96. Tamus communis, Linn.—Common Black Bryony.
Botanical name:
Sex. Syst. Dioecia, Hexandria.
(Radix.)
Άμπελος μέλαινα, Dioscor. lib. i v. cap. 185 ?; Chironia, Gynaecanthe aut Apronia, Pliny, lib. xxiii, cap. 17, ed Valp.?; Bryonia nigra, Gerard, 871.—Indigenous. The root (radix bryoniae nigrae) is large and fleshy, black externally, white internally. When fresh, it possesses some acridity. No analysis of it has been made. Taken internally, it acts as a diuretic, and has been esteemed, as a lithic (see vol. i. p. 283). It is kept in the herb shops, and sold, like Solomon's seal (see ante, p. 215), as a topical application for removing bruise marks. In France, it is called the herbe aux femmes battues, or the herb for bruised women.
