KEAMERIA 



279 



SOURCE. Krameria triandra (Red rhatany) is a native of Peru, the commercial 

 supply being obtained from the southern provinces; abundant about the 

 cities of Huanuco and Lima; shipped from Paytu. Krameria ixina (Sava- 

 nilla or New Granada rhatany) is yielded by several varieties, as K. tomentcsa. 

 St. Hil., an extremely wooly form growing in Colombia, British Guiana, and 

 Northern Brazil; shipped from Carthagena, Santa Marta, etc. Para rhatany, 

 described by Berg, is said to be from K. argentea; grayish-brown color. 



DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. From 10 to 30 mm. (% to \Y$ in.) thick, knotty, and 

 with several thick heads above, and branches below, from which emanate 

 cylindrical roots about 6 to 12 mm. ( Y to % in.) thick and from 100 to 400 mm. 

 (4 to 16 in.) long. In 

 commerce the more woody 

 pieces, with short stumpy 

 branches, constitute the 

 largest proportion; the 

 bark is tough and fibrous, 

 dark reddish-brown, scaly, 

 rugged, and about i to 2 

 mm. (^5 to ^2 in.) thick; 

 the wood is hard and 

 compact, light reddish- 

 brown in color, and when 

 cut with a knife, presents 

 a shining surface, marked 

 with concentric circles and 

 fine medullary rays. Ino- 

 dorous; taste very astrin- 

 gent, the bark more so than 

 the wood. Krameria ixina 

 (Savanilla rhatany ) is more 

 slender and less knotty, 

 dull purplish-brown, with 

 smooth, closely adhering 

 bark. The roots are less 



flexuous and less tapering than the Peruvian rhatany and are usually sepa- 

 rate, not usually exceeding 12 cm. in thickness, externally purplish-brown or 

 chocolate-colored and marked with numerous fissures, the fracture less tough 

 than that of Peruvian rhatany, the bark and wood darker. The bark is 

 more astringent than that of Peruvian rhatany. The yield of aqueous ex- 

 tract should not be less than 9 per cent. The yield of ash should not exceed 

 5 per cent. 



Powder. Deep red. Characteristic elements: Parenchyma cells- of cortex 

 with reddish-brown coloring-matter; starch grains, 20 to 30 n in diam., I to 

 4 compound; calcium oxalate in prisms and pyramids; sclerenchyma with few 

 short, thick-walled bast fibers. In Savanilla variety the sclerenchymatous fibers, 

 the parenchyma, bast, and ducts, are larger. 



CONSTITUENTS. Kramer o-tannic acid (20 per cent.), rhatanin, and rhatanic- 

 red (a coloring matter). The tarinic acid in a state of purity is perfectly 

 colorless, but accompanying it is phlobaphene, an' extractive which gives its 

 solutions a reddish-brown color. Gives a dark green precipitate with ferric 

 salts, a flesh-colored precipitate, with gelatin, and none with tartar emetic. 

 Extracts of krameria should be made with cold water, the solution being 



PIG. 158. Krameria triandra Cross-section of root. (18 

 diam.) A, Cork. B, Thin-walled parenchyma of cortex. 

 C, Xylem. D, Medullary ray. (Photomicrograph.) 



