Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July,  1882.  J 
The  Useful  American  Myrtles. 
351 
inches  long,  of  a  crimson  or  blackish-red  color  externally,  and  with  a, 
white,  juicy  pulp. 
The  bark  and  leaves  of  both  species  possess  strongly  astringent  pro- 
perties, and  the  seeds  are  aromatic  and  acrid.  The  fruit  of  several 
other  species  indigenous  to  tropical  Asia  is  employed  there  like  those 
mentioned. 
The  jambolana,  Syzygium  (Eugenia,  Lam.;  Calyptranthes,  Willd.) 
Jambolanura,  De  Cand.,  is  also  naturalized  in  Jamaica  and  other  West 
Indian  islands.  The  dark  red  oval  and  somewhat  curved  fruit  is  of 
the  size  of  a  large  cherry,  has  an  astringent,  acidulous  taste,  and  is 
employed  in  gargles ;  the  bark,  notably  that  of  the  root,  is  astringent 
and  aromatic.  Several  other  species  of  this  genus,  mostly  indigenous 
to  tropical  Asia,  bear  eatable  berries. 
The  plants  of  the  genus  Myrtus,  to  which  the  frequently  cultivated 
common  myrtle  of  Southern  Europe,  Myrtus  communis,  Lin.,  belongs,, 
have,  likewise,  aromatic  and  astringent  properties,  and  their  berries  are 
in  some  cases^  eatable,  like  Myrtus  Luma,  Mill,  whose  fruit  is  very 
palatable ;  Myrtus  microphylla,  Humh.  et  Bonpl.,  the  red  berries  of 
which  are  of  the  size  of  a  pea  and  very  sweet,  and  Myrtus  Ugni,, 
Molina,  which  has  thicker  brown-red  berries,  of  a  faint  rosemary  odor ; 
these  species  are  indigenous  to  Chili  and  Peru,  and  the  leaves  of  the 
ugni  are  used  as  a  substitute  for  tea.  The  guayavo  arayan  of  the 
Orinoco  valley  is  Myrtus  salutaris,  Kunth,  the  root  of  which  is  highly 
valued  as  an  astringent. 
Somewhat  similar  properties  are  possessed  by  a  Chilian  plant  called 
cheken  or  chekan,  Avhich  enjoys  a  local  reputation,  and  the  use  of  which 
in  Europe  and  in  North  America  has  been  recently  revived.  Euge- 
nia Cheken,  Molina,  is  a  small  shrub,  about  four  feet  high,  with  a 
rough,  brown,  strongly  astringent  bark ;  the  leaves  are  sessile,  about 
an  inch  long,  elliptic  or  roundish,  somewhat  narrowed  at  both  ends, 
delicately  feather- veined,  light  green  and  smooth  ;  the  peduncles  are 
axillary  and  terminal,  five-  or  six-flowered ;  the  berries  are  globular,, 
about  J  inch  thick,  externally  black,  and  contain  two  somewhat  heart- 
shaped  seeds.  The  bark  and  the  leaves  have  been  employed  internally 
in  indigestion,  diarrhoea  and  various  other  affections  of  the  bowels  and 
kidneys,  and  externally,  in  the  form  of  fomentations,  in  ophthalmic 
inflammations,  rheumatic  and  other  pains,  and  more  recently,  as  inha- 
lations of  the  vapors  from  the  aqueous  infusion,  in  bronchitis,  laryn- 
gitis and  dij)hth(Tia. 
