tuva ursi

Bot . & Pharm .: Tournefort's name for the genus now called Arctostaphylos (q. v.). The name is still retained as a convenient abbreviation in pharmacy, bear-berry leaves being called Uva ursi folia. [BEAR-BERRY.] u-vär-i-a, subst. [Lat. uva =a bunch of grapes, which the fruit resembles.] Bot.: A genus of Xylopeæ. Flowers hermaphro dite, petals equal, stamens flattened, ovaries linear, cylindrical, inserted, as are the stamens, into a flat receptacle. Natives of tropical or sub-tropic a i countries in the eastern hemisphere. The roots of Uvaria narum , a large, woody. Indian climber, yield, by distillation, a sweet-scented, greenish oil, used in various diseases in Malabar. The aromatic root is also employed medicinally. The bruised leaves smell like cinnamon. The bark of U. tripe taloidea , when tapped, yields a viscid and fragrant gum. The leaves of U. triloba are applied to languid absce es to bring them to a head. The fruit of U. febrifuga is regarded by the Indians of the Orinoco as an excellent febrifuge.