The Description.

The shrub which I here figure out of Clusius, is thought both by him and others to be the Cotonastrum or Cidonago mentioned by Gesner in his Epistles, lib. 3. pag. 88. It hath branches some cubit long, tough, and bare of leaves in their lower parts, covered with a black bark: and towards the tops of the branches grow leaves somewhat like those of Quinces: of a dark green above, and whitish underneath, snipped about the edges: at the tops of the branches grow usually many flowers, consisting of five purplish coloured leaves apiece, with some threads in their middles: these decaying, under them grow up red dry berries without any pulp or juice, each of them containing four triangular seeds. Clusius found this flowering in June upon the tops of the Austrian Alps, and he questions whether it were not this which Bellonius found in the mountains of Candy, and called Agriomælea, lib. 1. cap. 17. This is not used in physic, nor the faculties thereof known.

CHAP. 16. Of Tamarind.

The Description.

Tamarinds, which at this day are a medicine frequently used, and vulgarly known in shops, were not known to the ancient Greeks, but to some of the later, as Actuarius, and that by the name of Oxyphœnicæ, that is, sour dates, drawn as it may seem from the Arabic appellation, Tamarindi, that is, Indian Date: but this name is unproper, neither tree nor fruit being of any affinity with the Date, unless the Arabic Tamar be a word used in composition for fruits of many kinds, as the Greek melon, the Latin malum, and apple with us in English; for we call the cone of the Pine, and excrescence of the Oak leaf, by the name of Pine apple, and Oak apple. But howsoever it be, it is no matter for the name, whether it be proper or no, if so be that it serve to distinguish the thing from others, and we know what is denoted by it. In Malabar they call it Puti: in Gujerat, Amibili, by which name it is known in most parts of the East Indies. This tree is thus described by Prosper Alpinus, De Plant. Ægypt. Cap. 10. The Tamarind (saith he) is a tree of the bigness of a Plum tree, with many boughs and leaves like those of the Myrtle, many standing upon one rib, one against another, with a single one at the end: it carrieth white flowers very like those of the Orange tree: out of whose middle comes forth some white and very slender threads: after these come thick and large cods, at first green, but when they are ripe of an ash colour; and within these are contained thick, hard, brownish, cornered seeds, and a black acid pulp. These trees grow in some few gardens of Egypt, whither they have been brought out of Arabia and Ethiopia. This plant hath this strange quality that the leaves always follow the sun, and when it sets they all contract themselves, and open out themselves again at the rising thereof; and there is observed to be such force in this motion, that they closely shut up and hold their cods (if any be on the tree) and then at the rising of the sun they forgo them again. But I have observed this folding up of the leaves to be common to divers other Egyptian plants, as Acacia, Abrus, Absus, and Sesban. Thus much out of Alpinus.

The figure I here give in the first place out of Lobel, is of a plant some six months old, arisen of a seed, and such sowing of seeds I have seen growing in the garden of my deceased friend Mr Tuggy, but they still died at the first approch of winter. The other figure expresses the cods, and some of the seeds apart, taken forth of the cods: now the cods are never brought whole to us, but the outer rinds are taken off, and the strings or nerves that run alongst the cods: the pulp and seeds in it are close thrust together and so are brought to us in pots and such like vessels.

The Temperature and Virtues.

A. The fruit or pulp of Tamarinds is cold and dry in the third degree: it is of good use in choleric diseases as burning fevers, tertians, and the like: it is a lenitive and very gently purging medicine and theerefore used to be put into medicines serving to that purpose.

B. They use (saith Alpinus) the leaves of Tamarinds to kill worms, in young children; and also their infusion or decoction to loosen the belly: the leaves are acid, and not unpleasant unto the taste.

C. The Arabians preserve the small and yet green cods of this tree, as also the ripe ones, either with sugar, or the honey boiled out of the fruit of the Carob tree: they also mix the pulp with sugar, which travellers carry with them in their journeys through the desert places of Africa, wherewith they being dry or overheated, may quench their thirst, cool and refresh theinselves, and also evacuate many hot humours by stool.

D. In pestilent and all other burning putrid fevers they drink the water with sugar wherein a good quantity of Tamarinds have been infused; for it is a drink very pleasant to such as are thirsty by reason of too much heat, for it powerfully cools and quenches thirst.

E. They are also used in all putrid fevers caused by choleric and adust humours, and also against the hot distempers and inflammations of the liver and reins, and withal against the gonorrhœa.

F. Some also commend them against obstructions, the dropsy, jaundice, and the hot distempers of the spleen: they conduce also to the cure of the itch, scab, leprosy, tetters, and all such ulcerations of the skin which proceed of adust humours.

G. They are not good for such as have cold stomachs, unless their coldness be corrected by putting to them mace, anise seeds, Squinanth, or such like.