Flora Medica

BALSAMACEJE.Nat.syst. ed. 2. p. 188.LIQUIDAMBAR.Catkins of distinct sexes, monoecious, having a common 4-leaveddeciduous involucre. $ Catkins conical or . globose, composedof extremely numerous subsessile anthers. ? Catkins . globose,composed of small scales, which surround the ovaries, grow togetherand gradually enlarge. Ovary 2-celled ;styles 2, subulate.Capsules oblong, 2-lobed, immersed in sockets formed bythe scales, 2-celled, opening at the apex between the styles,many-seeded. Seeds compressed, with a membranous wing,attached to the middle of the dissepiment. Blume.660. L. Altingia Blume bijdr. 527. fl. jav. c. ic. Altingiaexcelsa Noronha in act. bat. V. p. 1-20. Forests of Java at anelevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea. (Ras-sama-la.)A gigantic tree. Buds large, ovate, imbricated. Leaves alternate,stalked, ovate-lanceolate, bluntly acuminate, somewhat rounded at thebase, coriaceous, smooth, with glandular serratures ; stipules subulate,deciduous, with 2 very small teeth or glands at the side, near the apex.Catkins terminal, racemose, globose the ; upper 6-8 males, the 'lowerfemales and fewer. Leaves of the involucre covered with yellowishsilky down. Bark with a hot and bitterish taste, yielding whenwounded a fragrant honey-like balsam. The latter is liquid storax,a stimulating expectorant substance actingin the same way as solidstorax, that is to say influencing the mucous membranes, especially thatwhich lines the air passages. But although this tree undoubtedlyproduces the fine liquid storax or Rasamala of the Malayan archipelago,it is probable that the principal part of that in use is obtained fromL. orientale, for Mr. Pereira ascertained by inspecting the books of awholesale druggist that all the storax imported for 7 years came fromTrieste.661. L. orientale Mill. diet. No. 2. L. imberbe Hort. Kew.,365. Platanus orientalis Pocock trav. ii. 230. t. 89. Cyprusiii.and other parts of the East of Europe.A small tree. Leaves bright green, perfectly smooth even at theaxils of the veins on the under side, shining above, pallid beneath ;palmate, with serrated obscurely 3-lobed divisions. Dr. Pocockfound this tree in Cyprus, where it is called Xylon Effendi (thewood of our Lord); he says it produces an excellent white Turpentine,especially by incisions made in the bark. The commonCypriots toast and suck morsels of the wood and bark, esteeming thema specific remedy in fevers.321 y