194  The  Medicinal  Uses  of  Leaves.        {^i®  SKF* 
glands  and  digestive  organs.  Its  use  is,  therefore,  conducive  to  health,  and 
has  been  found  to  be  an  excellent  preservative  against  scurvy  in  long  sea 
voyages . 
The  fresh  juice  of  the  leaves  of  Clerodendron  viscosum  is  used  as  a  vermi- 
fuge, and  also  as  a  bitter  tonic  and  febrifuge  in  malarious  fevers. 
The  leaves  of  Datura  Stramonium  are  applied  to  boils  and  ulcers,  and  are 
smoked  with  tobacco  for  asthma.  Those  of  Datura  atba  and  D.  fastuosa  act 
as  antispasmodics. 
The  leaves  of  Eupatorium  Ayapana  have  been  employed  for  tea  in  the 
Mauritius,  and  the  expressed  juice  from  them  is  used  internally  as  an 
astringent. 
The  leaves  of  Sapindit,s  Saponaria  are  employed  by  the  Creoles  in  the 
Mauritius  in  constipation. 
Buchu  leaves  are  the  produce  of  Barosma  betulina  or  crenata.  In  trade 
this  valuable  drug  is  sometimes  adulterated  by  the  substitution  of  leaves  of 
less  powerful  sorts  of  the  same  family  of  plants,  which  although  of  a  similar 
smell,  are  by  no  means  equal  to  it  in  their  therapeutical  effects  ;  94,265  pounds 
of  buchu  leaves,  valued  at  ^1,307  were  shipped  from  the  Cape  Colony  in 
1884. 
By  some  authorities,  B.  serratifolia,  Willdenow,  is  said  to  furnish  the  buchu 
leaves.  B.  crenulata,  Hooker,  is  only  a  variety  of  this  species.  Empleurum 
serrulatum,  Solander,  also  yields  some,  which  are  easily  distinguished  by  the 
linear-lanceolate  serrated  leaves. 
The  leaves  of  the  Feronia  elephantum  are  aromatic  and  carminative.  In 
Mohammedan  medical  works  they  are  described  as  astringent. 
The  fresh  juice,  diluted,  of  the  leaves  of  jEgle  Marmelos  is  largely  used 
in  Bengal  as  an  antibilious  and  febrifuge,  and  also  as  a  vehicle  for  other  febri- 
fuges.   Made  into  poultices,  it  is  used  in  the  treatment  of  ophthalmia. 
The  leaves  of  ^Eschynomene  Sesban  are  much  used  in  India  as  a  poultice  to 
promote  absorption. 
The  viscid  mucilage  obtained  from  the  fresh  leaves  of  Aloe  indica  is  also 
used  by  the  natives  as  an  excellent  demulcent,  especially  in  gonorrhoea. 
The  fresh  leaves  of  Cassia  alata,  when  bruised  and  mixed  with  lime-juice, 
have  been  found  to  act  with  decided  efficacy  in  ringworm  and  other  similar 
affections  of  the  skin.  Made  into  a  plaster,  combined  with  sandal-wood,  the 
leaves  of  Cassia  Sophora  are  used  as  a  similar  specific. 
The  dried  leaves  of  several  species  of  Cassia  are  largely  used  in  the  East,  in 
combination  with  other  drugs,  for  their  purgative  properties  ;  and  the  leaflets 
constitute  the  senna  of  commerce.  Cassia  acutifolia  furnishes  part  of  the 
Alexandria  senna  ;  C  angustifolia  yields  Mecca  and  some  of  the  Bombay 
senna  ;  C.  obovata  some  of  the  African  senna,  which  is  less  esteemed  and  less 
collected  than  the  other  species.  C  elongata  produces  several  varieties  of  Bast 
Indian.    Cassia  Absus  is  also  one  of  the  sources  of  medicinal  senna  leaves. 
A  decoction  or  infusion  of  the  leaves  of  C  auriculata  is  much  esteemed  as 
a  cooling  medicine  b}-  the  Singhalese,  and  also  as  a  substitute  for  tea. 
The  leaves  of  C.  Tora  are  used  as  an  aperient ;  both  leaves  and  seed  consti- 
tute a  valuable  remedy  in  skin  diseases,  chiefly  ringworm  and  itch. 
The  pulp  of  the  leaves  of  Aloe  vera  is  in  native  practice  applied  to  boils,  and 
