450 
Origin  of  False  Senega  Root. 
Am,  Jour.  Pharm. 
Sept.,  1889. 
are  stated  to  come  from  the  typical  form  and  several  varieties  of 
Pol.  Senega.  In  one  of  these  papers  (1881)  it  is  stated  that  "Poly- 
gala  Boykinii  is  the  only  native  species  that,  to  our  knowledge,  ap- 
proaches in  size  the  Pol.  Senega  and  in  the  other  (1889)  that  "con- 
tinued inquiries  regarding  the  root  of  Pol.  Boykinii  have  led  to  com- 
pletely negative  results ;  not  a  single  commercial  lot  of  senega  from 
the  southern  states  contained  that  root."  Prof.  Chas.  Mohr  of  Mobile, 
who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  flora  of  the  southern  states,  has  shown 
{Phar.  Rundschau,  1889,  p.  191)  that  the  distribution  of  the  two 
species  is  such,  that  an  accidental  intermixture  of  the  two  roots  is 
impossible,  and  that  the  root  of  P.  Boykinii  cannot  be  collected  in 
such  a  quantity  and  at  a  price  as  to  become  an  article  of  commerce. 
(Ibid.  p.  89). 
While  it  is  possible  that  white  or  false  senega  may  occasionally  be 
found  as  an  admixture  of  officinal  senega,  I  cannot  make  such  a  state- 
ment from  personal  observation ;  but  have  not  doubted  the  difference 
in  the  botanical  origin  of  the  two  roots,  as  I  had  occasion  to  state 
quite  recently  (Am.  Joue.  Phar.,  1889,  p.  381).  The  papers  just 
quoted  seem  to  render  untenable  my  belief  in  the  origin  of  the  false 
root  from  P.  Boykinii;  but  I  am  pleased  to  be  able  now  to  definitely 
identify  the  species  yielding  it. 
Quite  recently  Messrs.  Peek  &  Velsor,  of  New  York  City,  sent  me 
a  plant,  which  on  examination  seemed  to  be  Polygala  alba,  Nuttall; 
the  root  to  which  the  numerous  stems  are  attached  is  fully  four 
inches  in  length  and,  beneath  the  crown,  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter. 
On  comparing  it  with  a  number  of  specimens  in  several  herbaria,  the 
roots  of  the  latter,  when  present,  were  found  to  be  considerably  smaller, 
more  slender  and  less  branched.  The  resemblance  of  the  specimen 
with  senega  root,  notwithstanding  the  absence  of  the  keel,  suggested 
the  plant  possibly  to  be  a  variety  of  the  latter  species  with 
linear  leaves ;  but  the  narrow-leaved  specimens  of  truft  senega  were 
observed  to  differ  essentially  in  the  root,  leaves  and  flowers.  Not 
having  the  means  to  remove  every  doubt,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to 
consult  some  of  the  best  judges  of  the  flora  of  the  western  states. 
In  one  of  the  letters  Messrs.  Peek  &  "Velsor  wrote  as  follows  : 
"  The  shipper  informs  us  that  it  is  gathered  in  Kansas  and  that  a  few 
bales  every  year  have  passed  through  his  hands  to  dealers  and  manu- 
facturers, and  that  there  had  never  before  been  any  question  as  to  its 
being  Polygala  Senega  until  we  refused  it." 
