BITTER CUCUMBER.
1075
five-toothed. Corolla yellow with greenish veins. Males: sta-s 'st f ree ’ s hort, free ; two of which have doubly bent anthers, or con-fer ' two anthers; in which case the number of stamens is really five.niqg ■’ ovarium, round, smooth, inferior; style short, cylindrical; stig-° r an tlree .’ filaments without anthers. Fruit (pepo) about the size of an^Se, with a thin but solid rind.
Japan , the sandy lands of Coromandel, Cape of Good Hope ,Cnv’ ^*ibia, Egypt , Turkey , and the islands of the Grecian Archipelago .pn' ate 1 in Spain .
*ipe Ki>AKation of the Fruit. —The fruit is gathered in autumn, whens Un yellow, and in most countries is peeled and dried, either by thep 0r hy stoves.
C a ,j^ IiIE RCE.—Colocvnth is imported from Spain (Almeria , Gibraltar ,k, 1/ > Malaga , &c.), Trieste , Malta , Smyrna, Alexandretta , Mogadore,lb] ^ c °mes over in cases, casks, boxes, &c. In 1839, duty (2d. perjv, as paid on 10,417 lbs.
—The fruit called colocynlh or coloquinlida (colocynthis ;l‘t e l r !' 0 l° c ynthidisJ is imported either peeled (generally), or sometimes un-lifdit (pulpa colocynthidis exsiccata ) is nearly white, inodorous,
*ee(/’ s l )on gy, porous, tough, intensely and nauseously bitter. The(uohif’Mina colocynthidis) are smooth, either white or yellowish whiteci^i e c °locynth seeds), or brownish (black colocynth seeds), bitter (espe-fe Peat ^ le d ai 'k-coloured ones) and inodorous. By digesting them intb e Portions of boiling water, and afterwards well washing them,C ‘ Vr Uli ; ^ er l )art °f the bitterness may be extracted. Two kinds of colo-Cojjj ’ distinguished as Turkey and Mogadore colocynth, are known in,rifc rce.
d fry
l ev „ Ur key Colocynth: Peeled Colocynth .—This is imported from theSpain , &c. The usual size of each pepo is about two or three
«v
“es
e nn f
111 diameter; the shape is more or less globular, according to thewith which the rind has been removed, and the degree of con-^ a d°V n drying; the colour is white, or pale yellowish white. Onetanparts by weight are said to consist of 28 parts pulp, and 72
is 1 ^°9adore Colocynth: Unpeeled Colocynth. —The pepo of this kindlira, than the preceding, and is covered with a yellowish smooth,Pri^ci," I s imported from Mogadore in small quantity only, and isl )a "y used by druggists for sliew-bottles.
NtC" 1 * of colocynth are usually described as white, perfectly bland, and highlyd 1 a ni a Captain Lyon (Duncan, Edinb. Dlspens) states they constitute an imper-il f"" 1 * in Northern Africa . “ The seeds of Cucurhitacete,” says Decan-
c l. 1|J l|) SSa f les P ro P- Mid. des Plantes , 101), “ do not participate in the qualities ofp‘' c *' surround them ; they are bland, demulcent, of an oily nature, and sus-t\t° Cv mh easil 7 taking the form of an emulsion.” These statements do not apply to,, , Sp eds of commerce, which I never found devoid of bitterness; and Hillefeld•tin,., > LeAro« j c-c. ••
'““Uil
beA rec ^ (Uften. ii. 27) says a scruple of them purged a dog.
m poisonous.
Heise (Ibid. 34)
.f° SITl °x.—In 1817, Braconnot ( Journ. dePhys. lxxxiv. 337) ana-^fafp, ® watery extract. The pulp was analyzed in 1818 by Meissner1 1 (i) * d. Mat. Med. \ i. 365). Vauquelin (Journ. de Pharm. x.• a mined the active principle.