] 82 SEEDS 



can be distinguished from that of genuine mace by the large amount 

 of substances yielded to ether after exhaustion with petroleum spirit 

 (30 per cent., as against 3-5 from genuine mace). 



Macassar or Papua mace (M. argenteo) is in dull, brownish fragments 

 with a dusty surface ; the lobes are few. broad and widely separated, 

 ultimately uniting to a compact cap ; the taste is distinctly acrid. 



CASTOR SEEDS 

 (Castor-oil Seeds, Semina Ricini) 



Source, &C. The castor-oil plant, Ricmus communis, Linne (N.O. 

 Euphorbiacece) , is a native of India, but is diffused now over all 

 tropical and subtropical countries. In India it may attain a height 

 of 40 metres and be a perennial tree, but in cooler climates it is either 

 a shrub or an annual herb. The plant, and with it the seed, is 

 subject to much variation, the larger, arborescent forms yielding large 

 seeds, the small, annual varieties small seeds. 



The oil pressed from the seeds was well known to the Egyptians, 

 Greeks, and Romans, and employed both as a medicine and illumi- 

 nant, as well as for various technical purposes. It was used in Europe 

 during the early Middle Ages, but subsequently fell into disuse, being 

 re-introduced from the West Indies toward the end of the last century. 

 The supplies of seeds came then chiefly from Jamaica, but the exports 

 from India increased with great rapidity. The market is now 

 chiefly supplied from India and South America, but considerable 

 quantities of the seed are raised in other countries; as, for instance, 

 in Italy. 



Description. The fruit of the plant is a three-celled, three-seeded, 

 thorny capsule. The seeds are oblong in outline, somewhat flat- 

 tened, and from about 8 to 15 mm. long. The seed-coat is quite 

 smooth and glossy, and varies in colour from a greyish brown to 

 a beautiful grey marbled with reddish brown or black spots and 

 stripes. The dorsal surface is arched, the ventral nearly flat ; 

 at one extremity is a prominent, usually pale, caruncle, from 

 which a distinct line (raphe) runs along the ventral surface to the 

 other extremity of the seed, where it terminates in a raised point 

 (chalaza), branches and disappears. The caruncle can be easily 

 removed, disclosing a dark spot (hilum) beneath. 



The seed-coat is thin and brittle. The marbled outer layer, which, 

 especially after soaking in water, can easily be scraped off, is suc- 

 ceeded by a hard, dark layer. Within is the kernel, consisting of 

 a large, yellowish white, oily endosperm enclosing a small embryo 

 with two papery cotyledons. Surrounding the kernel is a delicate 

 silvery white membrane. 



