204 THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 



The first Portuguese settlers in India called the drug " Cobra 

 Root/' because the natives regarded it as an antidote for the 

 bite of the terrible " Cobra da Capello." This reputation, 

 however, seems not to have been deserved, judging from the 

 fearful mortality in India and Ceylon due to the bite of the cobra. 



Dr. Imlach, a surgeon of Singapore, states that in one season 

 in one collectorate, Shikapore, no less than 306 cases of snake 

 bites were officially reported, the mortality being 63, or about 

 20.58 per cent. Other reports make it safe to conclude that in 

 the entire province during the year no less than 300 deaths 

 were due to this cause alone. Dr. Waring believes that if an 

 antidote for snake bite exist in the vegetable kingdom it will 

 most probably be found in the natural order Aristolochiacese. 



In North India this drug is used as emmenagogue and anti- 

 arthritic, and in Banda for intermittent fevers and intestinal 

 disorders. The juice of the leaves is emetic. The dose of the 

 powdered root is 3-5 grams daily. 



Botanical Desoeiption. — A twining shrub, with leaves 

 heart-shaped, ovate, acute, glabrous. Petioles short. Flowers 

 dark reddish-gray, in panicles. Calyx wanting. Corolla glo- 

 bose below, the tube cylindrical, expanding at the top. Anthers 

 6, in pairs. Filaments, none. Styles 6, very coarse, a mem- 

 brane at the base including all. Stigmas simple. Seed vessel 

 inferior, 6-ribbed, 6 cells and many winged seeds. The seed 

 vessel after casting the seeds resembles a pair of balance scales 

 with its little plates or ])ans. Hence the Tagalo name Tlm- 

 htif/an meaning " balance." 



Habitat. — In Luzon and Panay. Blooms in November. 



PIPERACE^. 



Pepper Family. 

 Piper Betle, L. [Char'wa Bef/c and C. auricu/ata, Miq. ; 



Piper BcicI, Blanco.) 

 NoM. VuLG. — Hojas dc buyo, S]).-Fil. ; Itinii, Tag.; Mamin, 

 Bic. ; Buyo, Mamdn, Vis. ; Samat, Pam. ; Betel Pepper, Eng. 



