UMBELLIFERiE. 



153 



and it is frequently administered to modify the griping effects of active purga- 

 tives. It was formerly prescribed for gout, St. Antlujuy's fire, and that class 

 of difficulties. The Mahometan practitioners prepare from the seed an eye- 

 wash which they believe preserves the sight in small-p(jx 



CTTMINXIM, L. Calyx-teeth bristle-like, persistent, the outer ones 

 longer. Petals nearly equal, deeply 2-lobed, white or rose colored ; 

 style short, erect. Umbels stalked, somewhat irregular, with few rays ; 

 general involucre composed of a few long, spreading and deflexed, 

 narrow, stiff, 3-parted or entire bracts ; the umbellets with 2 to 4 

 small bracts. Flowers few in number. Fruit aromatic, bitter. 



C. cyminum, L. C. sativum. (Cumin.) Stem 10 to 15 inches high, 

 branched, cylindrical, solid, striate, smooth ; branches spreading. Leaves 

 nearly sessile above, longer 

 stalked below ; stalks flattened 

 and clasping, blade ternately 

 divided into long, entire, acute 

 segments, smooth and pale 

 green. The oil-vessels small. 

 Cultivated annual. The only 

 species of the genus. 



Geography. — The geographi- 

 cal zone of this plant is northern 

 Africa, middle and southern 

 Europe, and extends eastward 

 through Syria, Hindustan, Bom- 

 bay, and Burmah. 



Etymologi/. — Cuminum, the 

 generic name, is from the Arabic 

 Gamoun, the anrient name of the 

 plant, of obscure signification. 

 Cym'innm, the specific name, is 

 a variation of the same word, 

 Cnm'tn is an abridgment of the 

 generic name. 



History. — The exact home of 

 this })lant is not known ; it is found under cultivation in southern and western 

 Asia, throughout the countries of the Levant, and in northern Africa. It is 

 sparingly cultivated through middle Europe, and fruits as far north as south- 

 ern Sweden. Tt is no doubt the plant .spoken of in Scripture in the 2.'^d cliapter 

 of Matthew, as a minor crop on which tithe was paid. It was cultivated in 

 Asia Minor in the early part of the first century, and is mentioned bv Dios- 

 corides. The bruised seeds emit a heavy, disagreeable odor. 



Use. — The seeds are used in Germany as a condiment and for flavoring. 

 and the Dutch u.'^e them to flavor gin. Their medical projiertios are carmina- 

 tive, stomachic, and a.stringent, and they furnish a favorite medicine among 

 the Hindus for dyspepsia and chronic diarrha^a. They are used in external 

 applications for dis])ersing swellings and allaying pain and irritation. At 

 the present day their use is nearly confined to veterinary practice. 



The medicinal qualities are due to an essential oil obtained from the seeds 

 by distillation, known a.s the oil of cumin. 



CuMiNu.M OYMiNTM (Cumin). 



