Flora Medica

AMYGDALEJE.Nat. syst.ed. 2. p. 146.AMYGDALUS.Calyx tubular or campanulate. Petals 5, spreading: Stamensnumerous, inserted into the mouth of the calyx. Drupe velvety,with a separable fleshy epicarp, and a stone which isrugged andpitted. Young leaves folded flat. Flowers subsessile, solitaryor in pairs, earlier than the leaves, proceeding from scaly buds.470. A. communis Linn. sp. 677. Woodv. t. 83. S. andC. i. t. 43. DC. prodr.ii. 531. Hedges of Barbary, Syria,and the chalky cliffs of Sicily. (Almond Tree.)A small tree with a pale brown rugged bark. Leaves lanceolate,acuminate, thin, bright light green, serrated, glandular near the base.Flowers sessile, appearing before the leaves, pink or white. Calyxreddish, with blunt segments. Petals variable in size, always muchlarger than the calyx, ovate, concave, irregularly notched. Stamensspreading, about A the length of the petals. Ovary woolly ; stylesimple. Fruit a leathery hoary drupe, with the sarcocarp spontaneouslycracking and dropping off the putamen. Stone oblong, or ovate, acute,hard in various degrees, always rugged and pitted with irregular holes.Seed oblong, compressed, ovate, with a brown testa, at the apex ofwhich there is a broad round brown chalaza. Cotyledons very large,plano-convex. This species produces both the sweet and bitteralmonds of the shops, which are only varieties of each other chieflydiffering in the quantity of prussic acid their seeds contain. Sweet Almondsare scentless and farinaceous, containing a large proportion of oil ;they are used in emulsion and confection, and are a common articleof food, but are apt to prove indigestible, and to bring on urticariafebrilis. Their skin is irritating, and should always be removed beforethe almond is eaten. Bitter Almonds yield an oil like that of the lastvariety, which is extremely poisonous. Its distilled water furnishesprussic acid in abundance; and the effects of bitter almonds takeninto the stomach are dangerous. Manyfatal cases of poisoning fromthe incautious use of these seeds, are recorded by medical writers.Bitter almonds have nevertheless been recommended as a remedy forintermittent fever when mixed with decoction of bark. A liqueurcalled Mandel amara is fabricated from them by the Italians ; but itis unsafe for persons out of health or with weak stomachs to drinkit.They also produce urticaria, and have the reputation of being anantidote to intoxication.47 1 . A. persica Linn. sp. 677., the common Peach, aboundsin the oil of bitter almonds, especially the flowers and kernels,and these parts are dangerous. Dr. Christison quotes a case231 Q4