166 
ON PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA. 
mingled, as they often are, on the same branch with the 
white flowers, and green unripe fruit, presenting to the 
eye of the observer a rich and beautiful display of color. 
The poke takes its name of Phytolacca from phyton, a 
plant, and lackka — gum-lac, from the color of its ripe fruit. 
It belongs to Decandria, Decagynia, Lin., Phytolaccese, 
Lind. 
The poke is found growing spontaneously in the northern 
parts of Africa, and in the south of Europe, supposed to 
have been introduced from America. The root as brought 
to the market by the herb collectors, is usually cut into 
transverse slices of a whitish brown color externally, wrin- 
kled, and exhibiting, on the internal cut surface of the trans- 
verse slices, numerous concentric rings, formed by the pro- 
jecting ends of fibres, between which the internal and more 
succulent matter has shrunk in drying. 
When a new surface has been exposed, these alternate in- 
tervening circles are of a light-brown color, whilst the pro- 
jecting ends of the fibres are of a yellowish white ; this 
slight yellow tinge, observable in a new surface of the fresh 
dried root, is entirely lost by age, and would be a sufficient- 
ly delicate test of the quality of the article, the virtues of 
which are so much impaired by long keeping. Another dis- 
tinguishing mark of the freshness of this root is an odor 
much resembling that of the " Panax quinquefolium," de- 
cidedly evident in the recently dried root, but which is en- 
tirely lost by age. 
Chemical Analysis. 
Not having met with any analysis of the rcot of this 
plant, the following experiments were gone into with a view 
of ascertaining its constituents. 
Experiment First. — Four hundred grains of the dried 
root were coarsely powdered and digested in alcohol for 
several days, then thrown on a displacement filter, and suc- 
cessive portions of alcohol poured on, until it came away 
