240 
Quebracho  Bark. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t      May,  1881. 
bracho  sent  by  Burmeister  to  Europe  induced  Sclilechtendal  to  deter- 
mine the  species,  which  he  accordingly  named  ^^Aspidosperma  que- 
bracho bianco/^  and,  misled  by  the  relationship  of  names,  he  connected 
the  red  quebracho  tree  as  a  further  species  with  the  name  of  ^^Aspido- 
sperma  quebracho  Colorado.'^ 
It  was  more  than  ten  years  later  that  this  error  was  corrected 
by  the  publication  by  Grisebach  of  the  ^'Plantse  Lorentzianse "  (a 
revision  of  the  Argentine  plants  collected  by  Prof.  Lorentz  in  Cor- 
doba), and,  at  the  same  time,  reported  that  the  Q.  Colorado  plant,  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  ^^Aspidosperma,"  was  a  Terebinthacea,  and  related 
to  the  genus  ^'Anacardium."  It  thereby  received  a  correct  descrip- 
tion and  the  botanical  name  "  Loxopterygium  Lorenztii,  GrisebachJ^ 
From  a  technical  view,  it  remains  to  be  said  that  the  wood  of  both 
trees,  Q.  bianco  and  Q.  Colorado,  is  employed  in  South  American  coun- 
tries for  tanning  purposes,  and  has  repeatedly  figured  as  such  at  the 
world's  expositions.  The  very  small  amount  of  tannin  contained  in 
tlie  aspidosperma  wood  (about  3  per  cent.)  does  not  permit  of  its  com- 
petition with  other  similar  materials,  while  the  loxopterygium  wood, 
with  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  tannin,  was  introduced  some  time  since  into 
Europe,  where  it  is  employed  either  in  the  rasped  condition  or  in  the 
form  of  extract.  As  this  tanning  wood  occurs  in  trade  under  the  sim- 
ple name  of  quebracho  wood,  its  substitution  for  the  preparations  of 
the  bark  and  wood  of  Q.  bianco,  as  recommended  from  Erlangen,  was 
not  difficult,  and  the  above-mentioned  extract  of  the  Q.  Colorado  wood 
was  therefore  also  drawn  into  medicinal  use. 
The  mother-plant  of  the  genuine  quebracho  bark  Aspidosperma 
quebracho,  SchL,  is  connected  with  other  likewise  South  American 
aspidosperma  species,  amounting  in  number  to  as  many  as  40,  and  is 
described  as  a  high,  perpendicular  tree,  with  a  finely  branched  summit, 
the  habitus  of  which  is  said  to  resemble  the  crown  of  the  weeping 
Avillow. 
The  leathery,  smooth,  lanceolate  leaves,  w^hose  points  terminate  in  a 
spine,  are  arranged  to  the  number  of  three  on  each  branch.  The 
dichotomously-branched  inflorescence  shows  flowers  with  a  calyx  com- 
posed of  five  sepals  and  a  five-partite  corolla,  five  anthers,  one  style  and 
a  superior  ovary. 
The  Quebracho  bianco  bark  from  the  Argentine  Republic,  as  it 
occurs  in  commerce,  appears  to  consist  of  pieces  from  the  older  trees, 
about  70  years  of  age,  and  shows  an  average  thickness  of  2  centimeters. 
