234 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



i860 62. cinnamon-brown colour, woody and fragile, marked longitudinally 

 ChineseSeeds. with broad, shallow striae, and having a smooth scar at the base, 

 near to which, and opposite each other, are two small oblong 

 prominences. The nucleus, which is deeply corrugated, is covered 

 by a thin brown membrane ; its base is marked by a conspicuous 

 cicatrix. 



The seeds of Torreya nucifcra are eaten like hazel nuts, and 

 although reputed somewhat laxative, are considered wholesome. 

 In Japan an oil is expressed from them, which is used for 

 culinary purposes. 



a 13* />a -jk* 



Tfc Pih-kwo ; ^U ^!r Yin-hting (Silver-almond); Seeds 



Sdlisburia of Salisburia adiantifolia, Sin. (Taxinece). Gingko liloba, L.; 

 adiantifolia. g^g]^ arl30r nilc if era f ii adiantino, Ksempf. Amcen, p. 811 ; 

 Pun-tsaou, Fig. 658. 



These are nut-like, oval pointed seeds, from J an inch to an 

 inch long, keeled lengthwise on two sides, and having a smooth, 

 fragile, bony, pale brown, outer shell or testa. The nucleus of 

 the seed consists of amylaceous albumen inclosing a pair of long, 

 narrow cotyledons, the whole enveloped in a delicate reddish- 

 brown membrane. 



Salisburia adiantifolia is commonly cultivated both in China 

 and Japan, where it attains a large size. The male plant was 

 introduced into Europe about a century and a half ago ; 

 the female much more recently. The tree is not uncommon 

 in gardens ; and in the warmer part of the Continent it ripens 

 its handsome, plum-like, yellow fruits perfectly. The seeds, 

 Ksempfer tells us, are eaten to promote digestion " ac tumentem 

 ex cibo ventrem laxare ! " The pulp, which has a penetrating 

 offensive smell of butyric acid, has been chemically examined 

 by Dr. Schwarzenbach, 1 who has extracted from it by means 

 of ether a peculiar crystallizable fatty acid, which has been named 

 Gingkoic acid. Gingko'ic acid, and which has the composition C 48 H 47 3 +HO. 

 Gingkoic acid forms tufts of acicular crystals, which have not 

 been obtained colourless, but are of a brownish yellow; it is 

 easily soluble in alcohol or ether, and exhibits in either case 



1 Vierteljahresschrift fiir Praktische Pharmacie, Bd. vi., 424. 





