The medullary rays consist of 

 two to four rows of cells. Starch gran- 

 ules are everywhere present in large 

 numbers. 2. Cortex Mimusopsis hexan- 

 drae. The pieces examined were mostly 

 flat, more rarely quilled, and covered 

 with a thick, gray outer bark. The 

 periderm contains alternating layers of 

 cork and parenchymatous tissue. The 

 former consists of thin-walled, quadratic 

 cork- cells, the latter of parenchyma 

 proper, stone-cells, and bast-fibers. The 



parenchyma is composed of polyhedral 

 cells. Among these are seen a few 

 stone-cells, and, in regular order, the 

 bast-fibers. The latter appear to the un- 

 aided eye as yellowish-white dots upon 

 the transverse section. The primary 

 bark is replaced by the outer bark. But 

 few stone-cells are visible in the second- 

 ary bark. The bast-bundles are tan- 

 gentially arranged and contain crystals. 

 The medullary rays are entwined. The 

 lactiferous ducts are scattered without 

 order, and possess a larger lumen than is 

 the case with the bark of Mimusopsis 

 Elengi. 3. Cortex Salvadorae persicae. 

 The pieces of bark are mostly quilled 

 and covered with an ash-gray, deeply 

 fissured outer bark. The periderm con- 

 tains two cork layers, an outer and an 

 inner one, between which parenchyma, 

 bast- bundles and stone-cells are situated. 

 The primary bark is here also found re- 

 placed by an outer bark. The secondary 

 bark contains bast-fibers, which are 

 usually isolated, but sometimes irregular- 

 ly grouped. The parenchyma is com- 

 posed of thin-walled palisade-cells. The 

 medullary rays are made up of two or 

 three rows of cubical, thin- walled cells. 

 Cribriform ducts and starch-granules 

 were not found in this bark. 4- Cortex 

 Micheliae Champacae. A thin, corky 

 layer covers the quilled bark. The peri- 

 derm consists of from ten to fifteen rows 

 of cork-cells, each cell being quadratic 

 and thickened on one side. 'Next to the 

 cork lies the phellogen, which is compos- 

 ed of three or four rows of cells, which 

 have, to the largest part, become stone- 

 cells. Groups of stone-cells and cells 

 containing crystals are quite numerous 

 in the parenchymatous tissue. Bast- 

 bundles appear but seldom, and then 

 they are united into small, irregularly 

 arranged groups. The secondary bark 

 contains, in addition to the above, resin 

 cells with yellowish contents. The me- 



