PAREIRA PARSLEY. 207 



PAREIRA. Chondrodendron tomentosum, Ruiz. & P. 

 Syn. Pareira byava. N -- Menispwmacta. 



Part used Root. 



Action Tonic, diuretic, aperient. Used as a stimu- 

 lant to kidneys, relieving urinary irritation, and in 

 chronic inflammation of bladder and various urinary 

 diseases. The infusion of i ounce to a pint of boiling 

 water is taken in wineglassful doses as required. 



Preparation Fluid extract B. P. : Dose, J-2 drachms. 



Distinctive character The root occurs in tortuous 

 woody pieces of varying length, and about 1-2 inches in 

 diameter, black externally, longitudinally furrowed, 

 with transverse ridges and some constrictions, and inter- 

 nally greyish yellow or brownish. The transverse 

 section shows three or four concentric rings, usually 

 about J inch in diameter and each separated from the 

 contiguous one by a wavy line of softer tissue. The 

 medullary rays are broad, sometimes broader than the 

 woody wedges. The taste is bitter and slightly sweet, 

 but the root is inodorous. The stem, which often forms 

 more than one-third of the imported drug, is similar in 

 structure, but differs in the outer surface, being grey, 

 with numerous round, warty lenticels. Substitutes 

 often appear in the market, but all of them have narrower 

 rings and thinner medullary rays, and in some kinds no 

 bitterness is present, and in all except the African false 

 Pareira the outer surface is not black. The African 

 kind is recognisable by the narrower rings and thinner 

 medullary rays. 



PARSLEY. Carum Petrosellnum, Benth & Hook. 



N.O. Umbellifera. 



Syn. Apium pdroselinum, Linn., Petroselinum sativum, 

 Hoffrn. 



Parts used Root, seeds. 



Action Aperient, diuretic, emmenagogue. Is chiefly 

 used on account of its diuretic properties. In gravel, 



