CHEMICAL AFFINITIES BETWEEN RUTACE.E AND 

 UMBELLIFEPt.E. 



By JOSEPH LAUTERER, M.D. 



[Head bi'/urc the Uoijal Socictij of Queoisland, Julii 11, 1S96.'\ 



One of the greatest geniuses of botany, and one who is nearly 

 forgotten by so-called modern botanists, was Linnteus, who Avas 

 born in a desolate spot of cold Sweden, and whose grave, which 

 I visited in 1879, is in the Botanic Garden at Upsala. 



In one of his numerous books, called " Philosophia 

 Botanica," he gives it as his opinion that plants belonging to 

 the same genus, and genera belonging to the same order, are 

 nearly allied in physiological and therapeutical action, as they 

 contain the same or nearly allied chemical substances. On the 

 other side, he states that plants of different orders are different 

 in respect to their physiological power and their chemical 

 constituents. These statements have, during the last 100 years, 

 been found to hold good for the majority of plants, and the 

 reverse has been found to be the exception. 



One very mteresting case of exceptions of this kind was 

 detected by me in November last, when I found that some species 

 of the genus Evodia belonging to Eutacese, contain ready formed 

 substances hitherto supposed, in the ready-formed state, only to 

 occur in plants of the order Umbellifera'. 



Our renowned Colonial Botanist, Mr. F. M. Bailey, had the 

 kindness in October last to put in my hands for chemical 

 examination, a resin, which was derived from Evodia (data 

 (Rutacete), and which had been sent to him by Mr. Macartney, 

 of Forest Hill, Mackay. 



The brown resin, hard and brittle at ordinary temperature, 

 softens under the pressure of the finger after a while. It is 

 tasteless, but has a sweetish smell, especially when rubbed or 

 warmed. Its specific gravity is 1.07. It is soluble in sulphuric 



