SAMBUCUS NIGRA. 
117 
depending upon laxity of particular organs, viz. in fluor albus, 
menorrhagia, diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery, &c. and also debility of 
the system in general ; but in modern practice, it has been chiefly 
prescribed in calculous and nephritic affections,* and it often 
relieves the dyspeptic symptoms attendant on those disorders. It 
has likewise been recommended in disorders of the lungs. Uva Ursi 
is usually given in powder, (i. e. the leaves carefully dried and pow- 
dered) in doses of from half a scruple to one drachm, once in six or 
eight hours or oftener. 
Off. The Leaves. 
^ 
SAMBUCUS NIGRA. 
Common, or Black Elder.'\ 
Class Pentandria. — Order Trigynia. 
Nat. Ord. Dumos^, Linn. Caprifoliace^, Juss. 
Gen. Char. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla 5-cleft. Berry 
3-seeded. 
Spec. Char. Cymes 5-parted. Stem woody, tree-like. 
Of the genus Sambucus, five species are known, J two of which 
are indigenous to Britain, the Sambucus Nigra and Ebulus ; the 
former is common in most parts of England ; it is generally found 
growing in hedge-rows, and will thrive in almost any soil or situation. 
The stem is shrubby, and often rises to the height of from twelve to 
sixteen or more feet, and much branched towards the top ; both 
stem and branches are covered with a whitish bark ; the wood is 
tough, hard, and contains a considerable portion of medullary matter 
(pith) in the centre ; the leaves are pinnated, consisting of two or 
three pair of leaflets, with an odd one at the end ; the leaflets are 
oval, veined, smooth, and deeply serrated; the flowers are small. 
* Drs. Barton, Bourne, De Haen, and others, strongly recommend it in ulcerations 
of the kidneys and bladder ; also in gleet. 
t Fig. a. in the annexed drawing represents a portion of a bunch of ripe berries. 
b. A magnified flower, c. and d. The calyx and pistilla magnified, e. A berry cut 
open to shew the seed. 
t Hort. Cant. 
