AMERICAN MEDICINAL PLANTS 



11 



BITTER NIGHTSHADE 



Solarium dulcamara L. (Fig. 15.) 



Other common names. — Bittersweet, dulcamara, nightshade, climbing night- 

 shade, woody nightshade, amara dulcis, fevertwig, violet-bloom, blue bindweed, 

 felonwort, poisonberry, poisonflower, pushion-berry, morel, snakeberry, wolf- 

 grape, scarlet berry, tether-devil, dwale, skawcoo. 



Habitat and range. — This plant occurs in low damp grounds and moist banks 

 of rivers from New Brunswick to Minnesota and south to New Jersey and Kansas. 



Description. — Bitter nightshade has a climbing, somewhat woody, branched 

 stem about 2 to 8 feet long. The leaves are from 2 to 4 inches long, some entire 

 and others having one to three lobes at the base. The purplish flowers, which 

 resemble those of the potato, are produced from about May to September in 

 compound clusters. The berries, which ripen in autumn, are oval, red, juic} 1 ", 

 and contain numerous seeds. The plant has a handsome appearance in autumn 

 with its colored berries, and is often planted as an ornamental. 



Part used. — The young branches from plants only 1 or 2 years old, collected 

 after the leaves have fallen. In limited demand onlv. 



Figure 15.— Bitter nightshade (Solanum 

 dulcamara) 



Figure 16.— Black cherry (Prunus 

 serotina) 



BLACK CHERRY 



Prunus serotina Ehrh. (Fig. 16.) 



Synonym. — Prunus virginiana Mill., not of Linnaeus. 



Other common names. — Wild cherry, wild black cherry, cabinet-cherry, black 

 choke, rum cherry, whisky-cherry, Virginian prune-bark. 



Habitat and range. — The black cherry occurs in woods or open places and is 

 most abundant in the Southeastern States, but its range extends from Nova 

 Scotia to Florida, westward to Texas, and north through Oklahoma, the eastern 

 portions of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. 



Description. — This tree sometimes reaches a height of 90 feet and a maximum 

 trunk diameter of 4 feet. The trunk is straight and covered with rough black 

 bark, but the young branches are smooth and reddish. The smooth shining leaves 

 are about 2 to 5 inches long. The long drooping clusters of small white flowers 

 are borne at the ends of the branches, usually during May. The cherries, which 

 ripen about August or September, are round, black, or very dark purple, about 

 the size of a pea, and have a sweet, slightly astringent taste. 



Part used. — The bark, collected in autumn. The outer layer is removed, 

 and the bark is then carefully dried and preserved. Young thin bark is preferred, 

 and that from very young or very old branches should not be used. Black cherry 

 bark should not be kept longer than one year, because it deteriorates with age. 

 In reasonably constant demand. 



