150 
CEPttAELIS IPECACUANHA. 
ifaitd ifive ovate, acute, recurved segments ; the filaments are Short, 
ckpillary, inserted into the upper part of tbie tube, and support long, 
linear, erect anthers ; the gerraen inferior, ovate, supporting a 
filiform style, terminated by two obtuse stigmas the length of the 
k'ntliers ; the germen becomes a one-celled berry of a reddish purple 
colour, changing to black as it ripens, and containing two oval seeds. 
tt appears that ipecacuan was long used by the natives of America 
as an emetic, before its introduction into Europe. Michael Tris- 
tam, a native of Brazil, was the first who wrote on its virtues; he 
Viras followed by Piso, who in his Natural History of Brazil, in the 
year 1618, fully described its uses, and introduced it into Europe ; 
but it was little used previous to the year 1700. In 1672 it was 
intrbdticed into France by a French physician of the name of Le 
Gras ; but it did not attract much notice till the year 1686, when 
Helvetius (who was patronized by Lewis XIV.) made known its use 
as a remedy in dysenteric disorders. 
Sensible Qualities, Properties, &c. There are three varie- 
ties of the root found in the shops: — 1. the common brown ipeca- 
ciian which grows in Brazil, and is exported from Rio Janeiro to 
Portugal ; its colour varies With different tints of grey or brown, but 
it is characterized by being contorted, wrinkled, and unequal in 
thickness, havinga thick bark deeply fissured transversely, covering 
a very small central wood, so as to give the idea of a number of 
rings strung upon a thread. This is the root of the Cephaelis. 
^2. The black or strisited ipecacuan which is a native of Peru, and is 
exported from Carthagena to Cadiz ; it is black within and without, 
fUsiforhi, articulated, striated, and not annulated. This is the root 
of the Psycotria Emetica. 3. The white ipecacuan, called Amyla- 
ceous by M. Merat.* This speciies is the root of the Richardsonia 
Brasiliensis, and is described by M. Gorney as of a dirty white, 
Which turns brown by drying ; it is three or more inches long, and 
from four to six lines thick, variously contorted, with transverse 
afahular rugosities ; the bark is white internally and softish ; the wood 
is hard, white, and fine as a thread. f 
iThe root of ipecacuan is inodorous, but when powdered it has 
'a faint disagreeable smell ; the taste is bitter, nauseous, and slightly 
' ■ :• >■- : )',. , . — — ^ — ■ ■ — — 
*"ifM6in's Edinburgh' New Dispensatory, 11th edit. 
f Besides these three species, the name of ipecacuan is given to various roots pos- 
sessing emetic properties, as some species of Cjnanchura, Asclepias, Euphorbia, 
Dorstenia, and Voila. The comparative strength of each depending upon the quantity 
of emetine it coatains.-~Ec;. 
