^ IPECACUANHA. 1017

°r six ° r t J iree long, emitting runners. Leaves rarely more than fourWhich’ " aced ^ le end of the stem and branches; petioles pubescent,at thei^vf connec ted to each by the erect stipules. Stipules membranousfruit. r/ aSe ' Peduncles solitary, erect when in flower, reflexed when ins P r eadi scrn ’globose, eight- to ten-flowered. Involucre one-leafed,

p ubesc n g; dee ply four- to six-parted : segments obovate. Bracts acute,Stametijfi a s bigle one to each flower. Calyx minute. Corolla white.sp read - bve. Ovary obovate; style filiform, white; stigmas linear,cqhv ' n ^' Berry soft, fleshy, violet-black. Seeds (nucules) pale, plane-Brasil ' a ^ umen homy.—(Condensed from Martius, Spec. Mat. Med.

H as tn’ 1824 V

Abu nc )’ . lzd ; in moist shady situations from 8° to 20° south latitude.le Ss (V , ln l l‘ e valleys of the granitic mountains, which run (more orSa n to S anl ^ rom Ibe sea) through the provinces of Rio Janeiro , Espiritohonm’ a “ d , Balli a; also met with in Pernambuco . Humboldt and(joi 1( 1 Ibund it on the St. Lucar mountains of New Granada,the v " Lectiojj of the Roots. —The roots are gathered at all seasons ofas no ar ’ *! ,ou gh more frequently from January to March inclusive ; andaf° Ur|( j a [ e ls f a hen in the cultivation of the plant, it has become scarcene\gh b 116 l >r b lc ip a l tow r ns. Those Brazilian farmers who reside in theThe n f ! Urhood °1 the plant, carry on considerable commerce with itca]j e( j v, Vc Indians also are very assiduous in the collection of it. Thosethe Tj . dle Portuguese the Coroados, who live near the river Xipoto, ingr ea l Vlllce of Mlnaes, as well as their neighbours, the Purl, are then^nth 1 e °llectors of it. They sometimes leave their villages for twoPlant a tnne , fixing their habitations in those places in which thisanq at) ounds. They cut the roots from the stems, dry them in the sun,

P- 6) )aCE them in bundles of various sizes and forms (Martius, op. cit.

Jaw MJl ? RCE- —Ipecacuanha is imported into this country from Rio q Ua 1 5°.> tn bales, barrels, bags, and serous. The duty is ls. per lb. Thedies on which this was paid, for the last six years, are as follow:—

Ia 18 34. 9,038 lbs. In 1837. 11,435 lbs.

,8 35. 7,469 1838. 12,426

t®36. 11,437 1839. 7,453

—The root of this plant is the ipecacuanha (radix ipeca-this the shops. No other root is known in English commerce byanh^ X f‘ raQ '. Py continental writers it is denominated annulated ipecacu-p„ Tatfia? ipecacuanhm annulate) to distinguish it from the roots ofstfj' °tria emetica and Richardsonia scabra; the first of which is termed1 Pecacuanha—the second, undulated ipecacuanha (see p. 1030).ijjch e , ro °t °f Cephaelis Ipecacuanha occurs in pieces of three or fouratl( j 8 on g, and about the size of a small mating-quill; variously bentseq u COnt0rted ’ sim P le or branched. It has a knotty appearance, in con-and ei ^ e °f a number of deep circular fissures about a line in depth,idea f ext,end inwardly to a central ligneous cord, so as to give thela( e J\' a nu mber of rings strung upon a thread (hence the name annu-a n d )' These rings are unequal in size, both with respect to each otherhue ° j er ent parts of the same ring. This root has a resinous frac-ti 0n ' *ts substance consists of two parts: one called the cortical por-> " hich is brittle and resinous, of a horny appearance, with a grayish