Rhatany
or RATTANY, a half shrubby plant, of the natural order Polygaleæ, a native of the cold sterile tablelands of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. It is called ratanhia in Peru. It is valued for the medicinal properties of the root, which are shared more or less by other species of the same genus, also natives of South America. In the British Pharmacopæia the dried roots of two species (Krameria triandra, Peruvian rhatany, and K. ixina, Savanilla rhatany) are officinal under the name Krameriæ Radix. The roots vary a good deal in size and thickness, but are always rough-looking, and reddish in color. The bark has a strongly astringent taste, and when chewed tinges the saliva red; the wood is nearly near tasteless. The dried root is a powerful astringent, and is employed in diarrhea, mucous discharges, passive hæmorrhages, and cases where an astringent or styptic action is indicated. The finely-powdered root is also a frequent constituent of toothpowders. Rhatany root is imported from various parts of South America, but chiefly from Lima. It is extensively imported into Portugal in order to communicate a rich red color to wines. Its peculiar properties are due to rhatanytannic acid, found in the root-bark to the extent of 20 per cent.; it also contains a red coloring matter.