666 



MEDICAL BOTANY. 



Tribe 12. Rottbcelli^j. — This large tribe contains some important and 

 interesting plants, and among others the Sugar-cane. Many species of An- 

 dropogon are employed for various purposes ; A. saccharatus is grown in 

 India for its grain ; A. irvarancusa, A. schcsnanthus, A. calamus aroma- 

 ticus, are very odorous ; the last-named plant is considered by Dr.- Royle to 

 be the plant described by Dioscorides under that name, and to be the " sweet 

 cane" and the " rich aromatic reed from a far country" mentioned in Scrip- 

 ture. It is employed in India as an external application in rheumatism, and 

 is also administered as a stimulant. The roasted leaves of A. schcenanthus 

 in infusion, are employed in India as an excellent stomachic. An essential 

 oil is extracted from them in the Moluccas, and the Javanese esteem both this 

 and the plant as an aromatic and stimulant (Ainslie, ii. 58). The Anathe- 

 rum muricatum of India is also very fragrant, more especially its roots, 

 which are used to form odoriferous fans, screens, &c. A decoction of them is 

 said to be acrid, stimulating and diaphoretic ; another species, A. nardus, 

 has still more powerful roots, and is known under the name of Ginger grass. 



Fig. 318. 



Saccharum. — Linn. 



Spikelets all fertile, in pairs, one sessile, the other pedicellate, articulated at the base, 

 2-flowered ; the lower floret neuter, with one palea ; the upper fertile, with 2 paleae. 

 Glumes 2, paleas transparent, awnless. Stamens 3. Ovary smooth ; styles 2, long ; 

 stigmas plumose, with simple, denticulated hairs. Scales 2, obscurely 2 — 3-lobed at tip, 

 distinct. 



Several species of this genus abound in a rich saccharine juice, and culti- 

 vated in the warm parts of Asia and America. There are numerous varieties, 

 which are recognised as distinct species by some botanists. 



S. officinarum, Linn. — Stem solid, tall, of diffe- 

 rent colours. Leaves flat. Panicle terminal, spread- 

 ing, erect, oblong, of a grayish colour, from quan- 

 tity of long loose hairs surrounding the florets; the 

 branches alternate and spreading. Rachis striated. 

 Florets in pairs. Palea? smooth, membranous, of a 

 pink colour. 



Linn., Sp. Fl. 79; Tussac, Fl. des 

 Antill. i. 23 ; Roxburgh, Fl. Ind. i. 237 ; 

 Kunth, Agrost. 474; Lindley, Fl. Med. 

 613. 



Common Name. — Sugar-cane. 



Foreign Names. — Canne a sucre, Fr.; 

 Zukkerohr, Ger.; Canna mele, It. 



The native country of this species is not 

 accurately ascertained, though it is probably 

 indigenous to the southeastern parts of 

 Asia. The Chinese date the cultivation of 

 it from the most remote antiquity, and it 

 appears to have also grown in Egypt at a 

 very early period. Galen and Pliny say 

 that Saccharon is a white, crystalline gum, 

 obtained from a cane in India, and employ- 

 ed in medicine. Seneca and Lucan likewise 

 speak of Indian reeds affording a kind of 

 honey. Some writers, however, deny that 



S. officinarum. 



