^iiyi,wK™ }       The  So-called  African  Saffron.  307 
Hesse,  which  has  been  variously  designated  physostigmine,  calaba- 
rine,  and  eserine,  from  the  name  here  given  to  the  plant  by  the  Cam- 
eroons.  It  is  amorphous,  brownish-yellow,  nearly  insoluble  in  cold 
water,  rather  soluble  in  ammonia,  carbonate  of  soda,  ether,  benzine, 
and  alcohol.  Its  solutions  in  acids  are  generally  deep  red,  but  some- 
times intensely  blue. 
The  plant  is  also  called  by  the  Gaboon ese  nChogo,  and  by  the 
Fans,  d  Itounda.  By  the  last-mentioned  people  the  bruised  seeds  are 
made  up  into  an  ointment  with  palm  oil,  or  some  other  excipient,  and 
used  to  rid  their  bodies  from  the  parasites  with  which  they  are  cov- 
ered.— Pharm.  Journ.,  Lond.,  May  11,  1872. 
THE  SO-CALLED  AFRICAN  SAFFRON. 
By  John  R.  Jackson,  A.L.S.  (Curator  of  the  Museums,  Kew). 
From  the  description  of  the  so-called  African  Saffron  by  Prof.  Maisch,* 
there  seems  no  doubt  but  that  the  flowers  are  those  of  Lyperia  crocea^ 
Eckl.,  a  scrophulariaceous  plant  of  South  Africa,  small  quantities  of 
which  have  been  imported  into  this  country  from  time  to  time,  chiefly 
for  use  as  a  dye.  The  following  description  of  the  plant  and  its  uses 
is  given  by  Dr.  Pappe  in  his  "  Florae  Capensis  Medico  Prodromus  " : 
"A  little  branchy  shrub.  Leaves  very  small,  wedge-shaped,  fasci- 
culate, obtuse,  entire,  smooth.  Peduncles  elongated,  axillary.  Flow- 
ers sub-racemose,  yellow.  Tube  of  the  corolla  much  longer  than  the 
calyx.  This  bush  deserves  notice  as  a  drug ;  and  in  all  probability 
will,  before  long,  become  an  article  of  colonial  export.  It  grows 
abundantly  in  some  parts  of  the  Eastern  districts,  whence  it  has  found 
its  way  into  the  dispensary.  The  flowers,  which  are  called  Qeele 
bloemetjes,  closely  resemble  saffron  in  smell  and  taste ;  they  possess 
similar  medical  properties,  and  as  an  antispasmodic,  anodyne  and 
stimulant,  ought  to  rank  with  the  Crocus  sativus.  Here,  they  have  as 
yet  been  only  used  with  success  in  the  convulsions  of  children,  but 
they  deserve  a  more  general  trial.  On  account  of  the  fine  orange 
color  which  they  impart,  they  are  in  daily  request  among  the  Moham- 
medans, who  use  them  for  the  purpose  of  dyeing  their  handkerchiefs. 
This  drug  has  been  observed  to  be  sometimes  adulterated  by  the  ad- 
mixture of  other  plants  of  the  same  genus  which  are  less  efficacious. " 
*See  Amer,  Journal  of  Pharmacy.  1872,  page  110. 
