U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY—BULLETIN NO. 139.
B. T. GALLOWAY, _Chief of Bureau_.
AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS.
BY
ALICE HENKEL,
ASSISTANT, DRUG-PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.
ISSUED JUNE 5, 1909.
[Illustration: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE]
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1909.
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.
_Chief of Bureau_, BEVERLY T. GALLOWAY.
_Assistant Chief of Bureau_, ALBERT F. WOODS.
_Editor_, J. E. ROCKWELL.
_Chief Clerk_, JAMES E. JONES.
DRUG-PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.
SCIENTIFIC STAFF.
R. H. True, _Physiologist in Charge_.
W. W. Stockberger, Frank Rabak, Arthur F. Sievers, _Experts_.
Alice Henkel, _Assistant_.
G. Fred Klugh, T. B. Young, S. C. Hood, _Scientific Assistants_.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY,
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF,
_Washington, D. C., September 1, 1908_.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith and to recommend for
publication as Bulletin No. 139 of the series of this Bureau the
accompanying manuscript, entitled “American Medicinal Barks.” This
paper was prepared by Miss Alice Henkel, Assistant in Drug-Plant
Investigations, and has been submitted by the Physiologist in Charge
with a view to its publication.
Thirty-five drugs are fully described, and under many of the
descriptions briefer information concerning closely related species
is included. All of the “official” barks obtained from trees and
shrubs occurring in this country are described, as well as many
“nonofficial” ones.
This bulletin forms the second installment on the subject of American
medicinal plants, the first one treating of American root drugs,
and has been prepared to meet the steady demand for information
concerning the medicinal plants of this country. It is intended as a
guide and reference book for those who may be interested in the study
or collection of the medicinal plants found in the United States.
Respectfully,
B. T. GALLOWAY,
_Chief of Bureau_.
Hon. JAMES WILSON,
_Secretary of Agriculture_.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction 7
The collection of barks 8
Trees and shrubs furnishing medicinal barks 9
White pine (_Pinus strobus_) 9
Tamarack (_Larix laricina_) 10
Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_) 11
White willow (_Salix alba_) 12
Bayberry (_Myrica cerifera_) 14
Butternut (_Juglans cinerea_) 15
Ironwood (_Ostrya virginiana_) 15
Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_) 16
Tag-alder (_Alnus rugosa_) 18
White oak (_Quercus alba_) 18
Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_) 20
Magnolia (_Magnolia acuminata_, _M. tripetala_, and
_M. glauca_) 21
Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_) 23
Sassafras (_Sassafras sassafras_) 25
Spicebush (_Benzoin benzoin_) 26
Witch-hazel (_Hamamelis virginiana_) 27
Blackberry (_Rubus villosus_, _R. nigrobaccus_,
and _R. cuneifolius_) 28
American mountain-ash (_Sorbus americana_) 29
Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_) 30
Prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum americanum_ and _X. clava-herculis_) 31
Wafer-ash (_Ptelea trifoliata_) 33
Black alder (_Ilex verticillata_) 34
Wahoo (_Euonymus atropurpureus_) 35
False bittersweet (_Celastrus scandens_) 36
Horse-chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_) 37
Cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_) 38
Cotton (_Gossypium hirsutum_) 40
Dogwood (_Cornus florida_) 41
Moosewood (_Dirca palustris_) 43
White ash (_Fraxinus americana_) 44
Fringe-tree (_Chionanthus virginica_) 45
Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_) 46
Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_) 47
Cramp-bark tree (_Viburnum opulus_) 48
Black haw (_Viburnum prunifolium_) 48
Index 51
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
FIG. 1. White pine (_Pinus strobus_), leaves and cones 10
2. Tamarack (_Larix laricina_), leaves and cones 10
3. Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), trunk 11
4. Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), leaves and capsules 12
5. Bayberry (_Myrica cerifera_), leaves and fruit 14
6. Butternut (_Juglans cinerea_), trunk 15
7. Ironwood (_Ostrya virginiana_), leaves and fruit 16
8. Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_), trunk 17
9. Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_), leaves, catkins, and fruit 17
10. Tag-alder (_Alnus rugosa_), leaves, catkins, and fruit 18
11. White oak (_Quercus alba_), trunk 19
12. White oak (_Quercus alba_), leaves and acorns 19
13. Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_), trunk 20
14. Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_), leaves, flowers, and
fruits 21
15. Cucumber-tree (_Magnolia acuminata_), leaves 21
16. Umbrella-tree (_Magnolia tripetala_), leaves 22
17. Sweet bay (_Magnolia glauca_), leaves and fruiting cones 23
18. Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_), trunk 24
19. Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_), leaves, flowers,
and fruit 24
20. Sassafras (_Sassafras sassafras_), leaves and fruits 25
21. Spicebush (_Benzoin benzoin_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 26
22. Witch-hazel (_Hamamelis virginiana_), leaves, flowers, and
capsules 27
23. American mountain-ash (_Sorbus americana_), leaves and
fruits 29
24. Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_), trunk 30
25. Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_), leaves, flowers, and
fruits 30
26. Southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum clava-herculis_),
trunk 32
27. Southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum clava-herculis_),
leaves, fruits, and branchlet showing prickles 32
28. Wafer-ash (_Ptelea trifoliata_), leaves and fruits 33
29. Black alder (_Ilex verticillata_), fruits 34
30. Wahoo (_Euonymus atropurpureus_), leaves and fruits 35
31. False bittersweet (_Celastrus scandens_), leaves, flowers,
and fruits 36
32. Horse-chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_), trunk 37
33. Horse-chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_), leaves and
fruits 37
34. Cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_), five-year-old tree 38
35. Cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_), leaves and fruits 39
36. Cotton (_Gossypium hirsutum_), leaves, flowers, and bolls 41
37. Dogwood (_Cornus florida_), trunk 42
38. Dogwood (_Cornus florida_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 42
39. Moosewood (_Dirca palustris_), leaves and flowers 43
40. White ash (_Fraxinus americana_), trunk 44
41. White ash (_Fraxinus americana_), leaves and fruits 44
42. Fringe-tree (_Chionanthus virginica_), leaves and flowers 45
43. Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_), leaves, flowers, and
fruits 46
44. Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_), leaves and
flowers 47
45. Black haw and nanny-berry (_Viburnum prunifolium_ and _V.
lentago_), leaves and flowers 49
B. P. I.—424.
AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS.
INTRODUCTION.
Among the manifold uses of the trees of our forests not the least
important is the utilization of their barks for medicinal purposes.
While the “official” barks—that is, those that are recognized in the
Eighth Decennial Revision of the United States Pharmacopœia—number only
seventeen in all, twelve of which are furnished by trees and shrubs
growing in the United States either as native or introduced species,
there are many others which are nevertheless used in medicine to a
considerable extent by one or another school of practitioners. All of
the “official” barks are described in this bulletin, and an effort
has been made to include such “nonofficial” ones as seemed to be most
in demand, judging from the trade catalogues of wholesale dealers in
crude drugs, but a number of others that are not so much used have
been omitted on account of lack of space. The number of drugs fully
described is thirty-five, but under many of the descriptions closely
related species are also briefly treated.
Many factors have contributed to the destruction of our forests.
Beginning with the settlement of this country, when land had to be
cleared of timber to make way for homes, and on through the centuries
there have been steady and increasingly heavy drafts upon our natural
forest resources by an increasing population and the building up of
various new enterprises, and until within very recent years with little
or no thought for the needs and welfare of generations to come. In the
collection of barks, too, may be seen another instance contributing
in a measure to the depletion of our forests; for too often trees
are felled and killed outright simply for the sake of obtaining the
bark, or a tree is peeled to such an extent that death is certain
to result. When it is considered that of cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus
purshiana_) alone about 100,000 trees are annually sacrificed, and that
the oak, pine, elm, birch, poplar, willow, and larch all contribute
their quota of bark, it will be seen that at no very distant date
more careful methods of bark collection and the replanting of now
denuded areas will be needed. The Forest Service of the United States
Department of Agriculture has issued Forest Planting Leaflets, giving
full information in regard to the planting and propagation of many of
our forest trees, and anyone interested in the subject can have these
leaflets for the asking.
The statements herein regarding medicinal uses are based on the
information contained in various dispensatories and other works
relating to materia medica, and in a publication of the character of
this bulletin can, of course, be referred to only in the most general
manner. It is not the purpose herein to prescribe the use of any of
these barks for medicinal purposes; such use should be made only under
the direction of a physician.
The writer is indebted to Mr. George B. Sudworth, Dendrologist of the
Forest Service, for an examination of the manuscript and for the use of
a number of photographs taken by him and other members of that Service.
Other illustrations in this bulletin have been reproduced from
photographs taken from nature by Mr. C. L. Lochman, and use has also
been made of a number of illustrations found in the Handbook of the
Trees of the Northern States and Canada, by Mr. R. B. Hough.
The writer also wishes to gratefully acknowledge information of various
kinds furnished by wholesale drug dealers.
THE COLLECTION OF BARKS.
As with other medicinal portions of plants, the best time to collect
the barks is at a period when the greatest quantity of the active
constituents is contained therein. In the case of barks this is in
early spring, before active growth takes place, or in late fall or even
winter.
There are various methods of obtaining the bark. In some cases the
outer corky layer is first shaved off before the bark is peeled, a
process which is known as “rossing.” This is generally done where the
outer layer is considered inert. Then incisions a few inches wide are
made, and, depending upon the nature of the bark, sometimes strips
several feet in length are peeled. The barks of some branches or roots
are removed by making long, lengthwise incisions, permitting the bark
to be readily slipped off, or in other cases the bark is first loosened
by pounding with a mallet.
After collection, the bark is taken to a clean, well-aired place for
drying, spread out on shelves or on the floor and protected from
moisture. Barks contain less moisture and absorb less moisture than
other parts of plants, but they nevertheless need to be protected
from wet weather. Sometimes barks are strung on wires or strings to
facilitate drying.
When the barks are thoroughly dried and have been broken or cut up into
suitable lengths, they may be packed in dry, clean barrels or other
proper containers ready for shipment.
It will be well to repeat here what has been said in the first of this
series of papers, entitled “American Root Drugs,” with regard to the
advisability of correspondence with crude-drug dealers previous to
shipment, in order to ascertain whether a particular drug is desired,
how large a quantity is wanted, and what price will be paid. Samples
representative of the drug to be disposed of should be sent at the same
time.
It is necessary also to emphasize the fact that the prices given in
this bulletin are approximations only, being those paid at the present
writing, and it must be remembered that before this bulletin is off
the press a drug now listed at 10 cents a pound may have declined
to 5 cents or less, while a drug quoted at 2 cents may be worth 5
or 10 cents or more. The object in noting prices is simply to give
prospective collectors an idea of the range of prices, but with the
constant fluctuations that take place in the drug market it will be
readily understood that these prices can be but remotely approximate
and that the actual price to be paid can be ascertained only through
correspondence with drug dealers.
TREES AND SHRUBS FURNISHING MEDICINAL BARKS.
Each section contains synonyms and the pharmacopœial name, if any, the
common names, habitat, range, descriptions of the tree or shrub, as
well as of the bark as found in commerce, and information concerning
collection, prices, and uses.
Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_) is the only one of American
medicinal plants of which the young branches alone are used, but it is
nevertheless given a place with the barks, as it can more properly be
included in this series than in any other.
WHITE PINE.
_Pinus strobus_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—White pine (_Pinus strobus_), leaves and cones.]
_Other common names._—Northern pine, Weymouth pine, American white
pine, American deal-pine, soft deal-pine, spruce-pine.
_Habitat and range._—The white pine, indigenous to this country, occurs
in woods from Canada south to Georgia and Iowa.
_Description of tree._—This large, handsome evergreen tree—sometimes
200 feet in height and with a straight trunk measuring 3 to 4 feet in
diameter—has horizontal branches, both trunk and branches covered with
a smooth, grayish green bark when young, becoming dark and rough with
age, and longitudinally fissured. The wood is soft and white, and much
used for flooring, etc.
The slender, pale green leaves, or needles, are usually five in a
sheath, about 3 to 5 inches long, the flowers rather inconspicuous,
and the cones cylindrical, drooping, sometimes slightly curved,
resinous, about 5 to 10 inches long and about an inch in thickness, but
much wider after the scales spread apart, which generally occurs in
September, allowing the seeds to fall out. (Fig. 1.) It requires two
seasons for the cones to mature. The white pine belongs to the pine
family (Pinaceæ).
_Description of bark._—The inner bark of the white pine is the part
employed medicinally. It occurs in flat pieces of irregular size,
about an eighth of an inch in thickness, brownish on the outside, the
inner surface sometimes lighter colored and sometimes darker than the
outside, smoothish, and marked with fine grooves. It breaks with a
tough, fibrous fracture, and has a slight turpentine odor. The taste is
described as “mucilaginous, sweetish, bitterish, and astringent.”
_Prices and uses._—At present collectors are paid from about 1/2 to 3
cents a pound.
White pine bark is used as an expectorant, forming one of the
ingredients in the sirup which bears its name, which is much used for
coughs and colds to facilitate expectoration.
TAMARACK.
_Larix laricina_ (Du Roi) Koch.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.—Tamarack (_Larix laricina_), leaves and cones.]
_Synonym._—_Larix americana_ Michx.
_Other common names._—American larch, black larch, red larch,
hackmatack.
_Habitat and range._—This tree frequents swamps and moist places from
Canada south to New Jersey, Indiana, and Minnesota. It is native in
this country.
_Description of tree._—In spring the light green, feathery appearance
of the young leaves of the tamarack make it a rather conspicuous and
attractive tree. It is a slender tree belonging to the pine family
(Pinaceæ), but unlike other members of this family, except bald
cypress, it loses its leaves upon the approach of winter. The bark is
thin and close, finally becoming scaly. The wood, which is light brown
in color, hard and resinous, is strong and durable.
The tamarack has horizontally spreading branches, and reaches a
maximum height of 100 feet. The pale green leaves, which appear early
in spring, are short, very slender, and needle shaped, from 20 to 40
together in a fascicle, or bundle, similar to the manner in which pine
needles grow, except that they are without sheaths (fig. 2).
The aments, or flower clusters, are inconspicuous, and are of two
kinds, staminate or male, and pistillate or female. The female clusters
have a reddish and greenish tinge, and develop later into small erect
cones, resembling in miniature cones of some of the pines and spruces
(fig. 2).
_Description of bark._—The tamarack bark, as found in the stores, is in
rather large, coarse pieces or slabs, having the outer layer removed.
The outer surface has a rather fibrous appearance, cinnamon brown in
color, occasionally showing patches of brownish red or almost purplish
where the outside layer has been imperfectly shaved off; the inner
surface is smooth and light brown. The whole breaks with a somewhat
woody fracture, showing ragged, splintery edges. The odor is rather
strong and disagreeable.
_Prices and uses._—Tamarack bark at present is paid for at the rate of
from 1-1/2 to 3 cents a pound.
The bark, in decoction, is said to be useful as a tonic and alterative,
and also as a laxative and diuretic.
ASPEN.
_Populus tremuloides_ Michx.
_Other common names._—White poplar, American poplar, trembling
poplar, American aspen, mountain-asp, quaking asp, quiverleaf,
auld-wives’-tongues.
_Habitat and range._—The aspen is found in dry or moist soil from
northern Canada and Alaska south to the mountains of Pennsylvania, to
southern Illinois, northwestern Missouri, and in the Rocky Mountains to
Lower California.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.—Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), trunk.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), leaves and
capsules.]
_Description of tree._—The greatest height attained by the aspen is
100 feet, with a trunk measuring about 3 feet in diameter. It is a
native of this country and belongs to the willow family (Salicaceæ).
The branches and trunks of the younger trees are covered with a smooth,
light grayish green bark, but on older trees the bark becomes dark and
deeply fissured (fig. 3). The young unfolding leaves are whitish and
woolly, but become smooth as they expand. The leaves are broadly oval
or rounded, with a somewhat heart-shaped base, a short-pointed apex,
and finely round-toothed or frequently saw-toothed margin (fig. 4).
They are about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in length, and are borne on long,
slender stalks which are flattened on the sides, causing the leaves
to be set in motion by the slightest breeze and to quiver and tremble
almost continually, which has given rise to some of the tree’s common
names, such as quaking asp, trembling poplar, and quiverleaf. Early
in spring, before the leaves are out, the drooping catkins appear,
the staminate (male) from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, the pistillate
(female) crowded and longer. The capsules which follow are conical in
shape, pointed, and two-valved (fig. 4).
_Description of bark._—This bark generally occurs in straight pieces
from about 2 to 5 inches long and about one-fourth to one-half inch
wide. The outside is grayish and smoothish except here and there where
marked with lenticels. The inner surface is somewhat rough to the
touch, light colored to brownish. The fracture is even, somewhat corky,
and the odor faintly aromatic.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark of the aspen, or white or
American poplar, as it is often known in the drug trade, is collected
in spring, and collectors are paid from about 1 to 4 cents a pound.
It is used for its tonic properties, and has also been employed in the
treatment of intermittent fever.
As in the case of the willows, to which family (Salicaceæ) the poplars
belong, the glucoside salicin is also obtained from the barks of the
various species of Populus.
WHITE WILLOW.
_Salix alba_ L.
_Other common names._—Salix, common European willow, duck-willow,
Huntington willow.
_Habitat and range._—The white willow has been introduced into this
country from Europe, and has sparingly escaped from cultivation. It
occurs in wet soil along streams from Pennsylvania northward to New
Brunswick and Ontario.
_Description of tree._—This is a tree of very rapid growth, and attains
quite a size, sometimes 90 feet in height, with a trunk perhaps 6 feet
in diameter. There is a group of willows known as “crack willows,” on
account of the brittleness of the twigs where they are attached to
the branches, and the white willow belongs to this group, as does the
“crack willow,” or “brittle willow,” (_S. fragilis_), mentioned farther
on. All of the species described are members of the willow family
(Salicaceæ).
The gray and rough-barked white willow has lance-shaped leaves, pointed
at the apex and narrowed at the base, and with saw-toothed margins.
When young, both sides of the leaves are covered with silky hairs, but
as they mature they become less hairy and are pale green on the lower
surface, or covered with a “bloom.”
The long, loose, green, cylindrical aments, or catkins, are staminate
and pistillate and are borne on different trees, appearing with the
leaves in spring.
A variety of this species, with yellowish green twigs and with leaves
smooth on the upper surface, is known as golden osier (_S. alba_ var.
_vitellina_ (L.) Koch), and is the most common form found in North
America.
_Description of bark._—The white willow bark of commerce is generally
in tough, flexible strips, the outer surface smooth or slightly
wrinkled, and of a yellowish brown or grayish brown color. The inner
surface varies from a light brown to darker brown, and is marked with
long, fine lines. White willow bark has a bitter, astringent taste, but
practically no odor.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The best time to collect white willow
bark is in the spring when the sap begins to flow, at which time it is
easy to remove.
White willow bark should not be kept very long, as the salicin content
diminishes with age. This bark itself is not official in the United
States Pharmacopœia, but the glucoside salicin obtained from it is so
recognized. The medicinal properties of willow bark depend upon its two
most important constituents, salicin and tannin.
Salicin has tonic, antiperiodic, and febrifuge properties, and is
occasionally employed in rheumatic affections.
The wood of white willow furnishes a very pure charcoal which is used
in the manufacture of gunpowder. The young branches, known as osiers,
are much used in the manufacture of baskets, etc.
The prices paid to collectors range from 2 to 5 cents a pound.
_Other species._—Roughly speaking, the willows, or Salix species, may
be said to be divided into two classes, those with yellowish twigs and
those with reddish or purplish twigs. Most of the yellow-barked species
belong to the “crack willows,” which have their twigs attached in such
a manner that they break off very easily. It is claimed that the red or
purple barked twigs contain the most salicin, while those with yellow
twigs are richest in tannin.[1]
Of those containing the most salicin may be mentioned the crack willow,
or brittle willow (_Salix fragilis_ L.). This, a native of Europe, has
escaped from cultivation in this country, and occurs from Massachusetts
to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is a tall and slender tree, the
trunk covered with a rough gray bark, and the twigs with reddish green
bark. At the point of attachment the twigs are very fragile and break
off readily. The twigs when planted grow very rapidly. The leaves
are 3 to 6 inches in length, long pointed and narrowing toward the
base, smooth, dark green on the upper surface, and of a lighter color
underneath, and with margins slightly toothed. The flowers appear in
April or May; the fruiting catkin is rather loose and about 3 to 5
inches in length, while the staminate or male catkin is only about 1 or
2 inches long.
Another species employed in medicine is the black willow, pussy-willow,
or swamp-willow (_Salix nigra_ Marsh). This is a native willow and
occurs along the banks of rivers from Canada to Florida; it is not
found west of the Great Plains, except in southern New Mexico and
Arizona and isolated in California. It is tall and has a rough dark
brown or black bark, and brittle yellowish branches. The leaves are
narrowly lance shaped, and the catkins (pussy-willows) appear about the
same time as the leaves, the male catkins about 1 to 2 inches long,
and the female catkins as long as 3 inches, spreading apart in fruit.
The bark of this species is used in medicine and the fresh aments, or
catkins, are also employed.
[Footnote 1: The National Standard Dispensatory, 1905.]
BAYBERRY.
_Myrica cerifera_ L.
_Other common names._—Wax-myrtle, candleberry, candleberry-myrtle,
wax-berry, tallow-bayberry, tallow-shrub, bayberry wax-tree, American
vegetable tallow-tree, vegetable-tallow, American vegetable-wax.
_Habitat and range._—The bayberry, which is indigenous, is found in
sandy swamps or wet woods from Texas and Florida northward to Arkansas
and along the coast of Maryland. In its southern home it is a small
evergreen tree, but as it goes farther north it becomes, successively,
a tall semideciduous shrub or a dwarfed and deciduous shrub.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—Bayberry (_Myrica cerifera_), leaves and fruit.]
_Description of tree._—The greatest height attained by the bayberry is
about 40 feet, but it is usually only 3 to 12 feet high. It is slender,
with a gray, smoothish bark. The leaves, when crushed, have a fragrant
odor, and are 1 to 4 inches long, narrow, dark green and shining above,
lighter colored and dotted with resin cells beneath, and generally with
margins entire (fig. 5).
The flowers appear from about March to May, according to locality,
and generally before the leaves are fully expanded. They are borne
in aments, or spikelike clusters, the male and female flowers being
produced on separate trees. The yellowish aments bearing the staminate
or male flowers are cylindrical, while the pistillate or female aments
are oblong, shorter than the staminate, and greenish. The fruit, which
remains on the tree for several years, consists of clusters of round,
bluish white berries having a granulated appearance and covered with a
greenish white wax (fig. 5). Each berry contains one seed. The bayberry
belongs to the bayberry family (Myricaceæ).
_Description of bark._—As found in commerce, bayberry bark occurs in
curved or quilled pieces, sometimes only about an inch in length and
sometimes 6 inches or more. The outside is covered with a thin corky
layer, which is whitish and somewhat fissured. Underneath this layer
the dark reddish brown, smooth bark may be seen. The inner surface
of the bark is also reddish brown, but marked with faint lines. The
fracture is light red and granular. The bark, when powdered, has a
pungent, aromatic odor, causing sneezing and coughing, and the taste is
bitter, pungent, and acrid.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Late autumn is the best time to collect
this root, and after it has been thoroughly cleaned and while still
fresh the bark is loosened and removed by beating the root with a
mallet or similar instrument.
Bayberry bark brings from 2 to 5 cents a pound. It is used for its
tonic and astringent properties.
The wax obtained from the berries is used for making candles.
BUTTERNUT.
_Juglans cinerea_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.—Butternut (_Juglans cinerea_), trunk.]
_Other common names._—Juglans, white walnut, lemon-walnut, oilnut.
_Habitat and range._—The butternut tree, which is indigenous to this
country, is of common occurrence in rich woods from New Brunswick to
North Dakota and south to Georgia, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
_Description of tree._—This much-branched tree, belonging to the walnut
family (Juglandaceæ), is generally from 30 to 50 feet in height,
rarely exceeding 100 feet, and when old has a thick, rough, brownish
gray, furrowed bark (fig. 6), and the twigs, leaf stems, and leaflets,
especially in the early stages of growth, are furnished with sticky
hairs.
The yellowish green leaves are composed of from 11 to 19 leaflets, all
stemless except the terminal one; the leaflets are 2 to 3 inches long,
oblong lance shaped and long pointed at the apex, rounded or blunt
at the base, and toothed. The flowers are produced in May, or about
the same time as the leaves, the yellowish green male catkins 3 to 5
inches in length, and the female flowers in clusters of 6 to 8 flowers
each. In October the sweet and oily oblong nut matures, enveloped in a
strong-smelling, sticky husk. The edible nut itself has a thick, hard
shell, which is marked with deep furrows or lines.
_Description of bark._—Butternut bark, from the root collected in
autumn, was official in the United States Pharmacopœia for 1890. It
occurs in quilled pieces varying in length, and about an eighth of
an inch or a trifle more in thickness, deep brown and smoothish or
somewhat scaly on the outside, the inner surface likewise brown and
with parts of the thin, stringy inner layer of the bark attached. It
breaks with a short, fibrous fracture, finely checkered with white and
brown. The odor is faint, and the taste bitter and acrid.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Butternut bark, which will bring the
collector from 1 to 4 cents a pound, is taken from the root collected
in autumn. Its use in medicine is that of a mild cathartic and tonic.
IRONWOOD.
_Ostrya virginiana_ (Mill.) K. Koch.
_Synonym._—_Carpinus virginiana_ Mill.
_Other common names._—Hop-hornbeam, deerwood, leverwood, black hazel,
Indian cedar.
_Habitat and range._—The ironwood is indigenous to this country, and
is common in rich woods in Canada and the eastern United States, and
westward to Minnesota and Texas. It is occasionally cultivated.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.—Ironwood (_Ostrya virginiana_), leaves and
fruit.]
_Description of tree._—This usually slender tree attains its greatest
height, sometimes 50 feet, in the western part of its range, while
farther eastward it grows only about 15 to 20 feet high. The brownish
trunk is finely furrowed in short, lengthwise lines. The wood is very
hard and heavy, and is employed in making farm implements.
The leaves somewhat resemble those of the sweet birch, to which family
(Betulaceæ) this tree belongs, but they are rough to the touch,
instead of smooth and shining like the birch leaf. They are from 2-1/2
to 4 inches in length and about an inch or more in width, oval or
oblong-oval in shape, long pointed at the apex, and rounded at the
base, and with margins very sharply double toothed. The upper surface
of the leaves is usually smooth, except sometimes slightly hairy on the
veins, while the lower surface is hairy or even woolly. (Fig. 7.) The
green, inconspicuous flowers are borne in catkins, male and female,
and are produced from April to May. The male catkins are cylindrical,
and about 1-1/2 to 3 inches long, while the female catkins are short,
maturing in July or August into large fruiting cones from 1-1/2 to
about 2-1/2 inches in length, and very much resembling hops (fig. 7).
_Description of wood and bark._—The inner wood and the bark, which are
bitter, are the parts employed in medicine. The wood is white, very
hard and strong, and occurs in pieces a few inches in length and of
varying thickness. The bark as found in the stores is in flat pieces
about 2 inches in length; the outside grayish green with thin, short
scales; the inside brown, marked with long fine lines or ridges, and
generally with considerable of the woody portion adhering. There is
practically no odor.
_Prices and uses._—At present the price paid to collectors runs from
about 5 to 6 cents a pound.
Ironwood is used for its tonic, alterative, and antiperiodic properties.
SWEET BIRCH.
_Betula lenta_ L.
_Other common names._—Black birch, cherry-birch, spice-birch,
river-birch, mahogany-birch, mountain-mahogany.
_Habitat and range._—This indigenous tree occurs in rich woodlands from
Newfoundland to Ontario, south to Florida and Tennessee.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.—Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_), trunk.]
_Description of tree._—Sweet birch, which somewhat resembles the
cherry tree, attains a height of from 50 to 80 feet, and has brownish
red, sweet, and aromatic bark. The bark of the trunk of older trees
is rather thick, as much as one-half inch, and has rough, platelike
fissures (fig. 8). The younger branches are covered with a beautiful,
shining, reddish brown bark, with a layer of yellowish green beneath
the surface, and furnished with numerous small, whitish spots, known
technically as “lenticels,” and which may be designated as “breathing
pores.” In most of the birches the bark comes off in layers, but this
is not the case with the sweet birch. The youngest twigs of the sweet
birch are densely hairy. The wood is much used in cabinet work, being
fine and close grained, and taking on a very high polish. It has a rosy
color when first cut, which becomes darker by exposure.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.—Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_), leaves, catkins,
and fruit.]
The young leaves are covered with shining, silvery, silky hairs, but as
they grow older these disappear almost entirely. In shape the leaves
are oval or oblong-oval, acute or acuminate at the apex, somewhat heart
shaped at the base, and sharply toothed; they are about 3 to 4 inches
long and 1 to 2 inches wide, smooth, bright green and shining on the
upper surface, and dull green on the lower surface with hairy veins.
(Fig. 9.) Like the bark, the leaves are also aromatic.
The flowers are of two kinds, staminate or male and pistillate or
female, and are borne in separate catkins or slender spikes. The male
catkins are in drooping clusters 2 to 3 inches long, while the female
catkins are shorter, only about 1 inch or less in length, thicker,
stemless, and nearly erect. (Fig. 9.) They expand with the leaves or
before, about April or May. The cylindrical, conelike fruit is about an
inch in length. The sweet birch belongs to the birch family (Betulaceæ).
_Description of bark._—The birch bark of commerce consists of pieces of
irregular size, generally reddish brown and smooth on the outside, the
thin outer layer having been removed, but with pieces of it sometimes
adhering. The inner surface is also reddish brown and smooth. Birch
bark breaks with a clean, even, somewhat granular fracture.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark is collected in late summer.
It furnishes the oil of sweet birch or oil of Betula, official in
the United States Pharmacopœia, and obtained by maceration and
distillation. It is almost identical with wintergreen oil, and
is employed for similar purposes. Both bark and oil are used for
flavoring. Birch bark will bring from about 1 to 3 cents a pound.
The bitter, aromatic leaves are also used in domestic practice, and
birch beer is made from the sweet sap.
TAG-ALDER.
_Alnus rugosa_ (Du Roi) K. Koch.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.—Tag-alder (_Alnus rugosa_), leaves, catkins,
and fruit.]
_Synonym._—_Alnus serrulata_ Willd.
_Other common names._—Common alder, red alder, smooth alder, green
alder, American alder, speckled alder, swamp-alder, notch-leaved alder.
_Habitat and range._—Tag-alder is found in swamps and along the marshy
banks of streams from New England south to Florida and Texas, and
westward to Ohio and Minnesota. It is a native of this country.
_Description of tree._—Sometimes the tag-alder, which belongs to the
birch family (Betulaceæ), attains the height of a tree, but more often
it is only a shrub, growing from 5 to 20 feet high, with a smooth
brownish gray bark. The leaves are 2 to 4-1/2 inches long, oval,
somewhat leathery, green above and below, the apex round or blunt, and
the base narrowed or rounded, the margins minutely but sharply toothed.
The flowers are produced before the leaves are out, early in spring,
about March or April. They are reddish green, the female flowers borne
in an erect catkin, while the male flowers are borne in a drooping
catkin. The small, oval, conelike fruit usually remains on the shrub
throughout the winter. (Fig. 10.)
_Description of bark._—As it occurs in commerce, tag-alder bark is in
straight, curved, or occasionally quilled pieces of varying length and
width, but generally broken up into rather small pieces, the outer
surface brownish gray or greenish gray and smoothish, the inside
cinnamon colored and closely and coarsely ridged. It breaks with a
sharp, even fracture. The odor is strong and rather aromatic, and the
taste astringent and bitter.
_Prices and uses._—The amount paid to collectors ranges from 1 to 4
cents a pound.
Tag-alder bark is used in medicine for its astringent, alterative, and
emetic properties.
WHITE OAK.
_Quercus alba_ L.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Quercus.
_Other common names._—Stone-oak, stave-oak.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.—White oak (_Quercus alba_), trunk.]
_Habitat and range._—The white oak is found in woods from Maine to
Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas, but is most abundant in the
Middle States. It is indigenous to this country.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.—White oak (_Quercus alba_), leaves and acorns.]
_Description of tree._—In dense woods this stately tree sometimes
reaches a height of 150 feet. Usually it is about 60 to 80 feet high,
the trunk about 3 to 4 feet in diameter, and with many wide-spreading
branches. The bark is grayish and comes off in thin scales (fig. 11).
When young, the leaves are red and hairy, becoming smooth and thin
when older, with a light green upper surface and paler lower surface
furnished with prominent veins. In autumn they turn a beautiful red.
The leaves are 4 to 7 inches long, and about half as wide, borne on
stems about half an inch in length; they are divided into from 3 to 9
oblong, blunt lobes, with entire or toothed margins (fig. 12). About
the time that the leaves appear, the very small greenish or yellowish
flowers are produced. The male flowers are borne in slender, usually
drooping aments, or spikelike clusters, and the female flowers singly.
The fruits (acorns) mature the first autumn, and are about 1 inch in
length, about one-fourth covered by the scaly cup (fig. 12). The white
oak is a member of the beech family (Fagaceæ).
_Description of bark._—The dried bark of the white oak is official in
the United States Pharmacopœia. As found in the stores it is in nearly
flat pieces about one-eighth of an inch or more in thickness, rough and
fibrous on the outside, with the outer layer removed, brownish, and the
inside with short, coarse grooves, the whole breaking with a coarse,
tough, and splintery fracture. The odor is rather strong, reminding one
somewhat of tanbark, and the taste very astringent. The Pharmacopœia
adds that it does not tinge the saliva yellow when chewed.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The best time for collecting white
oak bark is in the spring, as at that time it is said to contain the
greatest amount of tannic acid. The outer layer is first scraped off.
As directed by the United States Pharmacopœia, the bark should be
“collected from trunks or branches 10 to 25 years of age, and deprived
of the periderm.”
The price paid for white oak bark ranges from 1 to 3 cents a pound.
The bark is a powerful astringent and is also antiseptic.
SLIPPERY ELM.
_Ulmus pubescens_ Walt.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Ulmus.
_Synonym._—_Ulmus fulva_ Michx.[2]
_Other common names._—Moose-elm, red elm, Indian elm, rock-elm, sweet
elm.
_Habitat and range._—This tree is native in woods, along streams, and
on hills from Quebec to North Dakota, south to Florida and Texas. It is
more common in the western part of its range.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.—Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_), trunk.]
_Description of tree._—The slippery elm is usually about 40 to 50 feet
in height, although it will sometimes grow as tall as 70 feet, with a
trunk about 2-1/2 feet in thickness. In dense woods it grows tall and
straight, branching some distance from the ground, but in open woods
and fields, where it often occurs singly, it is more spreading and
irregular in growth. It has a dark, reddish wood, hard and durable,
and is covered with a rough, reddish brown bark (fig 13). Even the
small branches are rough and the twigs are furnished with rough hairs.
The leaf buds, a few weeks before expanding, are soft and downy with
rust-colored hairs. Short downy stalks support the rather large leaves,
the upper surface of which is very rough and the lower hairy. The
leaves are about 4 to 8 inches long and about 2 to 2-1/2 inches wide,
pointed at the apex, usually lance-shaped oval in outline, sharply
toothed, and with an obtuse, unevenly shaped and generally heart-shaped
base. The flowers appear very early in the spring (in March or April),
before the leaves. They occur in dense, lateral clusters and consist
of a bell-shaped, downy calyx, usually 7 lobed, no corolla, and 5 or 7
reddish stamens. The winged fruit which follows, known botanically as a
“samara,” is flattened and circular; the seed is borne in the center,
surrounded by the winged, membranous margin, which aids its dispersion
by the wind (fig. 14). Slippery elm belongs to the elm family (Ulmaceæ).
[Illustration: FIG. 14.—Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_), leaves,
flowers, and fruits.]
_Description of bark._—The commercial article consists of pale brown
or whitish brown flat pieces tied in bundles, and it also occurs on
the market in smaller pieces of uneven size, suitable for grinding
purposes, but which bring a lower price. The flat pieces are of varying
length and width, about an eighth of an inch in thickness, the outer
bark having been removed in accordance with the requirements of the
Pharmacopœia, but sometimes patches of it are still found adhering.
They are tough, and break with a fibrous fracture. The inner surface is
yellowish brown and marked with fine furrows. Slippery elm has a faint,
peculiar odor, and a mucilaginous but insipid taste.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The outer bark is rossed or shaved off
before removing the inner bark from the tree, which alone is recognized
as official in the United States Pharmacopœia. It is taken from the
tree in long strips, and generally dried under pressure so that it will
remain flat.
The price paid for slippery elm bark is from 3 to 10 cents a pound,
depending upon quality, the small, irregular pieces having less value
than the large, flat pieces.
The mucilaginous character of slippery elm bark renders it useful
in relieving coughs, and it is also employed in treating diarrheal
complaints. It is soothing and allays inflammation, and is also
somewhat nutritious. In certain sections of the country poultices are
made from the bark and applied to abscesses.
[Footnote 2: The pharmacopœial usage.]
MAGNOLIA.
(1) _Magnolia acuminata_ L.; (2) _Magnolia tripetala_ L.; (3) _Magnolia
glauca_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.—Cucumber-tree (_Magnolia acuminata_), leaves.]
_Synonyms._—(1) _Magnolia umbrella_ Lam.; (2) _Magnolia virginiana_ L.
_Other common names._—(1) Cucumber-tree, mountain-magnolia, blue
magnolia; (2) cucumber-tree, umbrella-tree, elkwood; (3) sweet bay,
white bay, sweet magnolia, beaver-tree, swamp-sassafras, swamp-laurel.
_Habitat and range._—(1) _Magnolia acuminata_ occurs in the mountainous
regions from New York to Georgia, but is most abundant in the Southern
States; (2) _Magnolia tripetala_ grows in rather moist, rich soil; it
is nowhere very common, but is widely distributed in the Appalachian
Mountain region; (3) _Magnolia glauca_ is found in swamps and swampy
woods from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico.
_Descriptions of trees._—_Magnolia acuminata_, which is native in this
country, reaches a height of from 60 to 80 feet, the trunk straight,
from 4 to 5 feet in diameter, and with a rough, dark gray bark. The
leaves are 6 to 10 inches long and about 3 inches wide, oval and thin,
pointed at the apex, and generally rounded at the base; they are pale
green underneath and somewhat hairy, especially along the veins (fig.
15). The numerous, slightly fragrant flowers, which appear from May
to June, are rather large, measuring 5 to 6 inches across, oblong
bell shaped, greenish yellow with a bluish tinge, and having 6 to 9
obovate petals. The cylindrical, fleshy fruit cone, about 3 inches in
length, turns rose colored as it matures. In form it resembles a small
cucumber, whence the name “cucumber-tree” is derived. When ripe, the
several capsules composing these cones burst open, disclosing bright
scarlet, shining seeds about the size of a pea, which after a while
are suspended from the cone by means of a slender, elastic thread for
some time before falling to the ground. All of the species of Magnolia
here mentioned, and which belong to the magnolia family (Magnoliaceæ),
bear these scarlet seeds, and the method of separating from the cone is
the same. The soft heartwood is yellowish brown, while the sapwood is
lighter.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.—Umbrella-tree (_Magnolia tripetala_), leaves.]
_Magnolia tripetala_ is a smaller tree, not exceeding 40 feet in
height, also native; the smooth, gray, slender trunk measures from 4
to 18 inches in diameter. Its leaves are clustered at the ends of the
flowering branches, and are from 12 to 18 inches long and about 4 to
8 inches wide, obovate, pointed at both ends, the upper surface dark
green and smooth, the lower light green and more or less pubescent
(fig. 16). The flowers are white, faintly odorous, produced in May,
and are 7 to 8 inches in diameter, with 5 to 12 narrow, lance-shaped
petals. The mature fruit cone is rose colored, conical, 4 to 6 inches
long, and contains numerous scarlet seeds.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.—Sweet bay (_Magnolia glauca_), leaves and
fruiting cones.]
_Magnolia glauca_ averages about 25 feet in height, with a smooth
whitish gray trunk from a few inches to about a foot in diameter. The
leaves, which are scattered along the flowering branches, are thick and
leathery, smooth, dark green above, and on the lower surface pale green
and glaucous or somewhat hairy (fig. 17). The solitary flowers are
large, terminal, of a creamy white color, somewhat globular in shape,
with obovate, rounded petals, and a very fragrant odor; they measure
about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. The fruit cone is 1-1/2 to 2 inches in
height, oblong, and pink, with numerous scarlet seeds (fig. 17.)
_Description of bark._—Magnolia bark, as found in commerce, sometimes
varies considerably, on account of the different species from which it
is collected. They all possess similar properties, however, and the
barks of the three species herein described were official from 1820 to
1890.
The last edition of the National Standard Dispensatory (1905) contains
the following paragraph regarding the description of the bark:
“The commercial bark varies most widely, according to the species,
the age, and the presence or absence of the corky layer, so that a
general description is extremely difficult. The outer surface of old
bark of all species is more or less ashy gray, due to the growth of
lichens. When young, it is smooth or even glossy and of a brown color,
varying more or less to orange or purplish red. With age it gradually
becomes warty, the warts at length confluent into ridges and the ridges
at length fissured. The inner surface is at first whitish, becoming
gradually yellowish or pale brown, smooth, and very finely and closely
striate, the striæ long and straight. When the bark has been deprived
of the corky layer, the outer surface is almost exactly like the inner.
In young bark, however, a green layer appears upon the removal of the
cork. The fracture of the outer layer is smooth, short, and granular,
of the inner more or less tough-fibrous. The transverse section is
brownish and exhibits rather broad bast-wedges and medullary rays. The
odor is slight, the taste warm, spicy, and somewhat astringent and,
especially of the young bark, bitter.”
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark of the trunk or root is
removed in spring and summer.