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2007-10-17T11:52:59Z

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'''Jalap''' is a [[cathartic]] [[recreational drug use|drug]] consisting of the tuberous roots of ''[[Ipomoea purga]]'', a [[convolvulaceous]] plant growing on the eastern declivities of the [[Sierra Madre Oriental]] of [[Mexico]] at an elevation of 5000 to 8000 ft. above sea level, more especially about the neighbourhood of [[Chiconquiaco]] on the eastern slope of the [[Cofre de Perote]] in the [[mexican state|state]] of [[Veracruz]].

Jalap has been known in Europe since the beginning of the 17th century, and derives its name from the city of [[Xalapa|Jalapa]] in [[Mexico]], near which it grows, but its botanical source was not accurately determined until [[1829]], when Dr. [[J. R. Coxe]] of Philadelphia published a description.

The ordinary drug is distinguished in commerce as Vera Cruz jalap, from the name of the port whence it is shipped. Jalap has been cultivated for many years in [[India]], chiefly at [[Ootacamund]], and grows there as easily as a yam, often producing clusters of tubers weighing over 9 lb; but these, as they differ in appearance from the commercial article, have not as yet obtained a place in the English market. They are found, however, to be rich in resin, containing 18%. In [[Jamaica]] also the plant has been grown, at first amongst the [[cinchona]] trees, but more recently in new ground, as it was found to exhaust the soil. Besides Mexican or Vera Cruz jalap, a drug called Tampico jalap has been imported for some years in considerable quantity. It has a much more shrivelled
appearance and paler colour than ordinary jalap, and lacks the small transverse scars present in the true drug. This kind of jalap, the ''Purga de Sierra Gorda'' of the Mexicans, was traced by [[Daniel Hanbury]] to ''[[Ipomoea simulans]]''.

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[[Category:Herbs]]

Jalap - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 11:52, 17 October 2007