300 ' MEDICAL BOTANY. 



liar deposit, which has been termed Eugenin ; this is a fatty body, resem- 

 bling Stearoptene. 



Medical Properties. — Cloves are the most stimulating of the aromalics, 

 but are principally employed for culinary purposes, as a flavouring ingre- 

 dient. In medicine their main use is as an addition to other remedies, either 

 to disguise their nauseous taste, or to correct their operation. The essential 

 oil is added to some extracts for the same purposes, and is a popular remedy 

 for toothache. The infusion of cloves is a warm and grateful stomachic, and 

 has been advantageously used to relieve nausea, flatulence, and other dyspep- 

 tic symptoms. An aromatic syrup or liqueur is also prepared from them, 

 and they are used in some articles of perfumery. 



The ripe fruits are preserved with sugar, and are much esteemed as an aid 

 to digestion ; in a dried state they have been imported under the name of 

 Mother of cloves ; they are much less aromatic than the unripe clove. Gui- 

 bourt states that the peduncles are also imported into France, and used by the 

 distillers. Lesson (Voy. Med.), says that he saw at Amboyna what is called 

 the Royal clove, which has a double calyx, is- smaller than the ordinary 

 clove, much more aromatic, and bears a very high price. This must, of 

 course, be the product of a tree belonging to another genus. 



Eugenia. — Linn. 



Tube of the calyx roundish, limb 4-cleft. Petals 4. Stamens indefinite, distinct. 

 Berry nearly globular, crowned by the persistent calyx; 1 — 2-celled, 1 — 2-seeded. 



This genus is very closely allied to Myrtus; and the species to be noticed 

 was included in it by Linnaeus, but has been removed to Eugenia by De 

 Candolle and others. Lindley, in the Encyclopaedia of Botany, made it the 

 type of Pimenta, attributing a 5-cleft calyx and 5 petals, which are not no- 

 ticed by other writers, who invariably speak of these parts as quadripartite. 

 All the species are trees and shrubs, and are inhabitants of warm climates. 



E. pimenta, De Candolle. — Leaves oblong-lanceolate, pellucid, dotted. Flowers in 

 trichotomous panicles. 



Myrtus pimenta, Linn., Sp. PL 576; Woodville, i. 26; Stephenson and 

 Churchill, ii. 124; E. pimenta, Lindley, Fl. Med. 76. ' 



Common Names. — Pimento ; Allspice ; Jamaica Pepper ; Bayberry Tree. 



Foreign Names. — Pimente, Ft.; Pepe dell Giamaica, It. ; Gewiirzmyrte, 

 Ger. 



Description. — A handsome evergreen tree, with a straight trunk about thirty feet high, 

 much branched towards the top, and covered with a smooth gray bark. The leaves are 

 opposite, on short footstalks, oblong-lanceolate, smooth, shining, pointed, of a deep-green 

 colour. When recent they have an aromatic taste, and abound in an essential oil. The 

 flowers are small but numerous, and are produced in trichotomous panicles at the extre- 

 mity of the branches. The calyx is formed of 4 roundish sepals. The petals are 4, re^ 

 fleeted, of a greenish-white colour. The stamens are numerous, longer than the corolla, 

 of the same colour as the petals, with rounded, white anthers. The style is simple, with 

 an obtuse stigma.. The fruit is a smooth, shining, succulent berry, crowned with the 

 persistent calyx, of a black or purplish colour when ripe, and containing two reniform, 

 flattish seeds. 



The Allspice-tree is a native of the West Indies and South America ; it 

 grows abundantly in the hilly parts of Jamaica, and is also cultivated largely 

 in that island. It begins to bear fruit when three years old, and arrives at 

 maturity at seven, and grows best in a calcareous soil, covered with a light 

 mould. The berries are collected before they are ripe, and dried on cloths 



