12 
Gelsemium. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    January,  1897. 
in  the  larger  stems  and  rhizomes  it  is  almost  absent,  if  not  entirely 
so.    In  this  respect  the  stem  and  rhizome  are  much  alike. 
The  description  I  have  to  suggest  for  gelsemium  is  as  follows : 
Rhizome  cylindrical,  long  or  cut  in  sections,  mostly  5  to  15  millime- 
tres, and  occasionally  3  centimetres  thick ;  externally  light  yellow- 
ish brown,  with  purplish  brown  longitudinal  lines;  tough  and 
woody;  fracture  splintery;  bark  thin,  with  silky  bast  fibres  near  the 
pale-yellowish  porous  wood,  which  has  fine  medullary  rays,  and  a 
small  pith  which,  under  the  lens,  is  seen  to  be  usually  divided  into 
four  segments. 
The  root  is  2  to  10  millimetres  thick;  externally  lighter  than  the 
rhizome ;  fracture  brittle ;  thick  bark,  closely  adhering  to  the  light 
Fig.  4. — Gelsemium.    Pith  of  rhizome. 
yellowish  wood ;  odor  of  both  rhizome  and  root  aromatic  ;  taste 
bitter. 
POWDERED  GELSEMIUM. 
No.  60  Powder. — That  the  official  drug  is  often  adulterated  with 
portions  of  the  stem  is  very  evident,  but  whether  intentionally  or 
carelessly  I  am  unable  to  say.  To  distinguish  the  adulteration  in 
powdered  form  has  been  the  subject  of  considerable  work,  but  with 
very  little  attendant  success.  The  root  contains  no  bast,  and  hence 
but  a  glance  will  indicate  whether  the  powder  be  of  the  root  or  not. 
However,  the  rhizome  and  stem  both  contain  the  bast  and  in  almost 
equal  quantities,  so  this  cannot  be  relied  upon  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  two.    It  seems  that  neither  has  any  characteristic  cell 
