f 



/ 



^ 



LA BIA T^. 117 



Badranjboya, Baklat-el-Utmjiya {Arab.). Imported 



from 



Description. — Calyx striated, hairy, S-fid, not so long as 



that of Zufah-i-yabisj and not coloured; seeds four, naked, 

 brown, 3-angled, nearly smooth, a white patch on each side of 



hilum ; flowers in axillary 



short 



■ 



peduncle; leaves ovate, margin deeply dentate, somewhat 

 hairy. The drug is always much broken and consists chiefly of 

 stem and fruit; the former is quadrangular, much larger than 

 that of Zdfah, of a purplish tint. Taste bitter, odour faintly 

 aromatic. This herb is supposed to represent the ^€Xto-ao<^vXXoi/ 

 of Dioscorides and Theophrastus, generally known in Latin as 

 Apiastrum. Yirgil (G* 4, 63) calls it Melisphylla, and Theo- 

 phrastus (4, 25) ivwhris ficXireta, It is a plant beloved by bees, the 

 Balm Gentle or Melissa officinalis of our gardens. When fresh 

 it has a pleasant lemon odour, which is not retained by the dry 

 plant. It was formerly valued as a corroborant in hypochon- 

 driacal aiiections, and the Persian drug is still used for this 

 purpose by Indian kaMms. In Europe, Balm tea is still a 

 domestic remedy, and is given as a grateful diluent in febrile 

 affections : it has a place in the French Codex. The different 

 species of Melissa are widely diffused, being found in Europe, 

 Central Asia, and North America. 



Chemical composition. — The leaves of Jf, officinalis contain, 

 besides the common constituents of plants, a small quantity of 

 tannin and bitter principle, and about | to ^ per cent, of volatile 

 oil, which is colourless or yellowish, has a specific gravity of 

 about 0*89 ; dissolves in about 5 parts of alcohol, sp. gr. 0*85 



'^ and contains a stearopten. 



% MARRUBIUM VULGARE, JA 



J- 



Fig. — Reichh. Ic. Fl. Germ., t. ]224, /. 1 ; _En(j 

 Bentl. 

 W rube \ 



tnn. 



White Horeliound (Ung.), Mar 



Hab» — Western Temperate Himalaya to Europe, The herb. 

 Vernacular. — Faragiyun (Ind, BazarsV 



