2l6 



ROSACES 



ACTION AND USES. Tonic and sedative. Owing to the bitter principle 

 it is a stomachic and bitter tonic. Useful in gastric atony and general 

 debility. The syrup forms the basis of many of the cough syrups. 

 Dose: 30 to 60 gr. (2 to 4 Gm.). 



OFFICIAL PREPARATION. 



Syrupus Pruni Virginianae, Dose: i to 4 fl. dr. (4 to 15 mils). 



204. CHOKE CHERRY. The bark of Pru'nus virginia'na Linn6, a small tree 

 growing in the Northern and Western States. Tonic and antiperiodic. 



205. PRUNUM, N.F. PRUNE 



PRUNE 

 The partly dried ripe fruit of Pru'nus domes'tica Linne\ 



BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS. The French variety, or Juliana, the principal 

 commercial prune, bears ovate-oblong, deep-purple drupes, not depressed 



FIG. 112. Prunus domestica Fruiting branch and flowering branch. 



at the insertion of the stalk, and with a scarcely visible suture and no furrow; 



pulp greenish and rather austere. The tree is small, with smooth branches 



and elliptical leaves; flower-buds formed of one or two flowers; petals white, 



oblong-ovate. 

 HABITAT. Western Asia; cultivated in temperate regions. Most of the prunes 



come from Prance, the best from Bordeaux. 

 DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. Dried shriveled, oblong, almost globular, about 30 mm. 



(ij in.) long; externally brownish-black. The sarcocarp (the medicinal 



portion) consists of a brownish-yellow pulp having a sweet, acidulous taste, 



