F A B A C E M. 247 



A. inermis, Kunth. — Unarmed. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, smooth on 

 both sides. 



Piso, Bras. t. 81 ; Linn., Sp. PI. 1043; Woodville, ii. 112; Stephenson 

 and Churchill, iii. 144; Wright, Philos. Trans, xlvii. 507 ; Swartz, Fl. Ind. 

 Occ. 1255. 



Common Names. — Cabbage Bark Tree ; Bastard Cabbage Bark. 



Foreign Names. — Geoffroya de la Jamaique, Fr. ; GeofFroea, It. ; Wurm- 

 rinde, Ger. 



Description. — A lofty tree, with the branches towards the top, of a straight, smooth 

 trunk. The bark is smooth and gray. The leaves are pinnate, composed of six or seven 

 pairs of lanceolate, acuminate, smooth leaflets, of a dark-green colour, on short petioles, 

 with a terminal one on a longer footstalk. The flowers are in large, branched, terminal, 

 downy panicles. The calyx is campanulate, of a dark purple colour, and divided into 

 five obtuse segments. The corolla is of a pale rose-colour, having a concave vexillum, 

 emarginate at top, two oblong, obtuse, somewhat shorter alse, and an obtuse, divided 

 carina. The stamens are diadelphous, with roundish anthers. The ovary is oval, with 

 a tapering, curved style, and hooked stigma. The fruit resembles a small plum, is pulpy, 

 and contains a hard nut, or legume. 



This tree is a native of Jamaica, and others of the West Indian Islands, 

 where its bark has long been used as a vermifuge. This bark is in long, 

 thick, fibrous pieces, externally of a brownish ash colour, and generally 

 covered with lichens, internally yellowish ; it has a resinous fracture, a dis- 

 agreeable smell, and a sweetish, mucilaginous, bitterish taste. From an 

 analysis by Huttenschmid (Diss. Inaug. 1824), it is shown to contain a co- 

 louring principle, gum, wax, resin, starch, phosphorus, several salts, and a 

 peculiar alkaloid he has named Jamaicine. 



Medical Properties, fyc. — The anthelmintic properties of the bark were 

 first made known by Mr. Duguid (Edin. Phys. and Lit. Essays), and after- 

 wards more fully by Dr. Wright (Philos. Trans. Ixvii.) ; but notwithstand- 

 ing his testimony in its favour, supported by the still stronger commendation 

 of Dr. Rush (Med. Inquir. 1), it never was generally employed by the pro- 

 fession, and is now almost forgotten. It, however, appears to be a powerful, 

 certain, and safe vermifuge. It is given in powder, decoction, or syrup, 

 which latter form is preferred ; in any form, its use should commence in 

 small doses, to avoid nausea and vomiting; and, according to Dr. Wright, 

 cold water should not be drank during its operation. The fruit, or rather 

 the kernel of the nut, has likewise been recommended as a vermifuge, and is 

 said by Piso to be very active, though some experiments made at Paris have 

 not confirmed his assertion ; this may have arisen from the nut having lost 

 its power by keeping. 



The dose of the powdered bark, for an adult, is from a scruple to half a 



drachm ; of the syrup, a teaspoonful two or three times a day ; and of the 



decoction, about the same quantity. If any narcotic or other unpleasant 



effects arise, a dose of castor oil must be administered, and lime-juice freely 



aken. 



There are several other species of Andira possessed of very similar pro- 

 perties ; the A. Surinamensis, a native of South America, is said to act in 

 the same way, but to require larger quantities to produce the same effect. 

 The bark of this tree was also analyzed by Dr. Huttenschmid, but with very- 

 different results; he attributes its power to the presence of an alkaloid he 

 terms Surinamine. The A. racemosa, also peculiar to South America, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Hamel, more closely resembles the A. inermis; and, as in that 

 species, the nut is vermifuge in doses of a scruple. The A. Harsfazldii, a 

 native of Java, according to Leschenchault, is very different in its properties, 



