AMMONIACUM DOKF.MA.

1051

8

CHAU ,—The only species.

hon ^ aucous green plant, about seven feet high, looking like the Opo-t] le ? x - Root perennial. Stem about four inches in circumference atPint aSe ‘ R (:, ives large, petiolate, somewhat bipinnate, two feet long;), r ,!* 111 three pairs; petioles clowny, sheathing at the base. Umbels*'an er ? Us > racemose; partial ones globose, or short stalks, often ar-Mi t ' n a s P^ e< i manner. Involucre, general or partial, none. Petals"al l Stamens and styles white. Ovaries buried in wool. Fruitjj (Condensed from Don).

p] a - An - —Persia , in the province of Irak , near Jezud Khast, and on the’ ns between Yerdekaust and Kumisha.dc XTRaction -—The whole plant is abundantly pervaded with a milkya j which oozes forth upon the slightest puncture being made, evenHj a le ends of the leaves. This juice when hardened constitutes ammo-^ Through the kindness of my friend Dr. Lindley, I have in myi tl( ,j ,<:uin the upper part of the (apparently flowering) stem, about tene v les * on £> with lumps of ammoniacum sticking to it at the origin of1 ,,.^ branch. It was gathered by Sir J. M'Niell, in Persia (I believecisi een b'horian and Khaff). It does not appear that artificial in-X V j° Rs are ever made in the stem. Lieut.-Col. Kennett {Linn. Trans.b ee 'tj b) says, “ When the plant has attained perfection, innumerable

juie

eiifri i ’ arine( i with an anterior and posterior probe of half an inch ina, 1 ( jv v > pierce it in all directions; it [ammoniacum] soon becomes dry,of ,, ls then picked off, and sent via I lush ire to India , and various partsp, he World .”

—Ammoniac is usually imported from Bombay , but occa--■ -D it comes from the Levant. It is brought over in chests, cases,

a nd b

j^oxes. The quantity imported is but small.

* sscuipnos.—Common or Persian ammoniacum, usually termedi n t j Utnr noniacum or ammoniac {gummi ammoniacum ) occurs in two forms;u le Ron and in the lump.

°cc ^ nirn °niacum in the tear (ammoniacum in lachrymis seu granis)C| U ar ' s in distinct dry tears, usually more or less spheroidal, though fre-c 0ri l y of irregular forms, varying in size from that of the fruit ofa ypH er (° r even smaller) to that of a w alnut. Externally they are ofH a |] , °w (pale reddish or brownish) colour, with a waxy lustre ; inter-l he ^ ,y ar e white or opalescent, opaque, or only feebly translucent atha r (j °i thin films. At ordinary temperatures, it is moderately0 an< i brittle, but softens like wax in the hand.o Ccu R^nip Ammoniacum (ammoniacum in placentis seu massis ). Thisbes q 111 ma sses usually composed of agglutinated tears, whose proper-'Wk P° sses ses. It is sometimes met with in soft plastic masses, of ait j s Cr c °lour, and mixed w ith various impurities. To separate these,/a^j^hed and strained ( Strained Ammoniacum; Ammoniacum co-

hinds have a faint, unpleasant, pecidiar odour, by which thisbe s t i es * n may be readily distinguished from all other. This odour isTh e ete cted by heating the ammoniacum oh the point of a pen-knife.Unfc asle is bitter, nauseous, and acrid. Umbelliferous fruits are notperti 0 ^ Uen ^y found intermixed with both sorts. In most of its other pro-j arn moniacum agrees with other gum-resins (see p. 75.)

'■alebted to Dr. Li ml ley for a fine sample of African Ammoniacum (dju/nma/toV,