BOTANIC MATERIA MEDICA. 37 
ameter, not often branched, but as a rule have 
many fibers, as seen in the blood-root. The 
adventitious roots are also found in the Dicotyle- 
dons, but in this case the main root and its 
branches are only employed as remedies. The 
pith of the stem rarely extends more than a few 
inches within the root of the Dicotyledons, 
whilst the young roots are covered with an un- 
even, corky epidermis, devoid of the green 
coloring matter (chlorophyll), and in this re- 
spect only differing from the erect portions of 
the plant. 
Alkanna, Alkanet; alsoknown as anchusa tinc- 
torta.—Natural order Boraginacez. The com- 
mon names are hoary puccoon (an Indian name) 
and Spanish bug-gloss. Alkanet is a perennial 
plant native of Western Asia and Southern 
Europe where it is cultivated to a slight extent. 
It grows to about 12 inches (30 centimeters) in 
height, bearing upon its stem a white flower, 
with a purple edge bordering its corolla and 
penetrating the throat, and tinging it with the 
same color. The root is fusiform, 6 inches (15 
centimeters) long, and as a rule three-fifths of 
an inch (1 centimeter) thick. When fresh it 
has a slight odor and a bitter taste. The root 
as found in the stores is very irregular and 
wrinkled, and separable from a thin bark of a 
purple color that is easily broken. The wood 
is yellowish, with many medullary rays. Pelle- 
tier, the French chemist, isolated the coloring 
principle and found it possessed of acid proper- 
