276 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



stamens ; the filaments of the latter are slender, and the anthers small. The fruit is 

 large, at first green, then red, and finally black. 



There are several varieties, as regards the mode of growth and appearance 

 of this plant ,* sometimes it is tall and erect, and at others it is weak and pro- 

 cumbent, and the racemes of flowers are sometimes leafy. It is found in most 

 parts of the United States, in old fields, edges of woods, &c, and in all kinds 

 of soil. It flowers in May and June, and ripens its fruit in August. The 

 fruit varies exceedingly in size and flavour, and the finer kinds, if cultivated, 

 would probably be much improved. The root is officinal in the U. S. Phar- 

 macopoeia ; as found in the shops, it is in pieces of various sizes, of an 

 ash-brown colour externally, and yellowish-white within. Its odour is 

 faint, and its taste astringent and bitter ; this is confined to the cortical por- 

 tion as the woody fibre is destitute of any virtues. No analysis has been 

 made of this root, but it is known that the active qualities are dependent on 

 the presence of tannin and some bitter extractive. 



Medical Properties. — Blackberry root is an efficient astringent, though not 

 of great power, and has been found exceedingly useful in bowel complaints, 

 especially in the cholera of children. No article of the Materia Medica is 

 more relied upon in domestic practice in the country, than a decoction of this 

 root, under the name of Blackberry tea ; and although it has been much 

 overrated, and virtues attributed to it which it does not possess, there is no 

 doubt that it is a very useful remedy in certain cases, where mild astringents 

 are indicated. It is generally given in decoction, made with about an ounce 

 of the root to a pint of water, of which the dose for a child is two or three 

 teaspoonsful, and for an adult a wine-glass full, several times a day. This 

 decoction is somewhat bitter, but is not disagreeable ; it is, however, much 

 improved by the addition of a little orange peel to it. 



The fruit, which agrees with most persons, is considered as beneficial in 

 dysentery, especially in the form of a jam or syrup ; and there is strong evi- 

 dence of its good effects in this disease. It is exceedingly grateful to the pa- 

 tient, and often relieves the painful tenesmus so constantly an attendant of 

 the complaint. A jelly made from the unripe fruit, at the time it is red and 

 acid, is said to be advantageous in gravel, but there is no corroboration of the 

 statement from any authentic source. 



2. R. canabensis, Linn. — Stem shrubby, ascending at base, trailing or procumbent, 

 prickly, leaves 3 — 6 foliolate, glabrous or pubescent, leaflets oval, rhombic ovate, or almost 

 lanceolate, mostly acute or acuminate, membranaceous, sharply and unequally serrate, 

 often somewhat incised. Petioles and peduncles naked or armed with bristly prickles. 

 Stipules linear, entire, or serrate. Flowers racemose or somewhat corymbose, with leafy 

 bracts, the lower peduncles distant, the upper crowded. Petals twice the length of the 

 sepals. Fruit large and black. 



Linn., Sp. PI. 494 ; Torrey and Gray, i. 455. 

 Common Names. — Low Blackberry ; Dewberry. 



This is the species which is generally known under the name of Dewberry, 

 and is the R. trivialis of most American botanists and of the Pharmacopoeia, 

 but is not the species described under that name by Michaux ; this latter is a 

 native of the Southern States, and ripens its fruit at a time when the more 

 northern R. canadensis is first coming into flower. The species in question 

 very closely resembles the procumbent varieties of R. villosus, and can 

 scarcely be distinguished from them. The fruit ripens in July and August, 

 and in general is more juicy and higher flavoured than the Blackberry ; but, 

 as with that fruit, there is much variation. The root is officinal, under the 

 name o{ R. trivialis, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia ; it closely resembles that 



