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Medicinal Plants
of the
Philippine Archipelago
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
By
T. H. Pardo De Tavera
Doctor en Medicina de la Facultad de Paris, Comisionado Cientifico
de S. M. en las Islas Filipinas y Delegado General en las Mismas
de la Société Académique Indo-Chinoise de Francia, Miembro Fundador
Correspondiente de la Sociedad Española de Higiene, Etc.
Translated and Revised by
Jerome B. Thomas, Jr., A.B., M.D.
Captain and Assistant Surgeon, U. S. V.
Philadelphia:
P. Blakiston's Son & Co.
1012 Walnut Street.
1901
Copyright, 1901, by
P. Blakiston's Son & Co.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
This translation was undertaken with the especial object of
facilitating the study of the native medicinal plants by the
numerous medical officers stationed at small posts throughout the
Philippines. In order to aid in the recognition of these plants,
the botanical descriptions have been revised to the extent of adding,
where possible, the size and shape of the plant, English name, length
of leaves, color of flowers, etc., in many instances supplying the
entire botanical description where it had been omitted on account of
general familiarity with the plant. Comparing the few analyses that I
have had an opportunity to make with corresponding ones in the native
works from which Dr. Tavera has taken his botanical descriptions,
I am impressed with the necessity for a revision of the Botany of the
Philippines. However, as the therapeutic properties of the flora are
of foremost interest to the medical profession I have not hesitated
to publish the book in its present form as an entering wedge, leaving
to those better fitted the great work of classifying the flora of
these islands in accordance with modern botanical science.
Dr. Tavera has faithfully described the Malay and Hindu therapeutics
of the present day, enriching his description by observations founded
on a long practice in Paris and in his own native Luzon. From this
potpourri of scientific therapeutics and ignorant, superstitious
drugging the interested physician will elicit not a few useful data
concerning the treatment of disease in the tropics, and at the same
time gain a more intimate knowledge of both the people and plants of
our new Asiatic possessions.
I take this occasion to gratefully acknowledge my obligations to
Mr. A. P. Tonielli, stenographer and translator of the Supreme Court
of the Philippines, for typewriting the manuscript of this translation.
Jerome B. Thomas, Jr.
Manila, P. I.
PREFACE.
Commissioned by His Majesty's Government to study the medicinal
plants of my native country, I returned there and spent two years in
collecting data regarding the use that the Filipinos make of their
plants in the treatment of disease. At the same time I collected and
carefully preserved some with the purpose of taking them to Europe, to
study their chemical composition in the laboratories of Paris under the
direction of the eminent men who had been my instructors in medicine.
The work I did in the Philippines was preliminary, a preparation
for the more extended study of the subject which I wished to make
in Paris, where I went with my notes and collection. Unfortunately,
upon leaving Manila, I confided the mounting and pressing of my
plants to an inexperienced person who stupidly placed in the midst
of them several succulent tubers which decomposed during the voyage
and spoiled the other plants. At the same time I received in Paris
an important collection of the vegetable drugs of the Philippines,
sent by my friend the pharmacist, M. Rosedo Garcia, and destined for
the World's Fair of 1889. I opened with great pleasure the wood and
zinc box in which the collection came, anticipating that I should be
able to carry out my plan of study and at the same time win for my
friend, Garcia, a well-deserved premium. Imagine my disappointment
upon finding that, by an unfortunate coincidence, his plants had
arrived in the same condition as mine, having also been packed with
tubers of ubi, gabi, etc., and several cocoanuts which had decomposed.
Many times since then I have tried to obtain from Manila, through
exchange or payment of money, a similar collection, but have been
unable to secure a single leaf of the plants I so desired. If in the
future I have the good fortune to procure any, I shall make a study
of those at hand and publish the results.
I herewith publish the results of my investigations and experiments
in Manila, where, especially in the neighboring towns of San Mateo
and San Miguel, I often had opportunities for using, with good
results, the plants of which this volume treats. I may add that in
spite of the limited means at my disposal in Manila and the short
time left me by my regular occupations I was able to conduct a few
laboratory experiments owing to which this work contains some personal
observations reinforcing those quoted from medical literature.
The flora of the Archipelago is known to-day through the works of
Fathers Blanco, Llanos, Fernandez del Villar and Naves, and of the
engineers Jordano, the brothers Vidal and Soler and others who have
brought such honor to Spanish science, preparing the way for the study
of the therapeutic and industrial applications of that wonderfully rich
plant life with which our islands have been endowed. Their works help
us to recognize the plants whose medicinal virtues are herein described
and it is to them I owe the botanical descriptions in this treatise.
Father Blanco, in describing certain plants, mentions their medicinal
uses in the Philippines, but his descriptions are few and very
deficient as one would expect in a work of the scope of his Flora. A
Jesuit of some reputation, Father Clain, published in Manila in 1712
a book entitled "Remedios fáciles para diferentes enfermedades?" in
which he speaks of the medicinal virtues of some of the indigenous
plants, almost the same ones that appear in another work, a frank
and pleasing little treatise written by Father Santa Maria. Father
Mercado is the only one who has written a special treatise on the
subject and his manuscript remained unedited until the Augustinian
Fathers of Manila published it in the last edition of Father Blanco's
"Flora"; but neither this work nor those of Clain or Santa Maria are
useful to a physician, nor are they as accurately written as works
of a scientific character should be. From time to time superficial
articles have appeared in the Manila papers regarding the virtues of
some plant or other and these books and articles comprise the whole
literature on the subject up to this time.
Some physicians regard with small favor the therapeutic application of
plants by the Filipino "herb-doctors" (curanderos) as being entirely
empirical. This disparagement is unjustified because in all the
most rational and scientific remedies that we make use of, the first
step towards the final development of their relative position among
remedies is due to empiricism which is founded on daily experience,
on observation of results obtained in specific cases, facts that
are handed down from father to son for generations. The scientific
explanation is lacking, but those first ideas frequently owing their
origin to chance, or, perhaps, to superstition, have often been based
upon the observation of facts which, although fortuitous, are none
the less positive.
Many of the plants mentioned in this book are official in the
Pharmacopoeia of India and we see no reason why their use should be
proscribed in the Philippines. Filipino physicians not only can but
should employ many indigenous plants in their therapeutics; in many
instances they would find them more useful than the exotics, which
are not always fresh and are commonly reduced in strength by long
keeping or damaged by some circumstance of voyage or climate. The
price is another argument in favor of the use of native drugs. If
the pharmacists would prepare extracts and keep on hand the crude
drugs most in demand the public would gain a great advantage and the
druggists be well repaid for their labor. Physicians and pharmacists
will surely understand these advantages and when finally one considers
that the patients generally prefer to be treated with native plants,
I feel justified in the hope that their use will spread rapidly in
the Philippines.
To employ therapeutically the drugs described in this work is not
to experiment "in anima vilis," as some would have us believe. To
experiment is to employ unknown remedies of unknown virtues and
properties.
In this treatise I am not attempting to fix the indications for this
or that product, but simply make known the diseases in which the
Filipinos and the natives of other countries employ the products. Any
physician has a perfect right to prescribe these drugs, as have also
the "curanderos" and even the laity, with this difference, however,
that the physician is capable of observing results and guiding
himself by the physiologic action of the drugs. His knowledge of
the physiologic and anatomo-pathologic problems of the human body,
will enable the physician to make scientific inferences that would
be hidden from the common "curandero."
As neither the Manila nor the provincial physicians keep these
medicinal plants in stock, with the exception of those that are
official in the European and American pharmacopoeias, it will be
necessary for the physician who wishes to use them, to busy himself
with seeking them and laying in a sufficient stock to serve him when
the opportunity presents itself. It is necessary to preserve them by
drying and this is best done by exposing them several days to the fresh
air in a dry place--for example, the corridors of the house--being
careful not to expose them to the rays of the sun, in which latter
event the fleshy and juicy plants which do not desiccate rapidly,
putrefy or ferment.
A convenient way to get them is to visit the Binondo Square where there
has been market for native drugs from time immemorial. The gardeners
from the neighboring towns, especially those from Pasay and Singalon,
regularly offer the plants for sale and will undertake to supply you
with any that may not be on hand. Inasmuch as the common names of the
plants lead to many mistakes and much confusion, it is indispensable to
acquaint one's self with the description of the plant and be sure that
the actual product conforms in all respects to the description. For
this purpose it is well to obtain flowering specimens, and bearing
this fact in mind I have been careful to indicate the flowering
season of each plant. By making excursions to the towns of San Mateo
and Angono I have obtained an abundance of whatever I sought and
at the same time have learned by talking with the mountaineers and
"curanderos," what uses they make of their plants. The "curanderos"
know a great deal concerning these uses, but become very reticent
as soon as they are questioned about them. Whether it is dread of
ridicule or selfishness or fear that silences them, the fact remains
that it is no easy matter to glean any useful facts from them. And
yet by tact and friendliness one may elicit much more information
from them than first impressions would lead one to hope.
Leaves should be gathered when fully developed, rejecting the old,
dried and worm-eaten ones.
The best time to gather bark is one month before the period of
inflorescence, when it is rich in sap. The flowers are best gathered
when about half expanded. The fruit is gathered green or ripe according
to the active principle sought. The seeds should always be mature.
Not all parts of the plant are equally provided with the active
principle which may be localized in the root or the flower; or distinct
principles may exist in different parts of the same plant. Therefore
the part indicated, and only that part, should be employed.
In the root the active substance usually resides in the bark, sometimes
in the parenchyma that envelopes the woody tissue and rarely in the
woody tissue itself, as, for example, in "rhubarb" and "pareira brava."
The stem bark is also a frequent seat of the active principle, of
which the outer portion contains the greater amount, according to
the valuable experiments of Howard.
Some plants owe their therapeutic importance to their wood, others to
their leaves or flowers, and regarding the localization of the active
principle in these parts we have nothing especial to indicate. The
fruit, however, may have a pericarp consisting of mucilage, starch,
sugar and gum, etc., while the seeds contain fatty matter, fixed or
essential oils or alkaloids, as is the case with coffee and cacao. In
view of these facts, we repeat that it is indispensable to use that
part of each plant which I have indicated as applicable to a determined
case or condition.
I earnestly hope that the physicians and pharmacists practising in
the Philippines may undertake investigations and experiments regarding
the therapeutic properties of the plants of my native land, and that
my endeavors may have acted as a stimulus or inspiration to the loyal
and earnest study of the subjects that are now awakening such interest,
not only in Europe and America, but in India and Japan.
I should be pleased to receive notes, plants or reports of researches
from any one interested in the subject matter of this book, and I
shall consider it a pleasure, as well as a duty, to devote my forces,
small as they may be, to aiding any one who may do me the honor to
claim my assistance.
T. H. P. de Tavera.
Paris, April, 1892.
CONTENTS.
Dicotyledonous, Polypetalous.
Dilleniaceæ--Tetracera macrophylla 17-18
Magnoliaceæ--Illicium anisatum, Michelia Champaca
18-20
Anonaceæ--Artabotrys odoratissimus, Anona squamosa,
A. reticulata, A. muricata 20-22
Menispermaceæ--Tinospora crispa, Anamirta Cocculus,
Cissampelos Pareira 22-27
Nymphæaceæ--Nymphæa Lotus, Nelumbium nucifera
27-28
Papaveraceæ--Argemone Mexicana 29-30
Cruciferæ--Brassica juncea, Raphanus sativus 30-31
Capparidaceæ--Cleome viscosa, Cratæva religiosa
31-32
Bixineæ--Bixa Orellana, Pangium edule 32-34
Portulacaceæ--Portulaca oleracea 34
Guttiferæ--Garcinia mangostana, G. venulosa,
G. Cambogia, G. morella, Ochrocarpus pentapetalus,
Calophyllum Inophyllum, Mesua ferrea 35-40
Dipterocarpeæ--Dipterocarpus turbinatus 40-42
Malvaceæ--Sida carpinifolia, Abutilon Indicum,
Urena sinuata, Hibiscus Abelmoschus, H. tiliaceus,
H. Rosa-Sinensis, Thespesia populnea, Gossypium
herbaceum, Bombax malabaricum, Eriodendron anfractuosum
42-51
Sterculiaceæ--Sterculia foetida, S. urens, Kleinhovia
hospitata, Helicteres Isora, Abroma fastuosa, Theobroma
Cacao 51-57
Geraniaceæ--Oxalis corniculata, Biophytum sensitivum,
Averrhoa Bilimbi, A. Carambola 58-61
Rutaceæ--Ruta graveolens, Xanthoxylum oxyphyllum,
Murraya exotica, M. Koenigi, Citrus acida, Bigaradia
decumana, Ægle decandra, Feronia elephantum 61-70
Simarubaceæ--Samadera Indica 71-72
Burseraceæ--Garuga pinnata, Canarium commune 72-75
Meliaceæ--Melia Azedarach, Dysoxylum Blancoi,
Sandoricum Indicum, Carapa Moluccensis, Cedrela
Toona 75-80
Celastraceæ--Celastrus paniculata 80-81
Rhamnaceæ--Zizyphus Jujuba, Rhamnus Wightii 81-82
Anacardiaceæ--Mangifera Indica, Anacardium occidentale,
Odina Wodier 82-86
Moringeæ--Moringa pterygosperma 86-88
Leguminosæ (Papilionaceæ)--Agati grandiflora, Abrus
precatorius, Mucuna pruriens, Erythrina Indica,
Clitoria ternatea, Pterocarpus santalinus, P. Indicus,
P. erinaceus, Pongamia glabra 88-95
Leguminosæ (Cæsalpineæ)--Cæsalpinia Bonducella,
C. Sappan, C. pulcherrima, Cassia fistula,
C. occidentalis, C. alata, Tamarindus Indica, Bauhinia
malabarica 96-106
Leguminosæ (Mimoseæ)--Entada scandens, Parkia
Roxburghii, Acacia Farnesiana 106-109
Crassulaceæ--Kalanchoe laciniata 109-110
Combretaceæ--Terminalia Catappa, T. Chebula, Quisqualis
Indica 110-113
Myrtaceæ--Psidium pomiferum, Eugenia Jambolana
113-116
Melastomaceæ--Melastoma malabatrichum 116-117
Lythraceæ--Ammannia vesicatoria, Lawsonia alba,
Punica Granatum 117-122
Onagraceæ--Jussiæa suffruticosa 122-123
Passifloraceæ--Carica Papaya 123-127
Cucurbitaceæ--Trichosanthes palmata, T. anguina,
T. cucumerina, Lagenaria vulgaris, var. Gourda,
var. courgourda, var. clavata, Luffa Ægyptiaca,
Momordica balsamina, M. charanta, Citrullus Colocynthis
127-134
Ficoideæ--Trianthema monogyna 134
Umbelliferæ--Hydrocotyle Asiatica, Carum copticum,
Foeniculum vulgare, Coriandrum sativum 134-138
Cornaceæ--Alangium Lamarkii 138-139
Dicotyledonous, Gamopetalous.
Rubiaceæ--Hymenodictyon excelsum, Oldenlandia
corymbosa, Randia dumetorum, Ixora coccinea, Coffea
Arabica, Morinda citrifolia bracteata, M. tinctoria,
Pæderia foetida. 140-149
Compositæ--Eupatorium Ayapana, Blumea balsamifera,
Sphoeranthus Indicus, Spilanthes Acmella, Artemisia
vulgaris, Carthamus tinctorius 149-155
Plumbagineæ--Plumbago Zeylanica 155-156
Sapotaceæ--Achras Sapota, Mimusops Elengi 156-158
Oleaceæ--Jasminum Sambac 158-159
Apocynaceæ--Allamanda cathartica, Thevetia nerifolia,
Cerbera Odallam, Plumeria acutifolia, Alstonia
scholaris, Nerium odorum 159-167
Asclepiadaceæ--Calotrops gigantea, Tylophora asthmatica
167-170
Loganiaceæ--Strychnos Ignatii 171-173
Boraginaceæ--Ehretia buxifolia 173
Convolvulaceæ--Ipomoea hederacea, I. pes-capræ,
I. Turpethum 174-176
Solanaceæ--Solanum nigrum, Capsicum fastigiatum,
Datura alba, Nicotiana Tabacum 176-182
Scrophulariaceæ--Limnophila menthastrum 182-183
Bignoniaceæ--Oroxylum Indicum 183-184
Pedaliaceæ--Sesamum Indicum 184-185
Acanthaceæ--Acanthus ilicifolius, Barleria Prionitis,
Justicia Gendarussa, Adhatoda vasica, Rhinacanthus
communis 185-190
Verbenaceæ--Lippia nodiflora, Tectona grandis, Vitex
trifolia, V. Negundo, Clerodendron infortunatum
190-194
Labiatæ--Ocimum basilicum, O. gratissimum, O. sanctum,
Coleus aromaticus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Anisomeles
ovata, Leucas aspera 195-199
Plantaginaceæ--Plantago erosa 199
Nyctaginaceæ--Mirabilis Jalapa 199-200
Amaranthaceæ--Amaranthus spinosus, Achyranthes
obtusifolia 200-202
Chenopodiaceæ--Chenopodium ambrosioides 202-203
Aristolochiaceæ--Aristolochia Indica 203-204
Piperaceæ--Piper Betle, P. nigrum 204-207
Chloranthaceæ--Chloranthus officinalis 207-208
Lauraceæ--Cinnamomum pauciflorum, C. tamala, Cassytha
filiformis 208-210
Euphorbiaceæ--Euphorbia pilulifera, E. neriifolia,
E. Tirucalli, Phyllanthus reticulatus, P. Niruri,
P. urinaria, Jatropha Curcas, Aleurites Moluccana,
Croton Tiglium, Acalypha Indica, Echinus Philippensis,
Ricinus communis 210-223
Urticaceæ--Artocarpus integrifolia, Laportea
gaudichaudiana 223-225
Casuarineæ--Casuarina Sumatrana 225-226
Monocotyledons.
Musaceæ--Musa paradisiaca, M. sapientum 227-228
Zingiberaceæ--Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa,
Elettaria Cardamomum 228-231
Amaryllidaceæ--Crinum Asiaticum 231-232
Liliaceæ--Aloes Barbadensis, Allium sativum, A. Cepa
232-234
Palmæ--Areca Catechu, Cocos nucifera, Nipa fruticans
234-238
Cyperaceæ--Cyperus rotundus 239
Gramineæ--Zea Mays, Andropogon Schoenanthes, Saccharum
officinarum, Oriza 240-243
Bambuseæ 243-244
EXPLANATION.
For the common words of the different Filipino dialects I have adopted
the orthography which in my various treatises on those dialects I have
demonstrated to be the easiest, most rational and convenient. I should
be inconsistent as to my own theories and convictions if I continued
to follow the old form of spelling. For the benefit of those who are
not familiar with the matter I will state that the consonants are
pronounced as follows:
g always as in get.
h gutturalized aspirate.
k as in English.
w always as initial w in English, win, wan.
ng as ng in sing, hung, etc.
ABBREVIATIONS.
Bic.--Bicol.
Eng.--English.
Iloc.--Ilocan.
Indo-Eng.--Indo-English.
Pam.--Pampango.
Pan.--Pangasinan.
Sp.--Spanish.
Sp.-Fil.--Spanish-Filipino.
Tag.--Tagalog.
Vis.--Viscayan.
MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES
DICOTYLEDONOUS, POLYPETALOUS.
DILLENIACEÆ.
_Tetracera macrophylla, Vall._ (_T. monocarpa_, _T. sarmentosa_,
Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Malakatmón_, Tag.
Uses.--The wood of _malakatmón_ is one of the best known and popular
drugs of the Binondo [1] market place. It is used as an infusion
internally in the hæmoptysis of consumptives, and externally in the
treatment of sore throat, its action being due to the large amount
of tannin it contains. It is also employed in Malabar in the form of
an infusion of the leaves of the species, _T. Rheedi_, to treat sore
throat, mixing it with a decoction of rice called _cange_.
The Filipinos do not distinguish this species from the _T. Assa_.
Both are called _malakatmón_, and are employed indiscriminately to
accomplish the same results. The silicious concretion obtained from
the leaves is used as a polish in the form of polish paper.
Dose.--In infusion for internal use, 4 grams of wood to 1 liter of
water; as a gargle, 10 to 15 grams to the liter.
Botanical Description.--A shrub with leaves alternate, oval, serrate,
finely dentate with very short and stiff hairs. Flowers of a strong,
rather agreeable odor, axillary, in panicles. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla,
4 petals. Stamens indefinite, expanding at the upper end and bearing
2 anthers. Carpels 3, with ovules indefinite in two series. Seeds
with red arils.
Habitat.--In the vicinity of Manila. Blooms in July.
MAGNOLIACEÆ
Magnolia Family.
_Illicium anisatum, L._
Nom. Vulg.--_Anis estrellado_, _Badiana_, Sp.; _Sangki_, Tag.; _Star
Anise_, Eng.
Uses.--Although this plant does not grow in the Philippines, the
use of its fruit is so common there that it demands a place in this
work. It is employed chiefly as a condiment in the preparation of food,
and its essential oil is used to prepare the native "anise cordial"
by mixing it with alcohol obtained from the palm or from sugar cane.
The decoction of the fruit is given after meals as a tea-like beverage,
to aid digestion or for its carminative effect in flatulent colic.
Star anise has an aromatic taste, slightly bitter and acrid, and
a very marked perfume of anise which with its star-like form gives
the plant one of its names. It is a very useful stimulant, tonic,
stomachic and carminative.
It is official in all Pharmacopoeias and the pericarp is the part
employed.
The dose is from 1 to 2 grams to 100 of water in infusion, to be
taken in one draught.
According to Schlegel it contains the following substances: An
essential oil 4.675; a green waxy material which melts at 51°, a resin,
a gum and saponin. The essential oil is (almost) identical with that
of anise from which it is impossible to distinguish it chemically. The
only difference is that the former has a blander odor and solidifies
at 1°.25 instead of 10°, as does the oil of anise.
Botanical Description.--The plant grows in the mountains of Yunnan,
China, and in Tonquin. The part used in the Philippines is the fruit,
being indeed the only part known here. This is composed of 8 woody
follicles arranged about a central column in the form of a star. These
follicles open at maturity and reveal the seeds, which are shining,
smooth, ovoid, hard, of a pretty chestnut-red color. In the Philippines
they are sold even in the smallest food-vending shops.
_Michelia Champaca, L._
Nom. Vulg.--_Tsampaka_, _Sampaka_, Tag.; _Champaca_, Fil.-Span.
Uses.--The bark of the trunk is well known as a febrifuge
and emmenagogue in India. It is slightly bitter and
aromatic. Dr. H. Folliat has used it with success in the Island
of Mauritius in the treatment of the common intermittent fevers;
he administered the infusion (bark 30 grams, water 600 cc.)--or the
decoction (bark 30 grams, water 1,200 cc.); boil till reduced to
600 cc.--giving a wine-glassful every hour just before and after
the paroxysm.
An astringent decoction made from the leaves is used as a gargle in
sore throat. The root is emmenagogue and the seeds are used in the
treatment of anal fissure.
Dr. Hooper has found the following substances in the bark of the
_Champana_: a volatile oil with a pine-like odor; a fixed oil,
insoluble in alcohol, melting at 15° and forming soap with soda;
a resin extremely bitter, acrid, brown in color; tannin; sugar;
a bitter principle, albuminoids, coloring matters, mucilage and starch.
Botanical Description.--A tree 15-18° high; leaves alternate, 6 × 2',
stipulate, simple. Flowers fragrant, saffron-colored, hermaphrodite,
solitary and axillary. The receptacle, conical at its base, becomes
narrow, lengthens and then enlarges, forming a column which is bare
at its narrow part. At its base is inserted the perianth composed of
6 overlapping leaflets arranged in two series. Stamens indefinite,
fixed in the base of the column of the receptacle on the superior
portion of which are inserted the ovaries which contain many ovules
arranged in two vertical series.
Habitat.--Common in all parts (of the islands).
ANONACEÆ.
Custard-Apple Family.
_Artabotrys odoratissimus_, R. Br. (_A. hamatus_, Bl.; _Uvaria
Sinensis_ and _Unona uncinata_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Ilang-ilang de China_, Sp.-Fil.; _Alang-ilang Son-son_,
Tag.
Uses.--A decoction of the leaves of this species is used to treat
cholera in some of the islands of the Malay group; in the island of
Java they use for the same purpose a decoction of the leaves of the
species _A. suaveolens_, Bl., which is commonly called _Susong Damulog_
in the Pampanga dialect. The active principles of these plants are so
powerful that one must beware of giving a large dose, as hemorrhages,
nervous phenomena and abortion may follow.
Botanical Description.--A tree 15-18° high with leaves alternate,
lanceolate, glabrous, and petioles very short. Flowers very sweet,
axillary, solitary. Petals 6, fleshy, concave at the base. Stamens
indefinite, closely packed, overlapping. Peduncle curved like a crook.
Habitat.--Cultivated in gardens.
_Anona squamosa_, L. (_A. tuberosa_, Rumph.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Ates_, Tag.; _Custard Apple_, Eng.
Uses.--The fruit of the mature ates is edible and is one of the most
delicious that grows in the Philippines; its white and delicately
perfumed pulp has a delicious flavor. The unripe fruit is exceedingly
astringent. The fermented juice of the ripe pulp is used in certain
parts of America to prepare a popular drink. The powdered seeds make
a useful parasiticide especially when used on the scalp, but it is
necessary to avoid getting any of the drug in the eyes on account of
its irritant effect.
Botanical Description.--Tree 8 or 9° high with leaves alternate,
oblong, the edges pubescent. Flowers greenish-yellow, axillary,
solitary; peduncle not curved. Petals 6, convergent. Stamens crowded,
indefinite. Fruit fleshy, covered with scales or rather rounded
tubercles; beneath is the white and fragment pulp, covering the
long-oval seeds.
_A. reticulate, L._
Nom. Vulg.--_Anonas_, Sp.-Fil.
Uses.--The fruit of this species is neither as much prized nor as
abundant in the Philippines as that of the ates. When unripe it
possesses the same properties as the latter. The large proportion of
tannin which both species contain in their unripe state, makes them
very useful in treating diarrhoea and dysentery. They are administered
in the form of a decoction, by enema. The sap of the trunk is very
irritating. The roots are used by the American Indians to treat
epilepsy. Lemon juice is the antidote for the sap of this species.
I wish to call attention to the similarity of the common name of this
plant to another entirely distinct species commonly used in the Tagalo
therapeutics; namely, the _anonang_ (Cordia), with which it must not
be confused.
Botanical Description.--Tree 10° high with leaves lanceolate,
pubescent. Flowers in a sort of umbel. Corolla like that of
_A. squamosa_. Fruit without the plainly visible tubercles of the
foregoing species, their presence being merely suggested by a sort
of net traced on the surface.
_A. muricata_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Guanábano_, _Goyabano_, Sp.-Fil.
Uses.--The ripe fruit possesses antiscorbutic properties; the unripe
fruit is used in treating dysentery. It is said that the ripe fruit
is used in diseases of the liver.
Botanical Description.--Tree with leaves oval, alternate and
glabrous. Flower solitary, terminal, whitish. The fruit is much larger
than that of the other species, is covered with scales that end in
a soft point or thorn and has a very pronounced acid taste.
Habitat.--All three species are common in all parts of the Archipelago.
MENISPERMACEÆ.
Moonseed Family.
_Tinospora crispa_, Miers. (_Menispermum crispum_, L.; _M. rimosum_,
Blanco; _Cocculus crispus_, DC.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Makabuhay_, Tag.
Uses.--Makabuhay is one of the most widely known and used plants in the
Philippines; a sort of panacea applied to all bodily afflictions. Its
Tagalo name means literally "you may live." A shoot deprived of roots
and dropped in some moist place is soon covered with bright green
leaves and adventitious roots. This peculiarity of the plant made
it possible for me to take a large number of sprouts from Manila to
Paris where they arrived perfectly fresh after a voyage of forty days,
during which they lay almost forgotten in the ship and the cars.
The stem is the part employed in medicine. A decoction is
given internally in the various forms of malarial fever and of
dyspepsia. Externally it is most useful as a wash for ulcers of all
kinds, rapidly improving their appearance.
In India the species _T. cordifolia_ is used; it differs but little
from _T. crispa_. It is official in the Pharmacopoeia and has been
introduced into Europe. _T. cordifolia_ has given excellent results in
the mild forms of intermittent fever; in general debility following
long and severe cases of illness; in chronic rheumatism, and in the
second stage of syphilis. As the two species are so much alike we
shall add the preparations and dose of _T. cordifolia_ which we have
used on several occasions with good results.
Tincture of T. cordifolia.--Stems of the dried plant, 100
grams. Alcohol 21° (Cartier), 500 cc. Macerate seven days in a closed
vessel stirring from time to time. After decanting add enough alcohol
(21°) to bring the quantity up to 500 cc., and filter.
Dose.--4-8 grams.
Maceration.--Fresh stems cut in small pieces, 30 grams, water 300
grams. Macerate for two hours and filter.
Dose.--30-90 cc. a day.
Extract.--Dry makabuhay in small pieces 500 grams. Water 2 1/2
liters. Macerate for twelve hours, filter the liquid and express the
macerated drug which is then macerated a second time in 2 1/2 liters
of water. Express again, unite the two liquids and filter. Evaporate
in a water-bath to the consistency of a pill mass.
Dose.--1/2-1 1/2 grams a day in fractional doses.
Botanical Description.--A vine whose runners entwine themselves among
the tops of the highest trees, giving off many adventitious roots which
seek the earth. The stem is covered with projecting tubercles. Leaves
heart-shaped, pointed, entire with five well-marked nerves. Flowers
yellowish-green, dioecious, growing in axillary racemes. The male
flowers have a corolla of six petals, the three smaller ones arranged
alternately. In the female flower the stamens are represented by three
glands situated at the base of the petals. Fruit, an elliptical drupe.
_Anamirta Cocculus_, Wight & Arn. (_Menispermum Cocculus_, (L.) Blanco;
_M. lacunosum_, Famk; _Cocculus lacunosus_, _C. suberosus_, DC.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Laktang_, _Liktang_, _Suma_, _Lanta_, _Lintang bagin_,
_Tuba_, _Balasin_, _Bayati_, Tag., Vis., Pam.
Uses.--One of the uses to which the India berries (_Cocas de Levante_)
are put in the Philippines, is to throw them into small sluggish
streams or into lakes with the object of intoxicating the fish which
soon come to the surface and float there as if dead. This custom
is very extensive in Malaysia, in India and even in Europe, where,
in order to avoid the cases of poisoning which this practice has
occasioned in the consumers of fish taken in this way, it has been
found necessary to forbid the sale of the berries except in the
pharmacies. These restrictions are practiced in France.
In the Binondo market in Manila the root of this plant may be found in
abundance; it is yellow and very bitter. The natives use the infusion
(5-10 grams to 300 cc. of water) in fevers, dyspepsia and menstrual
derangements. In India also the root is used in the same complaints.
The fruit contains the highly toxic principle _picrotoxin_, and others
as follows:
_Menispermin_ (C_18_H_24_N_2_O_2_) is an alkaloid which crystallizes
in pyramidal prisms, is soluble in alcohol and ether and insoluble
in water. Hot nitric acid converts it into oxalic acid and a yellow
substance of a resinous appearance.
_Picrotoxin_ (C_30_H_24_O_13_) is not an alkaloid as may be seen from
its formula. Its properties are not well known at the present time. It
crystallizes in small quadrilateral prisms, white and transparent,
or in needles grouped in stars. No odor, taste bitter, insoluble
in water, partly soluble in alcohol and in ether, freely soluble in
acids and alkalies. A solution in concentrated sulphuric acid has a
saffron-yellow color. Nitric acid transforms it into oxalic acid.
_Picrotoxinin_ exists in picrotoxin in the proportion of 32 to 100,
and may be separated by boiling in benzine. It is bitter, poisonous,
reduced by Fehling's solution and nitrate of silver. Sixty-six
per cent. of _picrotoxin_ consists of another bitter substance,
non-poisonous--_picrotin_, which is insoluble in benzine and is reduced
by Fehling's solution and nitrate of silver. Lastly, _anamirtin_
is found in the mother water of picrotoxin; it is not bitter, not
poisonous, and not reducible by the aforementioned reagents.
The fruit of the _anamirta_, the "coca de Levante" is an acrid,
narcotic poison, which may not be employed internally; its uses are
limited to external medication. In the Pharmacopoeia of India is
given the formula for a parasiticide ointment, highly recommended in
the treatment of pediculi:
_Unguentum anamirtæ_:
4 grams Cocculus berries, powdered,
30 grams Vaseline.
M. Fiat unguentum.
In applying this ointment it is necessary to make sure that there
is no wound or abrasion of the skin through which absorption might
take place.
Botanical Description.--A vine with leaves alternate, entire, glabrous,
broadly oval, pointed, with 5 nerves which unite at the base, long
petioles. Flowers dioecious, in compound racemes. Male flowers consist
of a perianth without corolla, the sepals arranged by threes in two or
three whorls. The end of the receptacle expanded like a bead, bears
a large number of stamens in 6 vertical series, with anthers sessile
and 4-lobed. Female flowers analogous as regards the perianth, with
6-9 sterile stamens. Carpels formed of 5 ovaries, free, unilocular,
containing one ovule each. Fruit, a drupe of a purple color, the size
of a filbert, kidney-shaped, the albumen horny.
_Cissampelos Pareira_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Sansawsansawan_, Tag.; _Chinchaochinchauan_, Sp.-Fil.
Uses.--Although this plant formerly bore the Portuguese name of
_Pareira brava_, the U. S. P. and B. P. recognize now under this
title only the root of _Chondrodendron tomentosum_. It is diuretic
and tonic and apparently exercises an astringent and sedative action
upon the mucous membrane of the genito-urinary organs. The root is
used in acute and chronic cystitis.
In Brazil it is used as a diaphoretic and as such is employed in cases
of venomous snake bites. It is also used there as an emmenagogue and
diuretic, in intermittent fevers, dropsy and suppression of the lochia
in women recently confined.
It is official in the Pharmacopoeia of India.
Decoction.--Root of cissampelos, small pieces, 50 grams.
Water 600 grams.
Dose.--30-100 grams.
Boil 15 minutes; filter and add enough water to bring the total bulk
up to 600 cc.
Extract.--Root of cissampelos in powder 500 grams.
Water 5 liters.
Dose.--.5-1 gram.
Digest the powder for 24 hours in 500 cc. water, pour the mixture
into a filter and add water gradually until the percolate amounts to
5 liters. Evaporate the percolate in a water-bath to the consistency
of a pill mass.
Fluid Extract.--This is prepared in the same manner as the extract
and is allowed to remain in the bath until reduced in bulk to 400
grams. It is then removed and 100 grams of alcohol (36°) are added.
Dose.--1.75-7 cc.
Chemical Composition.--Flückiger has isolated a bitter principle
analogous to berberin; also _buxine_ and _paracine_, which latter
received the name _pelosine_ from Wiggers in 1839. The former chemist
proposed the name buxine for all these analogous principles. Pelosine
or buxine is precipitated by a concentrated solution of HCl, by
sal ammoniac, by potassium nitrate and potassium iodide. He also
discovered a neutral substance, _deyamitin_, which crystallizes in
microscopic tablets; sulphuric acid added to these gives a pretty
dark blue color which changes to green.
Botanical Description.--A climbing shrub with cylindrical woody
stem, with leaves simple, alternate, entire, petiolate, ovoid,
broad at the base. The inferior surface of the leaf is pubescent,
especially in the intervals between the ribs. Flowers dioecious, small,
racemose. Calyx of 12 sepals arranged in 3 whorls, the inner ones
broad and petaloid. Corolla of 6 petals arranged in 2 whorls. Stamens
sterile or rudimentary in the pistillate flower, the staminate flower
bearing 6; anthers innate, 2-celled. Drupes oval, 2 or 3 cm. long,
black, closely resembling a grape seed.
NYMPHÆACEÆ.
Water-Lily Family.
_Nymphæa Lotus_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Lawas_, _Talaylo_, _Tunas_, _Gaway-gaway_, Tag., Vis.,
Pam.; _Water Lily_, Eng.
Uses.--The anaphrodisiac virtues attributed to this plant and to
all the water-lily family are purely imaginary. Its juice being
slightly bitter and astringent is used in decoction as an injection
in gonorrhoea. It possesses mild narcotic properties, for which some
use the juice of the whole plant, rubbing the forehead and temples
with it to produce sleep.
Botanical Description.--An aquatic plant, with leaves solitary,
terminal, floating on the water, dentate, glabrous, broad, deeply cleft
at the base, with a very long petiole. Flowers solitary, persistent in
the ripe fruit, oval. Stamens indefinite in fine whorls or verticils.
Habitat.--Common on the shores of the Laguna de Bay.
_Nelumbium nucifera_, Gaertn. (_N. speciosum_, Willd.; _N. Asiaticum_,
Rich.; _Cyamus Nelumbo_, Sm.; _C. mysticus_, Salis.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Bayno_, Tag.; _Sukaw_, Iloc.; _Sacred Lotus_, Eng.
Uses.--An infusion of the flowers is used internally in dysentery. In
India they use, for diarrhoea and vomiting, the viscid juice obtained
from the petioles and the peduncles of the flowers. The rootstock
contains a large quantity of starch which has been utilized for food
in the periods of famine which have desolated India and Egypt. This
flower was the Sacred Lotus of the Egyptians and the people of India
have dedicated it to Lakshmi, the goddess of health and prosperity.
Infusion.--Petals, dried 5 grams.
Water 250 grams.
Sig. To be taken during 24 hours.
Botanical Description.--An aquatic plant with fleshy rootstock which
creeps along the muddy bottoms; from its nodes spring the stalks of
the leaves and flowers. Its leaves are alternate, polymorphous, some
above and some below the surface of the water, concave in the center
whence ribs separate, shield-shaped. Petioles very long, bearing soft,
short spines. The flowers white or pink, solitary; peduncle long
and, like the petioles, covered with soft, short spines. Calyx of
4-5 unequal sepals, imbricated. Corolla with an indefinite number of
unequal petals, the inner ones shorter. Stamens indefinite, inserted in
the base of the receptacle. Receptacle expanded above the androecium,
in the form of an inverted cone, containing a large number of alveoli
with circular openings.
PAPAVERACEÆ.
Poppy Family.
_Argemone Mexicana_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Kasubhang-aso_, Iloc.
Uses.--Padre Blanco says that the yellow juice of this plant "is
used by the natives (Filipinos) to treat fissures of the corners of
the eyes."
The negros of Senegal use the decoction of the root to cure
gonorrhoea. The milky juice to which Blanco refers is used in
different countries to treat various skin diseases, including the
cutaneous manifestations of syphilis and leprosy; to remove warts,
and as an eye wash in catarrhal conjunctivitis.
The English physicians of India state that it is dangerous to use
the milky juice as an application to the eye, although Dymock claims
the contrary.
The flowers are narcotic by virtue of a principle resembling morphine,
perhaps identical with that alkaloid.
The seeds yield a fixed oil on expression, which is laxative and
relieves the pains of colic, probably by virtue of its narcotic
properties. Physicians in India praise this oil highly; not only is
it a sure and painless purgative, but it is free from the viscidity
and disgusting taste of castor-oil; besides it has the advantage of
operating in small doses, 2-4 grams. Its activity is proportionate to
its freshness. Dr. W. O'Shaughnessy does not value this oil highly,
but the experience of many distinguished physicians of India has
proved the purgative and other properties that have just been
mentioned. Possibly the differences of opinion may arise from the
fact that oils from different plants were used in the trials.
The seeds yield a fixed oil, yellow, clear, of sweet taste, density
0.919 at 15°; it remains liquid at -5°; is soluble in an equal volume
of alcohol at 90°; characterized by an orange-red color on adding
nitric acid. From its soap Frolicher has obtained acetic, valerianic,
butyric and benzoic acids. Charbonnier claims to have found morphine
in its leaves and capsules. Dragendorf has isolated from the seeds
an alkaloid which presents the principal characters of morphine. It
is, then, probable that morphine is the narcotic principle possessed
by this plant, which is not hard to believe when one considers the
family to which it belongs.
Botanical Description.--A plant of American origin nowadays
acclimated in almost all warm countries. Its stem is green,
pubescent, 30-40 centimeters high. Leaves alternate, thin, sessile,
lanceolate, covered with rigid green thorns. Flowers hermaphrodite,
terminal, yellow. Calyx, 3 sepals with conical points. Corolla, 6
rounded petals. Stamens indefinite, free, hypogynous. Ovary free,
triangular. Capsule expanded, oblong, angular, thickly set with
prickles: it opens inferiorly by 5 valves.
CRUCIFERÆ.
Mustard Family.
_Brassica juncea_, Hook. & Thom. (_Sinapis juncea_, L.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Mostaza_, Sp.; _Mustard_, Eng.
Uses.--The seeds are used in the same way as those of white or black
mustard (_Sinapis alba_ and _S. nigra_, L.).
Botanical Description.--Plant with a glabrous stem, leaves sessile,
glabrous, lanceolate, the upper ones serrate, the lower ones almost
entire. Flowers in racemes. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 4 rounded,
unguiculate petals. Stamens 6, two of them short and the other four
longer and united in pairs. Ovary flattened. Seed vessel quadrangular,
nodular, glabrous, containing many oval seeds.
_Raphanus sativus, L._
Nom. Vulg.--_Rábano_, Sp.; _Radish_, Eng.
Uses.--Used principally as food; it possesses the antiscorbutic
properties common to the greater part of the Cruciferæ.
It is an herbaceous plant, the root of which is so commonly known
that its description would be useless.
CAPPARIDACEÆ.
Caper Family.
_Cleome viscosa_, L. (_C. icosandra_, L.; _Polanisia viscosa_, DC.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Balabalanoyan_, _Apoyapoyan_, Tag.; _Wild Mustard_, Eng.
Uses.--The seeds possess the same properties as those of mustard and
are used in place of the latter in Manila. In America the leaves are
used as a poultice in otitis, their action being rubefacient. In India
the seeds are given internally for their anthelmintic and carminative
effect; the dose is one teaspoonful twice a day. The juice of the
leaves mixed with cocoanut oil is used in the form of eardrops in
suppurative otitis.
The natives give the same common name to the _Gynandropsis
pentaphylla_, DC. (_Cleome pentaphylla_, L.; _C. altiacea_ or
_C. alliodora_, Blanco), which is distinguished from the former
by its six stamens inserted on the pistil and its violet-colored
stem. Its therapeutic properties are identical with those of
the _Cleome viscosa_. Dr. Sir W. Jones believes that the plant
possesses antispasmodic properties, basing his belief on its odor,
which resembles _asafetida_, though not so disagreeable. In India the
juice of the leaves is a popular remedy for earache. It is also used
there as a rubefacient.
Botanical Description.--An annual, the stem channeled and bearing
glandular hairs. Leaves compound, alternate; leaflets lanceolate with
glandular hairs. Calyx, 4 sepals. Corolla, 4 petals, yellow. Stamens
14-16, encircling the pistil. Seed vessels cylindrical, with channels
and glandular hairs. The whole plant is sticky and emits a garlicky
odor.
_Cratæva religiosa_, Forst.
Nom. Vulg.--_Salingbobog_, Tag.; _Balay-namuk_, Iloc.
Uses.--It is in common use in India as a tonic and stomachic. It
seems also to possess laxative and diuretic properties. In Concan
the juice of the leaves mixed with cocoanut oil is used as a liniment
in rheumatism.
Infusion.--Leaves, fresh 50 grams.
Water 500 grams.
Dose.--50-100 grams a day as a tonic or stomachic.
Botanical Description.--A shrub 15-20° high with compound trifoliate
leaves with long petioles; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, smooth,
dark green. Calyx of 4 imbricated sepals. Corolla of 4 unguiculate
petals, between white and straw color, 1' long. Stamens indefinite,
violet-colored. Ovary unilocular, many-ovuled. Berry spherical with
many seeds buried in pulp.
Habitat.--Blanco has seen the plant growing in Ilocos and Imus.
BIXINEÆ.
_Bixa Orellana_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Atsuiti_, _Achuiti_, Tag.; _Achiote_, _Achuete_, Sp.-Fil.;
_Annatto_, Eng.
Uses.--The principal use of the seeds is in cookery and everybody
knows the yellow color which Filipino cooks impart to almost all
their dishes. In medicine the fine powder that covers the seeds is
used as a hæmostatic and internally as a stomachic. On account of
the astringent qualities of the coloring matter it is used in some
countries to treat dysentery, a fact which suggests its possible
therapeutic or rather hygienic usefulness as a condiment. It seems
to effect a cure in dysentery in the same manner as ipecac.