111. Chiococca racemosa.—This plant is found in many warm countries, such as in southern Florida. It is called cahinca in Brazil, where a preparation of the bark of the root is employed as a remedy for snake bites. Almost every locality where snakes exist has its local remedies for poisonous bites, but they rarely prove to be efficient when truthfully and fairly tested.
112. Chloranthus officinalis.—The roots of this plant are an aromatic stimulant, much used as medicine in the Island of Java; also, when mixed with anise, it has proved valuable in malignant smallpox.
113. Chloroxylon swietenia.—The satinwood tree of tropical countries. It is principally used for making the backs of clothes and hair brushes, and for articles of turnery-ware; the finest mottled pieces are cut into veneers and used for cabinet-making.
114. Chrysobalanus icaco.—The cocoa plum of the West Indies. The fruits are about the size of a plum, and are of various colors, white, yellow, red, or purple. The pulp is sweet, a little austere, but not disagreeable. The fruits are preserved and exported from Cuba and other West India Islands. The kernels yield a fixed oil, and an emulsion made with them is used medicinally.
115. Chrysophyllum cainito.—The fruit of this plant is known in the West Indies as the star apple, the interior of which, when cut across, shows ten cells, and as many seeds disposed regularly round the center, giving a star-like appearance, as stars are generally represented in the most reliable almanacs. It receives its botanic name from the golden silky color on the under side of the leaves.
116. Cicca disticha.—This Indian plant is cultivated in many parts under the name of Otaheite gooseberry. The fruits resemble those of a green gooseberry. They have an acid flavor; are used for preserving or pickling, and eaten either in a raw state or cooked in various ways.
117. Cinchona calisaya.—The yellow bark of Bolivia. This is one of the so-called Peruvian Bark trees. The discovery of the medicinal value of this bark is a matter of fable and conjecture. The name cinchona is derived from that of the wife of a viceroy of Peru, who is said to have taken the drug from South America to Europe in 1639. Afterwards the Jesuits used it; hence it is sometimes called Jesuit's bark. It was brought most particularly into notice when Louis XIV of France purchased of Sir R. Talbor, an Englishman, his heretofore secret remedy for intermittent fever, and made it public.
There are various barks in commerce classified under the head of Peruvian barks. Their great value depends upon the presence of certain alkaloid substances called quinine, cinchonine, and quinidine, which exist in the bark in combination with tannic and other acids. Quinine is the most useful of these alkaloids, and this is found in greatest quantities in Calisaya bark. The gray bark of Huanuco is derived from Cinchona micrantha, which is characterized by its yield of cinchonine, and the Loxa or Loja barks are furnished in part by Cinchona officinalis, and are especially rich in quinidine. There is some uncertainty about the trees that produce the various kinds of bark. These trees grow in the forests of Bolivia and Peru, at various elevations on the mountains, but chiefly in sheltered mountain valleys, and all of them at a considerable distance below the frost or snow line. They are destroyed by the slightest frost. Plants of various species have been distributed from time to time, in localities which seemed most favorable to their growth, but all reports from these distributions have, so far, been discouraging.
118. Cinnamomum cassia.—This furnishes cassia bark, which is much like cinnamon, but thicker, coarser, stronger, less delicate in flavor, and cheaper; hence it is often used to adulterate cinnamon. The unexpanded flower buds are sold as cassia buds, possessing properties similar to those of the bark. It is grown in southern China, Java, and tropical countries generally.
119. Cinnamomum zeylanicum.—A tree belonging to Lauraceæ, which furnishes the best cinnamon. It is prepared by stripping the bark from the branches, when it rolls up into quills, the smaller of which are introduced into the larger, and then dried in the sun. Cinnamon is much used as a condiment for its pleasant flavor, and its astringent properties are of medicinal value. It is cultivated largely in Ceylon. The cinnamon tree is too tender to become of commercial importance in the United States. Isolated plants may be found in southern Florida, at least it is so stated, but the area suited to its growth must be very limited.