MEZEREON, me-le're-on, or MEZE REUM, the dried bark of Daphne mezereum Linni, Daphne gnidium Linn& or Daphne laureola Linne, of the family Thymeleacece. All are hardy, low shrubs. Daphne Mezereum has a smooth, dark-gray bark easily separated from the wood. The flowers precede the leaves and are of a purplish rose-color, or very rarely, white, and are fragrant. The fruit is oval, bright red, or yellow from the white-flowered variety, fleshy and contains a single round seed. It is native to Europe and western Asia and has escaped cultivation in eastern United States and Canada. Daphne gnidium has a deep purplish-brown bark and white flowers, the bark being equally active medicinally with Daphne mezereum. It is native to the dry, uncultivated portions of southern Europe. Daphne laureola or Spurge laurel has a purplish-gray bark and is used commercially, but its medicinal value is inferior. The bark of both stem and root is used, although that of the root was formerly thought superior. The dried bark of the Daphne mezereum is olive-brown; of Daphne gnidium purplish brown; of Daphne laureola purplish-gray. The
taste is at first slight but is of increasing acrid ity and pungency. The bark is almost odorless. The berries and leaves of the plant are also active and have been known to prove fatal to children. The berries are used in Russia as a purgative; and a tincture is used in Germany as an external remedy for neuralgia. The ap plication of the bark to the skin causes in flammation followed by vesication, and it has long been used as an epispastic in southern Europe. A small piece of the bark is moistened with vinegar and is applied and renewed twice daily until a blister is formed, and occasionally longer to insure discharge. Its action is slow, requiring 24 to 48 hours to vesicate. An oint ment was formerly prepared to maintain dis charge from blistered surfaces. It is of value in cases of obstinate ulcers, but valueless as an -internal remedy. Overdoses produce, nau sea, vomiting and purging; and it has been known to act as a narcotic. It is used in com bination with sarsaparilla in preparing the beverage of that name. See DAPHNE.