CERASUS SEROTINA. ee 4l 
coloured tuber or head. These fibres are about the thickness of straws, many inches in lencth. i : : 
with somewhat of an undulated form. When dried they are of a vnditids Sees colour sia etaadaenane 
an easily separable cortical portion, and an internal ligneous cord. The external part i re : 
has a feeble odour and a bitter taste. _— easily reduced to powder. It 
Some experiments upon the root of Gillenia trifoliata have been made by Mr. Shreeve, (Am. J 
vol. vii.,) who found that it contained starch, gum, resin, wax, fatty matter, red mre rene tae tonne 
matter, and a peculiar principle, soluble in alcohol and the dilute acids, but insoluble in wate 
no emetina according to the statement of Dr. Staples. water-snd ether. It contains 
Gillenia is a safe emetic, operating without violence in the appropriate dose. In small doses it is sti 
; stimulant 
tonic to the stomach. It is stated that a knowledge of its medicinal operation was derived from the Indians. itis tan 
wherever it becomes necessary to evacuate the stomach, and has been regarded by some practitioners as nearly equal 
to ipecacuanha. It is given in the form of powder, the dose being about gss., or in that of strong infusion. T'wo or 
three grains act as a tonic. 
Piate XXXIV.—Represents the plant in flower, the structure of the flower and frutt. 
AMYGDALEA., | 
JUSSIEU. 
EssentiaL Cuar.—Calyz free from the ovary, deciduous. Ovary solitary, with two collateral, suspended ovules ; 
styles terminal ; stigma reniform or emarginate. Fruita drupe. Seed mostly solitary, suspended in consequence of the 
cohesion of the funiculus with the side of the cavity of the ovary. (T. and G., in Flora of N. A.) 
Trees or shrubs, confined to cold or temperate climates, with simple leaves, which are commonly glandular towards 
the base. Stipules free. Fruit eatable; the bark yielding gum; and the leaves, bark, and kernel containing tannin 
and amygdalin. 
CERASUS SEROTINA. 
DE CANDOLLE. 
WILD CHERRY. 
Sex. Syst.—Icosandria, Monogynia. A 
Gen. Cuar.—Calyz hemispherical, the limb five-parted, regular, deciduous. Petals much spreading. Stamens 
fifteen to thirty. Drupe globose, or umbilicate at the base, fleshy, quite smooth or covered with a pruinose powder. 
Nucleus (stone) somewhat globose, smooth. Young leaves conduplicate. Pedvcels one-flowered or racemose. 
Specir. Cuar.—Leaves rather coriaceous, oval oblong, acuminate, glabrous, or bearded along the midrib beneath, 
smooth and shining above, finely serrate, with adpressed or incurved, callous teeth ; petioles (or base of leaf) mostly with 
two or more glands; racemes elongated, spreading ; petals broadly obovate ; drupes globose, purplish black. (T. and G., 
Flora of N. A.) es 
from Maine to Louisiana. It varies in height from 
southwestern portion of the Union. The leaves 
twenty to eighty or more feet, attaining i ions in th 
, attaining its extreme proportions in the ee 
; hes in length, and nodding at their termination. The 
ar tissue beneath. By this character it can 
VOL. I. 11 
