Winter's Bark

Winter's Bark, a stimulant, aromatic, and tonic bark, named from Captain Winter, who first brought it from the Strait of Magellan in 1579. It is the produce of Drimys Winteri, a native of some of the mountainous parts of South America, and abundant in the lower grounds of Cape Horn and Staten Island—a magnoliaceous evergreen shrub with laurel-like leaves and corymbs of white flowers. The Star Anise (Illicium) is nearly allied to it. The bark of other species of Drimys has properties similar to those of Winter's bark, as that of D. Granatensis, much used in Brazil, and of D. axillaris, a New Zealand tree.