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ON  STORAX  BARK. 
ON  STORAX  BARK. 
By  Daniel  Hanbury. 
Among  the  drugs  formerly  imported  from  the  Levant,  is  one 
now  of  rare  occurrence,  known  in  works  on  Materia  Medica  as 
Cortex  Thymiamatis,  Cortex  Thuris,  Thus  Judceorum  or  Nas- 
cap7itumy  and  also  by  the  names  Styrax  rubra  or  Storax  Baric, 
Nothing  satisfactory  as  to  its  origin  has  yet  been  ascertained : 
by  some  authors  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  produce  of  Styrax 
officinale,  Linn.,  after  the  expression  of  the  resin,  as  related  by 
Landerer,  and  when  ground,  to  constitute  the  Styrax  ealamita  of 
the  shops  ;  by  other  authors,  it  has  been  referred  to  Liquidambar 
orientale,  Mill.,  or  even  to  the  American  L.  styraciflua,  Linn. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  bark  of  Styrax  officinale  as  grown  in 
France,  is  entirely  dissimilar  to  the  Cortex  Thymiamatis  of  the 
Levant.  When  at  Toulon  in  the  month  of  May  last,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  visiting  in  company  with  M.  Chambeiron,  an  intelli- 
gent pharmacien  and  botanist  of  that  town,  one  of  the  few  lo- 
calities in  France  where  this  beautiful  plant  is  indigenous.  In 
the  mountainous  woods  on  the  east  side  of  Toulon,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Cuers,  the  Styrax  abounds.  As  it  is  cut  periodically  for 
fuel  in  common  with  the  other  trees  growing  near  it,  it  can  seldom 
attain  any  very  considerable  size  ;  I  observed  no  tree,  I  should 
say,  exceeding  eight  or  nine  feet  in  height.  At  the  moment  of 
my  visit  (17th  May,  1854)  the  Styrax  trees  were  in  full  perfec- 
tion, presenting  with  their  abundance  of  orange-flower-like 
blossoms,  a  truly  beautiful  appearance.  No  trace  of  resinous 
exudation  could  I  observe  upon  the  trunk  of  any,  nor  did  the 
fresh  bark  possess  the  least  odor  of  storax.  Of  the  bark,  how- 
ever, as  the  opportunity  offered,  I  collected  with  the  assistance  of 
M.  Chambeiron  an  abundant  sample,  taking  it  both  from  young 
and  old  wood.  After  it  had  been  carefully  dried  by  exposure  to 
the  air,  it  had  assumed  the  form  of  tightly  rolled  quills  ;  in  this 
state  it  is  externally  smooth  and  of  a  dark  greyish-brown,  on  its 
inner  surface  greenish ;  it  is  brittle,  devoid  of  odor,  and  has  a 
slightly  bitter,  non-aromatic  taste.  No  odor  of  storax  could  be 
perceived  upon  heating  the  bark  over  a  lamp. 
The  bark  of  Styrax  officinale  grown  in  France,  is  therefore  a 
very  different  thing  from  the  so-called  Storax  Bark  of  the  Levant. 
