THAI.A.MrFI.0R2E. 495 



"U'ith which they -were formerly united. The only good charac- 

 ter, indeed, by which the Xanthoxylacege may be distinguished 

 .from the Eutacese, is in their having constantly polygamous 

 flowers. The fruit of Xanthoxylacese is also sometimes baccate 

 and indehiscent, instead of being universally capsular ; and the 

 seeds are always albuminous, in place of being sometimes 

 albuminous and at other times exalbuminous, as is the ease in 

 the Eutacege. 



Distribution, ^-c. — These plants are found both in temperate 

 and tropical regions of the globe ; they are, however, most 

 abundant in the tropics, and especially so in tropical America, 

 Examples of the Genera: — Xanthoxylon, Toddalia, Ptelea. 

 There are about 1 10 species included in this order. 



Properties and Uses. — This order is almost imiversally char 

 racterised by pungent and aromatic properties, and sometimes by 

 bitterness. In medicine, the plants belonging to it have been 

 employed as stimulants, sudorifics, febrifuges, tonics, sialo- 

 gogues, and emmenagogues. The more important are as 

 follows : — 



Ptelea. — The root-bark is much employed by the eclectic practitioners in the 

 United States of America as a tonic in remittent and intermittent fevers. 

 The fruit is very bitter and aromatic, and has l)een used as a substitute for 

 Hops, while the young green shoots are reputed to possess anthelmintic pro- 

 perties. 



Toddalia acvleata. — The bark of the root possesses aromatic tonic, stimu- 

 lant, and antiperiodic properties. It was formerly knowai in Eirrope under 

 the name of Lopez root, as a remedy in diarrhoea. 



Xanthoxnlon {Zanthoxylmn).— The species of this genus possess in a remark- 

 able degree pungent and aromatic properties ; hence they ai'e popularly 

 kno^\^l under the name of Peppers in thek native countries. In America 

 they are also commonly known under the name of Prickly Ash. The fruit of 

 X. piperitiim is employed by the Chinese and Japanese as a condiment, and 

 as an antidote against all poisons. It is commonly termed in commerce, 

 Japanese Pepper. The aromatic pungent properties appear to be confined 

 to the pericarp. X. akitum yields an analogous pepper to the above, and 

 Stenhouse has described two peculiar principles which he obtained from it, 

 viz. an oil and a stearopten ; the former is a pure hydrocarbon, to which the 

 aromatic odour of the pepper is due, and to which he has given the name of 

 Xanthoxylene ; the latter is a crystalline solid body consisting of carbon, 

 oxygen, and hydrogen, but devoid of nitrogen when pure, and which he 

 has called Xanthnxvlin. It is probable that it also contains a resinous sub- 

 stance, to which its pungency is due. The fruits of A', hastile and X Biidrunga 

 have sinnilar properties. The seeds and fruit of the foiTuer are sometimes 

 employed in Incjia for the purpose of stupefying fish. The seeds of X. Bu- 

 drunrja are aromatic and fi-agrant, like Lemon-peel ; and the unripe fruit and 

 seeds of X Rhetsa have a taste like that of Orange-peel. The root of A'. 7ii- 

 tiditm is used as a sudorific, stimulant, febrifuge, and emmenagogue by the 

 Chinese. The bark of X/rax/wew/w is officinal in the United States Phar- 

 macopoeia under the name of Prickly Ash Bark. It is chiefly used as a 

 remedy in chronic rheumatism. It is also a popular remedy as a masticatory 

 in toothache ; hence the plant is also known under the name of the Tooth- 

 ache Shrub. The bark contains berberine. The barks of other species, as 

 those of A'. Clava-HerciiUa. Linn., and of A'. caroUnianum of Lamarck, possess 

 somewhat similar properties to the bark of X./raxineum. 



Natural Order 61. Ochxace.^. — The Ochna Order. — • 

 Character. — Undershruhs or smooth trees, with a watery 



