78 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



known as .Nepal and Bengal cardamoms, the latter of which 

 were supposed to be the produce of Amomum aromnticum, 

 were proved, together with those of Nepal, by Dr. King, of 

 the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, in 1877, to be obtained from 

 Amomum sitbulatum. It is interesting also to learn from 

 the same authority that the fruits of the true Amomum 

 aromaticum of Roxburgh, which were doubtless in the 

 Indian markets in his days, are now unknown in commerce. 



BLACK SNAKE ROOT, or BLACK COHOSH (Cimicifuga 

 racemosci). A perennial herb common in the woods of 

 Canada and the United States. The roots were first intro- 

 duced into medical practice in America in 1823, and into 

 England about 1860. It is administered in the form of a 

 tincture in rheumatic affections, and is used also in dropsy, 

 phthisis, and in chronic bronchial affections. 



RHATANY ROOT (Krameria triandra). A woody 

 branched shrub about a foot high, belong'ug to the natural 

 order Polygalese, native of the sandy declivities of the 

 Bolivian and Peruvian Cordilleras. The root is gathered 

 chiefly to the north, north-east, and east of Lima, and also 

 in the northern part of Peru. Rhatany root is a powerful 

 astringent, but is not much used at the present time in 

 this country. It first appeared at a London drug sale at 

 the commencement of this century, and formed part of the 

 cargo of a Spanish prize. It was first described in the 

 Medical and Chirurgical Review in 1806. 



BUCHU LEAVES (Barosma crenulata, B. serratifolia, and 

 B. betulina). These are all shrubby plants, natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. Buchu leaves are chiefly administered 

 in diseases of the urino-genital organs ; and were introduced 

 to the medical profession of London in 1821. The plants 

 belong to the natural order Rutacese. 



BAEL FRUIT (JSgle Marmelos), A widely spread Indian 

 tree of moderate height It is held sacred by the Hindoos, 

 and is often planted in the neighbourhood of temples. It 



