Jateorhiza
(from iatos, healing, and rhiza, a root; in allusion to the medicinal qualities of the plant). ORD. Menispermaceae. A genus comprising two or three species, natives of tropical Africa or Madagascar. The only one worthy of mention here is J. Calumba. For culture, see Cocculus (to which it is allied).
J. Calumba (Calumba). fl., corolla pale green. l. alternate, the younger ones thin, pellucid, bright green, generally three-lobed, upwards gradually more numerous. Stems annual, herbaceous. Root perennial, consisting of a number of fasciculated, fusiform, somewhat branched, fleshy, curved, descending tubers. Mozambique. This plant furnishes the well-known Calumba-root, a drug much esteemed as a bitter tonic, where a stimulant or astringent effect is not required; it is often employed in cases of indigestion, dependent upon languor and want of tone in the stomach, and attended by nausea and flatulence. SYN. J. palmata. (B. M. 2970, under name of Cocculus palmatus.) J. palmata (palmate). A synonym of J. Calumba.