GALANGAL 381 



contains three tasteless, yellow crystalline substances, viz. ksempferide, 

 galangin, and the monomethyl ether of galangin. Alpinin, which 

 was formerly considered to be a constituent of the drug, appears to 

 be a mixture of ksempferide and galangin. Galangin is dioxyflavanol 

 and has been obtained synthetically. Kaempferide is 1.3-dioxy- 

 4-methoxyflavonol. 



Uses. Galangal rhizome has stimulant and carminative properties 

 and is used for flatulent dyspepsia. 



Varieties, &C. -Greater galangal, the rhizome of A. Galanga, Will- 

 denow, which is occasionally imported from Java, is much larger, 

 orange-brown externally and pale buff internally ; it has similar 

 properties, but is less pungent. 



ORRIS RHIZOME 



(Orris Root, Rhizoma Iridis) 



Source, &C. Orris rhizome, or root as the drug is commonly termed, 

 is derived from three species of Iris (N.O. Iridece), all of which are 

 cultivated for that purpose, viz. : 



Iris germanica, Linne, a handsome plant with dark blue or purplish 

 blue flowers, distributed over central and southern Europe, extending 

 to Africa and India, and a common garden plant in England. It 

 is cultivated in Italy, especially in the neighbourhood of Florence 

 and Verona, and also in Morocco. 



Iris pallida, Lamarck, with pale bluish flowers, a native of the 

 eastern Mediterranean countries ; it is also cultivated in Italy, and 

 yields with /. germanica the bulk of the drug. 



Iris florentina, Linne, with large white flowers, also a native of 

 the eastern Mediterranean region, and cultivated in Italy, but not 

 so abundantly as the other two. 



The rhizomes of all three species so closely resemble one another 

 that there are no definite means of distinguishing them. They are 

 dug up in the late summer when two or three years old, trimmed and 

 peeled ; they are dried in the sun on a kind of matting made of bamboo 

 rods for about 5 days ; they are then spread on a cool, dry, tiled 

 floor for 8 days and finally sorted by hand. During the slow drying 

 the rhizomes, which in the fresh state are almost inodorous and have 

 an acrid taste, acquire an agreeable fragrance and lose their acridity. 



Description. Orris rhizome occurs usually in pieces from 5 to 10 

 cm. long and 2 to 3 cm. thick, of a dull white colour. They are often 

 dorsi-ventrally flattened and contracted at ^intervals or bear one or 

 two short lateral branches at the apex. Each of the enlargements 

 corresponds to a year's growth of tKe rhizome ; the branches are 



