V, 



An Account uf the Male Plant, li^h'ich furnishes 

 the Medicine generally called Columbo, or Colomb a 

 Root. 



BY DOCTOR ANDREW BERRY, 



Memher of the Medical Board of Fort St. George. 



K A L u M B of the Africans. 

 CoLOMBA, or Coi^visiBO of the Shops. 



T is spelt Kalundw by the Poriuguese, in whose lan- 

 guage the is mute, and from this the name origi- 

 nated, by which this valuable root is known in Europe. 

 It is a staple export of the Portuguese from Mozaru- 

 hiijue^ and from the. quantity exported, it is remarka- 

 ble that the place of its growth, should have been so 

 long unknown or doubtful to the rest of Europe. 



It is never cultivated, but grows naturally, and in 

 abundance, in the thick forests^ that are said to cover 

 tiie coast about Oibo, and Mozambique, and inland 

 about 15 or 20 miles. The roots are dug up in the 

 month of March, the dry season ; or when the natives 

 are not employed in agriculture; not the original root, 

 which is perennial, but offsets from its base, and that 

 of sufticient size, yet not so old as to be full of fibres, 

 which render it unfit for commerce. 



This root is in high estimation among all the Afri- 

 cans, even far removed from Mozambique, for the cure 

 of dysentery, which is frequent among them ; for ve- 

 nereals; for all complaints of long standing ; in pow- 

 der for the cure of ulcers, and as a remedy for almost 

 every disorder. 



VoL.X. Cc 



