RADIX CALUMB^. 



MENISPERMACEtE 



RADIX CALUMB^. 



Radix Columha; Calumha or Colombo Root ; F. Racine cle Colombo ; 



G. Kalumbaiuurzel, Columbowiirzd. 



Botanical Origin 



M 



plant, with large fleshy roots and herbaceous annual stems, climbing 

 over bushes and to the tops of lofty trees. "" ' 



The leaves are of large size 



and on long stalks, palmate-lobed and membranous. The male flowers 

 are in racemose panicles a foot or more in length, setose-hispid at least 

 in their lower part, or nearly glabrous. The whole part is more or less 

 hispid with spreading set?e and glandular hairs. 



It is indigenous to the forests of Eastern Africa between Ibo or Oibo, 

 the most northerly of the Portuguese settlements (lat. 12° 28' S.), and 

 the banks of the Zambesi, a strip of coast which includes the towns of 



Mozambique and Quil' "^ " ' 



Shupanga, among the 



Kirk 



Morambala 



Senna, localities all in the region of the Zambesi. Peters^ states that 

 on the islands of Ibo and Mozambique the plant is cultivated. In the 



Herha 



Mauritius 



of tlie French governor Le Poivre, but seems to have been lost, for after 

 many attempts it was again introduced m 1825 by living specimens 

 procured from Ibo by Captain Owen.» It still thrives there in the 

 Botanical Garden of Pamplemousses. 



It was taken from Mozambique to India In 1805 and afterwards 

 cultivated by Roxburgh in the Calcutta Garden, where however it has 

 long ceased to exist. 



History 



The root is held in high esteem among the natives of 



oynoDyins — Menisiperrmim palmatum 

 i^amarck, CocculuspalmaiusT>C, Menlsper- 

 ■mm Columha Roxb., Jateorhlza Calumha 



nT^\ ^' ^^^'^^^*« Oliv., Chasmanthera 

 ^olimba Baillun. As we thus suppress a 

 species adinitted in recent works, 'it is ne- 

 cessary to give the following explanation. 

 'J^em^pennum palmatum of Lamarck, first 



\T^^r '^ *^^ Encydop6die maliodhme in 

 ^m (iv. 99), was divided by Miers into 

 wo species, Jateorhlza palmata and J. 

 ta/«»i6a. Oliver in his Flora of Tropical 

 u^'''\ '' S^^^^^ ^2, accepted the view 



ftV. r^'u T ^^^^' ^"^ t^ ^wid confusion 

 aoolished the specific na^me palmata, sub- 

 8t tutmg for it that of mersu. At the 

 ah n^ r*T^ ^® noticed the close rehition- 

 fiirfi.^ - *^^ species, and suggested that 

 union "^ !S7^^^'g^*^^" »^iglit warrant their 



nearly glabrous ; while in J. Caluviba, the 

 basal lobes are rounded, but do not overlajf, 

 and the male inflorescence is setose-hispid 

 (** sparsely pilose " Miers), On careful 

 examination of a large number of speci- 

 mens, including those of Berry from Cal- 

 cutta, and others from Mauritius, Mada- 

 gascar, and the Zambesi, together with 

 the drawings of Telfair and Roxburgh, and 

 the published figures and descriptions, I 

 am convinced that the characters in ques- 

 tion are unimportant and do not warrant 

 the establishment of two species. In this 

 view I have the support of Mr. Home of 

 Mauritius, who at my request has made 

 careful observations on the living plant 

 and found that both forms of leaf occur on 

 the same stem, — D. H. 



* JReise nach Mossambiquej Botanik i. 

 (1862) 172. 



3 Hooker, Bot. Mag, Ivii. (1830) tabb. 



2970-71. 



