Jalap has been known in Europe since the beginning of the 17th century, and derives its name from the city of Jalapa 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%. In Jamaica also the plant has been grown, 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 Hanbury to '' Ipomaea Simulans ''.
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