242 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 



are universally familiar and are amply treated in the materia 

 medica. 



Botanical Description. — This plant is so universally fa- 

 miliar that it is unnecessary to describe it. More than 20 

 varieties are found in the Philippines. 



Habitat. — Throughout the islands, especially in the Island 

 of Negros and the Luzon Provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan and 

 Nueva Ecija. 



Oriza, L. 



Nom. Vulg. — Arroz, Sp. ; Palay, Tag. (the plant and the 

 unhusked rice) ; Bigas, Tag. (the husked rice) ; Rice, Eng. 



Uses. — All the people of Indo-China, China, Japan and the 

 greater part of the Indian Archipelago eat rice as Europeans 

 do bread. 



In the Philippines an immense variety of rice grows and in 

 the World's Fair at Paris, in 1889, Senor D. Regino Garcia, of 

 Manila, presented a unique collection of 147 varieties. The 

 rice grown in high lands above irrigation is called " arroz de 

 secano" and mountain rice, and that grown in low and irrigated 

 land is called " arroz de sementera" and swamp rice. The 

 two kinds are equally valuable as food. 



The proportion of starch in rice is large, but it contains but 

 a small amount of gluten, and therefore a large amount must 

 be eaten in order to obtain sufficient nutritive elements. 



Water 5.00 



Starch 85.07 



Parenchyma 4.80 



Nitrogenous matter 3.68 



Crystallizable sugar 0.29 



Gummy matter 1.71 



Oil 0.13 



Phosphate of lime 0.40 



Chloride of potash, phosphate of potash, acetic 

 acid, calcareous vegetable salt, salt of potash, 

 sulphur Traces. 



