THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
v 
MARCH,  1895. 
FEB  is8  1895  { 
r-  'Ami  ? 
structurf;  of  cimicifijga.^ 
By  Edson  S.  Bastin. 
Cimicifuga  racemosa,  Nuttall,  the  source  of  the  drug,  is  a  native 
of  the  eastern  portion  of  Canada  and  of  the  United  States,  extending 
as  far  south  as  Florida.  It  is  a  large,  perennial,  smooth  herb, 
whose  wand-like  stem  often  attains  a  height  of  seven  or  eight  feet,  is 
leafy  only  near  its  middle,  where  it  bears  several  large  petiolate, 
triternate  leaves,  the  leaflets  of  which  are  ovate  or  ovate  oblong, 
acute  and  deeply  serrate-toothed.  The  white  flowers  are  borne  in 
long,  terminal,  erect  racemes  which  attain  a  length  of  from  eight 
inches  to  three  feet ;  the  four  or  five  small  sepals  fall  when  the 
flower  opens ;  the  petals,  from  one  to  eight  in  number,  are  small, 
clawed  and  two-horned  at  the  apex ;  the  stamens  are  indefinite  in 
number,  and  constitute  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  flower  when 
fully  expanded ;  the  pistil  is  usually  single,  but  sometimes  there  are 
two  or  three.    The  pods  are  oblong,  dehiscent  and  many-seeded. 
The  thick,  knotty  rhizome,  with  its  numerous  rootlets,  constitutes 
the  official  drug.  The  rhizomes  have  a  horizontal  growth  and  often 
attain  a  length  of  four  or  five  inches,  and  the  rhizome  proper  may 
attain  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness.  On  its  upper  surface  are 
numerous  stout,  erect  or  somewhat  curved  branches  which  are 
terminated  by  cup-shaped  scars,  each  of  which  usually  show  a  dis- 
tinct radial  structure.  The  sides  of  the  rhizome  are  more  or  less 
distinctly  annulate  with  the  scars  of  scales,  and  from  the  sides  and 
lower  surface,  chiefly  from  the  nodes,  issue  numerous  rootlets. 
These,  at  their  base,  range  from  one-twelfth  to  as  much  as  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  from  six  to  ten  inches  long.  In 
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