538       Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {^^^S; 
tubers  called  native  yams  are  yielded  by  Parsonia  paddisoni  (N.  O. 
Apocynaceae).  Piralaby  rubber  is  the  product  of  Landolphia  perieri, 
H.  Jumelle,  of  Madagascar.  Altamasano  has  extracted  from 
Coniza,  one  of  the  Mexican  Compositae,  a  glucoside,  called  lennesine. 
In  Merck's  Annual  Report  for  1899  the  following  new  drugs  are 
•described:  (1)  Folia  Mayteni  Vitis  Idaei ;  (2)  Folia  Combreti 
Raimbaulti ;  (3)  Fructus  Prosopis  strombuliferae ;  (4)  Herba  et 
Radix  Brachycladi  Stuckerti;  (5)  Herba  et  Fructus  Blepharis  Capen- 
sis ;  (6)  Natri  (several  species  of  Solanum);  (7)  Radix  Taeniae 
Guyanensis  ;  (8)  Semen  Bondue  (the  seeds  of  Guilandina  Bonducella 
and  Ccesalpinia  Bonducella), 
INVESTIGATIONS  ON  OTHER  DRUGS. 
Collin  has  prepared  in  the  Jour.  Pharm.  Chim.  an  interesting 
article  on  the  anatomy  of  fictitious  teas,  such  as  "  Kaporie," 
"  Caucasus,"  etc.  In  the  same  journal  and  by  the  same  author  is  an 
illustrated  paper  on  Hydrastis  Canadensis,  L.  This  is  admixed  with 
Cypnpedium  parviflorum  and  Stylophorum  diphyllum.  The  morphol- 
ogy and  anatom}/  of  the  Japanese  lacquer  tree  (Rhus  verniciferd) 
is  described  in  Abhandlung.  d.  Senckenbergische  naturforsch.  Gesell- 
schaft.  In  the  Bulletin  Iowa  Agric.  College  is  given  by  Pammell 
the  geographical  distribution  of  Solanum  Carolinense.  Grace  E. 
Cooley  has  shown  that  in  the  autumn  leaves  of  Hamamelis  (which 
contain  most  tannin)  the  walls  of  the  hairs  are  thickened  and 
colored  yellow.  Several  species  of  Polygala  (P.  violacea,  St.  Hil., 
and  P.  carceasanay  H.  B.  K.)  have  been  found  by  Dethan  in  commer- 
cial ipecac.  Small  jaborandi  leaves  have  been  utilized  as  an 
adulterant  in  coca.  Greenish  has  described  a  new  spurious  senna, 
while  Micko  has  described  a  false  cinnamon  bark. 
PLANT  CONSTITUENTS. 
There  has  been  the  usual  activity  among  investigators  during 
the  past  year  in  ascertaining  the  origin  as  well  as  nature  of  the 
constituents  of  drugs  and  economical  plants.  Hesse  has  contributed 
a  valuable  paper  on  the  Solanaceous  alkaloids.  The  active  prin- 
ciples of  hyoscyamus  are  chiefly  hyoscyamin  with  some  atropin  and 
hyoscin ;  belladonna  root  contains  an  excess  of  atropine ;  scopola 
rhizome  contains  chiefly  hyoscin  and  some  atrosin,  both  of  these 
bases  being  present  in  commercial  scopolamin.    It  appears  that 
