The
practical use of this theory in plant analysis will lead the chemists
at once to a search for those compounds which morphology shows are
probably present.
I have discovered saponin in all parts of the _Yucca angustifolia_, in
the _Y. filimentosa_ and _Y. gloriosa_, in several species of agavae,
and in plants belonging to the leguminosae family.
The list[42] of plants in which saponin has been discovered is given
in the note. All these plants are contained in the middle plane of
Heckel's scheme. No plants containing saponin have been found among
apetalous groups. No plants have been found containing saponin among
the lower monocotyledons.
The plane of saponin passes from the liliaceae and allied groups to the
rosales and higher dicotyledons.
Saponin belongs to a class of substances called glucosides. Under the
action of dilute acids, it is split up into two substances, glucose
and sopogenin. The chemical nature of this substance is not thoroughly
understood. The commercial[43] product is probably a mixture of
several substances.
This complexity of chemical composition of saponin is admirably
adapted for the nutrition of the plant, and it is associated with the
corresponding complexity of the morphological elements of the plant's
organs.
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