Abstract
DR. RIEDEL tells us in NATURE of September 15 (p. 461), that he possesses in his collection two melati pearls of Jasminum Sambac. I beg to say that, as in the case of tabasheer (see NATURE, vol. xxxvi. p. 30), and in that of cocoa-nut pearls (ibid. p. 158), Rumphius, in the almost inexhaustible treasure of his “Herbarium Amboinense,” has already mentioned the pearls found also in the flowers of Jasminum Sambac. He gives in his fifth volume, in the 30th table, a good picture of that plant, and says in the description that a “dendrites” found in its flower in 1672 was sent to him two years after. It had the shape of a bud of the same vegetable, and was white-coloured and hard like silica or alabaster; moreover, it must have been without doubt a carbonate of calcium or some other alkaline earth, for Rumphius remarks that when the pearl was imprudently moistened with citric acid part of it was consumed by the acid. He also tells us that the common name given to all stone-concretions in fruits, wood, and animals by the Malayan people is “mestica,” which corresponds well with Dr. Riedel's name of “mustica.” [“In Celebe, ac præsertim in Macassara in cunctis sæpe fructibus dendrites quædam reperiuntur, ubi inter alia in hoc quoque frutice (Jasminum Sambac) talis detecta fuit, quæ loco floris inventa fuit anno 1672 in horto quodam Germani ibi habitantis, quæque mihi biennium post transmissa fuit. Formam habebat capituli, seu instar veri floris Bonga Manoor, nondum aperti, eratque alba et dura instar silicis seu alabastri; inventa autem fuit in tubo veri floris atque petiolum habebat ex ligno et lapide sensim compositum; quique hanc invenerat, imprudenter in mensa deposuerat, limonum succo commaculata, qui subito eius portionem consumserat.”]
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
HUTH, E. Pearls of Jasminum Sambac. Nature 36, 581 (1887). https://doi.org/10.1038/036581a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/036581a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.