47. Sabal. Saw palmetto.
Botanical name:
The dried ripe fruit of Sereno'a serrula'ta (R. and S.) Hooker filius.
Irregularly spherical to oblong-ovoid; 10 to 25 mm. long, 10 to 15 mm. in diameter; externally blackish-brown, shrivelled, somewhat oily; epicarp thin, sarocarp about 1 mm. thick, greenish-yellow, soft, spongy, endocarp thin, friable; seed hard, chocolate-brown; odor aromatic; taste sweetish, acrid and oily. Tonic, diuretic, expectorant, and sedative, used in neuralgic affections to allay irritation of mucous membranes, and in pulmonary affections. Dose of fl'ext.: ½ to 2 fl. dr.
OFFICIAL PREPARATION.—Fluidextractum. Dose: 1 mil (15 drops).
Powder.—Microscopical elements of: See Part iv, Chap. I, B.
