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CONVOLVULUS JALAPA. 
Mexican Jalap, or Bindweed* 
Class Pentandria. — Ordfer Monogyni A. 
Nat. Ord. CAMPANACEiE, Linn. Convolvult, Juss. 
Gen. Char. Corolla bell-shaped, plaited. Stigmas 2. 
Capsule 2 or 3-celled, each cell containing two seeds. 
Spec. Char. Leaves ovate, somewhat cordate, obtuse, 
obsoletely repand, villous underneath. Peduncles 1-flowered. 
The plant which furnishes this useful drug belongs to the nu- 
merous family of the Couvolvuli ; this particular species is a native 
of Mexico and Vera Cruz; it was first discovered by the Spaniards, 
in the neighbourhood of Xalapa, between Vera Cruz and Mexico, 
and from hence has derived its specific name, the pronunciation of 
the Spanish X being nearly similar to our J. This plant grows in 
great abundance on the eastern side of the Cordillera of Anahuac, 
under the 19° of northern latitude, and at no great elevation ; con- 
sequently subject to the powerful heat of that climate. In Europe 
it has not been found to thrive, unless constantly kept in a stove ; 
it has, however, been for some years cultivated in the botanic garden 
of Charlestown, in the United States, and in the stoves at Paris ; f 
a plant may likewise be seen in the botanic garden at Chelsea. | Dr. 
Houston appears to have been the first who introduced thig plant 
into Europe, in 1710, and its value as a purgative remedy was soon 
appreciated. At present, between two and three hundred thousand 
pounds of the root are exported annually from Vera Cruz. 
The root is large, of an irregular oblong form, externally of a 
whitish brown colour, internally white and lactescent; the stems 
* Fig. a. the pistillum. h. Tbe anthers united to the lower part of the corolla, 
t A root of jalap, which was carried by Michaux, jun. in 1803, from the botanic 
garden of Charlestown to Paris, and planted in the garden of the Museum of Natural 
History, where it now grows, weighed forty-seren pounds and three quarters. 
Memoires dt I'Institut, torn. vi. p. 387, 
t It was first cultivated in England iu 1668. 
