ROSACEA. 



443 



The other odours extracted from Rosacea are due to essential 

 volatile oils ; the most famous is undoubtedly the essence or otto of 

 Roses, extracted from the petals of a certain number of species of the 

 genus Rosa, especially R. ccnfifolia, damasccena, indica, sempervirens, 

 and moschata, which are far less perfumed in these countries than 

 in India, Persia, and Tunis, where the essence is prepared in various 

 ways.' It is known in Persia as Atar, Ather of Roses, or Alher-(^id ; 

 it very rarely arrives free from adulteration in our countries. It is 

 to the presence of this essence that Rose-water, so much employed 

 in pharmacy, owes its peculiar odour. The Howers and roots of 

 several Sjnrceas" are also very odoriferous ; the petals of the Agri- 

 monies have a fruity odour, and Ayrimonia odoratcc' possesses this 

 perfume in nearly all its parts ; Herb Bennet^ owes its old name 

 of Cari/ophyUata to the smell of its rhizome, and we all know the 

 sweet scent given off in spring from Apples, Hawthorns, Peaches, 

 and Plums, when in blossom. 



The seeds of several Rosacece are rich in fixed oil ; the best known 

 is that of the sweet Almond," which the presence of this fat sub- 

 stance fits for making emulsions, orgeat, mucilaginous confections. 



sent Ktjnth speciniens of Koiisso, which drug 

 had been attributed in France to Agrimonia 

 orienialis T. (^Mem, de VAcad. de Mtdec, i. 

 470). The work of Beayee, in which Brat/era 

 was published, dates from 1823 {Notice sur une 

 Nouv. Fl. de la Fam. des Rosac). Feesenius 

 {Mus. Senkenh., ii. 162) was the first to re- 

 cognise the identity of Hayenla and Brayera, 

 which BUCHNER {Rej}., ii. bd. xviii. s. 367), has 

 named, no doubt through some accidental error, 

 Bracera anthelminthica. Kousso was after- 

 wards studied by MIiRAT {Bull, de VAcad. de 

 Med., vi. 492), and A. Kichaed {Tent. Fl. 

 Abyss., i. (1847), 258; Flem. d'Eist. Nat. 

 Med., ed. 4, ii. 250). Even at the present 

 moment the fruit is, as we have stated, quite 

 unknown (see Guib., Drog. Simpl., ed. 4, iii. 

 284;— LiNUL., J^/. Med., 230; — Kosenth., loc. 

 cit.). 15EDALL states that the active principle is 

 koussine {C^^R'-O^). 



' See K^MPF., Amcen. Fxot., 276. — Mee. & 

 De Lens., Dict.de Mat. Med.,\\. 111. — Guib., 

 op. cit., 2*75.— Juurn. de Fharm., v. 232; vi. 

 466; vii. 527; xv. 345; xviii. 611. 



2 S2)ircea Anincus L. {Spec, 782; — DC, 

 Prodr., n. 29 ; — Barba Caprrc otf.) has a power- 

 fully-scented bitter root, formerly employed as a 

 febrifuge. All the parts of the Meadow Sweet 

 {Spirma Ulmaria L., Spec, 702; — Uimaria 

 palusiris AlasNCU, Meth., 663) smell of bitter 



almonds. Dropwort {S. Filipendula L., Sptc, 

 702; Filipendula vulgaris Mcench; Fr., Fili- 

 pendule) is the Saxifraga rubra of old hurbals. 

 The swelling on its roots, besides being edible, as 

 we shall see a little later,contains a bitter aromatic 

 substance. They have been recommended in 

 hydrophobia (Kosenth. op. cit., 968). The fol- 

 lowing other species have also been used as astrin- 

 gents : — S. tomentosa L. {Spec, 701; — DC, n. 

 23), the Hardback of North America, S. opuli- 

 folia L. {S2)ec., 702;— DC, Frodr., n. 1), the 

 Nine-bark of North America, which is a Neillia 

 in the eyes of Bentiiam & Hook he (see p. 

 390) ; the Schelamanik of Kamtschatka, or S. 

 kamtchatica V^^h^u{Fl. i?w?., i.41; — DC.,Frodr., 

 n. 33); and S. chamtBdrifoUa L., crenata L., 

 altaica, L., and salicijblia L., sometimes mixed 

 with the tea imported from China. 



^ Camee., Jlort., 7, ex DC, Frodr., ii. 587, 

 n. 2. 



■* Geiim urbanum L., Spec, 716. — DC, 

 Frodr., ii. 551, n. 9. — Peeeira, op. cit., 284. — 

 H. Bn., Diet. Fncgcl. dcs Sc Med., ix. 84, n. 1 

 {Radix Sananiundoi ott'.). 



* Frunus Amygdalus, var. amara {Amygdaliis 

 communis L., Spec, 677, a amara DC, Fl. Fr., 

 iv. lS(i; Frodr., ii. 530, n. 4). — GriB., op. cit., 

 iii. 288.— Peeeira, op. cit., 213.— Linht.., op. 

 cit., 231.— Kosenth,, op. cit., 970.— H. l.u., 

 Did. Encycl. des Sc. Med., iii. 483. 



