panicles. Stamens 9; 6 filaments inserted on the receptacle, spatulate,
each bearing 4 anthers on the inferior face; the other 3 filaments
thick, each bearing 4 anthers. Between the last filaments are 8 nearly
globose glandules.
Habitat.--Both species are common in the forests of Luzon. The first
species blooms in May, the second in January.
_Cassytha filiformis_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Malabohok._
Uses.--This plant has no therapeutical uses in the Philippines. In
Senegal it is employed, according to Dujardin-Beaumetz, mixed with
lard to treat urethritis; its action is to decrease the ardor urinæ. It
is not stated whether this mixture is used internally or externally.
In Cochin China the same writer states that it is used as an
antisyphilitic. In India it is used for the piles and as an alterative
for bilious disorders. It possibly acts as a circulatory stimulant.
Botanical Description.--A slender, thread-like, cylindrical vine,
without leaves, that covers the trees like a mantle, so luxuriant
is its growth. Flowers yellow, in axillary spikes. Calyx small, 3
sepals. Corolla, 3 fleshy concave petals. Stamens 12 in 4 verticils,
9 fertile and 3 inner sterile. Ovary 1-celled, 1-ovuled. Style
cylindrical. Drupe globose, 1-2'' in diameter, covered by a fleshy
envelope, formed by the receptacle. Seeds without albumen.
Habitat.--Luzon, Mindanao, Cebú, on the seashore.
EUPHORBIACEÆ.
Spurge Family.
_Euphorbia pilulifera_, L. (_E. capitata_, Lam.; _E. hirta_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Golondrina_, Sp.-Fil.; _Gatasgatas_, _Batobatonis_,
_Sayikan_, Tag.; _Buyayawa_, _Tawawa_, _Bowi_, Vis.; _Malismalis_,
_Sisiwhan_, _Bolobotones_, _Magatas_, Pam.
Uses.--This plant has a reputation in the Philippines as a hæmostatic
of great efficiency, for which purpose the whole plant is crushed and
applied as a poultice over the wound. Like all members of this family
it abounds in milky juice. We have had no occasion to employ it as a
hæmostatic, but do not doubt its action in view of the effect that it
exercises on the circulation and the heart when given internally. In
toxic doses experiment has demonstrated that it kills animals by
suspension of the respiratory movements and those of the heart,
which at first beats faster but gradually more slowly. It has no
effect upon any other organ and is eliminated by the liver.
Matheson recommends it as an antispasmodic and has employed it also in
dyspnoea of cardiac origin. I have used it in both these conditions
in Manila with highly satisfactory results. I have found the most
convenient form of administration to be the tincture in doses of
15-40 drops a day given in an infusion of althæa every 3 or 4 hours;
the vehicle should be used liberally as it diminishes the irritant
action of the euphorbia on the stomach. A decoction of 15 grams
of the plant to 2 liters of water may be given in doses of from 6
to 12 tablespoonfuls daily. A proper dose of the alcoholic extract
is 10 centigrams in 24 hours. Dr. Daruty, of Mauritius, gives the
following formula:
_Euphorbia pilulifera_ dried in the shade 30 grams.
Water 1 1/2 liters.
Boil till reduced to 1 liter, cool and add:
Rum or cognac 30 grams.
Dose.--1 wineglassful 3 times a day.
This decoction relieves the most obstinate asthma, as well as cough
and bronchial irritation. It is necessary to use the entire plant. The
decoction is usually given in the morning, fasting, in the middle of
the afternoon and at bedtime. In very stubborn cases another dose
may be given in the middle of the night. Frequently the relief is
immediate and in some cases a liter of the decoction is enough to
effect a cure. If the symptoms return, it is easy to abort them; they
are less distressing and, according to the statements of patients,
the medicine "gives them air."
Dr. Hicks Bunting found, in an analysis of the drug, 60 per cent. of
insoluble residue, wax, "caucho," resin, tannin, sugar, albuminoids,
oxalate of calcium and other salts.
Dr. Marsset states that the active principle is soluble in water, in
dilute alcohol; insoluble in ether, chloroform, bisulphide of carbon,
and turpentine, but does not give the reaction.
The toxic dose is 1 gram of dried plant for each kilogram of weight
of the animal.
Botanical Description.--A small creeping plant with milky juice. Stem
1-2° high, cylindrical, hairy and reddish in color. Leaves opposite,
obliquely ovate, rhomboid, serrate, hairy. Petioles very short. Two
pointed stipules at the base. Flowers yellowish in hemispherical
umbels of 5 divisions, each subdivided in 2. Involucre universal. Calyx
bell-shaped, laciniate, in 5 parts. Corolla, 5 petals, inserted on the
divisions of the calyx, fleshy, orbicular, with an orbicular appendix
at the base, concave and differing from the corolla in color. Stamens
8, inserted on the base of the calyx; filaments unequal in length,
each bearing 2 anthers. Four filaments lacking anthers. Ovary with
stalk longer than the flower, curved downward. Styles 3, bifid. Stigmas
simple. Seed vessels 3, united, hairy, 3-angled, each bearing 1 red
globose seed with a wrinkled surface.
Habitat.--Common in all parts of the islands and well known to the
natives. The name by which it is best known in Manila is "golondrina."
_Euphorbia neriifolia_, L. (_E. ligularia_, Roxb.; _E. pentagona_,
Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Sorosoro_, _Sorog-sorog_, _Bait_, Tag., Pam.;
_Karambauaya_, Iloc.; _Lengua de perro_, Sp.-Fil.
Uses.--The principal medicinal use of this plant in the Philippines
is the introduction of the hot juice of its fleshy leaves into the
external auditory canal in cases of otorrhoea or of simple earache,
whatever its cause.
The root is regarded in India as an antidote for snake bite and,
indeed, the plant is sacred to Munsa, the snake divinity. During the
months of July and August in some parts of India the natives make
offerings of rice, milk and sugar to this sacred tree every Tuesday
and Thursday, praying for protection from the bites of serpents.
The leaves contain an abundance of milky juice, acrid and very
active, used in the treatment of several skin diseases. Like the
species _E. pilulifera_ it possesses antiasthmatic properties;
Dr. S. C. Amcobury reports 6 cases treated with satisfactory
results. Owing to the acrid quality of the juice great care should be
maintained both in its internal and external use. The Sanscrit authors
regard it as purgative and usually administer it with other drugs of
the same action to increase its effect. Ainslie states that the native
herb-doctors of India give the juice in intestinal obstruction and in
the oedema of malarial cachexia. The dose is 1.25 grams in 24 hours
given in 300 cc. of sweetened water in divided doses. This dose is,
in my opinion, dangerous; 40-60 centigrams a day is more prudent.
Botanical Description.--A small tree, from 5 to 6° high. Trunk erect,
jointed, 5-sided, at the angles 2 rows of thorns. Leaves spatulate,
fleshy. Flowers yellowish. Calyx bell-shaped, 5-lobed. Corolla,
numerous imbricated, spatulate petals with ravelled or fringed
ends. Stamens in groups. Styles 3. Stigma coarse. Seed vessel,
3 carpels on a stalk.
Habitat.--In all parts of Luzon.
_Euphorbia Tirucalli_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Consuelda_, Sp.-Fil.; _Katwit_, _Suelda_, Tag.
Uses.--The milky juice of this species is very caustic. It is used
chiefly in India mixed with oil as an embrocation for rheumatism;
given internally it is regarded as an antisyphilitic. Dr. J. Shortt
states that it is an excellent alterant in syphilis in dose of 30
centigrams, morning and evening. It is further employed in malarial
hypertrophy of the spleen, in asthma and as a purgative; in a word
the same virtues are attributed to it as to the foregoing species.
Botanical Description.--Small trees, 9-12° high. Trunk erect. Branches
cylindrical, stumpy (not tapering), several very small leaves at
the ends. Flowers yellowish, in umbels. Calyx, 5 rounded, fleshy
sepals. Corolla, 5 groups of woolly hairs on the divisions of the
calyx. Stamens 5, inserted on the sepals, with double or irregular
anthers. Seed vessel, 3 carpels each with one seed.
Habitat.--Very common, especially in the suburbs of Manila where they
serve as hedges.
_Phyllanthus reticulatus_, Müll. (_Cica decandra_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Tinatinaan_, _Tintatintahan_, _Malinta_, Tag.;
_Sungot-olang_, Vis.
Uses.--The natives eat the little berries of this species, which are
dark purple before and black after maturity, and use their juice for
ink. The leaves are diuretic and refreshing; the bark alterant. In
the bazaars of India the bark is sold commonly in pieces 1° long
and as thick as the wrist; its taste is slightly sweet, color dark
and the alterative dose of its decoction is 120-150 grams a day. In
Concan they make a compound pill of the leaf-juice, powdered cubebs
and camphor, to be dissolved in the mouth for ulcerated, bleeding or
scorbutic gums. The juice is also given internally for urticaria.
Botanical Description.--Small trees, 12° or more high, with leaves
pinnate, oval, entire, alternate, glabrous, downy when young. Common
petiole, 2 stipules at the base. Flowers monoecious. Staminate: calyx,
5 colored sepals; no corolla; filaments 4, coarse, somewhat shorter
than the calyx, the middle one thicker and 2-parted; anthers 10,
4 on the middle filament and two on each of the others. Pistillate:
calyx and corolla same as staminate; nectary, 5 glandules on the base
of the ovary. Fruit, a black berry seated within the calyx, crowned
with 2 erect styles, 6 or 8 compartments each with a single seed.
Habitat.--Grows everywhere and is well known.
_Phyllanthus Niruri_, L.
_P. urinaria_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Hierba de San Pablo, de San Pedro_, Sp.
Uses.--This species is not used medicinally in the Philippines, but
in India is given for its diuretic effect and has great repute in
the treatment of genito-urinary diseases, dropsy and gonorrhoea. The
infusion of the leaves of _P. Niruri_ with Fenugreek seeds is a
highly prized remedy for chronic dysentery, mentioned by Ainslie. The
leaves are bitter and tonic and in Bombay they are in common use in
gonorrhoea to correct the acidity of the urine. Bruised and mixed with
salt they make a sort of jelly frequently used as an application for
itch; without salt the same is used for contusions.
The dose of the leaf juice of both species, for internal use, is 15
grams a day in divided doses.
A decoction of the entire plant well dried and powdered, is given
for jaundice in doses of 5 grams a day.
The milky juice of the stem is useful in the local treatment of
ulcers. The bruised root is employed in Concan for neuralgia.
Botanical Description.--_P. Niruri_ is an herb with straight
stem. Leaves alternate, pinnate with stylet in place of the
odd leaflet. Leaflets nearly oval, glabrous, 2 stipules at
the base. Flowers monoecious, greenish, axillary; the staminate
growing along the common petiole above the pistillate. Staminate:
Calyx, 5 lanceolate, entire sepals; no corolla; 1 filament with 1
anther. Pistillate: Calyx and corolla as above; ovary free, 3 biovulate
cells; style with 2 stigma-bearing branches. Fruit capsular, globose.
_P. urinaria_ may be distinguished by its sessile flowers and
reddish stem.
Habitat.--Very common in Manila and all over Luzon.
_Jatropha Curcas_, L.
Nom. Vulg.--_Tuba_, Tag.; _Kasla_, Vis.; _Tawatawa_, Iloc. (Seeds
called "English Physic Nuts" in India.)
Uses.--The milky juice of the trunk and branches is a drastic
purgative, too active for safety as a physic. Mixed with water it is
used as a wash for atonic ulcers.
The seeds yield 25-30 per cent. of a yellowish oil, more active than
castor oil as a purgative but less certain. Ten or twelve of the
former equal in effect 30 to 40 drops of the latter. Its density is
0.919, and it differs from castor oil in being only slightly soluble
in absolute alcohol. In some parts of the Philippines it is used for
purposes of illumination, and it is exported to Europe to adulterate
soaps and candles. It contains a little stearin which begins to be
deposited at 9° and is entirely solidified at 0°.
The fruit is strongly purgative, and this action is not due to the
oil but to a peculiar resin so active that 3 fruits produce drastic
effects. Whatever purgative action the oil possesses is due to the
resin which it contains in solution. It seems, therefore, preferable
to treat the seeds with alcohol, thus dissolving the resin, and use
the tincture thus obtained in place of the oil.
The natives use the plant to intoxicate the fish in ponds and sluggish
streams.
The seeds of the species _J. multifida_, L., also called _tuba_ in
Tag., and _mana_, are likewise purgative in their action. Dr. Waring
saw a case of poisoning with the fruit; the patient, a young man,
suffered violent vomiting, intense pain in the stomach and head,
and marked prostration. He recovered under the use of lime juice
and stimulants.
Botanical Description.--The _J. Curcas_ is a small tree growing as high
as 9°. Leaves alternate, cordate, glabrous, 3-5 cut-lobed. Flowers
yellowish-green, monoecious, in terminal umbels, staminate and
pistillate flowers mingled without order. Staminate: Calyx, 5 unequal
sepals; corolla bell-shaped, 5 petals, woolly within, a small notch
at the end, bent downward; stamens 10, in 2 whorls of 5. Pistillate:
Calyx and corolla as above; several tongue-like staminodes replace
the stamens; ovary free, oblong, 3-celled, 1 ovule in each cell;
style 3-branched. Seed vessel fleshy, of 3 capsules, each bearing 1
oval, coriaceous seed.
Habitat.--Luzon and Visayas.
_Aleurites Moluccana_, Willd. (_A. triloba_, Forst. and Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Lumbán_, _Kapili_, Tag.; _Belgaum_ or _Indian Walnut_,
Indo-Eng.
Uses.--The kernels are rich in oil which is used for illumination
and the manufacture of soap. For industrial purposes it is superior
to linseed oil, according to the report of the Madras Drug Committee.
Dr. O'Rocke states that in doses of 1-2 ounces it acts as a gentle
and sure purgative, producing copious bilious evacuations after 3-6
hours, without causing nausea, colic or other similar effects. The
municipal physician of Sampaloc, Señor Xerez, states that he has
frequently used this oil in Manila, as a purgative, and he agrees
perfectly with Dr. O'Rocke as to its effect.
D. Anacleto del Rosario, the distinguished Filipino chemist, tells
me that he once witnessed a case of poisoning by the fruit of the
_lumbán_, the patient being a native boy. Doubtless the milky juice,
so active in all the Euphorbiaceæ, was the cause of the symptoms. It
is true that the kernel causes colic and copious alvine discharges.
Nellino's chemical analysis of the seeds is as follows:
Water 5.25
Fatty matter 62.97
Cellulose 28.99
Mineral matter 2.79
The ashes contain the following matters:
Lime 28.69%
Magnesia 6.01%
Potash 11.23%
Phosphoric acid 20.30%
The oil is yellow, syrupy, transparent, odorless, insipid.
Botanical Description.--A tree with leaves bunched or clustered,
3-5 lobulate with as many nerves. Petioles about as long as
the leaves. Flowers white, terminal in panicles, the pistillate
mixed with the more numerous staminate flowers. Staminate: Calyx
monophyllous, cylindrical, 2-toothed; corolla, 5 linear petals twice
as long as the calyx; stamens 20 or more, joined in a column at
their bases. Pistillate: Calyx and corolla as above; ovary of 2 or 3
uniovulate locules, encircled by a disk; style 2-or 3-branched. Seed
vessel large, ovate, compressed, fleshy, 2 sutures at right angles,
2 compartments, in each a hard nut.
Habitat.--Grows all over Luzon and is well known to the natives.
_Croton Tiglium_, L. (_C. glandulosum_, _C. muricatum_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Tuba kamaisa_, Tag.; _The Purging Croton_, Eng.
Uses.--The fruit is used by the Filipinos to intoxicate the fish
in ponds and sluggish streams. The seeds contain an oil that
is official in all Pharmacopoeias as one of the most powerful
hydragogue cathartics. As it is intensely irritating it should never
be administered alone but combined with other substances, such as
castor oil, or in pill form. The internal dose is 1 to 2 drops. It
is considered a specific for lead colic and is indicated when not
only purgation but active irritation of the digestive canal is desired.
Applied to the skin it is a strong irritant causing rapid and painful
vesication. Great care should be exercised not to raise the hands to
the eyes after touching the oil, as serious inflammation might result.
Botanical Description.--A small tree, 8-9° high, with rough
trunk. Leaves alternate, ovate, acute, minutely serrate, both surfaces
beset with sharp hairs. Flowers yellowish-white, monoecious. Staminate:
Fewer than the pistillate, growing above them; calyx 5-toothed;
corolla, 5 woolly petals; stamens 16, joined in the center. Pistillate:
Calyx 5-toothed; corolla much less developed than in the staminate;
ovary free, 3 uniovulate locules; styles 3, bifid. Seed vessel
dry, with thin envelope bristling with stiff hairs; 3 carpels each
containing a seed.
Habitat.--Common in Luzon.
_Acalypha Indica_, L. (_A. Caroliniana_, Blanco.)
Nom. Vulg.--Not known.
Uses.--This plant is not used medicinally in the Philippines, but
is very common in India. Dr. G. Bidie, of Madras, states that the
expressed juice of the leaves is in great repute, wherever the plant
grows, as an emetic for children and is safe, certain and speedy in
its action. Like ipecacuanha it seems to have little tendency to act on
the bowels or depress the vital powers, and it decidedly increases the
secretion of the pulmonary organs. Probably an infusion of the dried
leaves or an extract prepared from the green plant would retain all
its active properties. The dose of the expressed juice for an infant
is a teaspoonful.
Dr. A. E. Ross speaks highly of its use as an expectorant, ranking
it in this respect with senega; he found it especially useful in the
bronchitis of children. He also makes favorable report of a cataplasm
of the leaves as a local application to syphilitic ulcers and as a
means of relieving the pain attendant on the bites of venomous insects.
The alleged purgative action of the root noticed by Ainslie is
confirmed by Dr. H. E. Busteed, who reports having used the expressed
juice of the root and leaves as a laxative for children.
Langley, a military surgeon, states that in Canara the natives employ
the leaf juice in congestive headache, soaking pledgets of cotton
with it and introducing them into the nasal fossæ; the resultant
nose bleed relieves the headache. The powder of the dry leaves is
dusted on ulcers and putrid sores. In asthma and bronchitis, both of
children and adults, Langley has used this plant with good results,
and he recommends 1.25-3.50 grams of the tincture (100 grams of the
fresh plant to 500 of alcohol, 90°) repeated several times a day;
the effect is expectorant, nauseant and, in large doses, emetic.
It must be noted that only the young, growing plants are active.
The flowers of another species, _A. hispida_, Burm., called _bugos_
in Tag. and Vis., is used in India for the dysentery.
Botanical Description.--A little plant, about 3° high. Leaves
alternate, broad, lanceolate, 5-nerved, serrate from middle to
apex. Petioles much longer than the leaves, 2 stipules at their
bases. Flowers greenish, monoecious in axillary spikes, pedunculate, as
long as the leaves, crowned by a prolongation of the axis in the form
of a cross. Staminate: Numerous, in upper part of spike; calyx 4 parts;
no corolla; stamens 8-16, small, free. Pistillate: Less in number,
at the base of the spike; perianth of 3 imbricated leaflets; ovary,
3 uniovulate locules; style, 3 branches which also subdivide. Capsule
3-celled, each cell containing a globose seed with cicatrix.
Habitat.--Luzon, Panay and Mindanao. Blooms in October.
_Echinus Philippensis_, H. Baillon. (_Croton Philippense_, Lamk.;
_Rottlera tinctoria_, Roxb.; _Mallotus Philippensis_, Müll.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Banato_, Tag.; _Buas_, _Vuas_, Iloc.; _Monkey-face Tree_,
_Kamala_ or _Kamala Dye_, Indo-Eng.
Uses.--The capsular fruit of this plant is thickly beset with reddish
glands and hairs, which, when brushed off and gathered in powder form,
constitute the _kamala dye_ of the Hindoos. It was mentioned by the
Arabian physicians of the tenth century under the names of _Kanbil_
and _Wars_. In India the powder is highly valued as a yellow dye-stuff
for silk. Medicinally it is used as an anthelmintic, the English
physician Mackinnon, of the Bengal Hospital, having been the first to
scientifically prove this property; he reported that it was successful
in expelling the tape-worm. It is now official in the Pharmacopoeia
of India and also in the U. S. P. as an anthelmintic and purgative;
in Switzerland it is commonly given to expel the bothriocephalus
which abounds there, the lake fish acting as hosts.
The dose recommended by the Pharmacopoeia of India is 8-12 grams,
divided in 3 or 4 doses. This amount sometimes causes nausea and
colic; in the third or fourth stool the tænia is commonly expelled
in a lifeless condition. Dujardin-Beaumetz advises a dose of 30
grams of castor oil in case the tænia has not been expelled 2 hours
after the last dose of kamala. The powder is efficacious but the
tincture seems to be surer; the dose is 6 grams for children and 20
for adults, given in divided doses in aromatic water every hour for
6 hours. This tincture is prepared by macerating 200 grams of kamala
in 500 cc. alcohol for 7 days; then filtering with expression and
adding enough alcohol to complete the 500 cc.
The powder is also used in India as a local application in herpes
circinata. It is insoluble in water; in ether and alcohol it yields 80%
of a red resin. Anderson noted that a concentrated ethereal solution of
kamala after a few days formed a solid crystalline mass, yellow, very
soluble in ether; this substance he named _rottlerin_, C_11_H_10_O_3_.
Botanical Description.--A tree, 6-8 meters high, covered with
stellate groups of short yellow hairs. Leaves alternate, petiolate,
rhomboid-oval or lanceolate, acuminate, 3-nerved, entire or slightly
dentate, upper surface glabrous, lower surface covered with woolly
hairs and powdery red glands. Flowers yellowish-green, small,
dioecious, apetalous, in spikes. Staminate: By 3's in the axil of each
bract; perianth, 3 or 5 deeply cut, lanceolate lobules; stamens 15-25,
free, inserted in the center of the flower. Pistillate: In the axil
of each bract; ovary, 3 locules each with 1 ovule, covered like the
leaves with hairs and yellow, granular glands. Seed vessel globose,
3-celled, like ovary covered with hairs and glands.
Habitat.--Mountains of Morong, San Mateo, Tarlak, Bosoboso, Ilocos
Norte, Albay and Batangas.
_Ricinus communis_, L. (Variety _microcarpus_, Müll.)
Nom. Vulg.--_Tangantangan_, _Lingasina_, Tag.; _Tangantangan_,
_Tawatawasinga_, Iloc.; _Castor Oil Plant_, Eng.
Uses.--A purgative oil is expressed from the seeds, called "Aceite de
Ricino" (castor oil). It operates mechanically in the intestinal tract
and its action is rapid and is indicated whenever it is desired simply
to empty the intestines without producing any irritating effect;
it is, therefore, a purgative indicated in diseases of children,
in pregnancy, and in hemorrhoidal congestions where a non-irritating
evacuation of the rectum is desired. It is an anthelmintic, though
not ordinarily given alone, but in combination with other drugs of
a purely anthelmintic action, the object being to expel the worms
which have been attacked by the specific.