250  Note  on  a  Piper  called  Jaborandi.    { AmMJay,ri8P7h7arm* 
In  small  doses,  kava  acts  as  a  stimulant  and  tonic,  and  produces  in 
larger  doses  an  intoxication  which  differs  from  that  produced  by  alco- 
hol, being  characterized  by  drowsiness  and  incoherent  dreams  ;  excite- 
ment on  hearing  noise  is  said  to  be  produced  by  the  root  grown  in 
moist  soil.  Since  neither  the  resin  nor  kavahin  are  soluble  in  water, 
the  medicinal  properties  do  not  depend  upon  these  principles.  It  has 
been  used  with  success  in  erysipelatous  affections,  but  when  used  as  an 
intoxicating  drink  produces  a  cutaneous  disease,  which  in  Tahiti  is 
called  arevarea,  and  appears  in  old  topers  in  the  skin  becoming  dry, 
cracked  and  ulcerated.  The  natives  of  Nukahivi  use  kava  in  phthisis 
and  bronchitis,  a  small  dose  being  taken  at  bedtime  ;  it  has  also  been 
locally  employed  in  gout  and  internally  in  gonorrhoea  since  1857. 
Recently  a  drug  was  received  from  Paris  under  the  name  of  kava- 
kava,  which  on  examination  proved  to  be  composed  of  matico  leaves 
and  anatto  fruits.  (For  further  information  on  this  drug  see  "Amer. 
Jour.  Phar.,"  xvi,  p.  105,  and  xxvi,  p.  236.) 
NOTE  ON  A  PIPER  CALLED  JABORANDI,   IN  THE 
PROVINCE  OF  RIO  JANEIRO.1 
By  A.  Gubler. 
Besides  the  jaborandi  of  Dr.  Coutinho  [Pilocarpus  pennatifolius),  the 
sialogogue  and  sudorific  properties  of  which  are  so  remarkable,  there 
exists  in  Brazil,  as  is  known,  a  large  number  of  plants  bearing  the  same 
popular  name,  which  are  used  against  the  bites  of  serpents,  etc.  All 
the  botanical  species,  however,  are  included  in  two  families,  Rutaceae 
and  Piperaceae.  Among  the  latter,  Piper  citrifolium  and  P.  reticulatum 
have  been  mentioned  as  particularly  efficacious.  A  jaborandi  from 
the  province  of  Rio  Janeiro,  which  has  been  the  subject  of  a  note  in 
the  "  Journal  de  Therapeutique,"  for  November  25th,  by  Professor 
Gubler,  appears  to  be  referable  to  either  of  these  species,  which  per- 
haps should  be  combined  in  one.2 
The  plant  is  a  shrub,  usually  attaining,  but  sometimes  considerably 
exceeding,  a  metre  in  height.  The  stems  are  fasciculated  at  the  base, 
simple  and  denuded  for  half  their  length,  cylindrical,  very  straight  and 
articulated  like  the  bamboo  ;  towards  the  top  they  bear  dark-green 
leaves  that  are  alternate,  shortly  petiolate,  oval-lanceolate  or  slightly 
1  "Journal  de  Pharmacie  et  de  Chimie"  [4],  vol.  xxv,  p.  128. 
2  DeCandolle  describes  the  leaves  of  P.  citrifolium  as  being  feather-veined,  those 
of  P.  reticulatum  as  7  to  9  nerved  and  rounded  or  cordate  at  base. — Editor. 
