ON  SOME  PANAMA  DRUGS.  .  231 
haviour.  Mr.  Herbruger  has  omitted  to  state  their  botanical 
origin  or  to  send  specimens  of  the  plants  from  which  they  are 
obtained  ;  we  hope  that  with  his  aid  the  obscure  origin  of  several 
Central  American  drugs  may  be  ascertained. 
Car  anna  hedionda,  a  gum  resin  much  used  here  for  external  ap- 
plication in  bruises,  cuts,  kc,  is  a  very  2^opular  remedy  in  this 
country ;  it  is  mentioned  in  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory. 
The  description  on  page  1486,  12th  edition  of  the  Dispensa- 
tory, agrees  precisely  with  that  of  Geiger,  as  contained  in  his 
Handbuch  der  Pharmacie,  published  1830,  but  not  with  the  de- 
scription on  page  25  of  his  Pharmacopoea  Universalis,  published 
1835,  which  is  as  follows : 
Caranna,  Gummi  (Resina)  Carannae,  Achariari.  Caragne 
(French).  A  resin  from  South  America,  enveloped  in  the  leaves  of 
a  reed  ;  said  to  exude  from  Bursera  gummifera,  Lin.,  according  to 
the  opinion  of  others  from  Amyris  {Icica)  caranna,  or  rather  Cedrota 
longifolia,  W.,  a  tree  of  the  natural  order  Terebinthacese.  Pieces 
grey-brown,  green-blackish,  diaphanous  at  the  margin.  When 
fresh,  tenacious,  like  pine  resin ;  when  old,  rather  fragile,  with  a 
shining  fracture ;  odor  slight,  resembling  ammoniac  and  tacamahac, 
taste  bitterish,  unpleasant ;  fused  by  a  gentle  heat  it  gives  off  a 
strong  not  unpleasant  odor.  Caranna  resembles  the  resin  called 
Balsamum  Acouchi,  Aracouchinis.  Alouchi. 
Wiggers  refers  caranna  to  Bursera  acuminata,  Willd.,  s.  B, 
gummifera,  Jacq.,  and  describes,  after  Martius,  three  kinds  which 
are  probably  derived' from  different  trees,  namely  :  1st,  square 
pieces  with  layers  of,  and  wrapped  into,  leaves  of  a  Laurus,  with  a 
waxy  lustre  upon  the  fracture,  dull  yellow  greenish  in  thin  layers, 
becoming  soft  by  the  warmth  of  the  hand  and  mouth,  and  re- 
sembling guaiacum  in  taste ;  2d,  similar  pieces  of  the  size  of  a 
hand,  softer,  and  wrapped  in  leaves  of  the  musa ;  3d,  dark  dirty 
green  uneven  pieces,  3  to  4J  inches  wide,  3  to  10  inches  long, 
WTapped  in  leaves  of  Maranta  lutea,  with  little  lustre,  small 
white  dots  and  mixed  with  fragments  of  leaves  and  wood,  not 
softened  by  the  hand,  inodorous,  very  sandy  and  with  little  taste. 
Lindley,  in  his  Flora  Medica,  says  :  Icica  Caranna,  H.  B.  K., 
yields  the  fragrant  balsamic  substance  called  Caranna,  accord- 
ing to  most  writers.    Dr.  Hancock  is,  however,  of  the  opinion 
