A colorless crystalline substance,
C4H6.(OH)4, of a sweet, cooling taste, extracted from certain lichens, and obtained by the decomposition of
erythrin; -- called also
erythrol,
erythroglucin,
erythromannite,
pseudorcin,
cobalt bloom, and under the name
phycite obtained from the alga
Protococcus vulgaris. It is a tetrabasic alcohol, corresponding to glycol and glycerin. [
1913 Webster]