Leek. Porrum. Allium porrum.

Leek. Porrum. Porreau, Fr. Lauch, G.—The bulb of Allium Porrum Don. (Fam. Liliaceae.) The leek, which is the national emblem of the Welsh, is a biennial bulbous plant, growing wild in Switzerland, and cultivated in the gardens of Europe and this country for culinary purposes. All parts of it have an offensive, pungent odor and an acrid taste, dependent on an essential oil, of which allyl sulphide, (C₃H₅)₂S, is the main ingredient. The bulb, which ia the medicinal portion, consists of concentric layers, like the onion, which it resembles in medicinal properties, though somewhat milder. It is generally stimulant, with a direction to the kidneys. Dose, of expressed juice, a fluidrachm (3.75 mils).

The Dispensatory of the United States of America, 1918, was edited by Joseph P. Remington, Horatio C. Wood and others.