price paid for the collection of the bark is about 3 cents a pound.
The bark is used for its tonic properties, for exciting perspiration,
and in the treatment of fevers.
TULIP-POPLAR.
_Liriodendron tulipifera_ L.
_Other common names._—Liriodendron, tulip-tree, whitewood, canoewood,
yellow poplar, blue poplar, hickory-poplar, lyre-tree, saddle-leaf,
saddle-tree, cucumber-tree.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.—Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_),
trunk.]
_Habitat and range._—The tulip-poplar, which occurs in rich woods,
attains its greatest size in the Middle and Southern States; its range
extends from New England to Florida, westward to Michigan and Arkansas.
It is also cultivated.
_Description of tree._—This most handsome native forest tree, a member
of the magnolia family (Magnoliaceæ), is readily distinguished by
its somewhat peculiarly shaped leaves, and in spring by its greenish
yellow tulip-shaped flowers. It attains great height, from 60 to 190
feet, and is very symmetrical in shape, with a straight, cylindrical
trunk covered with grayish brown bark which in young trees is smooth,
but becoming rough and fissured as the tree grows older (fig. 18). The
leaves are smooth, generally rounded at the base, the top notched, or
appearing as though cut straight across. They are roundish in outline
or broadly oval, from 3 to 6 inches long, and have two to four lobes at
the base and two at the top, the margins between the lobes rounded out,
the base rounded or abruptly obtuse. (Fig. 19.)
[Illustration: FIG. 19.—Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_),
leaves, flowers, and fruit.]
The erect flowers appear in spring, and although they are quite
large—about 2 inches long—they are not very conspicuous for the reason
that their colors so blend with the yellow-green foliage of early
spring that they pass almost unnoticed. On examining these flowers more
closely they will be found to resemble tulips in form, with a very
modest coloring, however, of green with a slight orange tinge toward
the base of the petals, and the inside of the flower orange colored.
The flowers have six petals and three reflexed petal-like sepals, and
numerous stamens. The fruit ripens in the form of a dry, pointed cone,
about 3 inches in length. (Fig. 19.)
_Description of bark._—The bark of both trunk and root, deprived of
the outer layer, is used medicinally, and the tulip-poplar, or, as
it is most frequently called in the drug trade, yellow poplar, or
Liriodendron, was official in the United States Pharmacopœia from 1820
to 1880. It consists of slab-like pieces 3 or 4 inches long, very
light, the outside as well as the inside of the inner bark yellowish
white. When broken the fracture is ragged, splintery, and uneven. There
is a pronounced heavy, unpleasant odor, and the taste is aromatic,
pungent, bitter, and somewhat astringent. The root bark is somewhat
darker than that of the tree and is considered much more powerful.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—In spring the bark is easily separated
from the wood; the outer layer is shaved off, and the inner bark is
then peeled in large slabs about 6 inches in width and from 3 to 6 feet
in length. The root bark is collected in winter.
Collectors receive from about 1-1/4 to 3 cents a pound.
The bark of the tulip-poplar is regarded as a bitter, stimulant tonic,
and is considered useful in fevers, rheumatism, and digestive disorders.
SASSAFRAS.
_Sassafras sassafras_ (L.) Karst.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Sassafras.
_Synonyms._—_Sassafras officinale_ Nees & Eberm.; _Sassafras
variifolium_ (Salisb.) O. Kuntze.[3]
_Other common names._—Ague-tree, saxifrax, cinnamonwood, saloop,
smelling-stick.
_Habitat and range._—Sassafras is a native tree, occurring in rich
woods from Massachusetts to Ontario and Michigan, south to Florida and
Texas.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.—Sassafras (_Sassafras sassafras_), leaves and
fruits.]
_Description of tree._—Sometimes the sassafras reaches almost 100 feet
in height, its greatest height being attained in the South, but in
the North it occurs principally as a shrub. The bark of old trees is
rough and fissured, and of a grayish color, but the young twigs are
smooth and green. The leaves are very variable in outline—some oval,
some with three lobes, and some with but one lobe on the side, shaped
like a mitten (fig. 20). The flowers are yellowish green and fragrant,
and are borne in inconspicuous clusters, the staminate and pistillate
on different trees; they appear in early spring, about the time that
the leaves unfold. The fruit, which ripens about September, is oblong
roundish, about the size of a pea, dark blue, one seeded, and borne
on a thick, club-shaped red stalk (fig. 20). All parts of the tree
are aromatic. It belongs to the laurel family (Lauraceæ). The wood is
light, but strong and durable, whitish or with a reddish tinge, and
also aromatic, except in the older trees.
_Description of bark._—The dried bark of the root of sassafras is
official in the United States Pharmacopœia. As it occurs in the shops,
it is in irregular curved pieces of varying length; smooth, the outer
grayish layer having been removed; rusty red, soft, and breaking with a
short, cork-like fracture. The inside of the bark is marked with short,
indefinite lines. The odor is very aromatic, and the taste is sweetish,
bitingly aromatic, and astringent.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Sassafras bark is collected in early
spring or autumn from the root, and the outer layer removed.
Sassafras bark is used for its tonic properties. It forms a popular
domestic “spring medicine,” and in early spring the market women
display on their stands bundles of sassafras bark, to be made into a
tea, by many people regarded as a useful remedy.
Sassafras oil, also official in the United States Pharmacopœia, is
distilled especially from the root bark, but often also from the whole
root. Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania are the most important
centers of production. It is used as an anodyne, also as a stimulant in
neuralgia, and for the purpose of flavoring confectionery and soaps.
The dried pith (or medulla) from the branches is likewise official.
It yields a mucilaginous liquid with water, and forms a soothing
application for inflamed conditions.
The price paid to collectors may range from 2 to 10 cents a pound,
according to quality.
[Footnote 3: The pharmacopœial usage.]
SPICEBUSH.
_Benzoin benzoin_ (L.) Coulter.
_Synonyms._—_Laurus benzoin_ L.; _Lindera benzoin_ Meissn.; _Benzoin
odoriferum_ Nees.
_Other common names._—Feverbush, Benjamin-bush, wild allspice,
spicewood, snapwood.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.—Spicebush (_Benzoin benzoin_), leaves, flowers,
and fruits.]
_Habitat and range._—This indigenous shrub frequents damp, shady woods
and is seen along streams from Ontario south to North Carolina and
Kansas.
_Description of shrub._—The stemless clusters of yellow flowers of the
spicebush appear very early in spring, about March or April, before the
leaves. This shrub, a member of the laurel family (Lauraceæ), ranges
from 4 to 20 feet in height, and has a smooth bark and slender green
twigs. The leaves are oval, sharp pointed, 2 to 5 inches long, about
half as wide and narrowing toward the base, lighter colored on the
lower surface, and with margins entire. Some of the leaves are rounded
at the top. The flowers are small, bright yellow, with a fragrant
odor, and about four to six in a cluster, the staminate and pistillate
flowers produced separately. The clusters of fruit ripen in autumn, and
each bright red, obovate fruit contains one large white seed. (Fig. 21.)
_Description of bark._—The thin quilled pieces of bark, as found in
commerce, are dark brown on the outside, with small corky warts, and
lighter brown and smooth on the inner surface. In older bark the corky
excrescences will be found more prominent, and the color is also
more ashen. The bark of the spicebush breaks with a short, granular
fracture, has a faint, pleasant odor, and a warm, spicy, and astringent
taste.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—In the spring the bark can be readily
removed in quills, and this is generally the time when it is gathered.
At present the price paid to collectors is about 3 cents a pound.
The bark is used as a remedy against worms and is also employed in the
treatment of fevers.
The fruits are likewise employed in medicine.
WITCH-HAZEL.
_Hamamelis virginiana_ L.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Hamamelis.
_Other common names._—Snapping hazel, winterbloom, wych-hazel, striped
alder, spotted alder, tobacco-wood.
_Habitat and range._—Witch-hazel is found in low damp woods from New
Brunswick to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.—Witch-hazel (_Hamamelis virginiana_), leaves,
flowers, and capsules.]
_Description of shrub._—This indigenous shrub is one of our most
peculiar plants, inasmuch as it begins to flower when all other trees
and plants not only are through flowering, but generally have lost
their foliage, namely, in November or even December. The seed is
formed, but does not ripen until the following season. The peculiar,
yellow, threadlike flowers among the usually bare branches at a season
when most other vegetation is dead and the snow sometimes flies is a
novel sight.
Witch-hazel sometimes grows to about 25 feet in height, usually only
8 to 15 feet, with a crooked stem covered with smoothish brown bark,
often with a growth of lichens, and having many long, forking branches.
The leaves are 3 to 5 inches long, broadly oval or heart-shaped oval,
with uneven sides, wavy margins and downy hairs when young, but
becoming smooth as they grow older (fig 22).
The flowers, as already stated, appear very late in autumn; they are
bright yellow, and consist of a 4-parted corolla, with four long,
narrow, strap-shaped petals, which are variously twisted when in full
flower. The beaked, densely hairy seed capsule matures the following
season, bursting open elastically, and scattering the large, black and
shining, bonelike seeds for a distance of several feet. Thus, while the
tree is in flower, there may be seen at the same time the mature seed
capsules of the previous season. (Fig. 22.) This shrub belongs to the
witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceæ).
_Description of bark._—Under witch-hazel or hamamelis bark, official
in the United States Pharmacopœia, is understood the bark and twigs of
the witch-hazel. The bark is found in commerce in the form of quills,
varying in length and width, and is sometimes a purplish brown on the
outside, sometimes a whitish or grayish brown color; occasionally it is
smooth with a few warty protuberances or numerous lenticels, and again
it is furrowed and scaly, or even ragged. The inside is pale brown or
yellowish, usually with long, straight lines. Sometimes fragments of
the whitish wood are found adhering to the inner surface, and such bark
should be discarded. Witch-hazel bark breaks with a weak fracture.
There is a scarcely perceptible odor, and the taste is astringent and
somewhat bitter.
The tough, flexible twigs do not exceed one-quarter of an inch
in diameter, are branching, yellowish brown to a very dark or
purplish brown, faintly wrinkled lengthwise, and with small, round,
light-colored lenticels. There is a small central pith, and the bark
which surrounds the greenish white wood occupies about one-fifth of the
radius. If the twigs are more than a quarter of an inch in thickness,
there will be too large a percentage of wood, which is inert.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark and twigs are the parts
designated as official in the United States Pharmacopœia. In the
United States Pharmacopœia, 1890, the leaves only were official. The
witch-hazel industry is carried on to a considerable extent in portions
of the New England States, the farmers bringing in to the distilleries
cartloads of the brush. Witch-hazel bark brings about 1 to 4 cents a
pound.
Witch-hazel is generally used for relieving inflammation of various
kinds, and its soothing properties were known to the American Indians.
The name “witch-hazel” is derived from the fact that formerly the
forked branches were used as “divining rods,” it having been the belief
that these branches were endowed with a miraculous power of locating
treasures, sources of water for wells, etc.
The leaves are still official in the United States Pharmacopœia.
BLACKBERRY.
(1) _Rubus villosus_ Ait.; (2) _Rubus nigrobaccus_ Bailey; (3) _Rubus
cuneifolius_ Pursh.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Rubus.
_Synonym._—(2) _Rubus villosus_ A. Gray, _not_ Ait.
_Common names._—(1) American blackberry, bramble high-bush blackberry,
one-flowered dewberry, fingerberry; (2) high-bush blackberry; (3)
sand-blackberry, knee-high blackberry.
_Habitat and range._—(1) The American blackberry is found in sandy
or dry soil near the coast from Maine to South Carolina; (2) the
high-bush blackberry occurs in dry fields and along roadsides from
the New England States to Florida, west to Arkansas; and (3) the
sand-blackberry frequents sandy soil from Connecticut to Florida, west
to Missouri and Louisiana.
_Descriptions of plants._—The blackberries are so well known that it
is unnecessary to describe them. They are very similar to each other,
differing principally in their habit of growth, the American blackberry
being a trailing plant with slender branches, whereas the high-bush
blackberry and sand-blackberry are more shrubby plants.
_Other species._—Besides the blackberries just mentioned, and which
are official in the United States Pharmacopœia, Eighth Revision, there
are two others which were official in the United States Pharmacopœia
for 1890, and which are still collected. These are the low-running
blackberry (_Rubus procumbens_ Muhl., syn., _R. canadensis_ T. & G.,
_not_ L.), and the low-bush blackberry or southern dewberry (_Rubus
trivialis_ Michx.), both being generally trailing plants. All are
members of the rose family (Rosaceæ).
_Description of bark._—The three species of blackberries mentioned as
official have long, horizontal rootstocks covered with a thick bark,
which is the part used medicinally. In the stores it is found in long,
quilled pieces, or in bands, tough and flexible, the outside a dark
reddish brown or dark brownish gray, rather smooth or slightly scaly;
inside pale brown, with long coarse grooves. It breaks with a tough,
fibrous fracture, and has no odor, but an astringent, somewhat bitter
taste.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark of the root is the part
collected, and is stripped by making an incision lengthwise on one side
of the root, after which it separates easily from the root, forming
long quills.
At present the amount paid for the collection of blackberry bark ranges
from 2 to 4 cents.
The blackberry barks possess tonic and astringent properties and form a
popular remedy in the treatment of diarrheal complaints.
AMERICAN MOUNTAIN-ASH.
_Sorbus americana_ Marsh.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.—American mountain-ash (_Sorbus americana_),
leaves and fruits.]
_Synonym._—_Pyrus americana_ DC.
_Other common names._—Roundwood, round-tree, American rowan-tree,
American service-tree, mountain-sumac, dogberry, quick-beam, wild ash,
wine-tree, witchwood, life-of-man, Indian mozemize, missey-moosey,
moose-misse.
_Habitat and range._—The American mountain-ash occurs in swamps, low
woods, or moist ground from Newfoundland south along the mountains to
North Carolina, and to Michigan. It is most abundant in the northern
portion of its range.
_Description of tree._—This is a rather small, smooth-barked tree, very
brilliant in fall and early winter with its clusters of bright red
berries. Its greatest height is about 30 feet, with the trunk measuring
about 18 inches in diameter, and covered with a smooth, dull brown or
grayish bark. The leaves, resembling those of the sumac, consist of
from 11 to 17 lance-shaped, long-pointed leaflets about 1-1/4 to 4
inches long (fig. 23). When young they are somewhat hairy, both sides
becoming smooth later, bright green on the upper surface, but usually
lighter colored on the lower, the margins sharply toothed with short,
stiff teeth. The white flowers are borne in dense clusters measuring
3 to 6 inches across, and have an urn-shaped calyx, 5 rounded petals,
and numerous stamens. The American mountain-ash, which belongs to the
apple family (Malaceæ), flowers about May or June, and is followed
later in the season by large, dense, showy clusters of round, bright
red berries, about the size of peas (fig. 23). It is indigenous to this
country.
_Description of bark._—As found in the stores, American mountain-ash
bark consists of coarse pieces of varying length, about a quarter of
an inch in thickness, with the outer layer removed; the outside is
yellowish or pale brown, smoothish or sometimes with faint, lengthwise
wrinkles, the inside smooth and brown. It is odorless, but the taste is
bitter and astringent.
_Prices and uses._—At present American mountain-ash bark brings from
about 3 to 5 cents a pound. It is used for its tonic, astringent, and
antiseptic properties.
WILD CHERRY.
_Prunus serotina_ Ehrh.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.—Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_), trunk.]
_Pharmacopœial name._—Prunus virginiana.
_Synonym._—_Prunus virginiana_ Mill., _not_ of Linnæus.
_Other common names._—Wild black cherry, cabinet-cherry, black choke,
rum-cherry, whisky-cherry, Virginian prune-bark.
_Habitat and range._—The wild cherry occurs in woods or open places,
and is most abundant in the Southeastern States, but its range extends
from Nova Scotia to Florida, westward to Texas, and north through
Indian Territory, the eastern portions of Kansas, Nebraska, and South
Dakota.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.—Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_), leaves,
flowers, and fruits.]
_Description of tree._—The elongated, drooping, pretty clusters of
white flowers of the wild cherry are usually produced in May. The tree
sometimes reaches a height of 90 feet, and a maximum trunk diameter of
4 feet. The trunk is straight and covered with a rough black bark (fig.
24), the young branches, however, smooth and reddish. The reddish brown
wood of the wild cherry is fine grained, hard and strong, susceptible
of polish, and is used in cabinetmaking.
The leaves are thick and oval, about 2 to 5 inches long, smooth and
shining, bright green above and somewhat hairy on the veins beneath,
the margins furnished with callous teeth. The clusters of flowers borne
at the ends of leafy branches are generally somewhat drooping, and
consist of many small, white, 5-petaled flowers with numerous yellow
stamens, the clusters of white against the green background making it a
rather attractive tree. The cherries ripen about August or September,
and are globular, black, or very dark purple, about the size of a pea,
and have a sweet, somewhat astringent, and bitter taste. (Fig. 25.) The
wild cherry, which is a native of this country, belongs to the plum
family (Amygdalaceæ).
_Description of bark._—In commerce wild cherry bark is usually found
in curved or irregular pieces, the outer surface smooth and somewhat
shining, of a light green or brownish green color, and showing numerous
transverse, light-colored lines or grooves, or “lenticels,” as they
are technically known. The inner surface is rust colored, marked
with netlike grooves, or fissures. It breaks with a short, granular
fracture. The taste is aromatic, astringent, and pleasantly bitter,
reminding one somewhat of bitter almonds, as does the odor when the
bark is soaked in water.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark, which is official in the
United States Pharmacopœia, should be collected in autumn, as at that
time it contains the greatest amount of hydrocyanic acid. The outside
layer is removed, so that the green layer underneath shows, and the
bark is then carefully dried and preserved. Wild cherry bark should not
be kept longer than a year, as it deteriorates with age. The bark from
very small or very old branches should not be used. Young, thin bark is
considered superior.
The price to collectors at present ranges from 1 to 6 cents a pound,
the highest amount being paid for the “thin green,” the next best price
for the “thick green,” and the lowest for the “thick rossed.”
Wild cherry bark is used for its tonic properties, and it also exerts a
sedative action.
PRICKLY ASH.
(1) _Xanthoxylum americanum_ Mill. and (2) _Xanthoxylum clava-herculis_
L.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Xanthoxylum.
_Synonyms._—(1) _Xanthoxylum fraxineum_ Willd.; (2) _Xanthoxylum
carolinianum_ Lam.; _Fagara clava-herculis_ (L.) Small.[4]
_Other common names._—(1) Northern prickly ash, toothache-tree,
toothache-bush, yellowwood, angelica-tree, pellitory-bark, suterberry;
(2) southern prickly ash, toothache-tree, Hercules-club, yellow
Hercules, yellowthorn, yellowwood, yellow prickly ash, prickly
yellowwood, West Indian yellowwood, sea-ash, pepperwood, wild orange.
_Habitat and range._—The northern prickly ash is common in woods,
thickets, and along river banks from Virginia, Missouri, and Nebraska
northward to Canada, while the southern prickly ash grows along streams
from southern Virginia to Florida, west to Texas and Arkansas. Both are
indigenous to this country, and are members of the rue family (Rutaceæ).
[Illustration: FIG. 26.—Southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum
clava-herculis_), trunk.]
_Descriptions of trees._—The northern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum
americanum_) is smaller than the southern, usually 10 to 12 feet
and rarely exceeding 25 feet in height, the branches having brown
cone-shaped prickles. The leaflets in this species number from 5 to 11,
and are ovate, practically stemless, 1-1/2 to 2 inches long, somewhat
pointed at the apex, and with margins wavy toothed or entire. When
young the leaflets are somewhat hairy, but later they become smooth or
retain only a slight hairiness, and are dark green on the upper surface
and paler underneath. The greenish yellow flowers appear before the
leaves, about April or May, but instead of being borne in terminal
clusters, like those of the southern prickly ash, they are produced
from the axils of the branches, many crowded together in small stemless
clusters. The seed capsules, containing one to two shining black seeds,
are roundish or somewhat oval and greenish red, wrinkled and pitted,
and have a lemon odor. The leaves and flowers are also aromatic.
The southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum clava-herculis_), although
generally a taller tree than the northern, does not attain great
height, not exceeding 45 feet, and sometimes it is only a shrub.
The trunk is covered with a slate-gray bark, and the entire tree is
furnished with sharp spines, or prickles, those of the trunk smaller
and borne on broad corky excrescences which remain after the spines
have fallen away (fig. 26), while those of the branches and leaf stems
are larger, but also have a broad base (fig. 27).
[Illustration: FIG. 27.—Southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum
clava-herculis_), leaves, fruits, and branchlet showing prickles.]
The leaves consist of 5 to 17 ovate lance-shaped leaflets 1-1/2 to 3
inches long, with pointed apex and uneven sides, smooth and shining on
the upper surface, dull beneath, and margins wavy toothed (fig. 27).
After the leaves are out—about June—the numerous small greenish white
flowers appear, borne in large clusters at the ends of the branches,
and not in axillary clusters like those of the northern prickly
ash. The seed capsules are roundish-obovoid, wrinkled, and contain
roundish-oblong, black, and coarsely wrinkled seeds (fig. 27).