Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: On pareira brava / by Daniel Hanbury. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![In Cissampelos I Pareira the root and stem are i Jamaica, which were the largest that could be nearly alike in structure, and in transverse section | lected, were rarely so much as an inch in diame' show no concentric rings. Those received from , and in many localities it is difficult to obtain stem or root thicker than a goose qui] True Pareira BRAVA —root op Chondodendron tomentosum. TRANSVERSE SECTION OF STEM OF Cisxa. pelos Pareira L. From a Jamaica specimen. The Pareira Brava of English com merce is mostly of larger size than Hit root of Chondodendron, and is a muc more woody substance. Its interna structure, which is familiar to mo druggists, is very remarkable, consis ing of a series of layers which are often developed exclusively in one direction Nothing is known of the botanical origin of this drug, beyond the fact that tin structure of the wood is that of order Menispermacece. Of late years even this sort has be come rare, and its place has been taker by a drug completely devoid of med cinal power. This latter consists cylindrical woody truncheons whii have an internal structure not ver diverse from that represented on th opposite page, though generally less eccentric, with always a distinct cea tral pith. The wood is tasteless, and often seems to have been injured b damp. It should be rigidly exclude from pharmaceutical use. Several other sorts of Pareira Brava are known—at least in South Ainerici One, of which there is a parcel now i the London market, is remarkable f< its large size, and for being internally c a fine yellow. As it is also very bitter it probably contains berberine. Another sort is derived from AbuU rufescens Aublet, a well-marked plant growing in Guiana and North Brazil Specimens of a thick woody rootjl marked Abutua grande or Parrei'i Brava grande, and attributed to th species have been sent to me by M Correa de Mello ; they exhibit nu merous concentric layers traversed lr very distinct, dark medullary raj the inter-radial spaces being white, ai rich in starch. It is apparently well-marked sort, and one I have seen in commerce.* * When Aublet was in Guiana, 1762-t the stems of Abuta 'rufescens were fdupp to France as Pareira Brava blame. He s“ there is a variety of the same with woody parts reddish, which is known ~r> ~D TTa o||](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22367378_0004.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
