Jalap is a

cathartic In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that ''accelerates'' defecation. This is similar to a laxative, which is a substance that ''eases'' defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathart ...

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

, largely obsolete in Western medicine, consisting of the tuberous roots of ''

Ipomoea purga ''Ipomoea purga'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Ipomoea''. It is commonly referred to as jalap and is probably also the source of the John the Conqueror root. Description ''Ipomoea purga'' is described as a vine that can reach ...

'', a convolvulaceous plant growing on the eastern declivities of the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

at an elevation of above sea level, more especially about the neighbourhood of

Chiconquiaco Chiconquiaco is a municipality in Veracruz (state), Veracruz, Mexico. It is located in the Sierra de Chiconquiaco in the middle of the State of Veracruz (state), Veracruz. It has a surface of 68.27 km2. It is located at . The municipality of Chic ...

on the eastern slope of the

Cofre de Perote Cofre de Perote, also known by its Nahuatl names Naupa-Tecutépetl (from ''Nāuhpa-Tēuctēpetl'') and Nauhcampatépetl, both meaning something like "Place of Four Mountains" or "Mountain of the Lord of Four Places", is an inactive volcano loca ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. Jalap has been known in Europe since the beginning of the 17th century, and derives its name from the city of

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...

, 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 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, chiefly at

Ootacamund Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located ...

, 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%. The plant also has been grown in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, at first amongst the

cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

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 Daniel Hanbury FRS (11 September 1825 – 24 March 1875) was a British botanist and pharmacologist. He was an early student of pharmacognosy, the study of the medicinal applications of nature, principally of plants. Life Hanbury was born ...

to ''

Ipomoea simulans ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, bindweed, moonflow ...

''. ''

Ipomoea jalapa ''Ipomoea purga'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Ipomoea''. It is commonly referred to as jalap and is probably also the source of the John the Conqueror root. Description ''Ipomoea purga'' is described as a vine that can reach h ...

'' is yet another

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

from which jalap is obtained; it was first scientifically described (as ''Convolvulus jalapa'') by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

. However, it is not of great commercial importance. As it also occurs in Veracruz, it was long confused with ''I. purga'', even by such eminent botanists as

David Don David Don (21 December 1799 – 15 December 1841) was a Scottish people, Scottish botanist. Biography David Don was born on 21 December 1799 at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland to Caroline Clementina Stuart, and her husband George Don of ...

Thomas Nuttall Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an England, English botany, botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle, North Yorkshire, S ...

or C.J.W. Schiede. Consequently, the name ''I. jalapa'' is often seen as an invalid

junior homonym In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the se ...

referring to ''I. purga'', in particular in sources older than 1989 (when the confusion was finally resolved). Throughout much of the 20th century, the ''I. jalapa'' of Linnaeus was called ''I. carrizalia''.

References

{{reflist Herbs Flora of Mexico

See also

References