Gum - Specimen details
| Catalogue Number: 54163 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Image | Plant Name | 80.00 UMBELLIFERAE Ferula alliacea | Entry Book Number | ||
| Artefact Name | Gum | Vernacular Name | |||
| Iso Country | India | TDWG Region | India | ||
| Parts Held | Gum | Geography Description | India, Bombay | ||
| Uses | GumUse: User: Not defined | TDWG use | |||
| Storage | Bottles, boxes etc | Related Items | |||
| Donor | Colonial & Indian Exhib 1886 | Donor No | 16456 | ||
| Donor Date | 00/00/1886 | Donor Notes | Dymock Drx0Dx0A | ||
| Collector | Collector No | ||||
| Collection Notes | Collection Date | ||||
| Exhibition | Expedition | ||||
| Number Components | Publication | ||||
| Notes: | Opuscular source: Local name, Hing. In a former number of the Pharmaceutical Journal I briefly noticed the botanical source of this drug, interesting on account of the enormous quantities of it which are used as a condiment by almost every class of veget, arians in India, and for its medicinal properties, which are much more powerful than those of the officinal Assafoetida. Early in 1874, the late Mr Hanbury was kind enough to forward to me the proof sheets of the article upon Assafoetida in the 'Pharmacog, raphia', with a request that I would obtain further information upon the subject. Unfortunately this could not be done in time for publication in that work, as it involved sending to Persia for specimens of the plant and drug. In August 1874 through the k, indness of Mr Ardeshir Nehrban, a Parsee merchant, of Yezd, I obtained the first box of specimens collected in the neighbourhood of that city. It contained: first the fresh root, with gum resin adhereing to the broken portions, and from which, upon sectio, n, a further exudation took place, at first opaque and milky, but drying in the course of a day or two into a light brown translucent substance. Second, the flower stem with flowers and very immature fruit. Thrid the leaves. The plant arrived in a broken, state, and was forwarded to Mr Hanbury. Upon its receipt he wrote; 'This morning I have devoted to the Assafoetida plant, and to a comparison of it with the figures and descriptions published by Borszczow, Balfour and Hooker; but to deside on its botanica, l name is at present a difficult if not impossible task. I suppose it to be either the Narthex of the Edingurgh garden, or the Scorodosna of Borszczow, admitting for the moment that these are two good species; but the specimen does not furnish all the cha, racters requisite for a strict comparison. I cannot tell whether the plant has the great sheathing petioles that form so striking a feature of the Narthex, nor is it possible to say whether the flower stem bore umbels arranged in tall regular obelisk as N, arthex, or crowded towards the summit as is Scorodosma. The foliage might do for either plant though in having shorter segments it better agrees with the latter. The inflorescence which I have soaked and dissected consists of fertile female, and abortive, flowers, none stameniferous. They are remarkably glabrous not pubescent, as in Borszczow's plant but this is of small moment.' Early in 1875 I was able to sent another box of specimens, with ripe fruit and a large supply of leaves. In acknowledging it, Mr, Hanbury wrote; 'The box containing the Assafoetida plant arrived on 29th Jan in excellent order, its contents have given me great pleasure. The large plant, although it had been rudely broken up and stuffed into a narrow space, proved to be fairly perfec, t; and by soaking in cold water I was able to restore it to shape, and then to fix it together so as to make a realy beautiful specimen, measuring 3 ft 6 inches in height. The leaves, also by soaking them and taking some pains, form very decent herbarium, specimens..........to supply several collections. But the chief point with me has been to determine the plant. From the foliage, the pink colour of the stem and the size of the fruit, I judged it might be the Ferula alliacea; but there being no specimen o, f this at Kew I had to transmit a portion of yours to Mr Boissier in Switzerland. His reply was definite. The plant from Yezd agrees in foliage exactly with F. alliacea, in stature, size of fruit and other respects; but the fruit has a broader margin than, in M Boissiers specimen. However, M Boissier thinks it may be set down as that species, a conclusion in which I entirely agree. Ferula alliacea was previously known to me only by description. You will observe that we have named it in the Pharmacographia, as a possible source of Assafoetida. I have thought it right to make a wide distribution of the fine supply of seeds with which you have favoured me, and I have therfore sent packets to RBG Kew Edinburgh, Oxford, Paris, St Petersburg, Bern, Strasburg, Flo, rence, Pisa, Naples, Palermo, Athens, and to botanical friends on the Mediterranean Coast, in South Africa and a few other places. As the seeds seemed fresh and good, I am in hopes that many plants may be raised.' Soon afterwards I received a sample of th, e unsophisticated drug, which is obtained by taking thin slices from the crown of the root together with the gum resin which has collected upon them, until the root is exhausted. In this sample the slices are extremely thin and form only o small portion o, f the mass. The gum resin is brown and translucent; the odour purely alliaceous. To make the commercial article the exhausted root is collected, cut up and mixed with the Assafoetida, which has been obtained in the manner described above. To do this water, is required, which impairs the translucency. Hing comes to Bombay in skins, each package weighing 100lbs or more; latterly some boxes have been received. The quality varies greatly, the adulteration consisting in an undue proportion of root. In Bombay it, is often still further adulterated by mixing it with gum arabic in different proportions, according to the priced article required. To do this, the package is broken up and moistened, the gum is them added, and the whole trodden together by men with nake, d feet upon a mat. When sufficiently mixed up, it is sewen up in skins to immitate the original packages. Hing must not be concounded with Hingra the officinal Assafoetida. Dr Dymock. | ||||