Am.  Jour.  Pbarm.  \ 
January,  1897.  J 
Gelsemium. 
9 
cut  in  sections,  mostly  from  5  to  15  millimetres,  and  occasionally  3 
centimetres  thick,  the  roots  much  thinner,  externally  light  yellowish 
brown,  with  purplish-brown  longitudinal  lines ;  tough ;  fracture 
splintery ;  bark  thin,  with  silky  bast  fibres,  closely  adhering  to  the 
Fig.  1. — Cross-sections  of  Gelsemium  sempervirens.  A,  stem  ;  B,  rhizome  ; 
C,  root. 
pale  yellowish  porous  wood,  which  has  fine  medullary  rays,  and  in 
the  rhizome  a  thin  pith  ;  odor  aromatic,  heavy;  taste  bitter." 
It  will  be  noted  in  the  above  description  that  the  only  distinction 
made  between  the  root  and  rhizome  is  that  the  latter  has  a  thin 
pith. 
Professor  Rothrock  (Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  1884,  p.  130)  calls  atten- 
tion to  two  structural  characteristics  of  stems  and  roots,  which,  he 
