1090
ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.
Collection. —When the fruit has attained its full size, but is ^ j r yit is gathered and sun-dried on platforms and sheets. When near 1 ^it is frequently winnowed. It is afterwards put in bags of 100 cwt- e ,for the European market (Wright, Med. Plants of Jamaica ;
Nat. Hist, of Jamaica , 248). Some planters kiln-dry it. 'ain^'
Description. — Pimento or Jamaica pepper (pimenta seu pipy J j t0cense) commonly called allspice (because its flavour is consider^ ^approach that of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs) is about theor somewhat larger than, a peppercorn. It is round, brown, dult, ^ ca .ish but not wrinkled, crowned with the segments of the calyx? and ^sionally, though rarely, has a short pedicel. It consists of an exsomewhat hard but brittle shell, which is paler within, and enclo se ^ ourdark brown cochleate seeds. Allspice has an aromatic agreeable 0 e .(intermediate between pepper and cloves) and a strong aromatic clike taste. ^
Ovate Pimento (Brasilianischer oder Kron-Piment, Dierbach , Berlin. ji.
xxxviii. s. 29(5; Piment couronne ou Poivre de Thevet, Guibourt. Hist- aes jpd.)351.)—This is the fruit of Myrtns pimentoides, Nees v. Esenbeck ( leones Pf® 1 j^dies.called by Decandolle (Prodr. iii. 243) Myrcia pimentoides, a native of the V te r-Except in shape, it strongly resembles the common allspice. It is ovate or o ^la-minated superiorly by a large crown, formed by the five-toothed limb of theIt is usually two, more rarely three or four-celled, each cell containing o' 1 _ ain pleGuibourt has always found three, four, or six seeds in each fruit. In the only.^ oU IyI have seen, and which came from St. Vincent’s, there were in most of the i rU1two seeds.
Commerce. —Pimento is imported in bags, usually from theIndies (almost entirely from Jamaica ). In 1839, duty (9d. per m-'paid on 277,185 lbs.
Composition. —Pimento was analysed by Braconnot (Duncan,Dispens.) and in 1825 by Bonastre ( Journ. de Chim. Med. i. 210)-
Bonastre's Analysis.
Husks.
Kernels.
Volatile oil..
100 ...
.50
Green oil.
... 8-4 ...
.2 5
Solid fat oil.
... 0-9 ...
.1-2
Astringent extract.
11 4 ...
... 39-8
Gummy extract...
... 3 0 ...
.7-2
Colouring matter .
...4 0 ...
Resinous matter.
... 12 ...
Uncrvstallizable sugar .
... 3 0 ...
.8*0
Malic or gallic acid.
...0-6 ...
.1.6
Lignin .
50*0
Saline ashes.
... . 1*9
Water ..
30
Loss.
Red matter, insoluble in water..
.8-8
Pellicular residue .
... 160
Brown flocculi .
3*2
Total.
... 100.0
Braconnot's Analyst-
Volatile oil.
Wax, with red colouring
matter .
Gum.
Nitrogenous matter...Citrate of PotashPhosphate of Potash an
loss.
Insoluble matter .
1-9
9<>
0-0
6-0
5 - 0
6- 0
3 -4
67- s
,i 5 pice,
1. Volatile Oil of Pimento (Oleum Pimentee).—By distillation with water, &like cloves, yields two volatile oils, the one lighter, the other heavier than wate •oil of pimento of the shops is a mixture of these. Except in odour, it® P. £ * itbare almost identical with those of oil of cloves (see p. 1093). By distill^ 1