368 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



assumed by some writers as the type of Cosmibuena, and by others as that 

 of Coutarea ; whilst Merat and De Lens appear to consider all of them as 

 identical [Diet. v. 457). Guibourt was formerly of opinion that this species 

 affords Spongy Carthagena bark, but changed his views, and now attributes 

 this to Cinchona lancifolia ; in which he is followed by Pereira. Many 

 authors state that the Kina nova is furnished by this tree ; but, as before 

 stated, it is usually attributed to Portlandia grandifloi-a. 



Hymenodictyon.— Wattich. 



Calyx-tube ovate ; limb 5-toothed. Corolla infundibuliform, 5-lobed. Stamens very 

 short. Filaments smooth, inserted lower than the throat. Anthers exserted. Style 

 long, prominent. Stigma clavate, capitate, somewhat lobed. Capsule naked, 2-celled, 

 2-Valved, with a loculicidal dehiscence. Seeds surrounded with a reticulated wing, bifid 

 at the base. 



These are large trees, natives of India, with compressed branches, decidu- 

 ous stipules, having glandular fringes, and small, inconspicuous, green, 

 downy flowers. The H. excelsa, which is called a Cinchona by Roxburgh 

 and Ainslie, is found in the mountainous parts of India, where its bark is used 

 as a substitute for the Peruvian. Roxburgh (Fl. Ind. ii. 149) says, " the 

 inner coat possesses the bitterness and astringency of the Peruvian bark ; the 

 bitter, however, on chewing is not easily perceived, but is more lasting. The 

 bark is employed by tanners, and is also prescribed by Hindoo practitioners 

 in cases requiring astringents." 



Cinchona. — Linn. 



Calyx persistent, 5-toothed. Corolla with a terete tube ; limb hypocrateriform, 5- 

 parted ; aestivation valvate. Stamens inserted in the middle of the tube. Filaments 

 short. Anthers linear, included. Capsule ovate or oblong, dividing along the dissepi- 

 ment into two carpels, open at the commissure, and crowned by the persistent calyx. 

 Seeds many, with a membranaceous, lacerated wing or margin. Albumen fleshy. 



This very important genus consists of trees and shrubs, with shortly-petio- 

 lated leaves, having flat margins, and ovate or oblong, foliaceous, free, deci- 

 duous stipules. The flowers are paniculate, corymbose, terminal, white, or 

 reddish. They are natives of South America, where they inhabit the moun- 

 tains, at considerable elevations above the sea. Notwithstanding the great 

 importance of this genus, and the attention it has received from botanists, 

 much confusion and perplexity still exist, as regards an assignment of its 

 products to the species from which they are derived. It may be asserted, 

 that after all the labour and research bestowed upon the subject, all that is 

 known is, that most of the species furnish valuable medicinal barks, some of 

 which are possessed of higher powers than others ; but from what species 

 these are obtained, yet remains to be ascertained. In a few cases, however, 

 this has been accomplished, with every appearance of exactness ; but when it 

 is recollected, that the bark of the same species may be of inferior quality and 

 worthless, if growing in lowland districts or in confined valleys, and of high 

 value and properties when obtained in mountainous regions, it must be con- 

 ceded, that even with those species whose medicinal virtues are supposed to 

 have been most clearly ascertained, numerous errors may still exist. Fee 

 asserts that one kind of Cinchona passes into another, and that nobody knows 

 with absolute certainty the origin of the various barks. Poppig, who resided 



