WILD  SENNA. 
231 
with  broken  Coriaria  leaves,  as  noticed  by  Peschier,*  but  of  a 
substance  which  of  late  is  brought  as  Wild  Senna  from  France 
to  Germany  for  a  secret  technical  purpose,  tanning,  as  it  is  sup- 
posed, and  which  by  chance  might  give  rise  to  errors  and  adul- 
teration. 
About  this  time  my  father,  Dr.  Theodor  W.  C.  Martius,  ob- 
tained a  small  sample  of  this  Wild  Senna,  which  was  designated 
Folia  Oolutece.  The  coriaceous,  smooth,  dull-green  leaves  have 
a  peculiar  aromatic  smell,  reminding  one  of  fresh  Willow  Bark, 
and  an  astringent,  very  bitter  taste  ;  they  are  mixed  with  mature 
and  immature  flowering  heads,  and  with  pieces  of  stick.  Broken 
acorn-shells,  single  leaves  of  Pistacia  lentiscus  L.  and  of  Ros- 
marinus Hispanicus  L.,  occur  also  as  admixtures.  The  leaves 
of  this  Wild  Senna  vary  in  size  and  form.  The  smallest  are  but 
a  few  lines  long,  and  at  broadest  but  2  lines  ;  the  middle-sized 
are  about  6  lines  long  and  from  3  to  4  broad  ;  the  largest  seldom 
exceed  10  lines  in  length  by  4  lines  in  breadth.  The  leaves  are 
entire  ;  some  obovatelanceolate,  some  lanceolate,  and  some  lan- 
ceolate-cuneate,  narrowed  at  the  petiole,  and  terminated  with  a 
point  or  muero.  This  mucro,  a  continuation  of  the  mid-rib,  is 
most  evident  in  the  lanceolate  leaves — least  so,  and  apparently 
often  wanting,  in  the  oval  leaves.  Together  with  these  three 
forms,  there  often  occur  trident-pointed  leaves  6  to  8  lines  long, 
and  2i  to  4  lines  broad.  The  epidermis  is  firm  and  thick  ;  the 
mid-rib  visible  on  both  sides  (more  clearly  on  the  under),  and 
evidently  protracted  into  a  point ;  the  lateral  veins  are  three  in 
number,  and  indistinct.  On  the  surface  viewed  with  a  lens  numer- 
ous white  points  (Spaltdffnungen,)  which  Kosteletzky f  and  others 
appear  to  have  taken  for  glands,  are  perceptible.  The  phyllaries 
of  the  flower-head  are  delicate,  Scarious,  brown,  ovate,  standing 
around  the  grey,  hairy  calyx ;  the  stalk  is  angular  and  striated, 
and  with  axillary  glands.  This  description  applies  exactly  to 
the  leaves  of  G-lobularia  alypum  Linn.,  whose  employment  for 
the  adulteration  of  Senna  Leaves,  improbable  as  it  appears,  has 
yet  frequently  occurred,  as  has  been  stated  by  my  father  in  his 
Pharmacognosies  p.  161. 
G-lobularia  alypum  Linn.,  (Grlobulaire  Turpith,  Boulette, 
*  Trommsdorff  Journal,  1828.    Bd.  16,  p.  57  and  64. 
•(■  Allgemeine  medizinisch-Pharmaceutische  Flora.    Bd.  3,  p.  873. 
