250 SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED PHARMACOGNOSY 



uble in alcohol, ether and chloroform; a resinous substance* and 

 tannic acid. 



LAURACE^E, OR LAUREL FAMILY 



A family of ar.omatic shrubs and trees, comprising about 1000 

 species. They are mostly found in the tropics, although a few of the 

 genera are rather common in the temperate regions. They have 

 alternate leaves, small green or yellow flowers and their fruits are 

 either drupes or berries. Oil secretion cells are found in all parts 

 of the plant, giving them a distinct fragrance. These cells are usually 

 spheroidal in shpe, with suberized walls and usually contain a yel- 

 lowish oil. Many of the plants also contain mucilage cells, and 

 these may occur in the same parts of the plant where secretion cells 

 occur, and it has been suggested that there is a relationship between 

 the two. It is well known that in those varieties of cinnamon 

 which are deficient in oil, that there is an increase in the number 

 of mucilage cells and vice versa. The mucilage cells are usually 

 somewhat elongated and are distributed in the palisade tissue of 

 leaves and the cells of the inner bark and pith. Calcium oxalate 

 occurs in the form of small acicular or spindle-shaped crystals.- The 

 hairs are non-glandular, unicellular and occasionally sclerenchy- 

 matous. The stone cells of the inner bark are usually unequally 

 thickened and frequently are U-shaped. 



CINNAMOMUM. Cinnamon Bark. The dried bark of the stem 

 and branches of various species of Cinnamomum (Fam. Lauraceae), 

 trees indigenous to tropical Asia, where they are now extensively 

 cultivated (Fig. 112) and from which three commercial kinds of bark 

 are obtained: (1) Saigon Cinnamon, obtained from Cinnamomum 

 Loureirii (?) and other species cultivated in Cochin China and other 

 parts of China, and exported from Saigon; (2) Cassia Cinnamon, 

 yielded by Cinnamomum Cassia, cultivated in the southeastern 

 provinces of the Chinese Empire, and exported by way of Calcutta, 

 and (3) Ceylon Cinnamon, collected from Cinnamomum zeylanicum, 

 indigenous to and cultivated in Ceylon (Fig. 113). 



Saigon Cinnamon. In bundles about 30 to 40 cm. in length, 

 and 20 cm. in width, 10 cm. in thickness, weighing 1.5 to 2 K., and 

 consisting of pieces varying in size and color from small brownish- 

 black single quills to large, thick grayish-brown, transversely curved 

 pieces. Pieces 6 to 30 cm. in length, 1.5 to 3 cm. in diameter; bark 

 0.2 to 2 mm. in thickness; outer surface dark brown, longitudinally 

 wrinkled, with grayish patches of foliaceous lichens, and numerous 



