194 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



flowered. The calyx is inferior, persistent, and tomentose. The corolla is funnel-shaped, 

 tubular below and divided into five petals above. The stamens are shorter than the co- 

 rolla, and consist of two fertile and three sterile ones. The germen is superior, and com- 

 posed of five ovate, hairy ovaries, with a single style and an oblong, 5-grooved stigma. 

 The fruit consists of five oval, bivalve capsules, each containing a single seed. 



This species has been discovered in many parts of South America, but 

 chiefly in Cumana. It was considered by Humboldt and Bonpland to furnish 

 the true Angustura bark of commerce, but as has before been stated, this 

 opinion has been 'disproved by Dr. Hancock, but it is highly probable that all 

 the species of Galipea have very analogous properties, and might be employed 

 indiscriminately without inconvenience. 



Angustura bark was first carried to Europe about 1778, and was then 

 thought to be an African product, but it was soon ascertained that it came 

 from Angustura, in South America, and hence this name was bestowed upon 

 it ; but it was not known from what tree it was derived, many writers supposing 

 that it was the product of a Magnolia, whilst others, among whom was M. 

 Guibourt, attributed it to the Rouhamon, Aublet, both widely differing in 

 natural characters from the true plant. At present, although there may be 

 some uncertainty as to the officinal species, there is none as regards the genus, 

 though there is much discrepancy in the nomenclature of different Pharmaco- 

 poeias ; thus the London terms it Galipea cusparia., on the authority of De 

 Candolle, the Edinburgh and Dublin, Bonplatidia trifoliata, following Hum- 

 boldt and Bonpland, whilst the United States has adopted the opinion of Han- 

 cock, and terms it Galipea officinalis. 



As found in commerce, this bark is in pieces of various lengths and sizes, 

 sometimes flat or somewhat rolled, or more rarely quilled. Externally, it is 

 of a light-gray colour, and is covered with lichens, the epidermis sometimes 

 is soft and spongy, and thick, or it may be wholly wanting ; internally the 

 colour is of a yellowish-brown. It breaks with a compact, resinous fracture; 

 the odour is disagreeable, and the taste bitter, and somewhat aromatic, leaving 

 a sensation of pungency. In consequence of a poisonous bark having been 

 mixed with some parcels of Angustura offered for sale in Europe^some years 

 since, and fatal results having attended its administration, much attention was 

 excited to the subject and numerous experiments were instituted to verify the 

 two substances. The false bark is always heavier and more compact than 

 the true, is destitute of lichens on the epidermis, and is either coated with a 

 rust-coloured dust, or is of a yellowish-gray colour with numerous whitish 

 elevations.. One of the best modes of distinguishing the two barks is by the 

 action of nitric acid upon them, this agent producing a dull, red colour on either 

 surface of the true bark to which it is applied, whereas it induces an emerald- 

 green when dropped on the epidermis of the false, and a blood-red tint on the in- 

 ternal surface. This false bark was, at one time, supposed to be the product of 

 the Brucea ferruginea, a native of Abyssinia, but this was abandoned when it 

 was shown that it was brought from South America and^not from Africa; for 

 the same reason, the idea that it was derived from the Strychnos colubrina, 

 a plant of the East Indies, was also given up. It is now supposed to have 

 been obtained from some unknown species of Strychnos, though some writers 

 have contended that it is yielded by a Solanum. 



Angustura bark is a stimulating tonic, which, when given in large doses, 

 acts on the stomach and bowels ; at one time it was considered of equal if not 

 superior efficacy to Cinchona in the cure of paroxysmal diseases, and was 

 also esteemed of great benefit in chronic diarrhoea, obstinate dysentery, and 

 a debilitated condition of the stomach and bowels. A more extended trial of its 

 powers, has shown that it is vastly inferior to the Peruvian bark in the re- 

 moval of intermittent fever, and not superior to many others of the vegetable 



