Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July,  1885.  J 
Useful  Plants  of  Verbenacece. 
331 
Malayan  Islands,  attaining  a  height  of  over  eighty  feet,  and  a  thickness 
of  more  than  fonr  feet.  Tlie  oval  or  elliptic  and  entire  leaves  are  two  or 
three  feet  long,  and  are  said  to  be  nseful  for  polishing  wood  owing  to 
their  roughness ;  they  have  an  acidulous  astringent  and  bitterish  taste, 
and  are  employed  for  their  mild  astringent  properties,  and  as  a  j^urple 
dye.  The  small  white  flowers  are  fragrant,  and  are  believed  to  possess 
diuretic  properties.  But  the  most  valuable  portion  is  the  wood  which 
on  account  of  its  hardness  and  durability  is  largely  used  in  ship-build- 
ing, and  in  the  East  also  for  temples  and  dwellings.  It  is  of  a  light 
brown  color,  resinous,  porous,  yet  heavy,  a  cubic  foot  of  it  weighing 
from  forty  to  fifty  pounds;  it  is  nearly  indestructible  in  water,  is  not 
attacked  by  worms,  and  far  excels  the  best  oak  wood  in  durability. 
According  to  G.  Thorns,  the  air  dry  wood  yields  2*15  per  cent,  of  ash, 
consisting  chiefly  of  calcium  phosphate  and  silica.  The  African  teak, 
which  is  likewise  valuable  for  its  timber,  is  a  euphorbiaceous  tree, 
Oldfieldia  africana. 
Gmelina  arborea,  Roxburgh.,  is  likewise  an  East  Indian  tree,  the 
root  of  which  has  been  employed  in  gout,  and  the  bark  in  intermittent 
fevers.  The  smaller  species  Gmelina  parvifolia,  Roxburgh,  and  Gm. 
asiatica,  Lin.,  possess  demulcent  properties,  the  leaves  and  the  root 
being  employed. 
Avicennia  tomentosa,  Lin.,  a  medium  sized  resinous  tree,  has  also  a 
mucilaginous  root,  while  the  unripe  fruit  has  been  employed  as  an 
emollient  cataplasm.  The  allied  A.  nitida,  Jacquin  is  known  in  the 
West  Indies  as  black  or  olive  laangrove ;  the  bark  is  called  courida 
bark,  and  is  used  in  tanning. 
Clerodendron  infortunatum,  Lin.,  is  an  East  Indian  shrub,  the 
leaves  and  root  of  which  are  employed  externally  for  tumors  and  cer- 
tain skin  diseases,  and  internally  as  tonics.  The  root  of  Clerodendron 
inerme,  R.  Brown,  is  of  a  more  decided  bitter  taste  and  strong  odor, 
and  is  regarded  as  possessing  tonic  and  alterative  properties,  and  as 
being  useful  in  venereal  and  scrofulous  complaints; 
Of  the  genus  Vitex,  popularly  known  as  chaste-tree,  two  or  three 
shrubby  species  are  not  unfrequently  cultivated  in  this  country, 
namely,  V.  Negundo,  \.  incisa  and  V.  Agnus-casti,  im.,  the  former 
two  being  indigenous  to  Asia,  the  last  one  to  the  basin  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. This  is  about  ten  feet  or  more  high,  has  opposite  ascend- 
ing brownish  gray  or  greenish,  obtusely  quadrangular  downy  branches 
and  palmate,  on  the  lower  side  downy  leaves  with  five  or  seven  lanceo- 
