JABORANDI. PILOCARPUS PENNATIFOLIUS. 



T)ILOCARPUS pennatifolius was first found in the southern pro- 

 1 vinces of Brazil. It was introduced from there into Europe 

 in 1874, where it is now cultivated in the various botanical gardens 

 on the continent and in England. 



It belongs to the order Rutaceae, and to the tribe Xanthoxy- 

 laceae, to the genus Pilocarpus and species Pennatifolius, while the 

 common name is Pernambuco Jaborandi. 



There has been in the past considerable confusion regarding 

 the botanical position of Jaborandi. Dr. Peckolt has described 

 seven different kinds of plants sold at the stores of Brazil under 

 the common name Jaborandi. Four of these belonging to the 

 Piperaceae order, two to the Rutaceae, and one to the Xanthoxyla- 

 ceae. Martinus has described still more. The Jaborandi, under 

 consideration in this article, was introduced to the notice of the 

 medical profession in Europe by Dr. Coutinho, of Pernambuco, in 

 the spring of 1^74. Since then it has been tried by many leading 

 physicians in both Europe and America. It was in 1875 that Prof. 

 Baillou, of Paris, referred it, from the examination of the leaf 

 alone, to the genus Pilocarpus, and still later that Mr. Holmes, by 

 an examination of the fruit, named it P. pennatifolius. The leaves 

 and young shoots are the parts used as officinal, though it is not 

 recognized in either the British Pharmacopoeia or in the Pharmaco- 

 poeia of the United States or of India. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Jaborandi is a small shrub, four or five feet high, only slightly 

 branched, and the branches standing erect. The bark is smooth 

 and gray in color, with numerous white dots covering its surface. 

 The leaves (see fig. i) are very large and compound. They are 

 alternate, without stipules, and with long stalks, from a foot to a 

 foot and a half in length. The leaflets are generally opposite, in 



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