178 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 
Flowers in fascicles, calyx smooth, awnless; corolla subulate- 
campanulate, white, with the tube purplish-red at the base, 
both externally and within. The peduncles and petioles have 
a common origin, and are arranged in pairs. The flower 
buds are of a purplish-red hue at first, and, when further ad- 
vanced, are straw colored. The plant flowers from June to 
August." — W. P. C. Barton. 
The common name, of Wild Potato, which the plant bears, 
has originated from the appearance of the root. The specific 
appellation has been given from the panduriform shape of the 
leaves, which is sometimes met with, bearing some analogy 
to the fiddle. According to Dr. Darlington, " the spe- 
cimens with fiddle-shaped leaves have generally a broad, 
shallow sinus at base, with the calyx often roughish pubes- 
cent, and seem, indeed, to constitute a pretty distinct va- 
riety.'' 7 They are less common than the others. 
Habitat. — It is indigenous to the United States, and extends 
from Canada to Florida, thriving in sandy soil, in old, uncul- 
tivated fields, where it forms a sort of carpeting for the earth, 
from the luxuriance of its growth and the interlacing of the 
stems. 
Sensible properties.-— The, root, which constitutes the 
active portion, is possessed of a disagreeable odor when 
fresh, and a bitter, acrid taste; these are somewhat diminished 
by desiccation ; by this process about three-fourths of the 
weight are lost. In the dried state, it is brought to us in cir- 
cular pieces of different sizes, varying in diameter from an 
inch to two or more. They are formed by transverse sec- 
tions of the root, and are composed of two parts; an external 
corrugated cortical portion, or investing circle, a line or 
more in thickness; and an internal parenchematous substance, 
which is a little depressed upon the flat surfaces, and striated; 
the striae diverging from the centre to the circumference. 
The color is ashen-gray, inclining to brown externally, 
whitish internally. The structure is compact and somewhat 
fibrous. Some force is required to pulverize the pieces. 
The powder is whitish, with an ashen tint. The pieces bear 
some resemblance to the segments of briony root. By Dr. 
