VIBIRNUM ARROW- WOOD. 1(').'^ 



Medical Prnperlies^ and Uses. — The voot lias a clisapji'ocable odor and a 

 bitter, nauseous taste. It is cathartic and in large doses e.netic ; rarely 

 used. 



SAMBUCUS.— Eloku. 



Sambucus Canadensis Linne. — Common Elder. 



Dexcviplion. — Calyx niinutc.ly 5-toothed, the teeth at length ohsolete. 

 Corolla urn-shaped, the lobes obtuse, widely spreading. Stamens 5. 

 Stigmas 3, Fruit a juicy, berry-like drupe, containing 3 small seed-like 

 nutlets. 



A shrvibby plant, with numerous stems. 5 to 10 feet high, with a com- 

 paratively large pith. Leaves unequally pinnate ; leailets 7 to 11, oblong 

 or oval, acuniiniite, serrate. Flowers numerous, white, in compound 

 cymes, appearing in June. Fruit small, dark 2)urple or black, edible, 

 though having a taste which is, to most people, rather disa<^i'eeable. 



H(d)ilat. — In thickets and along neglected fences from Cannda to Flor- 

 ida and westward ; everywhere common. 



Part U^ed. — The flowers — United Slalea rharmacopma. The berries, 

 the inner bark of the stem, and the bark of the root are also employed, but 

 are not official. 



Constituents. — Of the flowei-s : they have a peculiar, sweetish odor and 

 a bittei'ish taste. Upon distillation with water they yield a peculiar vola- 

 tile oil of a butyraceous consistence. Of the berries : saccharine matter 

 and malic acid. Of the bark : an acid identical with valerianic acid, be- 

 sides common vegetable principles. 



Preparations. — None are official. An aromatic water, prepared by dis- 

 tillation from the flowers of a European species, is official with the Bi'itish. 

 The insjjissated juice of the berries has been employed medicinally, and a 

 wine made by fermenting the fresh juice is considerably i^scd in some 

 parts of the country. The bark is commonly employed in infusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Elder-flowers are said to be slightly sudor- 

 ific ; in the form of the distilled water, their only use is as a fragrant vehi- 

 cle. The berries are sometimes used in preparing cooling drinks ; they 

 appear to have no special medicinal activity. The br.rk and root are 

 actively cathartic and were formerly vised as hydragogues. 



VIBURN UM. — Auuow-wooD 



Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-tootlied. Corolla rotate, deeply 5- 

 lobed. Stamens 5. Ovary 1- to 3-celled ; one of the cells containing an 

 ovule, the others abortive ; stigmas 3. Fruit a 1-celled, 1-seeded drupe* 

 with a thin pulp and a crustaceous, somewhat flattened stitne. 



Shrubs or small trees, with simple, undivided, or lobed leaves. Flowers 

 white, in flat, terminal, compound cymes ; the marginal flowers sometimes 

 sterile or radiani 



