DRUGS. 



Fceniculum Panmorium. l)e C. 



Linn. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. 



The fruit, (Indian?) Fennel seed. 



Vernacular. Mudoorika, Sans. Panmuohri, Mayuri, Sonf, Hind. 

 Goowamooree, Mooree, Beng. Warealee, Guz. Perun-siragum, 

 Tarn. Pedda-gillakara, Tel. Dewadooroo, Rata-cenduru ? Cey. 

 Razeeanuj, Arab. Badian, Pers. 



Habitat. India. 



Remarks. Probably but a local variety of the Common and Sweet 

 Fennel plants, Fceniculum vulgare (Gcert.) and F. vulgare var. dulce ; F. 

 dulce being the pdpadpov of Hippocrates and Dioscorides. Anvhow the 

 Yonanee synonyme of the bazars for Panmuohri is Marithon. " See also 

 " Condiments and Spices." 



Hydrocotyle asiatica. W. Thick-leaved Pennywort. 



Linn. Sytt. Pentandria Digynia. 



The plant Hydrocotyle. 



Vernacular. Thulkooree, Beng. Codagam, Mai. Valarie, Tam. 

 Babassa, Bokkudu, Tel. Heen-gotu-kola, Cey. 



Habitat. Travancore. 

 Narthex Asafoetida. Falc. 



Linn, Syst. Pentandria Digynia. 



The gum-resin, Asafoetida. 



Vernacular. Hinga, Sans. Hing, Sans., Beng., Hind., Dec. Hin- 

 goo, Sans, and Cey. Perungyum, Tam. Inpoova, Tel. Hilteet, 

 Arab. Ungooseh, Pers. Angoo, Malaya. " 



Habitat. Saristan, Afghanistan, Punjab. 



Remarks. The Arabs, according to the Ulfaz Udwiyeh, also name the 

 gum-resin, Sumugh-ul-mehroos ; the root, Mehroos ; and the plant, Kashem 

 and Unjudan. The early history of Asafoetida is obscure. It was for- 

 merly considered to be identical with the o-iX^toi/ of Theophrastus and the 

 Laserpertium of the Romans. It certainly is not the celebrated Silphium 

 of ancient Gyrene (Laser cyrenaicum, Succus cyrenaicus), which, moreover, 

 is now on the best grounds attributed to the Thapsia Silphion (Viviani), 

 which Delia Cella found to be the only umbelliferous plant from Zardes 

 to Grennah in Barca, and to correspond with the figure of the o-i\<f)iov on 

 the Cyrenaean and Barcsean coins. This Silphion was probably a royal 

 monopoly and the chief source of the wealth of the Battiadse, as there is 

 an antique vase extant, on which there is a representation of King Arcesilaus 

 weighing out the drug for sale. But this precious Laser or Asa dulcis of 

 Cyrene soon became exhausted, and for a long time before his days Pliny 

 tells us the only Laser known was that which was produced in Persia, Media, 

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