BOTANICAL  ORIGIN  OF  SA VANILLA  RHATANY.  198 
ON  THE  BOTANICAL  ORIGIN  OF  SAVANILLA  RHATANY. 
By  Daniel  Hanbury,  F.  L.  S. 
It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  druggists  that  the  Rhatany  Root 
which  formerly  found  its  way  into  European  commerce  from 
Peru,  has  to  a  great  extent  been  superseded  by  another  and 
very  excellent  form  of  the  drug  exported  from  New  Gra- 
nada, and  commonly  known  in  the  market  as  Savanilla  Rhatany. 
Bat  from  what  plant  this  latter  drug  is  derived,  or  in  what  part 
of  the  vast  territory  of  New  Granada  it  is  produced,  are  points 
upon  which  I  believe  that  no  definite  information  has  yet  been 
published. 
Having  endeavored  during  some  years  past  to  elucidate  these 
questions,  but  without  much  success,  I  gladly  took  occasion  of 
the  recent  mission  to  New  Granada,  of  Mr.  John  Weir,  collec- 
tor to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  to  suggest  that  enquiries 
should  be  made  at  Santa  Marta  regarding  Savanilla  Rhatany, 
and  that  Mr.  Weir  should,  if  possible,  visit  the  locality  where 
the  root  is  collected.  The  Royal  Horticultural  Society  having 
accorded  permission  to  Mr.  Weir  to  devote  some  attention  to 
this  object,  he  soon  succeeded  in  ascertaining  that  the  rhatany 
in  question  is  obtained  from  the  vicinity  of  Jiron,  a  small  town 
lying  to  the  west  of  Pamplona  and  about  midway  between  it  and 
the  river  Magdalena.  To  this  place,  Mr.  Weir  directed  his 
course,  arriving  there  in  the  latter  part  of  January,  1861,  when 
he  thus  wrote ; 
"Jan.  31s£.  Enquiring  to-day  where  the  Rhatany  plant  was 
to  be  found,  Mr.  L.  informs  me  that  in  various  places  among  the 
naked  hills  and  savannahs  around,  the  plant  grows  in  plenty, 
but  none  nearer  than  a  short  day's  journey  from  Bucaramanga. 
He  told  me,  also,  that  he  used  to  export  large  quantities  of  the 
drug,  but  that  he  had  lost  $2000  by  the  last  lot  he  sent  away, 
and  had  not  sent  any  for  the  last  twelve  months.  I  saw,  how- 
ever, a  quantity  of  the  root  in  another  house,  packed  in  bags 
ready  to  be  sent  away. 
*  #  *  *  *  *  * 
"  Feb.  1st.  Started  this  morning  for  the  valley  of  Jiron.  A 
few  leagues  above  the  village  of  that  name  the  Rhatany  was 
said  to  be  common,  much  of  the  root  being  there  dug  for  export. 
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