142 



578. ZlNIGIBEB OFFICINALE, BoSCOe. 



a. Rhizome, preserved wet. Presented by Mr. Booth. 



b. Ditto and leaves. Ditto. 



c. Rhizome. (Jamaica Ginger.) 



d. Ditto. (Barbados Ginger.) 



e. Ditto. (Cochin, or Malabar Ginger, fine.) 



f. Ditto. (Ditto coated.) 



g. Ditto. (Bengal Ginger.) 

 h. Ditto. (Ditto, coated.) 



i. Ditto. (African Ginger.) 



j. Starch from ginger. 



Note. Th'e dried rhizomes are called by the dealers "races," or 

 " hands." The younger portions are amylaceous, and the older hard and 

 resinous. The Jamaica is the best, and is pale and uncoated. Cochin ginger 

 resembles it, but is of a pale brownish tint externally. The Calicut variety 

 of Bengal ginger is like Cochin ginger, but darker and harder. The 

 Barbados, Bengal, and African, are coated gingers. See Per. Mat. Med., 

 vol. ii., pt., i., p. 232. For fig. of ginger starch see Berg, Anat. Atlas, 

 taf . xx. Bleached ginger is sometimes coated with sulphate and carbonate 

 of lime. P. J. [3] , vol. iv., p. 831. Bentl. & Trim., Med. Plants, tab. 270. 



MARANTACE^E. 



579. CANNA EDULIS, Ker. ? 



a. Starch. (Tous les Mois, Canna Starch.) 



Note. This starch is made from the tuber, principally in St. Kitts, 

 one of the West India Islands. It is the largest known starch, and can 

 only be confounded with potato starch. For distinctive characters see 

 Per. Mat. Med., vol. ii., pt. i., p. 230. According to Dr. Shier it produces 

 a jelly more tenacious than any other starch. See also Pharmacographia, 

 p. 573. According to Guibourt, tous les mois is extracted from Canna 

 coccinea, Rose. This plant, however, has a fibrous not a tuberous root. 

 P. J. [1] , vol. vii., p. 56 ; Hist, des Drag., t. ii., p. 230 ; see also Bentley, 

 Man. Bot., p. 654. See Bentley and Trimen, Med. Plants, tab. 266. 



580. CANNA INDTCA, L. 



a. -Flowers and young fruit, preserved wet. 



b. Rhizome. Ditto. 



c. Fruit and seeds. Ditto. 



d. Ditto. Presented by Mr. Bartlett. 



Note. The seeds are known as Indian shot, from their blackness and 

 hardness. They are used as beads. Bentley, Man. Bot., p. 655. 



581. MARANTA ARUNDINACEA, L. 



a. Plant, preserved wet. 



b. Rhizome cultivated at Natal. 



c. Rhizome cultivated at Sierra Leone. Presented by Mr. W. 



Penney. 



d. Rhizome preserved wet. Presented by Senor J. Nobrega, 



of Madeira. 

 e Starch. (Arrowroot.) 



