96 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



1840, and in England in 1850, and was introduced into the 

 British Pharmacopoeia in 1867. Its source was unknown 

 till 1869, when the plant was discovered in the mountains 

 south-east of Samarkand, separating Russian Turkestan 

 from Bucharia, at an altitude of from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. 

 In 1872 a root was received at Kew from the Moscow 

 Botanic Garden, which continued to throw up leaves each 

 year till 1875, when it produced a fine flowering stem, but 

 did not ripen fruit, and afterwards died. 



Pereira mentions two kinds of Sumbul known to com- 

 merce in his time one called Russian and the other Indian 

 Sumbul, the latter coming to England vid Bombay. All 

 the Sumbul which reaches Europe and the United States at 

 the present time is imported from Russia. As seen in 

 commerce, Sumbul root occurs in roundish pieces or trans- 

 verse sections ; it has a powerful but agi-eeable musky 

 odour, which is very persistent. It is used in medicine as 

 a nervine stimulant and antispasmodic, and is given in 

 chronic pulmonary affections, hysteria, etc. 



Franciscea uniflora. A shrub belonging to the natural 

 order Scrophularineae, native of Brazil and other parts of 

 equatorial America. The roots, under the name of MANACA, 

 are used in the preparation of a powerful antisyphilitic, 

 purgative, and diuretic medicine. It was introduced to 

 notice in this country from Noi-th America in 1883. 



Frankenia grandifolia. An herbaceous plant of Cali- 

 fornia. Under the name of YERBA REUMA it was intro- 

 duced in 1879 as a remedy in catarrh, mucous discharges, 

 and in ophthalmia. 



Gouania domingensis. A climbing West Indian shrub 

 belonging to the natural order Rhamnacese. It has long 

 been known as CHEW STICK, and used when pulverised as 

 an ingredient in tooth powder. Pieces of the stem, with 

 one end beaten into fibre, have also been used as tooth- 

 brushes. These stems appear to contain saponine. In the 



