Taxus Baccata.

Taxus baccata.—D. Amato and A. Capparelli have isolated from the green needle-shaped leaves of the yew an alkaloid, which is colorless, crystalline, of a musty odor and produces dense white fumes with the vapors of hydrochloric acid. It is sparingly soluble in water, freely soluble in alcohol and ether, and yields precipitates with several reagents for alkaloids, those with solution of iodine in potassium iodide and with tannin becoming crystalline ("Gaz. Ital.," x, p. 349). Similar results were obtained by Marme, see "Amer. Jour. Pharm.," 1876, p. 353.

Amato and Capparelli obtained also a volatile oil resembling that of wild fennel in odor, and a colorless non-nitrogenous principle, crystallizing in stellate needles, which are sparingly soluble in cold, but freely so in hot alcohol.

The American Journal of Pharmacy, Vol. 53, 1881, was edited by John M. Maisch.