Clove Bark.
Clove Bark. Cortex Caryophyllatus. Cassia Caryophyllata.—Under these names two barks occur in the market. Of these the most abundant comes from the West Indies, and is derived from a tree, Dicypellium caryophyllatum Nees. (Fam. Lauraceae.) It is usually in large compound quills, 1 to 2 mm. thick, composed of numerous separate pieces rolled around one another and having a dark brown color, being more or less flaky on the outer surface and finely striate on the inner surface, a pungent taste, and an odor similar to that of cloves. The second variety of clove bark occurs in fragments, resembling the other form in odor and color but softer and lighter, and supposed to be derived from Eugenia caryophyllaea, Wight (Fam. Myrtaceae) which grows in Ceylon. This clove bark has aromatic properties not unlike those of the spice from which it derived its name, but it is much inferior and is not used in this country. Some authors have confounded with it a different bark, produced in the Moluccas and known by the Indian name of culilawan. (See Culilawan.) For description of a false clove bark, see A. J. P., vol. xv.
