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What is "vegetable turpeth"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
vegetable turpeth

Turpeth \Tur"peth\, n. [NL. turpethum, fr. Per. tirbid a cathartic, turbad a purgative root. Cf. Turbith.] [Written also turbeth, and turbith.]

  1. (Bot.) The root of Ipom[oe]a Turpethum, a plant of Ceylon, Malabar, and Australia, formerly used in medicine as a purgative; -- sometimes called vegetable turpeth.

  2. (Chem.) A heavy yellow powder, Hg3O2SO4, which consists of a basic mercuric sulphate; -- called also turpeth mineral.