336 
Gleanings  in  Materia  lledica. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(      July,  1881. 
13;  resemble  in  color  staranise^  but  are  darker  at  the  ventral  and  dorsal 
sutures  ;  on  the  sides  with  scars ;  beak  short,  incurved  ;  terminal  de- 
jDression  well  marked  ;  taste  at  first  none,  but  shortly  bitter,  with  some 
acridity,  and  a  flavor  between  that  of  cubebs  and  bay  leaves. 
III.  majus,  Hook  fil.  et  Thorns.,  native  of  the  Thoung  Gain  range  in 
Tenasserim,  at  an  altitude  of  5,500  feet;  carpels  11  to  13;  terminal 
depression  longer  and  shallower  and  beak  short  and  less  incurved  than 
in  the  preceding  ;  taste  strongly  resembling  mace,  not  bitter. — Phar, 
Jour,  and  Trans.,  1880,  Dec.  18,  pp.  489  to  491. 
Thalictrum  macrocarpum. — The  root  contains,  according  to  Hanriot 
and  Doassans,  a  neutral  principle,  macrocarpin,  and  an  alkaloid,  thal- 
ictrina.  The  alcoholic  tincture  is  concentrated  in  a  vacuum,  then 
treated  with  ether  and  finally  precipitated  by  water.  Macrocarpin 
crystallizes  in  yellow  needles,  is  insoluble  in  ether,  but  soluble  in 
Avater,  alcohol,  and  more  so  in  amyl  alcohol ;  it  dissolves  also  in 
ammonia  and  is  precipitated  by  acids.  By  exliausting  crude  macro- 
carpin Avitli  etlier,  thalictrina  is  obtained  in  colorless  crystals,  insoluble 
in  water,  and  soluble  in  ether  and  alcohol.  Its  nitrate  is  ciystalline 
and  in  its  properties  and  reactions  it  resembles  aconitina. — Bidl.  Soc. 
Chim.,  2d  ser.,  xxiv,  pp.  33,  34. 
Laiosonia  alba,  Lam.. — "  Hennn  al  lienna/'  a  cosmetic  used  by  the 
Persians,  Arabs  and  Egyptians,  is  a  greenish-brown,  tolerably  uniform 
powder,  feeling  somewhat  sandy  between  the  fingers  ;  by  long  expo- 
sure the  surface  acquires  a  reddish  tint.  It  is  a  powder  of  Law- 
sonia  leaves  rendered  somewhat  impure  by  forameniferous  sand.  Dr., 
H.  Pasclikis  has  examined,  three  specimens  of  henna  and  two  samples 
of  Lawsonia  leaves,  one  coming  from  Persia,  the  other  from  the 
French  colony  of  Senegal ;  the  latter  are  only  distinguishable  from 
the  former  by  being  1  or  2  centimeters  longer.  The  Persian  leaves, 
attain  a  length  of  2  cm.  and  a  greatest  breadth  of  1  cm. ;  they  are 
ovate,  acute,  mucronate,  short-petiolate,  entire  and  slightly  revolute  at 
the  margin,  coriaceous,  shining  and  greenish-brown  on  the  upper  sur- 
face, lighter  beneath ;  the  lateral  nerves  are  anastomosing  near  the 
margin.  In  tlie  epidermis  of  the  upper  side  are  irregularly  distribu- 
ted numerous  large  mucilage  cells,  and  botli  the  upper  and  lower  sur- 
faces contain  numerous  stomata.  The  mesophyll  consists  of  a  double 
palisade  layer  and  of  the  cells  containing  chlorophyll,  among  the  lat- 
ter numerous  rosettes  of  calcium  oxalate. 
Lawsonia  leaves  contain  tannin,  turning  green  with  iron  salts,  and; 
