Am,  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July, 1882.  I 
The  Useful  Ameriean  Myrtles. 
345 
NOTES  ON  THE  USEFUL  AMEKICAN  MYRTLES. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
Bead  before  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association  at  Altoona^ 
June  14. 
After  referring  to  the  statement  in  Mr.  Riise's  paper  on  bay  rum 
(see  p.  278,  June  number)  relating  to  the  varieties  of  the  bayberry 
tree,  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  botanically,  the  author  continues  : 
There  being  a  large  number  of  myrtles  indigenous  to  the  West 
Indies  and  many  also  to  South  America,  it  may  not  appear  inappropriate 
to  give  a  brief  account  of  those  American  species  which  yield  useful 
and  more  or  less  medicinal  products.  Since  by  far  the  largest  number 
of  these  plants  possess  aromatic  properties,  and  many  of  them  are  also 
astringent,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  majority  of  them  could  be 
employed  medicinally;  but  in  this  sketch  I  shall  confine  my  remarks 
to  those  only  which  have,  at  various  times,  attracted  some  attention  in 
Europe  or  in  this  country. 
The  order  Myrtacese  has  affinities,  more  or  less  intimate,  with  a 
number  of  other  orders,  and  its  limits  are  variously  defined  by  different 
botanists,  so  as  to  embrace  a  larger  or  smaller  number  of  tribes  or  sub- 
orders. Between  1700  and  1800  species  belong  to  it,  all  of  which,, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  inhabit  tropical  countries. 
The  Barringtomece,  comprising  tropical  trees  with  opposite  undotted 
leaves,  are  at  present  generally  separated  from  the  Myrtles.  They  are 
often  emetic  and  stupefying,  or  bitter  and  astringent,  and  in  some  spe- 
cies an  unpleasant  odorous  principle  is  prevalent. 
The  suborder  Gy^anatece  or  Punicece  contains  only  a  single  species,, 
the  well  known  pomegranate,  which  is  indigenous  to  Western  Asia 
from  Northern  India  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  is  now  cultivated 
everywhere  in  subtropical  countries  and  the  warm  temperate  zone.  It 
is  destitute  of  aromatic  properties,  the  bark  of  the  root  and  trimk  as 
well  as  the  rind  of  the  fruit  being  anthelmintic  and  containing  con- 
siderable tannin.  Some  botanists  place  this  tree  into  a  separate  natural 
order,  while  others  have  united  it  with  the  order  of  Lythrace*. 
The  suborder  Lecythidea^  is  likewise  free  from  aromatic  properties 
and  is  remarkable  for  the  large  woody  fruits,  which  in  some  species 
o])en  by  a  kind  of  lid,  on  which  account  they  have  been  called  monkey- 
pots.  The  seeds  contain  a  considend)le  quantity  of  fixed  oil,  some- 
times over  fifty  per  cent.,  and  are  often  edible,  being  of  an  almond  like 
fiavor,  though  those  of  a  few  species  are  reputed  to  be  more  or  less- 
