PHYSOSTIGMA 



323 



length, 8 to 11 mm. in breadth, 5 to 7 mm. in thickness, dark reddish- 

 brown, smooth, one edge furrowed, transversely striate, very hard; 

 cotyledons plano-convex. 



East Indian Tamarind. In blackish cakes, containing less sugar 

 and more acid. 



Constituents. Tartaric acid 5 to 9 per cent; citric acid 3 to 6 

 per cent; potassium bitartrate 6 to 7.3 per cent, and other salts of 

 organic acids; invert sugar 32 to 42 per cent; tannin (in the seed- 

 coat). 



FIG. 145. Tamarindus indica: A, flowering branch with paripinnate leaves. 

 B, -flower bud. C, dorsiventral (irregular) flower. D, longitudinal section 

 of flower showing unilocular ovary. E, somewhat curved, indehiscent 

 legume. F, G, transverse and longitudinal sections of the seed. After 

 Taubert. 



Allied Plants. The pulp of the fruits of several species of Nephe- 

 lium (Fam. Sapindacese), of southern China, resembles tamarind. 



PHYSOSTIGMA. Calabar Bean. The ripe seeds of Physostigma 

 venenosum (Fam. Leguminosse, sub-fam. Papilionacese), a woody 

 climber growing in the region of the Gulf of Guinea on the western 

 coast of Africa (Fig. 146). The seeds are also known as " the"ordeal 

 bean of Calabar." 



Description. Anatropous, somewhat reniform or irregularly 

 oblong or ellipsoidal; 25 to 30 mm. in length, 15 to 18 mm. in diam- 



