322 
A  Species  of  Commelina. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
July,lS98. 
had  been  gathered  about  two  years  before.  He  was  unable  to  find 
a  glucoside,  but,  like  the  writer,  found  evidence  in  the  ethereal  ex- 
tract of  a  small  amount  of  a  substance  which  gave  precipitates  with 
alkaloidal  reagents ;  while  more  of  the  same  substance  was  found 
by  him  in  the  absolute  alcohol  extracts.  The  author  has  had  the 
same  experience  in  the  present  investigation.  The  specimen  of 
Commelina  under  examination  was  collected  on  the  banks  of  the 
Wissahickon  near  its  junction  with  the  Schuylkill.  On  careful  study 
of  the  material,  by  the  aid  of  the  manuals  and  comparison  with  the 
specimens  in  the  Martindale  Herbarium  in  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy,  it  was  evident  that  the  species  was  not  C.  virgtnicai 
but  probably  either  C.  nudiflora  or  C.  communis. 
CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS. 
The  fresh  plant  was  dried  at  a  temperature  of  300  C.  for  several 
days,  until  it  was  in  a  fit  condition  for  grinding. 
The  ground  material  lost  9-65  per  cent,  of  moisture  when  dried 
to  a  constant  weight  at  no0  C 
Upon  incineration  it  yielded  15-33  per  cent,  of  ash.  The  ash  was 
brownish-gray  in  color,  and  retained  somewhat  the  shape  of  the  par- 
ticles of  the  original  material ;  38-03  per  cent,  of  the  ash  was  sol- 
uble in  water.  The  salts  of  the  aqueous  solution  consisted  chiefly 
of  potassium  chloride  and  sulphate,  and  a  much  smaller  quantity  of 
potassium  carbonate.  Hydrochloric  acid  dissolved  44*72  per  cent, 
of  the  ash,  from  the  residue  insoluble  in  water;  this  amount  in- 
cluded the  carbonates  which  were  decomposed  by  the  acid.  The 
solution  in  hydrochloric  acid  contained  calcium,  magnesium,  iron, 
and  phosphoric  oxide.  The  remaining  17-25  per  cent,  of  the  ash 
was  composed  of  siliceous  matter. 
A  portion  of  the  ground  plant  was  macerated  with  cold  water  for 
some  minutes  and  the  mixture  then  filtered.  The  filtrate  had  a 
feebly  acid  reaction  toward  litmus  paper.  It  also  reacted  as  fol- 
lows : 
Ferric  chloride  caused  no  change  in  appearance. 
Gelatin  had  no  effect. 
Gelatin  and  alum  behaved  likewise. 
Bromine  water  produced  no  change. 
Ammonio-ferric  sulphate  was  without  effect. 
Calcium  hydrate  made  a  yellowish  turbidity. 
