GAMBIER. 335 



foliomm of the shops. The bark, once much employed, is now 

 obsolete. 



KUBIACE^. 



GAMBIER. 



Catechu pallidum, Extractum Uncarice ; Gambier, Pale Catechu, 

 Gambier Catechu, Terra Japonica ; F. Gambir, Cachou jaune ; 

 G. Gambir. 



Botanical Origin — 1. Uncaria Gaimhier Roxb. (Nauclea Gambir 

 Hunter) a stout climbing shrub, supporting itself by means of its flower- 

 stalks which are developed into strong recurved hooks.' It is a native 

 of the countries bordering the Straits of Malacca, and especially of the 

 numerous islands at their eastern end; but according to Crawfurd^ it 

 does not seem indigenous to any of the islands of the volcanic band. It 

 also grows in Ceylon, where however no use is made of it. 



2. U. acida Roxb.,* probably a mere variety of the preceding, and 

 growing in the Malayan islands, appears to be used in exactly the same 

 manner. 



History — Gambier is one of the substances to which the name of 

 Catechu or Tei'i'a Jaj)onica is often applied ; the other is Cutch, which 

 has been already described (p. 243). By druggists and pharmaceutists 

 the two articles are frequently confounded, but in the great world of 

 commerce they are reckoned as quite distinct. In many price-currents 

 and trade-lists, Catechu is not found under that name, but only appears 

 under the terms Cutch and Gambier. 



Crawfurd asserts that gambier has been exported from time imme- 

 morial to Java fi'om the Malacca Straits. This statement appears 

 highly questionable. Rumphius, who resided in Amboyna during the 

 second half of the 17th century, was a merchant, consul and naturalist; 

 and in these capacities became thoroughly conversant with the pro- 

 ducts of the Malay Archipelago and adjacent regions, as the six folio 

 volumes of his Herbarium Amboinense, illustrated by 587 plates, 

 amply prove. 



Among other plants, he figures^ Uncaria Gambier, which he terms 

 Funis uncatus, and sttvtes to exist under two varieties, the one with 

 broad, and the other with narrow leaves. The first form, he says, is 

 called in Malay Daun Gatta Gambir, on account of the bitter taste of 

 its leaves, which is perceptible in the lozenges (trochisci) called Gatta 

 Gambir, so much so that one might suppose they were made from these 

 leaves, which however is not the case. He further asserts that the 

 leaves have a detergent, drying quality by reason of their bitterness, 

 which is nevertheless not intense but quite bearable in the mouth : 

 that they are masticated instead of Pinang [Betel nut] with Siri [leaf 

 of Piper Betle] and lime : that the people of Java and Bali plant the 

 first variety near their houses for the sake of its fragrant flowers ; but 



^ Fig. in Bentley and Trimen, Med. Plants, 3 Beautifully figured in Berg nnd Schmidt, 



part 7 (1876). Offizinelle Gewachie, xxx. c. 1863. 



- Dictionary of the Indian IslandM, 1865. * Herb. Amb. v. 63. tab, 34. 

 142. 



