550    MATERIA  MEDICA  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION. 
Fruits  of  Amomum  Melegueta  Rose,  the  seeds  of  which  consti- 
tute the  Grains  of  Paradise  of  the  shops,  are  sent  from  the 
West  Indies,  where  the  plant,  which  has  been  introduced  from 
Western  Africa,  thrives  as  well  as  in  its  native  jungles.  Lastly 
I  may  name  as  the  most  interesting  of  all,  Amomum  Korarima 
Pereira,  the  fruits  of  which  have  for  ages  been  known  as  the 
Greater  Cardamom  (Cardamomum  majus)  thomgh  the  name  is 
now  misapplied  to  Grains  of  Paradise.  The  true  Cardamomum 
majus,  which  is  figured  and  described  in  several  of  the  older 
works  on  materia  medica,  is  still  an  object  of  traffic  in  the  East, 
and,  strung  upon  strings,  may  still  be  seen  adorning  the  stalls 
in  the  drug  bazaar  of  Damascus.  In  Abyssinia  it  answers  the 
purpose  of  small  coin,  and  as  such  it  figures  in  the  collection 
exhibited  by  the  International  Decimal  Association.  The  seeds 
of  A.  Korarima  are  an  agreeable  aromatic,  in  flavor  much 
resembling  the  seeds  of  the  common  Elettaria  Cardamom,  and 
entirely  devoid  of  the  burning  taste  of  Grains  of  Paradise. 
The  plant  for  which  the  late  Dr.  Pereira  proposed  the  name 
Amomum  Korarima  is  entirely  unknown  ;  it  is  supposed  to  be  a 
native  of  eastern  Central  Africa,  whence  its  fruits  are  exported 
by  way  of  Abyssinia  and  Massowah. 
'  Hoot  of  Statice  latifolia  Sm. — Among  the  few  drugs  sent 
from  Russia  to  the  Exhibition,  are  specimens  of  the  thick 
woody  root  of  Statice  latifolia  Sm.  (St.  coriaria  Pall.,)  which  is 
remarkable  for  its  compact  substance  and  large  size,  so  unlike 
what  is  usual  in  other  species  of  Statice;  this  root  I  have 
recognized  to  be  identical  with  that  imported  some  years  ago 
into  Marseilles,  and  described  by  M.  Guibourt  in  his  "  Histoire 
des  Drouges,"  tome  2,  p.  416.  With  respect  to  its  production 
and  uses,  I  have  been  favored  with  the  following  remarks,  by 
Mr.  George  Peterson,  the  Russian  Commissioner  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion, who,  as  a  member  of  the  Scientific  Committee  for  the 
Crown  Lands  of  Russia,  has  the  best  opportunity  for  being  cor- 
rectly informed  upon  the  subject.  The  "  Statice  coriaria  of 
Pallas,"  says  he,  "grows  wild  in  the  whole  prairie  country  of 
Southern  Russia,  known  under  the  names  of  steppes,  that  is, 
land  without  forests.  I  have  myself  during  two  years  travelled 
through  this  region,  and  seen  roots  of  it  of  the  length  of  more 
than  thirty  feet  and  with  a  top  diameter  of  four  and  a  half 
