SPICES AND CONDIMENTS. 



209 



adulteration. It is fortunate that iu a material which is probably more 

 frequently adulterated than any other the presence of foreign matter is 

 so easily detected. 



CAYENNE. 



Cayenne or red pepper is the powdered pod of several species of Cap- 

 sicum, a genus of the family Solanacece, to which the potato and tomato 

 belong, the commonest species being C. annuum and C.fastigiatum, 

 known also under many synonyms. 



The first, Fliickiger and Hanbury state, furnishes the larger kinds of 

 pod pepper, and, as they believe, much of the cayenne pepper which is 

 imported into England iu a state of powder. 



C.fastigiatwn is the species which is officinal iu both the British and 

 United States pharmacopeias. It is grown in tropical Africa and America 

 and appears in our market as Zanzibar pepper. The color of its pow- 

 der is lighter yellow than that of the preceding. The two species fur- 

 nish the market with its cayenne pepper, although a few other species 

 are sought in small amount for their peculiar flavor. 



Of the microscopic structure Fliickiger and Hanbury say : 



The pericarp consists of two layers, the outer being composed of yellow thick-walled 

 cells. The inner layer is twice as broad and exhibits a soft shrunken parenchy me, 

 traversed by thin fibro-vascular bundles. The cells of the outer layer especially are 

 the seat of the fine granular coloring matter. If it is removed by an alcoholic solution 

 of potash, a cell nucleus and drops of fat or oil make their appearance. The struct- 

 ural details of this fruit afford interesting subjects for microscopical investigation. 



FIG. 12. Cayenne; A, outer epidermis. /?, stone cells of the inner epidermis; C, epidermis cells of 

 the edge of seed. (After Scbimper.) 



The peculiarities described above are so distinctive that the presence 

 of foreign matter is easily detected. The cells of the pericarp or epider- 

 mis are of a peculiar flattened and chain-like angular form v/hich are 

 22823 Bull. 13, pt. 2 G 



