Crossword clues for jalap
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Jalap \Jal"ap\, n. [F., fr. Sp. jalapa; -- so called from Jalapa, a town in Mexico, whence it was first obtained.] (Med.) The tubers of the Mexican plant Ipom[oe]a purga (or Exogonium purga) of the family Convolvulaceae, a climber much like the morning-glory. The abstract, extract, and powder, prepared from the tubers, are well known purgative (cathartic) medicines, and are also called jalap. Other species of Ipom[oe]a yield several inferior kinds of jalap, as the Ipom[oe]a Orizabensis, and Ipom[oe]a tuberosa.
False jalap, the root of Mirabilis Jalapa, four-o'clock, or marvel of Peru.
Wiktionary
Etymology 1 n. A cathartic drug consisting of the tuberous roots of (taxlink Ipomoea purga species noshow=1), a convolvulaceous plant found in Mexico. Etymology 2
n. (lb en informal) A jalapeño.
Wikipedia
Jalap is a cathartic drug, its use largely archaic in the West, 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 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 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%. The plant also has been grown in Jamaica, 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.
Ipomoea jalapa is yet another morning glory species from which jalap is obtained; it was first scientifically described (as Convolvulus jalapa) by Linnaeus. 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, Thomas Nuttall or C.J.W. Schiede. Consequently, the name I. jalapa is often seen as an invalid junior homonym 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.
Usage examples of "jalap".
Herbalists talk about Jalap and Black Haw, but to the uninitiated Bindweed and Guelder Rose are far more familiar, and it is under these names that they will be found in this herbal.
When first she left me alone in this dispensary, I took an inventory that showed: guaiacum, sarsaparilla, lobelia, puc-coon, cohosh, coca, jalap, cinchona, as well as balsams and herbs both indigenous and otherwise, had via her gardens or the mails, in which she so actively engaged.
All-heal, with Spurge and Fennel, Saffron and Parsley, Elder and Snake-root, with opium in some form, and roasted rhubarb and the Four Great Cold Seeds, and the two Resins, of which it used to be said that whatever the Tacamahaca has not cured, the Caranna will, with the more familiar Scammony and Jalap and Black Hellebore, made up a good part of his probable list of remedies.
My tongue was still burning from jalap enos while I washed the breakfast dishes.
Starbuck, had the face to offer that calomel and jalap to Queequeg, there, this instant off the whale.
John's wort and Clown's All-heal, with Spurge and Fennel, Saffron and Parsley, Elder and Snake-root, with opium in some form, and roasted rhubarb and the Four Great Cold Seeds, and the two Resins, of which it used to be said that whatever the Tacamahaca has not cured, the Caranna will, with the more familiar Scammony and Jalap and Black Hellebore, made up a good part of his probable list of remedies.