ROOTS AND RHIZOMES. 
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wood distinctly radiate, excentral, with four groups of 
internal phloem, pith disintegrated; odor slight; taste 
bitter. 
Roots light brown, 3 to 20 cm. long, 2 to 8 mm. thick ; 
internally light yellow, bark about 0 - 5 mm. thick, wood 
distinctly radiate. 
The overground stem is dark or reddish-brown, lon- 
gitudinally wrinkled and has numerous lenticels and 
few somewhat elliptical branch-scars ; the bark is about 
02 mm. thick and somewhat greenish. 
Constituents. — Two alkaloids of great toxicity, the 
one bitter, amorphous, yielding crystalline salts and 
known as gelsemine, the other crystalline, forming 
amorphous salts and known as gelseminine. In addi- 
tion the drug contains gelsemic acid; a bluish green, 
fluorescent principle known as /3-methyl-8esculetin ; 
volatile oil, resin, starch and calcium oxalate. 
GENTIAN V. (Gentian). 
The rhizome and roots of Gentiana lutea (Fam. Gen- 
tianacese), a perennial herb indigenous to Central 
Europe. The fleshy rhizomes and roots are collected 
in autumn and frequently cut into longitudinal pieces 
and slowly dried, during which latter process they 
develop a distinctive color and odor. The commercial 
supplies are obtained from France, Germany, Spain 
and Switzerland. 
Description. — Nearly cylindrical and sometimes 
branched, split longitudinally or broken into irregu- 
lar pieces, 3 to 15 cm. long, 5 to 40 mm. in diameter ; 
externally light brown, the upper or rhizome portion 
annulate from scars of bud - scales, longitudinally 
wrinkled, and with few buds, stem and root- scars, roots 
longitudinally wrinkled ; fracture short when dry, 
tough and flexible when damp; internally dark yellow, 
