68  Vegetable  Drugs  Used  in  Mexico.      {Am  Fe^9hiarm- 
Mangifera  indica,  Linne.  The  flowers  are  used  in  the  form  oi 
infusion  for  catarrh  of  the  bladder,  and  in  fumigations  for  driving  off 
flies. 
Aristolochiacecz. — Aristolochia  microphylla,  Willd.  yields  yerba  and 
raiz  delindio.  The  root  is  top-shaped  and  somewhat  cylindrical,  yellow- 
ish gray,  annulate  and  irregularly  wrinkled ;  the  bark  rather  thick, 
compact  and  yellowish-white,  the  meditullium  radiating  and  porous 
from  the  large  ducts;  odor  camphoraceous  and  mintlike  ;  taste  aro- 
matic and  bitter.  The  leaves  are  roundish-reniform,  obtuse,  entire, 
five-nerved,  pubescent,  and  about  1*5  cm.  long  and  broad.  The 
leaves  are  reputed  to  be  vulnerary,  and  the  root  is  credited  with 
properties  analogous  to  those  of  Colombo  ;  it  was  much  used  during 
the  epidemics  of  cholera  morbus  in  1850  and  1853.  The  analysis 
cited  for  the  root  of  A.  fcetida  was  published  in  this  Journal,  1886, 
p.  113,  but  the  root  examined  was  that  of  Rumex  hymenos'epalum. 
Burseraceo?. — Elaphrium  Aloexylon,  Schiede,  S.  Amyris  Linaloe, 
LaLlave,  yields  the  Mexican  linaloe  wood,  which  is  of  a  dull  yellow- 
ish color,  soft,  often  perforated  with  cavities  formed  by  the  larva  of 
an  insect ;  circles  of  wood  parenchyma  not  readily  distinguished 
from  the  fibrous  layer ;  ducts  large  and  numerous  ;  medullary  rays 
from  two  to  four  cells  in  width  ;  the  tissue  contains  yellowish  odor- 
ous resin  and  oil,  and  has  an  agreeable  odor  resembling  that  of  a 
mixture  of  lemon  and  jessamine.  The  wood  yields  from  7  to  9  per 
cent,  of  volatile  oil,  boiling  between  1890  and  1920.  The  resin 
which  concretes  spontaneously  in  the  bark  is  used  for  fumigations. 
Composites. — Viguiera  excelsa,  Hemsley,  is  designated  as  raiz  del 
manso,  according  to  Dr.  Villada ;  but  it  is  not  stated  whether  the 
root  resembles  that  of  Echinacea  (see  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  1886, 
p.  76). 
Gymnospermum  multiflorum,  DeCand.,  grows  in  the  valley  of 
Mexico  and,  under  the  name  of  yerba  de  tata-lencho,  is  used  as  an 
antirheumatic  in  the  form  of  tincture,  while  the  decoction  is  employed 
for  injections  in  metritis. 
Crassulacece. — Sedum  dendroideum,  Mocino  et  Sesse,  is  the  siem- 
previva  de  Mexico. 
Juglandacece. — The  bark  of  Carya  ovata  contains  a  crystalline 
bitter  principle,  resin,  tannin,  gum,  etc.  (G.  Mendoza  in  Gac.  Med. 
de  Mexico,  III,  99). 
Leguminosce. — Oxytropis  Lamberti,  Pursk,  grows  in  Chihuahua, 
