430 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Description. Anatropous, broadly elliptical, acute, acumin- 

 ate or truncate, flattened, about 20 mm. long, 10 mm. broad, about 

 2 mm. thick ; externally white or light yellow, very smooth or 

 somewhat rough from adhering fruit pulp, marked by a shallow 

 groove or slight ridge parallel to and within i mm. of the margin ; 

 raphe not conspicuous, hilum characterized by a minute depres- 

 sion; seed-coat consisting of two distinct layers the outer white 

 and coriaceous and the inner dark green and membranaceous; 

 embryo white, straight, with a small hypocotyl and two plano- 

 convex cotyledons ; slightly odorous when contused ; taste bland. 



Constituents. Fixed oil about 40 per cent. ; starch about 30 

 per cent. ; proteins : a resin. There is no indication of the pres- 

 ence of any principle possessing anthelmintic properties. Any 

 therapeutic value must be attributed solely to mechanical action. 



Allied Plants. The seeds of other species of Cucurbita are 

 also used in medicine ; in Italy C. maxima and in the West Indies 

 C. occidcntalis are the sources of the drug. 



The seeds of other members of the Cucurbitacese are also 

 employed in medicine ; they include the seeds of watermelon 

 (Cifnilhis vulgaris), cucumber (Ciicitmis sativus), muskmelon 

 {Cucurnis melo) and lagenaria (Cucurbita Lagenaria) . 



STROPHANTHUS. The ripe seeds of Strophanthus Komhe 

 (Fam. Apocynacese), a twining shrub found in Zambesi and other 

 parts of Eastern Africa (p. 363). The plumose awns at the apex 

 of the seeds are usually removed before exportation (Fig. 185). 



Description. Hemi-anatropous, oblong-lanceolate or spatul- 

 ate, acute or acuminate, unevenly flattened and in transverse sec- 

 tion deltoid or plano-convex, 8 to 15 mm. long, 3 to 5 mm. broad, i 

 to 1.5 mm. thick; externally yellowish-green, covered with long 

 hairs giving a silky appearance to the seed, the raphe extending 

 as a distinct ridge from the hilum about half the length of the 

 seed ; fracture short ; internally whitish, endosperm about 0.2 mm. 

 thick, embryo 6 to 12 mm. long and i to 2 mm. broad, cotyledons 

 plano-convex, about i mm. thick, hypocotyl conical, 2 mm. long; 

 inodorous except when broken ; taste very bitter. 



When treated with concentrated sulphuric acid the endosperm, 

 in about 65 per cent, of the seeds, becomes green ; the cotyledons 

 red or purple and finally green, in some instances. 



