ADENANTHERA 



PAVONINA 



Bed-wood 



THE SWEET-FLAG 



Qilgit Aconite. 



D.E.P.. 

 i., 99-102. 

 Sweet-flag. 



OiL 



Medicine. 



of the stem are nearly always found on its upper extremity. It is not more 

 than one inch or an inch and a quarter long. Is of a black colour ; curved, 

 densely coated with short sharp thorns (lateral rootlets), and is terminated 

 by a short, hard, smooth and pointed beak. In the dry state it has a horny 

 or cartilaginous fracture. 



A. soongarieum, Stapf, Lc. 141-2 ; found in Gilgit. 



Of all the Indian forms of the genus this comes nearest botanically to 

 A. tfapeiltiB, Linn. The root does not appear to find its way to the bazars of 

 India. This species has not as yet been chemically investigated, and it is just 

 possible that it may be found to contain aconitine. 



ACORUS CALAMUS, Linn. ; Fl. Br. Ind., vi., 555 ; AKOIDE.E. 

 The Sweet-flag, bacha, shadgrantha, vashawibu, etc. The imported Persian 

 rhizome is known as bdl-vach or bdl-vekhand. The medical treatise which 

 constitutes The Bower Manuscript (Hoernle, transl.) makes repeated 

 mention of this drug. 



It is the Calamus aromaticus of mediaeval writers, and possibly the Acoron 

 of the Greeks. It is a semi-aquatic herb occurring wild and sometimes culti- 

 vated, from Kashmir to Assam, Manipur and Burma, and to the mountains of 

 Central, Western and Southern India. It is most abundant between altitudes 

 of 2,000 and 6,000 feet. An essential OIL prepared from the leaves is used in 

 England in the preparation of a hair-powder, and from 1*3 to 2-6 per cent, of a 

 yellow neutral essential oil may be extracted from the rhizomes, which like the 

 other parts of the plant owe their property to the glucoside acorin. Gilde- 

 meister and Hoffmann ( Volatile Oils (written under the auspices of Schimmel & 

 Co.), 302) say that though the oil has been repeatedly examined no satisfactory 

 insight into its chemical nature has been obtained. It is used in " the manu- 

 facture of liquors and of snuff," but is less in demand than formerly for medicinal 

 purposes. Native MEDICAL practitioners consider the rhizome in large doses 

 an emetic, in small doses tonic or stomachic and carminative. It is prescribed 

 in cases of fever, rheumatism and dyspepsia, as well as for flatulence, even in 

 infants. It is also a pleasant adjunct to tonic or purgative medicines, and as 

 an aromatic stimulant is recommended for catarrh and distressing coughs. Dr. 

 Childe, Second Physician to the Sir Jamsetji Jijibhai Hospital, Bombay, tried an 

 authentic tincture for malaria, dyspepsia, dysentery and chronic bronchitis, 

 and after careful experiment pronounced it inert. Linschoten, who studied 

 the cultivation of sweet-flag in Gujarat and the Deccan (A.D. 1598), mentions a 

 preparation called arata (a mixture of the rhizome of sweet-flag with garlic, 

 cumin seeds, salt, sugar and butter) which was used as a strengthening medicine 

 for horses. Nicholson (Man. Coimbatore, 247) refers to its use in the treatment 

 of foot and mouth disease. [Cf. also Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 1833, 34.] 



It is generally stated that a considerable demand exists for sweet-flag spirit 

 as a FLAVOXJBING for gin, beer, etc., and that the supply is obtained from the 

 Broads district in Norfolk. In India it is said to be similarly employed in the 

 manufacture of aromatic vinegar. The rhizomes of the bazars come mostly 

 from the lower hills of Northern and Eastern India, but the imported Persian 

 root is the most expensive. As an illustration of local TBADE, it may be 

 observed that Mr. Coldstream mentions an export duty charged on sweet-flag 

 in Sarmor State, but the root can be purchased there at the rate of 12 seers 

 per rupee. No particulars are available as to the total Indian trade or the 

 foreign exports, if such exist, but a large supply is obtainable. Sir W. Lawrence 

 ( Valley of Kashmir, 72) speaks of it as an abundant wild plant in Kashmir, and 

 the same is true of most if not all of the warm temperate tracts. [For Chemical 

 and Medical opinions and results consult Thorns, Archiv. der Pharm., 1886, 465; 

 Yearbook Pharm., 1886, 161 ; 1888, 131 ; Journ. Chem. Indust., 1901, xx., 833, 

 1237 ; 1902, xxi., 1295 ; 1903, xxii., 317 ; Pharmacog. Ind., iii., 539 ; Kanny 

 Lall Dey, Indig. Drugs, 9 ; H.H. Sir Bragvat Singhji, Hist. Aryan Med. Sc., 

 52; etc.] 



D.E.P., ADENANTHERAPAVONINA,itm.; Fl. Br. Ind., ii., 287 ; 



HedSandal- Gamble > Man - Ind - Timbs., 287; Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bomb., i., 438. 



WOOd, LEaUMINOS^E, 



24 



Flavouring. 



Trade. 



