226  Phlox  Carolina.  {AmMay^!?i?rm' 
*    NOTE  ON  PHLOX  CAROLINA.1 
By  Henry  G.  Greenish,  F.I.C. 
Inquiring  a  few  weeks  ago  at  one  of  our  wholesale  houses  for 
Spigelia  root,  I  was  informed  that  it  was  scarce  just  then,  and  all 
that  they  had  in  their  possession  was  a  broker's  sample  of  about  4 
ounces,  to  which  I  was  welcome  if  it  would  be  of  use  to  me. 
An  examination  of  this  sample,  which  I  accepted,  disclosed  points 
of  interest  that  I  venture  to  bring  under  your  notice  this  evening. 
On  glancing  at  this  so-called  spigelia  it  was  at  once  observed  that 
for  spigelia  it  was  a  bold  sample.  Closer  inspection  showed  that  it 
differed  materially  in  its  straighter,  thicker  and  less  wiry  rootlets 
and  smoother  rhizome,  from  which  the  cup-shaped  scars  that  char- 
acterize true  spigelia  are  absent,  the  lower  portions  of  the  aerial 
stems  frequently  remaining  still  attached.  Moreover,  the  cortex  of 
the  root  showed  a  decided  disposition  to  separate  from  the  woody 
column,  leaving  the  latter  as  a  continuous  yellow  thread. 
These  characters  led  me  to  suspect  that  I  was  dealing  with  Phlox 
Carolina,  the  root  of  which  has  been  substituted  for  that  of 
Spigelia  marilandica  in  the  United  States.  In  1883  Professor  Maisch 
alluded  to  "  the  fact  that  the  spigelia  sold  twenty-five  years  ago  had 
entirely  disappeared  from  the  market,  and  its  place  had  been  taken 
by  the  much  smaller  roots  of  Spigelia  marilandica  and  one  or  more 
species  of  Phlox,  principally  Phlox  Carolina." 
In  response  to  a  request  from  me,  Professor  Maisch  was  kind 
enough  to  send  me  a  sample,  remarking  that  it  was  what  he 
received  some  years  ago  as  Phlox  Carolina. 
This  root  agreed  with  mine,  and  on  comparing  them  with  herb- 
arium specimens  in  the  British  Museum,  which  unfortunately  were 
mostly  without  roots,  I  have  little  doubt  that  they  are  correctly 
named. 
From  the  roots  of  this  plant  Professor  Trimble  isolated  a  red 
crystalline  body,  which  he  designated  phloxol.  This  body  passes 
into  solution  when  the  roots  are  digested  with  petroleum  benzin, 
and  thus  furnishes  us  with  another  rr\eans  of  distinguishing  phlox 
from  spigelia. 
But  the  most  striking  and  interesting  features  of  the  root  are 
those  which  are  disclosed  by  a  microscopical  examination. 
1  Read  before  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain,  at  an  Evening 
Meeting  in  London,  March  nth.    From  Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  p.  839. 
