JUNIPER 135 



Uses. Applied externally pepper acts as a rubefacient, anodyne, 

 and counter-irritant. It is given internally as a local stimulant, 

 and as a stimulant to the urethra and rectum ; it increases gastric 

 secretion and improves the appetite ; it is also occasionally used 

 for haemorrhoids and other diseases of the rectum. 



JUNIPER BERRIES 



(Fructus Juniperi) 



Source, &C. The juniper, Juniperus communis, Linne (N.O. Coni- 

 ferce), is a small dioecious evergreen shrub with linear spreading 

 prickly leaves, indigenous to Great Britain, and widely distributed 

 over Europe. 



In the axils of certain of the upper leaves small rudimentary 

 branches are produced, each of which bears a number of minute bracts ; 



FIG. 77. Juniper berry. A, entire fruit, magnified 3 diam. 

 B, transverse section of the same ; K, seed. D, Seed, 

 magnified 3 diam. ; I, oil-gland. (Berg.) 



hi the axils of the uppermost whorl of three such bracts three ovules 

 are produced, which, as in all gymnosperms, are not enclosed in an 

 ovary. After fertilisation the three supporting bracts increase in size, 

 become fleshy, grow round, and finally, with the exception of a minute 

 canal at the apex, completely enclose the three ovules. At the same 

 time the ovules develop to seeds and become surrounded with hard 

 coats developed partly from the integuments, partly from the tissue 

 of the enclosing bracts. The fruit ripens in the second year, and 

 forms then a purple, berry-like fruit which is termed a ' galbulus.' 



Jumper berries are collected in various parts of Europe, but especially 

 in Italy and in Hungary. 



Description. Ripe juniper berries are of a dark purplish colour 

 and nearly globular shape, measuring about 8 mm. in diameter. 

 The apex bears a very distinct tri-radiate scar indicating the sutures 

 of the three bracts by which the seeds are enclosed ; at the base are 

 (usually) six minute pointed bracts arranged in two whorls. The 

 outer skin (corresponding to the epicarp) is thin and often covered 

 with a bluish ' bloom ' ; the tissue corresponding to the mesocarp is 

 loose and soft, of a yellowish brown colour, and contains embedded 

 in it three hard ' triangular seeds. These usually bear, partly sunk 



