1VIezereon, or Spurge-laurel (FR., lifizereon, Bois gentil ; GER., Seidelbast).—The bark of .Daphne Mezereum possesses alterative and sudorific principles, useful in venereal, scrofulous, and rheumatic diseases; in England, it is used internally only in the compound decoction of sarsa parilla; an ointment made from the bark is used for keeping blisters open. The shrub is indigenous to the hills of Europe, from the Arctic regions to Italy, and eastwards to Siberia ; it occurs also in a few counties of England, and its bark is collected for use in Kent and Hampshire. The bark, which is very tough and fibrous, is removed in long strips, and dried, whereupon it loses its unpleasant odour ; it has a burning acrid flavour, and will cause vesication on a moist skin. It is stripped off in winter, and tied up in bundles. The bark of the root is most active. The drug is now principally imported from Germany, On account of its scarcity, the bark of D. Laureula is often substituted for it by English herbalists. In France, the bark of D. Gnidium, common in the Mediterranean basin, is largely used. In Borneo, a bark called Merih, from a species of Wichstromia, is said to possess identical properties. The approximate market value of Mezereon bark is 8d. a lb.
Nux-vomica (Fa., Noix-vomique ; GEB., Brechnuss).—The tincture and extract of the seeds of Strychnos Nux-vomica, as well as the alkaloid strychnine, are well-known powerful remedial agents. The tree, of moderate size, is a native of India, especially the coast region, and of Burma, Siam, Cochin-China, and N. Australia. The seeds are compact and horny, their flavour is very bitter, and their colour light-greyish to greenish. They are flat and disc-like, about I in. in diameter, and 2 lines think. They are generally steamed, and dried quickly, to soften them before powdering. Their approximate market value is 6-98. a cwt. The drug is largely exported to this country from Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. The preparation of the alkaloid has been described under Alkalies—Organic (see p. 231).
Pareira-brava (Fa., Butua, Pareira-brava ; GER., Griestcurzel).—The root of Chondodendron tornentosum (Cocculus Chondodendron, Botryopsis platyphylla) is prescribed in affections of the bladder, and in calculus, and has very wide uses in Brazil. The vine-like shrub is a native of Peru and Brazil, especially on the hills between the Copacabana and the Rio de Janeiro, and near San Sebastian, and is widely diffused in the tropics of both hemispheres. The drug occurs as long, woody roots, 1-2 in. thick, often much smaller ; it has a bitter flavour, and scarcely any odour. They are of a blackish colour externally, with a few transverse ridges. The stem, which is less valuable, generally occurs in commerce mixed with the root, in the proportion of 3 to 1. It is of a pale colour, end is often dotted with small warts. The approximate value of the drug is ls. a lb.
The great difficulty in obtaining the true drug has caused it to be almost completely replaced by inferior, and sometimes worthless, substitutes, under its assumed name. The principal of these are :—(1) Stems and roots of Cissampelos Pareira, imported from Jamaica in 1866-8, to the amount of 300 lb., by Allen and Hanburys ; (2) The woody stem and root of an undetermined plant of the same order as the true drug, collected in Brazil, and characterized by excentrio pith aud incom plete woody rings. It possesses medicinal virtues, and is known as "Common false Pereira." (3) A valueless kind, distinguished by absence of bitterness, and a well-marked central pith.
(4) The stems and roots of Abuta rufescens, of Brazil and Cayenne, called "White Pereira " ; (5) The stem of an unknown plant of Cayenne and British Guiana, called " Yellow Pereira." Pellitory (Fa., Pyrethre salivaire ; GER., Bertramicurzel).—The root of Anacyclus (Anthemis) Pyrethrum is used chiefly as a sialogogue for toothache, and sometimes in the form of tincture as a stimulant. The plant is a native of N. Africa, especially Algeria, and grows on the plateaux that separate the coast districts from the interior desert. The drug consists of single roots, 3-4 in. loug, in. tbiok, baying a slight aromatic odour, and a pungent flavour, and causing a peculiar tingling sensation, and an extraordinary flow of saliva. It is collected principally in Algeria, and despatched from Oran and Algiers ; large quantities also are shipped from Tunis to Leghorn and Egypt, being imported from Tehessa, in Algeria, to the amount of 50,000 lb. yearly. It has long been an article of export to India ; its wholesale price is about 70-76s. a cwt. The drug is replaced in Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia, by the slender, tufted root of A. officinarum, cultivated in Prussia and Saxony ; it is as pungent as the preceding.
Pennyroyal (FR., Menthe-poutiot, Pouliot-vulgaire ; Gza., Polei). — The distilled water of Mentha Pulegium is oarmivative and antispasmodic, and is used like peppermint-water. The infusion is used as an emmenagogue. The herb is common in S. Europe, and its range extends to Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Asia Minor, Persia, Algeria, Madeira, Teneriffe, and Abyssinia; it has also been introduced into N. and S. America, aud must not be confounded with the Hedeoma pulegioides of the former. The plant is cultivated at Mitcham, and usually sold in a dried state; it has a strong fragrant odour, and a highly aromatic flavour. It is occasionally distilled for its essential oil, of which it should yield about 12 lb. an acre; it is, however, very variable in this respect, and the commercial drug is principally imported from France and Germany, where it is more readily and cheaply produced. The approximate market value is 6d. a lb.