418 APOCYNACEA. 
into India from Brazil by the Portuguese. The flowers are 
offered by the Hindus in their temples, and they appear to be 
aware of the poisonous nature of the plant, as the Marathi 
uame signifies “ poisonous Sontakka,’ Sontakka is the name 
for Hedychium flavum, the flowers of which have some resem- 
blanco to those of Allamanda, We have not heard of the plant 
being used medicinally in this country, but Ainslie (Mat. Ind. 
li. 9,) has a short notice of it, and mentions its use at Surinam 
by the Dutchas a cathartic. Poupée Desportes of St. Domingo 
recommends the extract of the bark, in doses of 1 to 2 grains, 
as an excellent hydrogogue cathartic, The leaves are also said 
to have been used in the cure of painters’ colic. In large doses 
all parts of the plant are violently emetic and cathartic. 
Description.—A., cathartica has‘elliptic lanceolate leaves 
‘arrangod in fours round the stem on very short petioles. The 
flowers aro large; yellow, and funnel-shaped, and are borne at 
the ends of the branches. The frnit is globular, the size of 
a small walnut, and thickly set with long soft spines; it 
contains several flat seeds with a membranous margin, All - 
parts. of the plant abound in a thick milky juice. .- 
Chemical composition.—The fresh leaves were pulped and 
digested with 80 per cent. alcohol. The green tincture was 
concentrated and when free from alcohol, the extract was 
agitated with benzole, which removed colouring matters, &e. 
The aqueous solution was then acidulated with sulphuric acid 
and agitated with ether. The extract was indistinctly crys- 
talline, and partly. soluble ‘in water, affording a dark brown- 
ish-green coloration with ferric. chloride, and precipitating an 
alkaline copper solution on boiling: ~The portion insoluble in 
water was dissolved by alkalies with bright yellow coloration, — 
and reprecipitated in yellowish-brown flocks by acids. The 
“original aqueous solution was now rendered alkaline 
tated with ether ; the extract did not exceed a trace, was in- 
distinetly crystalline, and afforded marked indications of thepre- — < 
senceof analkaloid. Thedark b lkaliné soluti 
“A vagaatake eager ALINE was now | 
8 3 2 . * % * Cnt es ae 5 get te Aig 
-acidulated with sulphuric acid and agitated with amylicalcohe 
é and agi- 
korn ak 
