[3128] Fée thinks that, owing to the hydro-cyanic acid which the kernels contain, there may possibly be some foundation for this statement of their curative effects.
[3129] Both the root and the fruit are of an astringent nature. From this fruit an extract is prepared, Fée says, rich in tannin, and called in France Acacia nostras, from its resemblance to the juice of the Egyptian Acacia.
[3130] “Limus.” Fée thinks that this may possibly be the Evernia prunastri of modern botany. It has been suggested, however, that Pliny has committed an error here, and that in copying from the Greek source he has mistaken the author’s mention of the cure of lichens by the gum of the plum-tree, for an account of a lichen which grows on the tree. Such, in fact, is the statement of Dioscorides in B. i. c. 174, though he does not mention chaps and condylomata.
[3131] In B. xiii. cc, 14, 15, where he calls it a fig-tree. He alludes to the sycamore.
[3132] See B. xvi. c. 72.
[3133] This statement is entirely unfounded.
[3134] Considering that the leaves and bark are rich in tannin and gallic acid, it might be worth while to ascertain if there is any truth in this assertion.
[3135] But Horace says, Sat. B. ii. s. 4, l. 22, that mulberries are remarkably wholesome as a dessert.
[3136] In B. xvi. c. 41.
[3137] “All-healing,” “mouth-medicine,” and “medicine for the trachea.”