OF THE 



([ UNIVERSITY J 



KlATERIA MEDICA. 81 



Its root is an ingredient in the French Guimauve 

 cough-lozenges. 



Passing over the slight medical character of Kola 

 (vide supra, p. 70) and the mere vehicle Cocoa-butter, 

 we come to the 



LINAGES. 



Limun nsitatissimum, L., -the FLAX, cultivated in 

 Egypt and Europe from prehistoric times as a fibre- 

 plant, yields also oily seeds known as LlNSEED, 

 which are used not only as a source of oil for lamps, 

 and painting, etc., but also in medicine, either for a 

 demulcent infusion or tea, or for poultices. The seed 

 is mainly imported from Russia, nearly 2,500,000 

 quarters being imported in 1882. 



Erythroxylon Coca, Lamarck (1786), COCA, the 

 dried leaves of which are chewed to assist digestion 

 of starchy food by the Indians of South America, 

 has sinca 1885 been admitted into the British Phar- 

 macopoeia, having been in use since about 1870, and 

 being strongly recommended as allaying hunger by 

 the late Sir R. Christison.* From them has been 

 obtained the valuable local anaesthetic COCAINE, 

 already in universal use in dental and other surgery.f 



ZYGOPHYLLEyE. 



Guaiacwm officinalc, L., and G. sanctum, L., West 

 Indian species, yield LIGNUM VIT.E, chips of which are 



* ' Pharm. Journ.,' vi (1876), p. 883 ; see also P. Mantegazza, 

 ibid.) i (1860), p. 506 ; Abl, ibid., vii (1865), 33 ; Fournier, ibid.) i 

 (1870), p. 43 ; Christy, ' New Commercial Plants,' No. 3, p. 24. 



t W. Martindale, * Coca, Cocaine, and its Salts,' 1886. 



6 



