56 VEGETABLE DRUGS WITHOUT ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 



KAURI. COWRIE. 



Kauri Resins or Kauri Copals are resins from New 

 Zealand derived from Dammar a Australis, and in New 

 Caledonia commonly from Dammara ovata. 



Most of the resin is found imbedded in the earth in the 

 so-called Kauri Fields, which are located in the northern 

 islands. The pieces vary in size, from two to three to eight 

 to ten inches in diameter, mainly roundish, the surface 

 being irregular and showing the effects of weathering. The 

 fracture is brittle and glassy. Externally the fragments 

 are whitish and yellowish, gray or deep brown, even vary- 

 ing widely in a single piece. The color of the resin within 

 varies greatly, yellowish to brownish, changing even in the 

 same piece. Often foreign matters are included, beetles, 

 flies, and pieces of vegetable matter. The odor is bal- 

 samic, the taste somewhat woody. The resin softens in 

 the mouth and sticks to the teeth. The melting-point 

 varies from 180° to 240° C. 



Chemistry. — The chemical composition of these copals 

 is still in need of much study. Being so very diverse in 

 origin, they vary widely. Tschirch and Stephan* have 

 shown that a specimen of Zanzibar copal has the following 

 composition : 



Trachylolic acid, C34H8503(OH)(COOH)2. 80.0 per cent. 



Isochylolic acid (melting pt. io5°-io7° C.) 4.0 



Resin and copal resin 6.0 " 



A. resin (C^iHogO^), melting pt. 75° C. 



B. resin (C25H38O4), " ' " 140° C. 



Impurities 0.4 " 



Ash 0.12 " 



Bitter principles (ethereal oil, etc.) 9.40 " 



SANDARAC. 



Sandarac is a resin derived from a member of the pine 

 family, Callitris quadrivalvis, which is a tree indigenous 

 to the northwestern parts of Africa. It is slightly culti- 

 vated in the tropical regions of Europe. 



* Archiv der Pharmacie, 234, 1896, p. 552. 



