Wood - Specimen details
| Catalogue Number: 6399 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Image | Plant Name | 57.01 LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE Eysenhardtia amorphoides | Entry Book Number | 43.1910 | |
| Artefact Name | Wood | Vernacular Name | |||
| Iso Country | Mexico | TDWG Region | Mexico | ||
| Parts Held | Wood | Geography Description | Mexico | ||
| Uses | WoodUse: MEDICINES User: Man | TDWG use | MEDICINES | ||
| Storage | Woods size B | Related Items | |||
| Donor | Tower R | Donor No | |||
| Donor Date | Donor Notes | ||||
| Collector | Collector No | ||||
| Collection Notes | Collection Date | ||||
| Exhibition | Expedition | ||||
| Number Components | Publication | ||||
| Notes: | Label source: 1. Specimens to illustrate the wood Lignum nephriticum, and the Fluorescenceof its Infusion. L.n. is the wood of 'Coatli', a small leguminous Mexican tree. An infusion of the wood was used medicinally by the Aztecs. Soon after the conque, st of Mexico the Spaniards brought the wood to Europe, where it was used for similar purposes, and excited remark owing to the blue fluorescence of the watery infusion of the wood. The phenomenon was first described more fully by Athanasius Kircher, 1646, , and J. Bauhin, 1651, who used cups made of the wood. It was carefullly studied by Boyle, 1664. During the next century the wood itself was lost sight of, its origin remained unknown till quite recently. Plukenet, 1696, suggested and Dale and Linnaeus, states that it was the wood of the Horse radish tree, which is however a native of the old world. Another source that has been suggested is Pithecolobium Unguis- Cati, a native of the West Indies. (In charge of Dr. O. Stapf, FRS) | ||||