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PH A RMA COGNOSY. 
extent of 5 per cent. A small amount of starch is 
found in the fragments of adhering pulp. 
Allied Plants. — The seeds of Strychnos Ignatii, a 
woody climber of the Philippine Islands, contain about 
the same amount of total alkaloids as nux vomica, of 
which one-third to two-thirds is strychnine. The seeds 
are irregular, somewhat oblong or ovoid, pebble-like, 
20 to 30 mm. long, grayish or brownish black, more or 
less translucent, and nearly free from the trichrome- 
like fibers found in nux vomica. 
PHYSOSTIGMA (Calabar Bean). 
The ripe seeds of Physostigma venenosum (Fam. Legu- 
minosse), a woody climber growing in the region of the 
Gulf of Guinea on the western coast of Africa. The 
seeds are also known as “ the ordeal bean of Calabar.” 
Description. — Anatropous, somewhat reniform or 
irregularly oblong or ellipsoidal, 25 to 30 mm. long, 15 
to 18 mm. in diameter, 10 to 15 mm. thick, with a 
brownish-black groove from 1 to 2 mm. in diameter 
extending about half-way around the edge, con- 
taining the raphe as a narrow line, and in which is 
frequently found the remains of the white membra- 
naceous funiculus, the mieropyle occurring near one 
end of the groove as a slight depression; seed-coat 
brownish red, hard, thick, smooth, but somewhat 
rough near the groove; reserve layers wanting, embryo 
large, white, with short hypocotyl and two concavo- 
convex cotyledons ; inodorous; taste starchy. 
Constituents. — Starch about 45 per cent ; proteids 
about 20 per cent. ; fixed oil about 2 per cent. ; ash 
about 3 per cent. Several alkaloids have been isolated, 
the most important of which is physostigmine or 
eserine ; it occurs in the embryo and is colored red 
with alkalies. 
