572 
A  Spurious  Cubeb. 
Am.  .Tour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1887. 
which  a  little  prior  to  that  time  had  been  spoken  of  as  being  probably 
the  fruit  of  Piper  crassipes.  My  paper  appears  to  have  had  the  un- 
expected result  of  confirming  the  opinion  that  such  was  the  source  of 
this  drug,  although  I  distinctly  pointed  out  how  it  differed  from  the 
description  given  in  the  "  Pharmacographia  "  of  a  reputed  specimen  of 
P.  crassipes :  namely,  in  P.  crassipes,  having  a  pedicel  from  one  and 
a  half  times  to  twice  as  long  as  the  berry,  and  having  a  very  bitter 
taste,  while  the  berry  described  has  a  pedicel  usually  about  the  same 
length  as  the  fruit,  and  a  taste  which  cannot  be  described  as  very  bit- 
ter. Instead  of  referring  to  this  variety  therefore  as  Piper  crassipes 
I  shall  call  it  the  u  short-stalked  "  variety,  leaving  the  identity  of  it 
to  be  determined  by  an  examination  of  authentic  fruits,  which  I  hope 
to  be  able  to  undertake  when  the  necessary  material  comes  to  hand. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  year  I  received  from  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes 
a  supply  of  false  berries,  more  nearly  resembling  cubebs  in  certain  re- 
spects than  any  previous  substitute. 
Fig.  1. 
Like  cubebs  they  consist  of  a  berry  supported  on  a  non-articulated 
stalk.  The  globose  head  is  generally  flattened  on  the  top,  with  some- 
times a  slight  elevation  at  the  apex  ;  the  base  is  suddenly  contracted 
into  the  pedicel,  which  not  infrequently  arises  from  a  depression,  and 
is  stouter  than  in  the  true  drug  as  well  as  being  laterally  compressed. 
In  color  they  vary  but  little,  being  of  a  dark  brown  tint ;  they  are 
more  or  less  wrinkled  according  to  the  stage  of  their  development. 
When  freshly  bruised  an  abundance  of  essential  oil  exudes,  having 
an  agreeable  camphoraceous  odor,  reminding  one  strongly  of 
cajuput ;  the  taste  is  aromatic,  somewhat  pungent  and  bitter.  The 
diameter  of  the  head  ranges  from  four  to  seven  mm.,  and  the  length 
of  the  stalk  from  seven  to  eleven  mm.,  being  from  one  and  a  half 
times  to  twice  as  long  as  the  berry  (fig.  1).  In  the  more  fully 
developed  fruits,  known  by  their  comparatively  smooth  skin,  the 
perisperm  is  seen  to  be  white  and  starchy. 
The  pericarp  consists  of  the  same  number  of  layers  as  in  cubebs 
