Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Oct.,  1876.  j 
Megarrhiza  Calif brnica. 
45 1 
MEGARRHIZA  C ALIFORNIC A — ( Torrey). 
NAT.  ORD.  CUCURBITACE/E. 
BY  JOHN  P.  HEANEY,  PH.G.,  SAN  FRANCISCO. 
[Abstract  from  an  Inaugural  Essay  presented  to  the  California  College  of  Pharmacy.') 
This  plant,  better  known  by  the  synonyms  of  the  "  big  or  giant 
root"  and  umanroot,"  is  a  herbaceous,  climbing  and  succulent  vine, 
growing  abundantly  throughout  the  State.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the 
echinocystis  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  also  to  a  new  genus  called 
iC  marah  muricatus"  or  California  balsam  apple,  which  has  been  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Kellogg  in  the  proceedings  of  the  California  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  (Vol  I).  It  is  found  both  in  dry  sandy  and  rich 
soil.  In  the  former  it  grows  in  bushy  tufts  about  two  feet  high  and 
four  or  more  wide,  being  evidently  somewhat  stunted,  but  in  rich  soil, 
when  well  shaded,  its  annual  stem  climbs  thirty  to  forty  feet  over 
trees  and  acquires  its  largest  growth.  It  flowers  in  March  and 
April.  The  remarkable  feature  of  this  plant  is  its  gigantic  root,  which 
is  perennial,  tubero-fusiform,  externally  of  a  yellowish-gray  color,  and 
rugose  j  within  white,  succulent  and  fleshy,  of  a  nauseous  odor,  which 
is  lost  in  a  great  measure  by  drying,  and  of  a  bitter,  acrid  and  disagreea- 
ble taste,  which  leaves  a  feeling  of  acrimony  in  the  fauces.  The  In- 
dians are  said  to  use  this  root  as  a  drastic  purge  in  dropsy-  It  has  also 
been  used  by  domestic  practitioners,  in  the  form  of  decoction,  both  as 
a  laxative  and  cathartic  with  good  results.  On  drying,  the  root  lost 
from  70  to  75  per  cent,  in  weight.  The  dried  root  is  externally  of  a 
yellowish-brown  color  and  longitudinally  wrinkled ;  internally  of  a 
white  color,  becoming  somewhat  darker  by  age,  concentrically  striated, 
light,  brittle  and  readily  pulverizable,  yielding  a  whitish  powder. 
A  preliminary  examination  made  with  the  aqueous,  alcoholic  and 
etherial  extracts  of  the  fresh  root  led  to  the  following  conclusions, 
namely  :  That  the  root  contained  a  bitter  principle  soluble  in  water 
and  alcohol,  but  more  readily  in  the  latter  ;  also  a  resinous,  fatty  mat- 
ter and  an  organic  acid,  probably  of  a  fatty  nature,  which  was  soluble 
in  and  extracted  both  by  alcohol  and  ether.  The  probable  presence  of 
gum  and  pectin  was  likewise  indicated,  as  well  as  the  absence  of 
albumen,  sugar  and  volatile  oil. 
Examination  of  the  Dried  Root. — A  quantity  of  the  powdered  dried 
root  was  first  treated  with  ether  until  thoroughly  exhausted  by  this 
menstruum,  in  order  to  remove  the  fatty  and  resinous  matter.  The 
