52  The  Useful  Species  of  Viburnum.  {^gT 
Viburnum  Tinus,  Lin.,  is  known  as  laurestine  or  bastard  laurel,  the 
laurier-thym  of  Southern  France,  on  account  of  its  evergreen,  glossy 
leaves,  which  are  entire  and  slightly  revolute  at  the  margin,  and  hairy 
on  the  nerves  beneath.  It  is  occasionally  met  with  in  cultivation,  and 
produces  black-blue  drupes,  which  are  said  to  possess  cathartic  proper- 
ties, and  are,  in  some  localities  of  the  Mediterranean  basin,  employed 
as  a  remedy  in  dropsy. 
Viburnum  odoratissimum,  Ker.,  from  China,  is  likewise  occasionally 
met  with  as  an  ornamental  shrub  ;  it  is  evergreen,  and  has  the  leaves 
somewhat  toothed  and  dense  cymes  of  white,  very  fragrant  flowers. 
Viburnum  Laniana,  Lin.,  occurs  in  thickets  of  central  and  southern 
Europe,  and  is  known  as  lithy  tree  and  giddy  berry  (Schwindelbeere), 
The  grey-brown,  smooth,  or,  when  young,  mealy  pubescent  bark  has 
an  acrid  taste  and  produces  blisters  when  applied  to  the  skin  in  the 
fresh  state.  The  leaves  are  oval  or  ovate,  sharply  serrate,  and  mealy 
pubescent  on  the  lower  surface,  have  an  astringent  taste,  and  were 
formerly  used  in  diarrhoea  and  similar  complaints.  The  fruit  when 
fully  ripe  is  black,  mucilaginous,  sweet  and  astringent,  and  was  em- 
ployed in  various  inflammatory  diseases.  The  branches  have  been 
used  for  making  pipe  stems. 
Chemical  Investigations. — The  species  mentioned  above  com- 
prise all,  I  believe,  which  have  been  more  or  less  employed  in  medi- 
cine, and  of  those  only  two  have  been  subjected  to  chemical  investi- 
gations. 
During  his  patient  and  elaborate  researches  on  the  constitution  of 
fats,  Chevreul  observed  in  the  berries  of  Viburnum  opulus  a  volatile 
acid,  which  he  recognized  as  identical  with  the  phocenic  acid  discov- 
ered by  him  in  the  fat  of  the  dolphin.  Afterwards  Dumas  proved 
phocenic  acid  to  be  identical  with  valerianic  acid.  H.  Kramer  (1834) 
examined  the  volatile  acid  obtained  from  the  bark  of  the  same  shrub, 
compared  this  viburnic  with  valerianic  acid,  and  found  it  to  differ  from 
the  latter  in  odor  and  in  the  characters  of  several  salts  ;  however,  the 
analytical  results  obtained  by  L.  von  Monro  (1845)  appear  to  establish 
the  identity  of  the  two. 
Valerianic,  besides  acetic  and  tartaric  acids,  was  found  by  Enz 
(1863)  also  in  the  berries  of  Viburnum  lantana,  which  contain  likewise 
a  tannin  coloring  iron  salts  green.  Kramer  found  in  the  bark  exam- 
ined by  him  malic  acid  and  tannin,  giving  a  blue  reaction  with  iron 
salts. 
