Ipecacuanha

Ipecacuanha was a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae but is no longer recognized. It has been sunk into synonymy with Psychotria.

For the plant species commonly known as Ipecacuanha, see Carapichea ipecacuanha

The name also refers to:

  • Ipecacuanha, a drug commonly referred to as ipecac, the dried root of Cephaelis ipecacuanha, a plant from Brazil. The ipecacuanha from that country is called annulated, to distinguish it from the striated kind from Peru. The active ingredients reside chiefly in the cortex. It contains a feeble alkaloid called ceretin. Its preparations are pills, powders, lozenges, and wine. In large doses it is an emetic; in smaller ones it is an expectorant and a restorative. It is considered a specific in dysentery. Made into an ointment, it is a counter-irritant.[1]
  • Ipecacuanha is used to refer to plants which produce this drug, which include the plant mentioned and others.[1]
  • Ipecacuanha, the name of the ship that is captained by a Davis in H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896).

References
  1. Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). "Ipecacuanha" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.


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