Ami.  Jour.  Pliat  ni^ ) 
Oct.,  1881.  i 
Senega  of  Commerce. 
485 
Thus  it  follows  that  the  plant  which  has  created  such  a  disturbance 
as  botanically  the  officinal  senega.  The  rich  black  soil  and  the  climate 
•of  portions  of  those  Northwestern  States  seems  to  be  so  well  adapted 
to  this  plant  that  it  grows  luxuriantly  and  so  as  to  far  exceed  in  size 
:anything  we  have  eVer  before  known  from  any  species  of  Polygala  of 
•our  country  and  to  somewhat  alter  its  appearance  and  the  internal 
structure  of  the  root.  This  fact  has  led  us  to  question  the  authenticity 
of  the  drug,  to  think  that  perhaps  the  large  senega  was  derived  from, 
some  other  species  of  Polygala,  or  even  from  another  gencis.^ 
Remarks.  —  The  Northern  senega  is  known  as  false  senega/^ 
"  white  senega/'  and  in  one  or  two  instances  has  been  called  South- 
ern senega.''  Regarding  these  points,  we  find  that  as  it  is  derived 
from  the  officinal  species,  it  is  not  false  senega."  The  term  "  white 
senega  "  is  not  appropriate,  for  it  is  often  dark  brown  (see  specimen  6) 
and  in  color  it  does  not  differ  more  than  other  senegas  of  the  market, 
as  can  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  two  lots  of  senega  we  present  from 
Kentucky.  The  expression  "  Southern  senega  "  is  not  admissible,  for 
it  does  not  come  from  tlie  St>uth  and,  upon  the  contrary,  the  most  of 
the  regular  senega  of  olden  time  teas  from  the  South.  Undoubtedly, 
therefore,  the  large  senega  will  continue  to  be  known  by  dealers  as 
Northei^n  senega  or  as  large  senega. 
Since  the  foregoing  was  written.  Prof.  Maisch  contributed  an  article 
{"Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,"  Aug.,  1881,  p.  387)  on  a  specimen  of  senega 
which  he  obtained  from  Alabama  and  wdiich  he  thought  likely  might 
furnish  the  large  senega  of  commerce.  This  Southern  species,  the 
Polygala  Boykinii,  Nutt.,  is  tlie  only  native  species  that,  to  our  knowl- 
edge, approaches  in  size  the  Polygala  senega,  Lin.  We  exhibit  it  in 
our  herbarium,  and  by  a  comparison  with  the  other  species  this  fact 
becomes  apparent.  However,  we  do  not  think  that  it  is  gathered  for 
market  unless  the  root,  as  a  rule,  resembles  the  officinal  senega.  We 
are  convinced  that  it  never  passes  through  the  hands  of  Cincinnati 
dealers,  for  all  Southern  senega  "  is  of  the  form  w^e  present  and 
have  described. 
^  We  have  planted  specimens  of  this  Nortliern  senega  and  shall  endeavor 
to  cultivate  the  same  in  localities  that  furnisli  the  Southern  senega,  to 
find  if  the  size  of  the  root  is  simply  due  to  the  influence  of  soil  and  cli- 
mate. It  may  be  that  the  plant  does  not  differ  enough  from  the  ty^iical 
species  and  the  var.  latifolia  to  induce  botanists  to  recognize  it  as  a  distinct 
variety,  but  that  the  unusually  large  size  of  the  root  is  jiermauent  and 
will  be  preserved  even  in  other  than  its  native  situations.  L. 
