AraMa°"ch,f89f.rin-}    Earth  Sugar  Root  of  the  Tamils.  137 
bra,  Abrus  precatorius,  Taberniera  nummularia  and  Alyszcarpus 
longifolius.  The  first  of  these  is  the  well-known  liquorice,  and  the 
remainder  are  called  wild  liquorice  and  are  used  as  substitutes  for 
the  true  kind.  Besides  these,  in  Southern  India,  a  drug  described 
in  native  works  of  great  antiquity  and  sold  in  the  bazars,  is  the 
Poomichacarci  kalung,  derived  from  poomi,  the  earth,  chacarei,  sugar, 
and  kalung,  root.  The  botanical  origin  of  this  root  has  only 
recently  been  discovered  through  the  industry  of  Dr.  P.  S.  Moot- 
oosawmy,  of  Tanjore,  who  sent  a  botanical  specimen  of  the  plant 
yielding  the  drug  to  Mr.  M.  A.  Lawson,  who  identified  it  as  Mczrua 
arenaria,  a  plant  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Capparidese.  The 
"earth  sugar  "  root  is  mentioned  in  a  very  old  work  of  the  Tamil 
medical  writers,  called  Paedatasintharmini,  written  hi  the  usual 
poetical  manner  by  Karsimrouther  centuries  ago.  He  says  it  "  cures 
skin  eruptions,  all  venereal  affections,  fever,  piles  and  strenghtens 
the  human  system."  Ur.  Ainslie,  who  wrote  nearly  seventy  years 
ago,  and  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  bringing  so  much  light  upon 
the  drugs  of  the  Hindus,  describes,  in  his  "Materia  Indica,"  1 1,  p. 
330:  "This  root,  in  external  appearance,  is  not  unlike  liquorice 
root ;  it  also  somewhat  resembles  it  in  taste,  but  is  not  nearly 
so  sweet ;  it  is  prescribed,  in  decoction,  as  an  alterative  and  diet 
drink.  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  from  what  plant  it  is  pro- 
cured, but  hope  that  future  research  may  be  more  fortunate.  What 
I  saw  of  the  poomichacarei  kalung  was  brought  to  me  from  the 
medicine  bazar  of  Trichinopoly,  and  was  said  to  have  been  gathered 
in  the  woods  of  Malabar." 
As  above  stated,  the  botanical  origin  of  this  drug  has  only 
recently  been  discovered.  Dr.  P.  S.  Mootoosawmy,  of  Tanjore,  sent 
a  flowering  and  fruiting  specimen  of  the  plant  yielding  the  drug  to 
Mr.  M.  A.  Lawson,  of  his  station,  and  it  was  identified  as  Mc&rua 
arenaria,  H.  F.  and  T.,  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Capparidea?, 
The  plant  was  found  rather  abundant  near  Tanjore,  but  its  habitat 
is  described  as  being  in  the  most  unfrequented  and  inaccessible 
woody  parts  of  the  Gircar  Mountains,  flowering  during  the  cold 
season.  The  "  Flora  of  British  India  "  says  it  is  found  in  the  West 
Himalaya  and  in  Central  India. 
Roxburgh  describes  this  plant  under  the  name  of  Capparis  hctero- 
clita,  R.  It  is  a  large  unarmed  climbing  shrub ;  leaves  elliptic, 
corymbs  terminal,  calyx  four-cleft ;  corolla  regular,  four-petalled  ; 
