382

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

Order XLVIIL—ERICACE.E, LiruUey.— THE HEATH TRIBE.

Ericje, Juss.~1Lb.icem, R. Brown.

Essential Charaoter. — Calyx four or five partite, almost equal, entirely iinadherent to theovary, persistent. Corolla perigynous or somewhat hypogynous, gamopetalous, four or fivepartite, or with Cour or five distinct petals, regulär or more rarely irregulär petals imbricatedby Eestivation. Slamens definite, equal or double in number to the petals, entirely or almostfree from the corolla. Anthers two-eelled ; cells hard, dry, separate either at the apex orbase, often furnished with some appendage, dehiscing by a terminal pore. Ovary free, sur-rounded at the base by a disk, which is sometimes nectariferous. Style single, rigid. Stigmaundivided, toothed, or thrce-lobed. Fruit capsular, many-seeded, many-celled; dehisceneevaries. Seeds inserted in a central placenla, small, indefinite; the tesla firmly adhering tothe nucleus. Embryo round, in the axis of fleshy ulburnen; the radicle opposlte to thehilum.— Shrubs or under-shrubs, rarely small trees. Leaves allernate, rarely somewhatopposite or verticillate, without stiptiles, usually rigid, entire, evergreen, articulated on thestem. (De Candolle, Prodr. vii. 580.)

Properties. —The plants of this order are astringent and diuretic. One or both of these pro-perlies they owe to the presence of tannic acid.

ARCTOSTAPH'YLOS UVA-UR'SI, Sprengel, L. E.— THE BEARBERRY.

Arbatus Uva-ursi, Linn. L.Sex. Syst. Decandria, Monogynia.

(Folia.i. E __Leaves, £.)

(Uva-ursi, U.S.)

History. —Some doubt exists whether this plant was knovvn to the anoientGreeks and Romans. Bauhin (Pinaz, p. 470,) and some others, think it is theMala 'g«£a of Dioscorides (lib. iv. cap. 44,) but the leaves are very unlike thoseof Ruscus aciäeatus ('ogufffiftfiFi)), to which he, as well as Pliny, (Hut. Nat.lib. xxvii. cap. 69, ed. Valp.) compares them. The agxTou aVapuAii of Galenagrees better with the uva-ursi, though the short description of it applies also toRibes rubrum. (Murray, De TJva Ursi: Opuscuia, 19-20.)

Botany. —Gen. Char.— Calyx five-partite. Corolla ovate-urceolate; themouth five-toolhed, revolute, short. Stamens ten, iöclosed; jüaments some-what dilated at the base, hairy-ciliate ; anthers compressed, with two pores atthe point, lateraily two-awned, awns reflexed. Ovarium globose-depressed,surrounded with three scales ; style short; Stigma obtuse. Berry (or berrieddrupe) globose, five, rarely six, seven, or ten-celled ; cells one-seeded (DeCand.)

Sp. Char.—Procumbent. Leaves coriaceous, persistent, obovate, quite en-tire, shininrr. Flowers disposed in terminal small racemes. Bractlets beneaththe pedicles, obluse, small. (De Cand.)

Sterns woody, round, and trailing. Leaves alternate, stalked, evergreen :convex and wrinkled above; concave and paler beneath. Bractlets coloured.Sepals pale-reddish, permanent. Corolla rose-coloured, smooth. Berry glo-bose, scarlet, mealy wilhin, very austere and astringent. Seeds seldom morelhan four or five, though there are the rudiments of eight or ten.

Ha*.—Indigcnous. Northern parts of Europe, Asia and America. On dry,stony, and alpine healhs.

Description. —The dried leaves (folia uvce ursi) are of a dark, shining,green colour, and have a bitter astringent taste, but no odour. Their undersurface is reticulated. The leaves of Vaccinium Vitis Idcea (Red WJwrtle-berry) are said to be occasionally substituted Tor those of Uva-ursi; the fraud(which i s unlikely to oeeur in thiscountry) may be detected by theedges of theleaves being minutely toothed, and the under surface dotted ; whereas the edgesare entire, and the under surface reticulated, in the genuine leaves. Further-more, the false leaves are deficient in astringency ; and their watery infusion iscoloured green by sessjcrichloride of iron, but does not form any preeipitatewith gelatine; whereas the true ones are highly astringent, and their wateryinfusion forms a blackish-blue preeipitate with the sesquichloride of iron. (See