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Year of Publication: 1931, Vol. 05 (07-08) (The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements)
Date Published
03 June 1931
Holttum, R. E.
On Periodic Leaf-change and Flowering of trees in Singapore [Page 173 - 206]
On Periodic Leaf-change and Flowering of trees in Singapore [Page 173 - 206]
Abstract:
1. An account is given of the behaviour as regards leaf change of a number of deciduous trees in the very iniform climate of Singapore, and also of the flowering of a few species of evergreen trees. Some climate data are given. 2. Trees of a number of deciduous species change their leaves annually, usually at the change of season about February; a few change their leaves in August. 3. Trees of four species have been observed to change their leaves twice a year, usually in February and August. 4. Trees of a number of other species each change their leaves at approximately constant intervals not of six or twelve months and almost independently of climate conditions ; there is variation from tree to tree even in the same species. 5. Trees of a few species have shown very irregular periods. In particular, trees of Hevea braziliensis are very uncertain in their behaviour. 6. The idea of senescence of leaves of deciduous trees is suggested as an explanation of the approximate constancy of period of deciduous trees in a relatively uniform climate; but even small climate change probably have some influence, the susceptibility to such changes varying with different tree species. The periodicity of deciduous trees is a result of the interaction of internal and external factors which differ slightly with every individual. 7. Some evidence of the dependence of fruit trees and other evergreen trees on dry seasons for flowering is given; and an account of the periodic flowering of certain species.
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1. An account is given of the behaviour as regards leaf change of a number of deciduous trees in the very iniform climate of Singapore, and also of the flowering of a few species of evergreen trees. Some climate data are given. 2. Trees of a number of deciduous species change their leaves annually, usually at the change of season about February; a few change their leaves in August. 3. Trees of four species have been observed to change their leaves twice a year, usually in February and August. 4. Trees of a number of other species each change their leaves at approximately constant intervals not of six or twelve months and almost independently of climate conditions ; there is variation from tree to tree even in the same species. 5. Trees of a few species have shown very irregular periods. In particular, trees of Hevea braziliensis are very uncertain in their behaviour. 6. The idea of senescence of leaves of deciduous trees is suggested as an explanation of the approximate constancy of period of deciduous trees in a relatively uniform climate; but even small climate change probably have some influence, the susceptibility to such changes varying with different tree species. The periodicity of deciduous trees is a result of the interaction of internal and external factors which differ slightly with every individual. 7. Some evidence of the dependence of fruit trees and other evergreen trees on dry seasons for flowering is given; and an account of the periodic flowering of certain species.
Holttum, R. E.
Aspidium Maingayi (Baker) Holttum, comb. nov., [Page 207 - 211]
Aspidium Maingayi (Baker) Holttum, comb. nov., [Page 207 - 211]
Abstract:
There is a terrestrial Aspidium which is not uncommon in the natural forest remaining on Singapore Island, which has received at different times four specific names. It has also been confused with Aspidium vastum Bl., on account of its winged rachis (Beddome, Handboook, Suppl. p. 85). The synonymy is as follows :- Polypodium heterosorum Baker, Syn. Fil. 2nd. Ed. p. 506 (1874), Gymnogramme Maingayi Baker, Syn. Fil. 2nd. Ed. p. 517 (1874), Dictyopteris heterosora Beddome, F.B.I. Suppl. 20 (1876), Selliguea Maingayi Bedd. F.B.I. Suppl. 24 (1876), Phegopteris subdecurrens Luerrs, Bot. Centralbl. 11, 30 (1882), Aspidium decurrens C.Chr., Ind. Fil. p. 94 (1905), Polypodium Maingayi Diels, Nat. Pfl. 1. 4. p. 318 (1899), Hemionitis Maingayi Ridley, Journ. Malayan Branch R. Asiatic Soc. p. 106 (1926), Campylogramme Trollii Goebel, Flora, N.F. 25, p. 282 (1931). The name heterosorum in the genus Aspidium is already occupied by a species on p. 504 of the Synopsis Filicium; the next name in order of priority is therefore Maingayi. I have seen at Kew the type specimens concerned of Baker and Ridley; at Singapore are specimens which are declared by Dr. Carl Christensen to be identical with the type of Phegopteris subdecurrens (see this Bulltein vol. IV p. 393). From the photographs of Campylogramme Trollii I have no doubt that it also is to be referred to the same species. Aspidium Bryanti Copeland from the Philippines is evidently closely allied.
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There is a terrestrial Aspidium which is not uncommon in the natural forest remaining on Singapore Island, which has received at different times four specific names. It has also been confused with Aspidium vastum Bl., on account of its winged rachis (Beddome, Handboook, Suppl. p. 85). The synonymy is as follows :- Polypodium heterosorum Baker, Syn. Fil. 2nd. Ed. p. 506 (1874), Gymnogramme Maingayi Baker, Syn. Fil. 2nd. Ed. p. 517 (1874), Dictyopteris heterosora Beddome, F.B.I. Suppl. 20 (1876), Selliguea Maingayi Bedd. F.B.I. Suppl. 24 (1876), Phegopteris subdecurrens Luerrs, Bot. Centralbl. 11, 30 (1882), Aspidium decurrens C.Chr., Ind. Fil. p. 94 (1905), Polypodium Maingayi Diels, Nat. Pfl. 1. 4. p. 318 (1899), Hemionitis Maingayi Ridley, Journ. Malayan Branch R. Asiatic Soc. p. 106 (1926), Campylogramme Trollii Goebel, Flora, N.F. 25, p. 282 (1931). The name heterosorum in the genus Aspidium is already occupied by a species on p. 504 of the Synopsis Filicium; the next name in order of priority is therefore Maingayi. I have seen at Kew the type specimens concerned of Baker and Ridley; at Singapore are specimens which are declared by Dr. Carl Christensen to be identical with the type of Phegopteris subdecurrens (see this Bulltein vol. IV p. 393). From the photographs of Campylogramme Trollii I have no doubt that it also is to be referred to the same species. Aspidium Bryanti Copeland from the Philippines is evidently closely allied.
Burkill, I. H.
An Enumeration of the species of Paramignya, Atalantia and Citrus, found in Malaya [Page 212 - 223]
An Enumeration of the species of Paramignya, Atalantia and Citrus, found in Malaya [Page 212 - 223]
Abstract:
At the present time botanists are unable to agree upon a scheme of classification for the genera of the Aurantieae or Citratae on account of insufficient information regarding most of the species; and very divergent views have been put forward. Swingle, for instance wishes to insert between the genera long recognised, "microgenera" with a narrowness which offends my conception of what a genus is: Guillaumin, on the other hand, has proposed the union of Paramignya and Atalantia. I propose here to add a little information to the common stock ; and to define afresh Paramignya and Atalantia by the aid of their fruits. The type-species of Atalantia is A. spinosa, Koorders, though in generic name dates from a paper published by Correa in 1805. The type-species of Paramignya is P. monophylla, Wight, in 1838. At first, that is to say by Wight, Paramignya was distinguished from Atalantia by the position of the two ovules, one higher than the other in the first case, both at a level in the second, and by the disunion of the filaments in the first and their union in the second. When the addition of further species to each genus, these characters seemed to break down, botanists put forward as an alternative the condition of the disc, a simple gynophore in the first, a ring or cup in the second, and added that the anthers in the first show a somewhat greater elongation than in the second. Then Guillaumin (in Lecompte, Not. Syst., 1, 1910, p. 175) pointed out that when a sufficient series of species is reviewed, the gradation from the one condition to the other makes it impossible to draw a line between the two genera. He characterised his combined genus Atalantia by, interalia, the possession of fruits containing pulp-cells such as the oranges have. But had his material been more ample, he would have found no pulp-cells in several of his species including that upon which Wight founded the genus Paramignya; and he might have observed in the Malayan species which are without pulp-cells, bulkier seed than in the others. I propose to keep the name Paramignya for the species which are without pulp-cells, and Atalantia for those with pulp-cells. Atalantia thus lies next to Citrus: and Paramignya shares with some other genera more remote from Citrus, the character of pouring into its loculi from glands in the walls a small amount of a volatile oil. Pulp-cells probably originated as water-storage tissue for the use of the growing ovules. A second stage in their evolution was entered on at once, for, pari passu, they commenced to store food-substances also. Man then selected the Citrus fruits with most stored substance, especially sugars. In this way the best of the newer species were created as cultigens which are placed towards and at the end of the enumeration which I give. The pulp-cells of some of the species contain volatile oil. The origin and function there need study, in which it must be remembeed that the aromatic oils undergo change in Citrus fruits during ripening. Botanists who are able to examine the fruits of Paramignya and Atalantia in life should seize any opportunity of studying them.
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At the present time botanists are unable to agree upon a scheme of classification for the genera of the Aurantieae or Citratae on account of insufficient information regarding most of the species; and very divergent views have been put forward. Swingle, for instance wishes to insert between the genera long recognised, "microgenera" with a narrowness which offends my conception of what a genus is: Guillaumin, on the other hand, has proposed the union of Paramignya and Atalantia. I propose here to add a little information to the common stock ; and to define afresh Paramignya and Atalantia by the aid of their fruits. The type-species of Atalantia is A. spinosa, Koorders, though in generic name dates from a paper published by Correa in 1805. The type-species of Paramignya is P. monophylla, Wight, in 1838. At first, that is to say by Wight, Paramignya was distinguished from Atalantia by the position of the two ovules, one higher than the other in the first case, both at a level in the second, and by the disunion of the filaments in the first and their union in the second. When the addition of further species to each genus, these characters seemed to break down, botanists put forward as an alternative the condition of the disc, a simple gynophore in the first, a ring or cup in the second, and added that the anthers in the first show a somewhat greater elongation than in the second. Then Guillaumin (in Lecompte, Not. Syst., 1, 1910, p. 175) pointed out that when a sufficient series of species is reviewed, the gradation from the one condition to the other makes it impossible to draw a line between the two genera. He characterised his combined genus Atalantia by, interalia, the possession of fruits containing pulp-cells such as the oranges have. But had his material been more ample, he would have found no pulp-cells in several of his species including that upon which Wight founded the genus Paramignya; and he might have observed in the Malayan species which are without pulp-cells, bulkier seed than in the others. I propose to keep the name Paramignya for the species which are without pulp-cells, and Atalantia for those with pulp-cells. Atalantia thus lies next to Citrus: and Paramignya shares with some other genera more remote from Citrus, the character of pouring into its loculi from glands in the walls a small amount of a volatile oil. Pulp-cells probably originated as water-storage tissue for the use of the growing ovules. A second stage in their evolution was entered on at once, for, pari passu, they commenced to store food-substances also. Man then selected the Citrus fruits with most stored substance, especially sugars. In this way the best of the newer species were created as cultigens which are placed towards and at the end of the enumeration which I give. The pulp-cells of some of the species contain volatile oil. The origin and function there need study, in which it must be remembeed that the aromatic oils undergo change in Citrus fruits during ripening. Botanists who are able to examine the fruits of Paramignya and Atalantia in life should seize any opportunity of studying them.
Burkill, I. H.
Notes on Gluta in Malaya [Page 224 - 230]
Notes on Gluta in Malaya [Page 224 - 230]
Abstract:
These notes are the result of being favoured with the loan of the specimens of the genus Gluta preserved in the herbaria of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, and of the Forest department, S.S. and F.M.S., in order that I might examine them alongside the material preserved in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. There are seven species involved.
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These notes are the result of being favoured with the loan of the specimens of the genus Gluta preserved in the herbaria of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, and of the Forest department, S.S. and F.M.S., in order that I might examine them alongside the material preserved in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. There are seven species involved.
Burkill, I. H.
Herpestris Monniera, H.B. And K., as pa-chi-t'ien [Page 231 - 231]
Herpestris Monniera, H.B. And K., as pa-chi-t'ien [Page 231 - 231]
Abstract:
No abstract
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Burkill, I. H.
Erythropsis colorata, Burkill, comb. Nov., [Page 231 - 231]
Erythropsis colorata, Burkill, comb. Nov., [Page 231 - 231]
Abstract:
No abstract
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Smith, J. J.
Vanda x Boumaniae, J.J.S., [Page 232 - 233]
Vanda x Boumaniae, J.J.S., [Page 232 - 233]
Abstract:
On a tour in the Malay Archipelago Mr. J. Laycock noticed in the orchid collection of Mr. And Mrs. Bouman, then residing in Alor, one of the lesser Sunda islands, two specimens of a Vanda which he looked upon as a natural hybrid between V. insignis, Bl., and V. limbata, both of whcih occur on the said island. Mr. Laycock took back one of the specimens to Singapore and very kindly sent me a few pickled flowers, a dried leaf and tinted photographs. After having examined the material I think he is quite right although I did not see a specimen and consequently am not in a position to judge how far the plant differs in habit from the parents, which in this respect show distinct characteristics. Mr. Laycock, however, writes: "This is almost exactly intermediate between typical V. insignis and the form V. limbata from the Lesser Sunda Island." The flower show much likeness with V. limbata, but especially in the shape of the lip suggests the influence of V. insignis. The sidelobes are broader and just as in V. insignis more quadrate, the spur is much blunter than in V. limbata, whereas the pandurate midlobe, in contradistinction to V. limbata is considerbly widened in front and distinctly crenate as is the case in V. insignis ; the anterior margin is slightly recurved.
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On a tour in the Malay Archipelago Mr. J. Laycock noticed in the orchid collection of Mr. And Mrs. Bouman, then residing in Alor, one of the lesser Sunda islands, two specimens of a Vanda which he looked upon as a natural hybrid between V. insignis, Bl., and V. limbata, both of whcih occur on the said island. Mr. Laycock took back one of the specimens to Singapore and very kindly sent me a few pickled flowers, a dried leaf and tinted photographs. After having examined the material I think he is quite right although I did not see a specimen and consequently am not in a position to judge how far the plant differs in habit from the parents, which in this respect show distinct characteristics. Mr. Laycock, however, writes: "This is almost exactly intermediate between typical V. insignis and the form V. limbata from the Lesser Sunda Island." The flower show much likeness with V. limbata, but especially in the shape of the lip suggests the influence of V. insignis. The sidelobes are broader and just as in V. insignis more quadrate, the spur is much blunter than in V. limbata, whereas the pandurate midlobe, in contradistinction to V. limbata is considerbly widened in front and distinctly crenate as is the case in V. insignis ; the anterior margin is slightly recurved.
Henderson, M. R.
The "Padang" Flora of Jemaja, in the Anamba Islands, N.E.I., [Page 234 - 240]
The "Padang" Flora of Jemaja, in the Anamba Islands, N.E.I., [Page 234 - 240]
Abstract:
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Henderson, M. R.
Halophila spinulosa (R. Br.) Aschers., [Page 240 - 240]
Halophila spinulosa (R. Br.) Aschers., [Page 240 - 240]
Abstract:
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Rainfall, Singapore for 1930
Rainfall, Singapore for 1930 [Page 241 - 241]
Rainfall, Singapore for 1930 [Page 241 - 241]
Abstract:
No abstract
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Year of Publication: 1930, Vol. 06 (11 -15) (The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements)
Date Published
October 1930
Translated by Inche' Ismail, Munshi. Edited by J. D. Gimlette and Determinations by I. H. Burkill
The Medical Book Of Malayan Medicine [Page 323 - 421]
The Medical Book Of Malayan Medicine [Page 323 - 421]
Abstract:
Two years ago our attention was called to a manuscript in the possession of the Pharmaceutical Society in Britain, headed ' This is the Medical Book of Malayan Medicine', and endorsed above the heading 'Translated by Inche' Ismael.Moonshee'. By the great kindness of the Society we are permitted to publish a revision of it, as below. We return our most sincere thanks for this favour. The history of the translation has been lost. It is written upon blue lined foolscap in a handwriting presumedly that of the munshi or teacher of languages, Ismail; and the names of the drugs are repeated in the margin in another handwriting. We reproduce a few lines from p. 16 in illustration (see next page), being parts of the prescriptions which we have numbered 67, 68, and 69 (on pp. 338 - 339 below). In the margin of the first pages there are also pencil comments, written apparently by the writer of the endorsement above the heading. We believe him to have been a British officer employed in Malaya, and the munshi to have prepaed the translation under his instructions; but we have not succeeded in identifying him by his handwriting. It is possuble that the translation formed part of the collections made in the Straits for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886 ; but this is a surprise only. The prescriptions which we have numbered 246 to 260 (pp. 369 - 370) were published by Sir William Maxwell in 1887 (Journ. Roy. As. Soc. Straits Branch, 17 ; Notes and Queries, No. 4. p. 116). He does not indicate from what source he took them, and he ends with an appropriate doxology, absent from the munshi's translation. One of us (J. D. G.) has used prescription 99 (Malay Poisons and Charm Cures, 3rd. London, 1929, p. 21). The rest of the manuscript appears in print here for the first time. Owing to its grossness we have had to purge it in places; and we have had to remove many conspicuous mistakes made by the munshi, whose knowledge was inadequate for his task. Fortunately his presumed employer required transliterated Malay to be inserted freely, and this has exposed the mistakes. One of us (J. D. G.) accepts enitre responsibility for all statements of diagnosis of disease, and the other (L. H. B.) for the determinations of the materia medica. We have found it necessary to append a glossary, and have so arranged it that it serves also an index. We have modernized the spelling of the transliterated Malay. The manuscript from which the translation was made, as is evident from the nature of some of the munshi's mistakes, was written in arabic characters. Probably it was so valued by its owner that he would not part with it, though he consented to allow translation. It bears the marks of being a compilation of notes of different dates. The writer, for instance, after a conversation with a brother-practitioner upon the treatment of burns, added prescriptions 421, 422, and 423 upon the use sial menaun, which then entered into his pharmacopoeia: and in a similar way he seems in general to have preceeded ; but in the earlier part of the book, he absorbed into a larger blocks of matter at one time than he did later. Still the whole is of the nature of notes, never collated nor revised, so that little order is perceptible in the arrangement of the diseases, and the drugs are called by different names in different prescriptions. As notes for the owner's own use, it is quite possible that there was an intentional obscurity, for the Malay practitioners are in general anxious to keep their information to themselves as compounders of proprietary medicines. Sometimes he has defeated us. It is easily observed that the Medical Book is not homogeneous : it changes as it progresses from a polypharmacy suggestive of the town to the relative simplicity of Malay Village Medicine (cf. the preceding part, vol. vi, pp. 163 - 321 of the Gardens' Bulletin). This may be illustrated by a table giving the average number of materia entering into the prescriptions in different parts of it : Prescriptions 1 to 100 - 4.03 drugs, 101 to 200 - 3.90 drugs, 201 to 300 - 3.90 drugs, 301 to 400 - 2.7 drugs. 401 to 500 - 2.41 drugs, 501 to 600 - 2.23 drugs. Where, at 326, the translator ceased to give his headings of sections in Malay, the simplicity is markedly increased, as if the compiler, when his notes had reached that number, had come into contact with a different class of practitioners. The plant-names used are markedly polyglot: some are arabic: many are words which merchants from Bombay would use ; a few are employed in south-eastern India: others again are commonly heard in Batavia, or are Sundanese, and one is Balinese. Some of the diseases do not bear the ordinary names as used on the Peninsula, and suggest that this treatise is by no means pure Malay medicine. If then the whole work be regarded as a compilation of notes added from time to time, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the compiler lived in a port where men of various nationalities mix: and because several of the simples used in a fresh state are more easily procured in Penang than Singapore, and, moreover, because the weights used suggest Penang, we believe the compiler a resident in that port. His extensive use of such materia medica as are stocked in shops, marks him a town-dweller, and either the owner of a drug-shop or intimate with the drug-shops by his home. His devotion to polypharmacy culminates in prescription 289 (p. 376) for Small-pox, with twenty-nine ingredients. William Marsden, in his History of Sumatra (1783 - 1811), left a very interesting account of Medicine among Sumatran Malays ; but the Medical Book carries us beyond his outlines. Marsden dwelt upon the art of those among whom he lived, in the internal administration of juices extracted from various plants, the employment of leaves as external poultices, acids, arsenic, and of gunpowder for skin lesions ; counter-irritation with hot-leaves ; the induction of sweating by curious methods ; cures for fever ; uses of long pepper, lime, gelenggang, & c. The medical Book adds fanciful remedies, ranging from burnt cockroaches to fried fish-heads ; cures by suggestion ; the boastfulness of the bomor, his magic, and his wide acquaintance with medical products found in somewhat remote places, and evidence of the strictness of his prohibitions (pantang). In contradistinction to our "night and morning", the signature of his prescriptions runs : 'let him (the patient) take this morning and evening,'and again his invocation or inscription comes at the end of his prescriptions : 'and let him (the patient) be relieved.' The Malay bomor, as a Mohamedan, being forbidden the use of alcohol, cannot make tinctures : and alcohol, in the form of rice-spirit (arrack), is mentioned once only in the Medical Book, in 308 (p. 380) for retension of urine. Some light is thrown by the Medical Book upon native surgery. Much of it is devoted to diseases peculiar to women. There is no special mention of Cholera asiatica. Among the drugs of the Book those prescribed for the cracked tongue of Sprue (196) might repay investigation. We have had the good fortune to obtain help from Sir W. George Maxwell, K.B.E., C.M.G., Mr. H.W. Thomson, C.M.G., Mr. C. Otto Blagden, D. Litt., Mr. W.W. Skeat, M.A., Mr. A.T. Bryant, and Mr. A.F.Worthington, and tender our very sincere thanks to them. We thank also Mr. R.E.Holttum, Director of Gardens, Straits Settlements, Mr. C. Boden Kloss, Director of Museums and Mr. J.B.Scrivenor, Director of the Geological Survey, Federated Malay States, for making several inquiries for us.
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Two years ago our attention was called to a manuscript in the possession of the Pharmaceutical Society in Britain, headed ' This is the Medical Book of Malayan Medicine', and endorsed above the heading 'Translated by Inche' Ismael.Moonshee'. By the great kindness of the Society we are permitted to publish a revision of it, as below. We return our most sincere thanks for this favour. The history of the translation has been lost. It is written upon blue lined foolscap in a handwriting presumedly that of the munshi or teacher of languages, Ismail; and the names of the drugs are repeated in the margin in another handwriting. We reproduce a few lines from p. 16 in illustration (see next page), being parts of the prescriptions which we have numbered 67, 68, and 69 (on pp. 338 - 339 below). In the margin of the first pages there are also pencil comments, written apparently by the writer of the endorsement above the heading. We believe him to have been a British officer employed in Malaya, and the munshi to have prepaed the translation under his instructions; but we have not succeeded in identifying him by his handwriting. It is possuble that the translation formed part of the collections made in the Straits for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886 ; but this is a surprise only. The prescriptions which we have numbered 246 to 260 (pp. 369 - 370) were published by Sir William Maxwell in 1887 (Journ. Roy. As. Soc. Straits Branch, 17 ; Notes and Queries, No. 4. p. 116). He does not indicate from what source he took them, and he ends with an appropriate doxology, absent from the munshi's translation. One of us (J. D. G.) has used prescription 99 (Malay Poisons and Charm Cures, 3rd. London, 1929, p. 21). The rest of the manuscript appears in print here for the first time. Owing to its grossness we have had to purge it in places; and we have had to remove many conspicuous mistakes made by the munshi, whose knowledge was inadequate for his task. Fortunately his presumed employer required transliterated Malay to be inserted freely, and this has exposed the mistakes. One of us (J. D. G.) accepts enitre responsibility for all statements of diagnosis of disease, and the other (L. H. B.) for the determinations of the materia medica. We have found it necessary to append a glossary, and have so arranged it that it serves also an index. We have modernized the spelling of the transliterated Malay. The manuscript from which the translation was made, as is evident from the nature of some of the munshi's mistakes, was written in arabic characters. Probably it was so valued by its owner that he would not part with it, though he consented to allow translation. It bears the marks of being a compilation of notes of different dates. The writer, for instance, after a conversation with a brother-practitioner upon the treatment of burns, added prescriptions 421, 422, and 423 upon the use sial menaun, which then entered into his pharmacopoeia: and in a similar way he seems in general to have preceeded ; but in the earlier part of the book, he absorbed into a larger blocks of matter at one time than he did later. Still the whole is of the nature of notes, never collated nor revised, so that little order is perceptible in the arrangement of the diseases, and the drugs are called by different names in different prescriptions. As notes for the owner's own use, it is quite possible that there was an intentional obscurity, for the Malay practitioners are in general anxious to keep their information to themselves as compounders of proprietary medicines. Sometimes he has defeated us. It is easily observed that the Medical Book is not homogeneous : it changes as it progresses from a polypharmacy suggestive of the town to the relative simplicity of Malay Village Medicine (cf. the preceding part, vol. vi, pp. 163 - 321 of the Gardens' Bulletin). This may be illustrated by a table giving the average number of materia entering into the prescriptions in different parts of it : Prescriptions 1 to 100 - 4.03 drugs, 101 to 200 - 3.90 drugs, 201 to 300 - 3.90 drugs, 301 to 400 - 2.7 drugs. 401 to 500 - 2.41 drugs, 501 to 600 - 2.23 drugs. Where, at 326, the translator ceased to give his headings of sections in Malay, the simplicity is markedly increased, as if the compiler, when his notes had reached that number, had come into contact with a different class of practitioners. The plant-names used are markedly polyglot: some are arabic: many are words which merchants from Bombay would use ; a few are employed in south-eastern India: others again are commonly heard in Batavia, or are Sundanese, and one is Balinese. Some of the diseases do not bear the ordinary names as used on the Peninsula, and suggest that this treatise is by no means pure Malay medicine. If then the whole work be regarded as a compilation of notes added from time to time, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the compiler lived in a port where men of various nationalities mix: and because several of the simples used in a fresh state are more easily procured in Penang than Singapore, and, moreover, because the weights used suggest Penang, we believe the compiler a resident in that port. His extensive use of such materia medica as are stocked in shops, marks him a town-dweller, and either the owner of a drug-shop or intimate with the drug-shops by his home. His devotion to polypharmacy culminates in prescription 289 (p. 376) for Small-pox, with twenty-nine ingredients. William Marsden, in his History of Sumatra (1783 - 1811), left a very interesting account of Medicine among Sumatran Malays ; but the Medical Book carries us beyond his outlines. Marsden dwelt upon the art of those among whom he lived, in the internal administration of juices extracted from various plants, the employment of leaves as external poultices, acids, arsenic, and of gunpowder for skin lesions ; counter-irritation with hot-leaves ; the induction of sweating by curious methods ; cures for fever ; uses of long pepper, lime, gelenggang, & c. The medical Book adds fanciful remedies, ranging from burnt cockroaches to fried fish-heads ; cures by suggestion ; the boastfulness of the bomor, his magic, and his wide acquaintance with medical products found in somewhat remote places, and evidence of the strictness of his prohibitions (pantang). In contradistinction to our "night and morning", the signature of his prescriptions runs : 'let him (the patient) take this morning and evening,'and again his invocation or inscription comes at the end of his prescriptions : 'and let him (the patient) be relieved.' The Malay bomor, as a Mohamedan, being forbidden the use of alcohol, cannot make tinctures : and alcohol, in the form of rice-spirit (arrack), is mentioned once only in the Medical Book, in 308 (p. 380) for retension of urine. Some light is thrown by the Medical Book upon native surgery. Much of it is devoted to diseases peculiar to women. There is no special mention of Cholera asiatica. Among the drugs of the Book those prescribed for the cracked tongue of Sprue (196) might repay investigation. We have had the good fortune to obtain help from Sir W. George Maxwell, K.B.E., C.M.G., Mr. H.W. Thomson, C.M.G., Mr. C. Otto Blagden, D. Litt., Mr. W.W. Skeat, M.A., Mr. A.T. Bryant, and Mr. A.F.Worthington, and tender our very sincere thanks to them. We thank also Mr. R.E.Holttum, Director of Gardens, Straits Settlements, Mr. C. Boden Kloss, Director of Museums and Mr. J.B.Scrivenor, Director of the Geological Survey, Federated Malay States, for making several inquiries for us.
Glossary and Index
Glossary and Index [Page 422 - 473]
Glossary and Index [Page 422 - 473]
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Year of Publication: 1930, Vol. 05 (03-06) (The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements)
Date Published
June 1930
Prain, D. and Burkill, I. H.
On Dioscorea gibbiflora, Hook. fil., [Page 51 - 57]
On Dioscorea gibbiflora, Hook. fil., [Page 51 - 57]
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Holttum, R. E.
The genus Lindsaya in the Malay Peninsula [Page 58 - 71]
The genus Lindsaya in the Malay Peninsula [Page 58 - 71]
Abstract:
The genus Lindsaya as here arranged is represented in the Malay Peninsula by 18 species, two of which are now described as new. A few of them, especially those confined to the mountains, are not yet adequately known, and it is possible that further study in the field will reveal a few more distinct species. In this genus it is not infrequent for plants immature as regards size to bear fertile pinnae; thus, in many species simply pinnate fronds on young plants may be fertile, while more mature plants may bear bipinnate fronds, the leaflets in the two cases being sometimes rather different. It is therefore important, in all cases, to have ample material, in order that the full range of habit of a species may be known. Observation in the field is also essential; most species have a quite definite habitat, especially those which grow by the sides of streams and rivers. The Lindsayas of the Peninsula have hitherto been very conservatively treated, especially the species allied to L. decomposita. In the past, only two species of this affinity have been recognised. L. decomposita and L. davallioides. It is clear however from examination of copious material that several species may be distinguished, two of them with veins usually free (thus breaking down the distinction of the subgenus Synaphlebium). The species L. decomposita has been credited with a distribution throughout tropical Asia, Australia, and Polynesia; I think it highly probable however that no one type persists throughout this range, and that further study will show that many local species exist, such as those here recognised. This raises the question of what constitutes a species. It is clear that among ferns all species have not the same status; some are much more comprehensive than others. The tendency is to divide the species more minutely as more material is available for study, and in many groups such subdivision rests on a basis of genuine natural distinction. In other groups, at least in the Malay Peninsula, a clear distinction does not seem possible, even with ample material; an example of this is the group of Dryopteris crassifolia. In such cases more intensive field study will doubtless give more information, but I am doubtful whether a final distinction will always be possible by methods of observation alone. It is at least certain that in such groups the description of new species based on isolated herbarium specimens is quite useless. The species allied to L. decomposita seem to be on the whole sufficiently distinct, except for the mountain plant L. subalpina. The other large group of species within the genus, that of L. scandens, L. pectinata and L. repens is much less clearly resolvable, and I am by no means satisfied with the present arrangement, especially as regards L. pectinata. In the discrimination of closely allied species in this genus, the rhizome scales, which in other genera are often very characteristic, afford little assistance. These scales are of a very uniform nature throughout the genus, differing chiefly in size, in relative width and in depth of colour; the scales of L. plumula and L. scandens, for example, are quite different, but between closely allied species no distinction can be found. The Lindsayas are nearly all plants of the full shade of mature forest. The only exceptions to this in the Peninsula are the clearly xerophytic montane species L. rigida, L. plumula, and probably the plant here named L. cultrata var. parvula. No lowland species grow in open sunny places, and all except the climbing forms of L. scandens are terrestrial. The following grow beside shady river banks, and appear rarely to be found elsewhere: L. lobbiana, L. orbiculata, L. integra. I am indebted to the Director of the Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg, for the loan of numerous specimens from the Buitenzorg herbarium, including the types of several species. The following key is not altogether satisfactory, as in many cases the distinctions between species, though clear enough to the eye, are not easy to summarise in a short sentence. I believe however that it will serve in most cases, though it may not cover ervery individual plant.
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The genus Lindsaya as here arranged is represented in the Malay Peninsula by 18 species, two of which are now described as new. A few of them, especially those confined to the mountains, are not yet adequately known, and it is possible that further study in the field will reveal a few more distinct species. In this genus it is not infrequent for plants immature as regards size to bear fertile pinnae; thus, in many species simply pinnate fronds on young plants may be fertile, while more mature plants may bear bipinnate fronds, the leaflets in the two cases being sometimes rather different. It is therefore important, in all cases, to have ample material, in order that the full range of habit of a species may be known. Observation in the field is also essential; most species have a quite definite habitat, especially those which grow by the sides of streams and rivers. The Lindsayas of the Peninsula have hitherto been very conservatively treated, especially the species allied to L. decomposita. In the past, only two species of this affinity have been recognised. L. decomposita and L. davallioides. It is clear however from examination of copious material that several species may be distinguished, two of them with veins usually free (thus breaking down the distinction of the subgenus Synaphlebium). The species L. decomposita has been credited with a distribution throughout tropical Asia, Australia, and Polynesia; I think it highly probable however that no one type persists throughout this range, and that further study will show that many local species exist, such as those here recognised. This raises the question of what constitutes a species. It is clear that among ferns all species have not the same status; some are much more comprehensive than others. The tendency is to divide the species more minutely as more material is available for study, and in many groups such subdivision rests on a basis of genuine natural distinction. In other groups, at least in the Malay Peninsula, a clear distinction does not seem possible, even with ample material; an example of this is the group of Dryopteris crassifolia. In such cases more intensive field study will doubtless give more information, but I am doubtful whether a final distinction will always be possible by methods of observation alone. It is at least certain that in such groups the description of new species based on isolated herbarium specimens is quite useless. The species allied to L. decomposita seem to be on the whole sufficiently distinct, except for the mountain plant L. subalpina. The other large group of species within the genus, that of L. scandens, L. pectinata and L. repens is much less clearly resolvable, and I am by no means satisfied with the present arrangement, especially as regards L. pectinata. In the discrimination of closely allied species in this genus, the rhizome scales, which in other genera are often very characteristic, afford little assistance. These scales are of a very uniform nature throughout the genus, differing chiefly in size, in relative width and in depth of colour; the scales of L. plumula and L. scandens, for example, are quite different, but between closely allied species no distinction can be found. The Lindsayas are nearly all plants of the full shade of mature forest. The only exceptions to this in the Peninsula are the clearly xerophytic montane species L. rigida, L. plumula, and probably the plant here named L. cultrata var. parvula. No lowland species grow in open sunny places, and all except the climbing forms of L. scandens are terrestrial. The following grow beside shady river banks, and appear rarely to be found elsewhere: L. lobbiana, L. orbiculata, L. integra. I am indebted to the Director of the Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg, for the loan of numerous specimens from the Buitenzorg herbarium, including the types of several species. The following key is not altogether satisfactory, as in many cases the distinctions between species, though clear enough to the eye, are not easy to summarise in a short sentence. I believe however that it will serve in most cases, though it may not cover ervery individual plant.
Henderson, M. R.
New species from the Malay Peninsula [Page 72 - 80]
New species from the Malay Peninsula [Page 72 - 80]
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Henderson, M. R.
Notes on the Flora of Pulau Tioman and Neighbouring Islands [Page 80 - 93]
Notes on the Flora of Pulau Tioman and Neighbouring Islands [Page 80 - 93]
Abstract:
Pulau Tioman and its neighbours have been but little explored from a botanical point of view. Up till the time of the writer's visit, collections had not been made above the thousand foot contour. Of the group of isalnds off the east coast of Johore and Pahang, shown in the accompanying sketch map, collections of plants have been made only on Pulau Tioman and Pulau Tulai, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Aor, and Pulau Dayang. The most interesting is Pulau Tioman, because of its greater elevation above sea-level, and its greater area of untouched forest. All these islands lie in a shallow water, and their flora, as one would expect, is typically Malay Peninsular. Seven plants, however, have, up to the present, not been reported from the Peninsula. All of these, with one exception, are known from Borneo. A list of them is given later. The writer, accompanied by Mr. N. Smedley of Raffles Museum, Singapore, and a party of collectors, spent the period between April 24th. and May 29th., 1927, on Pulau Aor, Pulau Dayang and Pulau Tioman.
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Pulau Tioman and its neighbours have been but little explored from a botanical point of view. Up till the time of the writer's visit, collections had not been made above the thousand foot contour. Of the group of isalnds off the east coast of Johore and Pahang, shown in the accompanying sketch map, collections of plants have been made only on Pulau Tioman and Pulau Tulai, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Aor, and Pulau Dayang. The most interesting is Pulau Tioman, because of its greater elevation above sea-level, and its greater area of untouched forest. All these islands lie in a shallow water, and their flora, as one would expect, is typically Malay Peninsular. Seven plants, however, have, up to the present, not been reported from the Peninsula. All of these, with one exception, are known from Borneo. A list of them is given later. The writer, accompanied by Mr. N. Smedley of Raffles Museum, Singapore, and a party of collectors, spent the period between April 24th. and May 29th., 1927, on Pulau Aor, Pulau Dayang and Pulau Tioman.
Henderson, M. R.
List of additions to the Flora of the Malay Peninsula [Page 93 - 98]
List of additions to the Flora of the Malay Peninsula [Page 93 - 98]
Abstract:
The following list brings together in one convenient place the names of all additions to the Flora of the Malay Peninsula since the publication in 1925 of the last volume of Ridley's "Flora of the Malay Peninsula." The original place of publication of the species is given, with other references where necessary, and an indication is given of the localities from which the plants come. The most important publications dealing with the flora of the Peninsula, and those in which most additions will be found are the Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, the Bulletin of the Botanic Gardens at Buitenzorg in Java ( Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg), and the Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements. Other publications in which additions may from time to time be found are the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Journal of the Federated Malay States Museums, and the Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. It is intended to keep this list up to date by publishing supplementary lists at intervals of about a year.
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The following list brings together in one convenient place the names of all additions to the Flora of the Malay Peninsula since the publication in 1925 of the last volume of Ridley's "Flora of the Malay Peninsula." The original place of publication of the species is given, with other references where necessary, and an indication is given of the localities from which the plants come. The most important publications dealing with the flora of the Peninsula, and those in which most additions will be found are the Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, the Bulletin of the Botanic Gardens at Buitenzorg in Java ( Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg), and the Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements. Other publications in which additions may from time to time be found are the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Journal of the Federated Malay States Museums, and the Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. It is intended to keep this list up to date by publishing supplementary lists at intervals of about a year.
Burkill, I. H.
The Chinese Mustards in the Malay Peninsula [Page 99 - 117]
The Chinese Mustards in the Malay Peninsula [Page 99 - 117]
Abstract:
In order to determine what scientific names ought to be applied to the mustards which the chinese have brought into the Malay Peninsula, I asked Mr. R. E. Holttum, Director of Gardens, Straits Settlements, to get seed for me, and received from him nine samples, obtained in Singapore, followed later by two more, sent to his request from Penang by Mr. F. Flippance. I cultivated the mustards in my own garden ; and also they were grown for me in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. My best thanks are offered to Dr. A. W. Hill, the Director, for his service, as well as to Mr. Holttum and to Mr. Flippance for the seed.
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In order to determine what scientific names ought to be applied to the mustards which the chinese have brought into the Malay Peninsula, I asked Mr. R. E. Holttum, Director of Gardens, Straits Settlements, to get seed for me, and received from him nine samples, obtained in Singapore, followed later by two more, sent to his request from Penang by Mr. F. Flippance. I cultivated the mustards in my own garden ; and also they were grown for me in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. My best thanks are offered to Dr. A. W. Hill, the Director, for his service, as well as to Mr. Holttum and to Mr. Flippance for the seed.
Burkill, I. H.
Cosmos in the East [Page 118 - 120]
Cosmos in the East [Page 118 - 120]
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Burkill, I. H.
Cedrela in the Malay Peninsula [Page 120 - 122]
Cedrela in the Malay Peninsula [Page 120 - 122]
Abstract:
Upon two occasions, and two only, mature Cedrela has been collected in the Malay Peninsula. In January of that year Sir George King's collector, Herman Kunstler, found a fruiting tree (his 10403) in a locality recorded as Ulu Bubong, - an identified valley apparently not far from the village of Kerling in north-eastern Sealngor: and in May, Charles Curtis obtained specimens of a flowering tree (his 826) upon Government Hill, Penang. Kunstler's label states that his tree was 100 ft. high with a trunk 2 - 3 feet in diameter and with spreading branches. It stood in dense mixed forest at 400 - 600 feet above sea-level. Curtis' label gives the locality of his tree as close to the bungalow on Government Hill at 2,500 feet, above sea-level; and the tree was 70 - 80 feet high, very large and spreading. Gamble (Man. Ind. Timbers, 1922, p. 158) records that the average height of trees of a plantation of Cedrela toona in Assam 22 years old was 63 feet ; and as Cedrelas grow fast it is not necessary to allow a greater age than 50 years to those which Kunstler and Curtis found. Both specimens were referred to C. febrifuga, Blume, by King (Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 64 - 2, 1895, p. 89) and Mr. Ridley has followed him (Flora Mal. Penins. 1, 1922, p. 415). But Casimir de Candolle in 1908 determined Curtis 826, ( as represented in the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta - namely be a specimen examined by King) to be C. toona var. pilistaminea (Rec. Bot. Survey, Ind., 3, 1908, p. 366). In the same publication he quoted King as authority for the occurrence of C. febrifuga in Penang; that is to say he advertently called Curtis' specimen by both names. There are four species of Cedrela which so occur in nature that to find them alive in Malaya would not be a matter of surprise. They are :- Cedrela toona, Roxburgh ex Rottler in Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde. Neue Scriften, 4, 1803, p. 198 (little more than the name) and Plantae Coromand., 3, 1819, p. 34. Cedrela sureni : Swietenia sureni, Blume, Cat. Gewassen Buitenzorg, 1828, p. 72 : Cedrela febrifuga, Blume, Bijdrage, 4, 1825, p. 180. Cedrela sinensis, A. L. de Jussieu in Mem. Mus. Paris, 19, 1830, p. 255. Cedrela serrata, Royle, Illustr. Flora Himalaya, 1839, p. 44. pl. 25.
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Upon two occasions, and two only, mature Cedrela has been collected in the Malay Peninsula. In January of that year Sir George King's collector, Herman Kunstler, found a fruiting tree (his 10403) in a locality recorded as Ulu Bubong, - an identified valley apparently not far from the village of Kerling in north-eastern Sealngor: and in May, Charles Curtis obtained specimens of a flowering tree (his 826) upon Government Hill, Penang. Kunstler's label states that his tree was 100 ft. high with a trunk 2 - 3 feet in diameter and with spreading branches. It stood in dense mixed forest at 400 - 600 feet above sea-level. Curtis' label gives the locality of his tree as close to the bungalow on Government Hill at 2,500 feet, above sea-level; and the tree was 70 - 80 feet high, very large and spreading. Gamble (Man. Ind. Timbers, 1922, p. 158) records that the average height of trees of a plantation of Cedrela toona in Assam 22 years old was 63 feet ; and as Cedrelas grow fast it is not necessary to allow a greater age than 50 years to those which Kunstler and Curtis found. Both specimens were referred to C. febrifuga, Blume, by King (Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 64 - 2, 1895, p. 89) and Mr. Ridley has followed him (Flora Mal. Penins. 1, 1922, p. 415). But Casimir de Candolle in 1908 determined Curtis 826, ( as represented in the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta - namely be a specimen examined by King) to be C. toona var. pilistaminea (Rec. Bot. Survey, Ind., 3, 1908, p. 366). In the same publication he quoted King as authority for the occurrence of C. febrifuga in Penang; that is to say he advertently called Curtis' specimen by both names. There are four species of Cedrela which so occur in nature that to find them alive in Malaya would not be a matter of surprise. They are :- Cedrela toona, Roxburgh ex Rottler in Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde. Neue Scriften, 4, 1803, p. 198 (little more than the name) and Plantae Coromand., 3, 1819, p. 34. Cedrela sureni : Swietenia sureni, Blume, Cat. Gewassen Buitenzorg, 1828, p. 72 : Cedrela febrifuga, Blume, Bijdrage, 4, 1825, p. 180. Cedrela sinensis, A. L. de Jussieu in Mem. Mus. Paris, 19, 1830, p. 255. Cedrela serrata, Royle, Illustr. Flora Himalaya, 1839, p. 44. pl. 25.
Carr, C. E.
Some Malayan Orchids II (with an index and 4 plates) [Page 124 - 160]
Some Malayan Orchids II (with an index and 4 plates) [Page 124 - 160]
Abstract:
The plants included in the present paper were collected on Gunong Tahan and on the Tahan and Teku rivers during the latter part of August and the beginning of September, 1928. A number of plants judged to be of special interest were brought back and put into cultivation at Tembeling, Pahang, since that district is more favourable than the drier climate of Singapore. Some of these plants prove to be hitherto undescribed. The plants dealt with here include only those not previously found in the Tahan river or on the mountain irself, or those which, though reported before, possess any features of interest as yet unnoticed. Plants marked with an asterisk have already been reported from the district.
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The plants included in the present paper were collected on Gunong Tahan and on the Tahan and Teku rivers during the latter part of August and the beginning of September, 1928. A number of plants judged to be of special interest were brought back and put into cultivation at Tembeling, Pahang, since that district is more favourable than the drier climate of Singapore. Some of these plants prove to be hitherto undescribed. The plants dealt with here include only those not previously found in the Tahan river or on the mountain irself, or those which, though reported before, possess any features of interest as yet unnoticed. Plants marked with an asterisk have already been reported from the district.
Rainfall, 1928, Singapore
Rainfall, 1928, Singapore [Page 162 - 163]
Rainfall, 1928, Singapore [Page 162 - 163]
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Rainfall, 1928, Penang
Rainfall, 1928, Penang [Page 164 - 165]
Rainfall, 1928, Penang [Page 164 - 165]
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Rainfall, 1929, Singapore
Rainfall, 1929, Singapore [Page 166 - 167]
Rainfall, 1929, Singapore [Page 166 - 167]
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Rainfall, 1929, Penang
Rainfall, 1929, Penang [Page 168 - 169]
Rainfall, 1929, Penang [Page 168 - 169]
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Year of Publication: 1930, Vol. 06 (6 - 10) (The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements)
Date Published
April 1930
I. H. Burkill and Mohamad Haniff
Malay Village Medicine : prescriptions collected by I.H. Burkill and Mohamad Haniff [Page 165 - 273]
Malay Village Medicine : prescriptions collected by I.H. Burkill and Mohamad Haniff [Page 165 - 273]
Abstract:
When sickness comes in a Malay village the advice of a bomor, or physician of the native school, is sought: when childbirth occurs, a bidan or midwife is called in. From competent persons of those two classes we obtained information in the following way. We toured through the Peninsula, and by the kind help of administrative officers, to whom we return our sincere thanks, were put into touch with those whom we wish to meet. They were asked to give us as much information as they could and to bring specimens in illustration of their samples. At a second meeting the information was taken down, and the specimens ticked. Subsequently the specimens, which are preserved in the herbarium of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, were determined and the information worked up. We tried to avoid unexpected questions, for they beget gusts of fancy and incorrect assertions. We asked one very competent bomor to give his information in his own handwriting, for a man must think as he writes; but the information got was meagre. In all other cases we took down the information ourselves, and sometimes may have got the vernacular names mis-written. One of us (M.H.) spent a short time at Jor in contact with the trading Sakai who live there, and we obtained other information from the Malay-speaking Sakai of the Selangor-side of Pahang. The rest of the information was from Malays. We examined the shops Chinese herbalists, and recorded the plants in them, but do not dare to record the unchecked Chinese names which were taken down. The information thus got together is set down here without any comments upon the efficacy of the samples. It is given for each record in the following order: (1) the botanical name; (2) the Malay name as the informant used it; (3) the name of the most important place in the neighbourhood of the informant's dwelling; (4) the number which we gave to the specimen which the informant brought, and which remains attached to it in the herbarium of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore; (5) the complaint for which it is used, and (6) the way in which it is used. After this information, an index and glossary of the vernacular names follow. The glossary has been added because so many of the names are determined by a plant's uses and not by its appearance; and as a consequence of this, plants most diverse to the eye, if capable of the same use, get the same name, to the surprise of botanists and others who, knowing the plants but not in Malays, impute inaccuracy to the latter. An explanation must be given of the term ubat meroyan, which we are forced to use frequently. The Malays are apt to consider all sicknesses following child-birth as origination at that time of exposure of the mother to the attacks of evilspirits, and to place them in a category called sakit meroyan (mereyan in some parts): for instance, diarrhoea at any time within many months is sakit meroyan tahi; a discharge of blood is sakit meroyan darah, and rheumatism sakit meroyan angin. To ward against such sicknesses, they administer over the first three days after child-birth - this period being one during which evil spirits possess the most power - preparations called ubat meroyan ; and the word meroyan enters into the name of the plant used (perhaps often only when so used), sometimes in an exceedingly fanciful expression. This is particularly the case in Pahang. An ubat meroyan may not be intended to have any immediate effect, and many of the plants in the class possess the medicinal value of sympathy, but none chemico-physiologically.
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When sickness comes in a Malay village the advice of a bomor, or physician of the native school, is sought: when childbirth occurs, a bidan or midwife is called in. From competent persons of those two classes we obtained information in the following way. We toured through the Peninsula, and by the kind help of administrative officers, to whom we return our sincere thanks, were put into touch with those whom we wish to meet. They were asked to give us as much information as they could and to bring specimens in illustration of their samples. At a second meeting the information was taken down, and the specimens ticked. Subsequently the specimens, which are preserved in the herbarium of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, were determined and the information worked up. We tried to avoid unexpected questions, for they beget gusts of fancy and incorrect assertions. We asked one very competent bomor to give his information in his own handwriting, for a man must think as he writes; but the information got was meagre. In all other cases we took down the information ourselves, and sometimes may have got the vernacular names mis-written. One of us (M.H.) spent a short time at Jor in contact with the trading Sakai who live there, and we obtained other information from the Malay-speaking Sakai of the Selangor-side of Pahang. The rest of the information was from Malays. We examined the shops Chinese herbalists, and recorded the plants in them, but do not dare to record the unchecked Chinese names which were taken down. The information thus got together is set down here without any comments upon the efficacy of the samples. It is given for each record in the following order: (1) the botanical name; (2) the Malay name as the informant used it; (3) the name of the most important place in the neighbourhood of the informant's dwelling; (4) the number which we gave to the specimen which the informant brought, and which remains attached to it in the herbarium of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore; (5) the complaint for which it is used, and (6) the way in which it is used. After this information, an index and glossary of the vernacular names follow. The glossary has been added because so many of the names are determined by a plant's uses and not by its appearance; and as a consequence of this, plants most diverse to the eye, if capable of the same use, get the same name, to the surprise of botanists and others who, knowing the plants but not in Malays, impute inaccuracy to the latter. An explanation must be given of the term ubat meroyan, which we are forced to use frequently. The Malays are apt to consider all sicknesses following child-birth as origination at that time of exposure of the mother to the attacks of evilspirits, and to place them in a category called sakit meroyan (mereyan in some parts): for instance, diarrhoea at any time within many months is sakit meroyan tahi; a discharge of blood is sakit meroyan darah, and rheumatism sakit meroyan angin. To ward against such sicknesses, they administer over the first three days after child-birth - this period being one during which evil spirits possess the most power - preparations called ubat meroyan ; and the word meroyan enters into the name of the plant used (perhaps often only when so used), sometimes in an exceedingly fanciful expression. This is particularly the case in Pahang. An ubat meroyan may not be intended to have any immediate effect, and many of the plants in the class possess the medicinal value of sympathy, but none chemico-physiologically.
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Year of Publication: 1929, Vol. 05 (01-02) (The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements)
Date Published
12 August 1929
Carr, C. E.
Some Malayan Orchids (with an index and 18 plates) [Page 1 - 50]
Some Malayan Orchids (with an index and 18 plates) [Page 1 - 50]
Abstract:
Most of the species described here were collected in the State of Pahang. They include 21 species and 5 species now recorded from the Peninsula for the first time. These latter are Dendrobium fugax, Schltr., D. inconspicuiflorum, J.J.S., D. salaccense, Lndl., Eria Jagoriana, Krzl., and E. punctata, J.J.S. Bulbophyllum minimibulbum, Carr, B. trichoglottis,Ridl., Eria Jagoriana, Krzl., E. punctata, J.J.S., Thrixspermum papillosum, Carr, and Sarcostoma javanica, Bl., are montane, though the latter plant also occurs in the low country. Bulbophyllum minimibulbum, Carr, and Thrixspermum papillosum, Carr, are hitherto unrecorded, while both the species of Eria mentioned are new to the Peninsula. The genus Abdominea was created by Dr. J. J. Smith to take a plant which appears to be the curious Saccolabium minimiflorum, Hook.f. This plant was originally recorded from Perak and later from Selangor at Batu Caves. It is now recorded form Pahang, A new genus Ascochilopsis, is here created for the distinct and interesting Saccolabium myosurus, Ridl. Two new species of Chamaenthus, Schltr. are described. This genus has hitherto never been reported from the Peninsula. The great majority of the plants dealt with come from the fluvial areas of the limestone district of central Pahang. The excessive humidity of these areas accounts for the relatively large number of species belonging to genera such as Sarcochilus, Br., Chamaenthus, Schltr., and Thrixspermum, Lour. Far too little attention has been paid to these areas and I am convinced that further exploration will result in many new plants being brought to light.
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Most of the species described here were collected in the State of Pahang. They include 21 species and 5 species now recorded from the Peninsula for the first time. These latter are Dendrobium fugax, Schltr., D. inconspicuiflorum, J.J.S., D. salaccense, Lndl., Eria Jagoriana, Krzl., and E. punctata, J.J.S. Bulbophyllum minimibulbum, Carr, B. trichoglottis,Ridl., Eria Jagoriana, Krzl., E. punctata, J.J.S., Thrixspermum papillosum, Carr, and Sarcostoma javanica, Bl., are montane, though the latter plant also occurs in the low country. Bulbophyllum minimibulbum, Carr, and Thrixspermum papillosum, Carr, are hitherto unrecorded, while both the species of Eria mentioned are new to the Peninsula. The genus Abdominea was created by Dr. J. J. Smith to take a plant which appears to be the curious Saccolabium minimiflorum, Hook.f. This plant was originally recorded from Perak and later from Selangor at Batu Caves. It is now recorded form Pahang, A new genus Ascochilopsis, is here created for the distinct and interesting Saccolabium myosurus, Ridl. Two new species of Chamaenthus, Schltr. are described. This genus has hitherto never been reported from the Peninsula. The great majority of the plants dealt with come from the fluvial areas of the limestone district of central Pahang. The excessive humidity of these areas accounts for the relatively large number of species belonging to genera such as Sarcochilus, Br., Chamaenthus, Schltr., and Thrixspermum, Lour. Far too little attention has been paid to these areas and I am convinced that further exploration will result in many new plants being brought to light.