false jalap

1 definition found

false jalap - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  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.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     False jalap, the root of Mirabilis Jalapa, four-o'clock,
        or marvel of Peru.
        [1913 Webster]