OFFICINAL GALBANUM. 1055

t° j]' The Dublin College, therefore, is in error in referring this gum-resin< b °n Galbanum. Mr. Don found an umbelliferous fruit in the gal-tl,i s 111 °f commerce, which he believes to be that of the plant yielding6a„, ) £ Un ^resin, and as it constitutes a new genus, he has called it Gal-~ The following are the characters of the fruit:

G °-3).

**** officinale.

hel e( j impressed at the back, elliptical; ridges seven, elevated, compressed, bluntly4 ut »• ’ " ot winded ; the lateral distinct, marginal. Channels broadish, concave, with-*■ Commissure Oat, dilated, bivittate : vittre broad, somewhat curved. (Don.)

B 7

t}, e ut though it is not at all probable that these fruits are the produce ofl) r p Ja -num plant, yet no proof of this has been hitherto adduced, andb (J n n< %> therefore, very properly asks, “ Did the fruit found by Mr.

^ Upon the gum really belong to it ?” {FI. Med. 51).c a ]]^ re recently Sir John M'Niell sent home specimens of a plant^3$ ° second sort of ammoniacum, gathered near Durrood, July 27,’ to the branches of which are sticking lumps of a pale yellow"id^n-resin, which Dr. Lindley took for galbanum ; and the plantby i. fields it being essentially different from all others, has been named

p, OpUidia galbanifera (Botanical Register for August 1, 1839,tl)j s ~ (> ). Dr. Lindley was kind enough to send me a small fragment of°tb e f Uni ' res i n for examination, but I was unable to identify it with anyJieifjj ^ novvn product of the order Umbelliferae . It certainly waser as afcetida nor ammoniacum; nor did it appear to me to be eitherfj,Penum or galbanum.

i'ith 6 I ,rec ise country' where galbanum is produced has not beenascertained. Dioscorides says it is obtained in Syria ; a state-be eiJ C 'yhich is perhaps correct, though hitherto no evidence of this haso t °otained. It is not improbable that it is also procured in Persia ,gr 0H ' e ? in Arabia, as suggested by Dr. Royle. Opoidia galbanifera},' S ln the province of Khorasan, near Durrood.

I b ll0 T,UcTI O-\’.—Geoffrey (Trait, de Mat. Med. ii. 623) says, thoughbi a |.j 0 ' v not on whose authority, that galbanum is generally obtained byfo ot an incision into the stalks about three fingers breadth above thebftrrj ror n which it issues in drops, and in a few hours becomes dry, andI) f; <ai ° u Sh to gather.

!/(ilf J( ‘ CI{ iption.— The gum-resin galbanum ( galbanum seu gummi-resina„ rf" 1 ) occurs in the two forms of tears and lump.

G tC| ' lrs n U J <inum, in the tear (galbanum in lachrymis seu granis) is rare : itftojto } n distinct, round, yellow or brownish yellow, translucent tears ;Vu™* 1 **. in my collection, exceed the size of a pea. Their frac-

/3_ j ee bly resinous and yellow,tow Um P Galbanum, (galbanum in massis) is the ordinary galbanum ofVn' 1 ? 6, it consists of large irregular masses of a brownish or dark°f "h -1 l y ellow colour, and composed of agglutinated tears, some fewPea r p yb when broken, are observed to be translucent and blueish, ortute. The mericarps, pieces of the stem, &c. are found inter-s h a ; n ' Vll h the tears. To separate these, galbanum is melted andQ drained galbanum; galbanum colatum.)

The t ! ? d ? ur of both kinds is the same; viz. balsamic, and peculiar.be tQtn Ste ’ s hot, acrid, and bitter. When exposed to cold, galbanumPr°p e ®. s brittle, and may be reduced to powder. In many of its other^ v ajl ^. les > it agrees with the other gum-resins. It is imported from theail d from India , in cases and chests.