Flora Medica

CURCUMA.those which contain flowers.Calyx scarcely i the length of the corolla,irregularly "3-toothed, pellucid. Corolla funnel-shaped ; tube a littlecurved. Limb double : exterior 3-parted, the 2 lateral segmentsequal the third or upper one vaulted, and crowned with a subulate;point ;colour a very faint yellow : interior 3-parted, lip broad, deepyellow, projecting, recurved, bifid ; upper or lateral segments, obovate,equal, pale yellow, nearly as long as the lip. Filament short. Antherdouble, the lobes terminating at the base in a subulate spur. Ovaryhairy, 3-celled, with many ovules in each cell. Stigma 2-lobed, surmountingthe anther. Capsule oval, smooth, pale straw-colour, thinand nearly pellucid,3-celled ; but without any regular divisioninto valves : when the seeds are ripe, the elasticity of the segments ofthe arils bursts the vertex into various portions, from whence the seedsare soon expelled. Seeds numerous, arillate, usually oblong. Arildeeply lacerated, with unequal, white, fleshy segments. Albumen white,hard, and friable. Vitellus less white, and tougher than the albumen,occupying the upper half of the seeds. Embryo nearly as long as theseed, truncate the ; upper half lodged in the vitellus, and the lowerin the albumen. Roxb, The Zedoaria longa of the shops. SeeC. Zedoaria.1186. Q. Zedoaria Roxb. fl.ind. i. 23. N. and E. \. 243.Bengal, China, and various other parts of Asia, and the Asiaticislands. (Jedwar or Zadwar Arab.)Tubers biennial, &c. as in the last, and inwardly of a pretty deepyellow colour, approaching to that of turmeric. Stem no otherthan the sheaths of the leaves. Leaves petioled, broad-lanceolate,entire, underneath covered with soft sericeous down, which is particularlyconspicuous when the leaves are dry. The scape rises distinctfrom the leaves during the dry season, and often not only at some distance,but also some time before them : it is round, as thick as a man'sforefinger, a few inches long, and embraced by its own short, proper,green sheaths. Spike from 6 to 12 inches long, &c. exactly as inthe last species. Bractes and calyx as in the before-mentionedspecies. Corolla 1-petalled,at the base tubular; tube short, wideninga little; its mouth shut with fine yellow pubescent glands;throat ample. Border double ;exterior of 3 pale pink-coloured, erect,oblong divisions the ; upper one more pointed and incumbent over theanther and part of the 2 upper divisions of the inner border. Interiorsomewhat ringent, 3-parted, fleshy, yellow ;the lower lobe or lip longest,obovate, entire, projecting with a crown and erect margin, while abroadelevation of a deep yellow colour runs along its middle; upper 2divisions obovate, and with the upper segment of the exterior border,forming a complete covering or dome over the anther. The Zedoariarotunda of the shops. Employed in cardialgia, colic, cramp in thelimbs, torpor of the intestinal canal, &c. The Hindoos use the rootsas a perfume, as well as medicinally. Aromatic, stomachic, carminative,similar in properties to Ginger but less efficient- M. Fee still refersthe Zedoaria rotunda to Kaempferia rotunda, notwithstanding theexpress declaration of Roxburgh that the tubers of that plant possesslittle or nothing of the sensible properties of Zedoary.1187. C. rubescens Roxb.fi. ind. i. 28 Bengal.All the parts have a pleasant aromatic smell when bruised, especially561 o o