574 
A  Spurious  Cubeb. 
Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
Nov.,  1887. 
From,  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  there  is  some  connection  between 
the  two  salts.  The  inner  part  of  the  pericarp,  found  as  a  hard  shell, 
and  described  before  as  the  testa,  consists  of  two,  or,  occassional  ly,  three 
courses  of  angular,  isodiametrical,  sclerotic  cells.  Between  the 
epicarp  and  mesocarp  are  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  woody  bundles;  the 
xylem  is  composed  of  a  few  spiral  vessels,  and  the  phloem  of  soft 
bast  with  one  or  two  fibres.  The  seed  is  in  structure  identical  with 
that  of  cubebs,  the  integuments  consisting  to  two  membranes,  and 
the  perisperm  of  hexagonal  cells,  radially  elongated,  containing  an 
abundance  of  starch.  The  starch  granules  are  small,  angular,  and 
have  a  very  distinct  central  hilum.  The  greater  portion  of  the 
cells  contain  a  globular  starch  body,  consisting  of  an  agglomera- 
tion of  starch  granules ;  these  are  a  very  characteristic  feature 
(fig.  3).  Strong  sulphuric  acid  reveals  no  specialized  cells  by  any 
color  reaction. 
In  structure  this  drug  differs  from  cubebs  in  having  stone  elements 
DO      <&  ?/ 
Fig.  3. — Starch  of  spurious  cubebs  X  620. 
in  the  epicarp,  in  having  more  than  four  rows  of  cells  in  the  mesocarp, 
in  the  endocarp  having  isodiametrical  stone  cells  in  more  than  one  row 
and  not  radially  extended,  in  the  larger  crystals  of  calcium  oxalate  in 
the  mesocarp,  in  having  the  round  starch  bodies  in  the  perisperm,  and 
in  the  oil  giving  no  color  reaction  with  sulphuric  acid.  It  differs 
from  the  "  short-stalked "  drug  in  the  same  particulars  with  the  ex- 
ception that  they  both  have  about  the  same  number  of  cells  in  the 
mesocarp. 
In  the  unground  state  it  may  be  distinguished  from  cubebs  by  its 
larger  size,  less  wrinkled  surface,  flattened  pedicel,  its  cajuput  odor 
when  bruised,  and  by  giving  no  carmine  color  when  crushed  on  a 
white  surface,  and  treated  with  strong  sulphuric  acid.  From  the 
"  short-stalked  "  variety  it  may  be  known  by  its  longer  pedicel, 
darker  color  and  different  odor.  In  the  powder  it  may  be  at  once 
recognized  by  its  characteristic  starch  bodies. 
