CRUDE DRUGS. 549 



CARYOPHYLLUS.— CLOVES.— The flower-buds of Jam- 

 bosa CaryophyUits (Syn. Eugenia Caryophyllata and E. aromat- 

 ica) (Fam. Myrtacese), an evergreen-tree indigenous to the Mo- 

 lucca Islands, where it is also cultivated, as well as in Zanzibar, 

 Ceylon and Java (p. 346). The flower-buds are collected, dried in 

 the sun or artificially, the color changing from a crimson to a 

 brownish. The chief commercial supplies come from Amboyna, 

 Penang and Zanzibar, the former two varieties being preferred. 



Description. — About 15 mm. long, 3 to 6 mm. in diameter, 

 more or less cylindrical, dark brown, calyx epigynous (Fig 83, 

 B), with four incurved teeth about 3 mm. long, surmounted by a 

 light brown globular portion consisting of four petals which are 

 imbricated, punctate and alternate with the calyx teeth; stamens 

 numerous, crowded and incurved, style one, ovary 2-locular, with 

 numerous ovules ; odor and taste strongly aromatic. 



Cloves should not contain more than 5 per cent, of clove stems 

 or yield more than 8 per cent, of ash; nor yield less than 10 per 

 cent, of volatile ether extract or 12 per cent, of gallotannic acid. 



Inner Structure. — See Fig. 312. 



Constituents. — The chief constituent is the volatile oil, which 

 occurs to the extent of 15 to 20 per cent., and consists of caryo- 

 phyllene and eugenol, the latter constituting 50 to 85 per cent, of 

 the oil. ■ The darkening of old oil of cloves is supposed to be due 

 to furfurol, an aldehyde formed on decomposition of some of the 

 carbohydrates and albuminoids. Cloves also contain an odorless, 

 tasteless principle caryophyllin, which crystallizes in silky needles 

 and yields upon the addition of fuming nitric acid crystals of 

 caryophyllinic acid; vanillin; eugenin (isomeric with eugenol or 

 eugenic acid), which resembles caryophyllin but becomes reddish 

 with nitric acid; gallotannic acid 10 to 13 per cent.; calcium 

 oxalate, and 5 to 7 per cent, of ash. 



Adulterants. — Clove stalks are less aromatic and yield from 

 4 to 7 per cent, of volatile oil. The so-called mother of cloves is 

 the nearly ripe fruit of Jambosa Caryophyllus or clove tree, which 

 furnishes cloves. The fruit is an ovoid, brownish berry about 25 

 mm. long ; it is less aromatic than cloves and contains large, 

 branching stone cells, or short bast fibers, and numerous pear- 

 shaped or truncated starch grains from 10 to 40 /x in diameter. • 



