72 MINOR PRODUCTS OF PHILIPPINE FORESTS 



Mexican Pharmacopoeias. The plant is aromatic and is used 

 as a condiment. 



Genus ORTHOSIPHON 

 ORTHOSIPHON ARISTATUS (Blume) Miq. 



The leaves are official in the Netherlandish Pharmacopoeia. 

 They are said to be a powerful diuretic. 



Orthosiphon stammeus is a tall herb. The leaves are op- 

 posite, pointed at the tip, widest near the base, and have 

 toothed margins. 



This species has been reported from Luzon. 



Family SOLANACEAE 



Genus CAPSICUM 

 CAPSICUM FRUTESCENS L. SiLI or CHILE PEPPER. 



A description of this species and its local names are given 

 in the section on food plants. 



This species, frequently known as Capsicum minimum, is a 

 source of Cayenne pepper, which is official in the British, Jap- 

 anese, Mexican, and American Pharmacopoeias. According to 

 Greenish,* Cayenne pepper is used externally as a stimulant and 

 counter-irritant, and internally to dispel flatulence and rouse the 

 appetite. 



Genus DATURA 



DATURA FASTUOSA L. var. ALBA Nees. (Fig. 2). Talong-PUNAI 



Local names: Kamkammaulaii (Union) ; katsuhong (Capiz) ; talampu- 

 nai (Manila, Rizal) ; talong-punai (Bikol, Tagalog). 



The leaves are official in the French, Japanese, and Nether- 

 landish Pharmacopoeias and the seeds in the British Phar- 

 macopoeia. The alkaloid content has been investigated by Brill. f 



Datura fastuosa var. alba is a coarse, erect, branched, smooth 

 or slightly hairy herb or tree-like shrub 0.5 to 2 meters in height. 

 The leaves are 9 to 18 centimeters long, the apex pointed, the 

 base inequilateral, the margins irregularly and shallowly lobed. 

 The flowers are very large, axillary, and solitary. The calyx is 

 green and about 6 centimeters long. The corolla is white, about 

 15 centimeters long, and 8 centimeters in diameter. The fruit is 

 rounded, green, about 3.5 centimeters in diameter, covered with 

 short, stout spines, and contains many seeds. 



* Greenish, H. G., A text book of materia medica, page 149. 

 t Brill, H. C, Datura alba. Philippine Journal of Science, Section A, 

 Volume 11 (1916), page 257. 



