ON RADIX SUMBUL. 
119 
. ART. XXIX.— ON RADIX SUMBUL, THE PERSIAN MUSK 
ROOT. 
By H. Reinsch and M. Buchner. 
Notwithstanding the great intercourse with Persia, this 
interesting root appears to be as yet entirely unknown in 
Europe ; the only notice of it is given by Erdmann and Le- 
debour in Dierbach's edition of the botanical portion of Gei- 
ger's "Pharmacy." It is there stated to be imported from 
Bokhara into Russia, and is said to resemble the white 
Hellebore, and to have a blackish-gray epidermis (which 
does not agree with the roots now under consideration), and 
to contain much mucus and an acrid resin having the odor 
of musk, but no essential oil, although the water distilled 
from it possesses a smell of musk. This root is not mention- 
ed in any Other pharmacological work, and even the "Phar- 
macopoeia Persica," which appeared in Paris in 1681, con- 
tains no reference to it. It may now be had in Nuremburg 
and Hamburg at a very cheap rate. According to informa- 
tion supplied us by one of the importers, it comes from Per- 
sia by way of Nischnei-No vogorod to Europe, andis erupt- 
ed in Persia, on account of its odor, against mephitic va- 
pors. 
The root is very thick, fleshy, tuberose, and cut into discs 
of the diameter of from 1 to 4 inches, and in height from i 
to U inch. From the pieces of the upper part of the root, 
it is evident that the stem can scarcely be 1 inch in thick- 
ness. The root divides downwards in a few thick branches, 
and appears to have very few lateral fibres ; the epidermis 
is thin, grayish-brown, somewhat wrinkled, i. e. provided 
with diagonal furrows or corrugations ; the parenchyma ap- 
pears in the fresh state to be very fleshy, but dried it is 
cellular, foliaceous, and containing very numerous globules 
