family (Cornaceæ), is never a large tree, its greatest height being
40 feet, and more frequently it occurs as a shrub. It is one of the
most conspicuous trees in early spring, the naked, leafless branches
supporting numerous large, showy white flowers, so called. The white,
petal-like parts, however, which are the most showy portions, are in
reality “bracts,” the “flowers” themselves being greenish yellow and
inconspicuous, except for these four surrounding bracts. The four
bracts, or petal-like parts, are white, sometimes pink tinged, of
an inverted oval or heart shape, with prominent parallel veins, and
peculiarly notched at the end, as though a piece had been torn or
bitten out. (Fig. 38.)
[Illustration: FIG. 38.—Dogwood (_Cornus florida_), leaves, flowers,
and fruits.]
After the flowers have disappeared the leaves are put forth. These are
generally oval, entire, from 3 to 6 inches in length, the upper surface
dark green and smooth or only minutely hairy, while the under surface
is lighter in color with slightly hairy veins. The leaves turn a bright
red in autumn and with the scarlet fruit, or berries, form a very showy
and attractive addition to the autumnal woods. (Fig. 38.)
The trunk of the dogwood is covered with a grayish brown, rough, and
fissured bark (fig. 37), and the brown wood is hard and close grained.
_Description of bark._—The root bark as found in the stores has had the
fissured grayish brown outside layer removed and consists of short,
reddish brown, curved pieces or chips about one-eighth of an inch in
thickness. The inside is of a reddish purple color, with many short,
broad grooves. The fracture is short. It has an astringent, bitter
taste, but practically no odor.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Dogwood bark is collected from the root
in the fall. It brings from 1 to 3 cents a pound.
It is used in medicine for its astringent, tonic, stimulant, and
febrifuge properties and in the fresh state is said to be emetic. The
root bark was official in the Pharmacopœia from 1830 to 1890. During
the Revolutionary war it was much employed as a substitute for Peruvian
bark or cinchona.
The flowers and fruits have properties similar to those of the bark.
_Other species._—The bark of the swamp-dogwood (_Cornus amomum_ Mill.,
syn., _C. sericea_ L.), and the round-leaved dogwood (_C. circinata_
L’Her.) are also used, being sometimes substituted for the flowering
dogwood.
The swamp-dogwood, known also as red osier, silky cornel, rose-willow,
blue-berried cornel, kinnikinnick, female dogwood, red-brush, red-rod,
red willow, and squawbush, is a shrub native in low woods and along
streams from Canada to Florida, west to Texas and the Dakotas.
The bark of this species, which was official from 1820 to 1880, is
used like the flowering dogwood bark, but is said to be less bitter
and astringent. It occurs in thin, quilled pieces, of a purplish brown
color on the outside, with fewer warty excrescences than the following
species, but otherwise similar. The price paid for this bark ranges
from 4 to 6 cents a pound.
The round-leaved dogwood or cornel, called also green osier, is an
indigenous shrub growing in shady places in Canada and the northeastern
United States.
This bark is also used like that of the flowering dogwood, and was
official from 1820 to 1880. It is said to possess less astringency than
the flowering dogwood, but is more bitter. In commerce it is found in
quilled or curved pieces, of a brownish gray or greenish color outside,
with corky warts or marked with lengthwise lines, the inside brown.
This also brings from about 4 to 6 cents a pound.
MOOSEWOOD.
_Dirca palustris_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.—Moosewood (_Dirca palustris_), leaves and
flowers. (From Edwards’s Botanical Register.)]
_Other common names._—Dirca, American mezereon, leatherwood,
leatherbush, leverwood, leaverwood, rope-bark, swampwood, wickopy,
wickup.
_Habitat and range._—This native shrub is found in wet woods and
thickets from New Brunswick to Florida, west to Missouri and Minnesota,
but is most common in the Northern and Eastern States.
_Description of shrub._—The moosewood, a shrub belonging to the
mezereon family (Daphnaceæ), is from 2 to about 6 feet in height, with
tough, fibrous bark, and smooth, yellowish green twigs. The leaves,
which are hairy when young, are oval with a blunt apex, rounded or
narrowed at the base; they become smoother as they mature, and are
from 2 to 3 inches long. The flower clusters are produced from April
to May, from brown-hairy, scaly buds and consist of 2 to 4 yellowish,
funnel-shaped flowers about one-half inch in length, with stamens and
style protruding. (Fig. 39.) The one-seeded fruit, or berry, is small,
red, oval oblong, and poisonous.
_Description of bark._—Moosewood bark occurs in long, stringy, or
quilled pieces, light brown or grayish brown on the outside, slightly
wrinkled lengthwise, marked here and there with warty excrescences
and an occasional patch of lichen growth, the inside straw colored
and smooth. The bark is exceedingly tough and fibrous, and can not be
broken. The odor is rather strong and aromatic, and the taste pungent
and acrid.
_Prices and uses._—Moosewood bark brings from 5 to 10 cents a pound.
It has emetic and laxative properties, and in decoction is used as a
sudorific and expectorant. The fresh bark applied externally is very
irritating to the skin, causing redness and blisters.
WHITE ASH.
_Fraxinus americana_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.—White ash (_Fraxinus americana_), trunk.]
_Synonyms._—_Fraxinus alba_ Marsh; _Fraxinus acuminata_ Lam.
_Other common names._—Ash, American white ash, cane-ash.
_Habitat and range._—The white ash is native in rich woods, occurring
from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas, but chiefly
in the Northern States and Canada.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.—White ash (_Fraxinus americana_), leaves and
fruits.]
_Description of tree._—This tree, a member of the olive family
(Oleaceæ), sometimes attains a height of 120 feet or so, usually,
however, from 60 to 80 feet, the older trees with gray, deeply furrowed
bark (fig. 40), and smooth, greenish gray branches. The leaf buds are
rust colored, and the white ash is one of the latest trees to put out
leaves in the spring. The leaves measure about 12 inches in length and
consist of 5 to 9 leaflets; these are oval or lance-shaped oblong, the
margins entire, the apex pointed, dark green above and pale green or
silvery beneath, or sometimes hairy, 3 to 5 inches long, and somewhat
less than half as wide (fig. 41). In autumn they change to yellow,
mottled with green, and finally turn black. The small, whitish green
flowers are arranged in loose clusters, appearing from about April to
June, and the fruits which follow are in the form of clustered winged
seeds, or “samaras” (fig. 41), which remain on the branches for a long
time. Each samara is from 1 to 2 inches long, narrow, flat, and one
seeded. The wood of white ash is brown, hard, and strong.
_Description of bark._—The bark of white ash, as found in the stores,
is whitish or inclined to yellowish brown, about one-fourth of an
inch thick or less, the outside corky layer generally having been
removed, but pieces of it often adhering. The inner surface is smooth
and yellow. The fracture is very fibrous. White-ash bark has a faint
aromatic odor and a bitter, acrid taste.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark of the root is preferred,
although that from the trunk is also collected; the outer layer is
usually removed. The amount at present paid for white-ash bark ranges
from 3 to 5 cents a pound.
White-ash bark has been employed as an antiperiodic in intermittent
fever, and is said to possess tonic and astringent properties. The
leaves in infusion have been used in the treatment of gout and
rheumatism.
_Another species._—The black ash (_Fraxinus nigra_ Marsh, syn.,
_Fraxinus sambucifolia_ Lam.) is also a native, inhabiting swamps and
wet woods from Canada to Virginia and Arkansas. Other names applied
to it are hoop-ash, swamp-ash, water-ash, and basket-ash. Its maximum
height is 100 feet, and its bark is darker gray and less fissured
than that of the white ash, and its leaves are darker green. The
leaves are about 16 inches in length, the 7 to 11 stemless leaflets
perhaps a trifle paler green on the lower surface than above, and with
rust-colored hairs on the midrib and veins of the lower surface. These
leaflets are 3 to 6 inches long, narrow, oblong lance shaped, with
long-pointed apex, the margins sharply toothed. The flowers appear from
about April to May, and are followed by clusters of winged seeds, each
flat, winged, linear-oblong fruit measuring from 1 to 1-1/2 inches in
length, narrow, with the winged portion extending all around the seed.
The bark, and also the leaves, are employed in medicine for similar
purposes as those of the white ash. The bark brings about 3 to 5 cents
a pound.
FRINGE-TREE.
_Chionanthus virginica_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 42.—Fringe-tree (_Chionanthus virginica_), leaves
and flowers.]
_Other common names._—American fringe-tree, white fringe, flowering
ash, poison-ash, graybeard-tree, old-man’s-beard, shavings,
snowdrop-tree, snow-flower.
_Habitat and range._—The fringe-tree is native in moist thickets and
along streams from Delaware to Florida and Texas.
_Description of shrub._—When in full flower this shrub or small
tree, with its dense clusters of white, fringelike flowers, is very
attractive, and is often cultivated for ornament. It is a member of
the olive family (Oleaceæ), and is from 6 to 20 feet in height, the
trunk covered with a light-colored bark, the leaves oval or oblong, of
a leathery texture, and smooth. The flowers, which from their drooping
character give a fringelike appearance, are produced in May and June,
and are borne in dense clusters, each flower having four very narrow
white petals about an inch in length. (Fig. 42.) The fruits which
follow are fleshy, oval, and bluish black, containing a one-seeded nut.
_Description of bark._—The bark of the root is the part employed in
medicine, and it is in quilled or curved pieces of unequal size and
shape, rather thick, the outside of a yellowish brown color, somewhat
wrinkled, the inside yellowish brown or dark brown, marked with
lengthwise lines. It breaks with a short, smooth fracture, and has but
a faint odor.
_Prices and uses._—At present collectors are paid from about 5 to 8
cents a pound.
It possesses tonic, febrifuge, and laxative properties, and is also
said to have a narcotic action.
BITTERSWEET.
_Solanum dulcamara_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.—Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_), leaves,
flowers, and fruits.]
_Other common names._—Dulcamara, nightshade, climbing nightshade, woody
nightshade, amara-dulcis, fevertwig, violet-bloom, blue bindweed,
felonwort, poison-berry, poison-flower, pushion-berry, morrel,
snakeberry, wolf-grape, scarlet-berry, tether-devil, dwale, skawcoo.
_Habitat and range._—Bittersweet has been naturalized from Europe,
and occurs in low, damp grounds and moist banks of rivers from New
Brunswick to Minnesota, south to New Jersey and Kansas.
_Description of plant._—This climbing, shrubby perennial is often
planted as an ornamental, and with its clusters of pretty purplish
flowers and branches of berries ranging in color from green to yellow
and orange, and finally red, occurring on the vine together, it makes a
rather attractive showing. Bittersweet has a climbing, somewhat woody,
branched stem, about 2 to 8 feet long, and oval leaves 2 to 4 inches
long, pointed at the apex, and somewhat heart shaped at the base. Some
of the leaves have one lobe at the base, some three lobes, while others
are entire. The purplish flowers, resembling those of the potato (to
which family, Solanaceæ, this plant belongs), are produced from about
May to September, borne in compound lateral clusters. The fruits, or
berries, which ripen in autumn, are oval, red, and juicy, and contain
numerous whitish seeds. (Fig. 43.) The berries look very tempting, but
they are poisonous, and children have been known to be poisoned by
eating them.
_Description of medicinal part._—The young branches of bittersweet
are the parts employed in medicine, and were official in the United
States Pharmacopœia for 1890. As found in commerce, they consist
of cylindrical pieces of varying length and of not more than about
one-fifth of an inch in thickness, with a greenish gray thin bark,
marked with lengthwise lines. The woody portion is light, and the
center is sometimes hollow, and sometimes shows a spongy pith. There is
but a faint, somewhat narcotic odor, and the taste at first is bitter,
then sweet—“bittersweet.”
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Bittersweet branches are collected when
they are only one or two years old and at a time when the leaves have
fallen. The price paid ranges from 3 to 5 cents a pound.
Bittersweet is used for its diuretic and diaphoretic properties, and,
according to the dose employed, has a quieting, hypnotic influence.
BUTTONBUSH.
_Cephalanthus occidentalis_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.—Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_),
leaves and flowers.]
_Other common names._—Buttonwood, buttonwood-shrub, button-tree,
swamp-dogwood, pond-dogwood, swampwood, river-bush, honey-ball,
pinball, whiteball, little snowball, globeflower, mountain-globeflower,
crane-willow, wild licorice, crouper-bush.
_Habitat and range._—The buttonbush is indigenous to this country, and
flourishes in swamps or damp places from southern Canada to Florida and
California.
_Description of shrub._—This is usually a widely spreading shrub from 3
to 12 feet in height or occasionally a small tree, with large, shining,
dark green leaves, and producing from June to September round heads of
creamy white flowers, the protruding, threadlike styles with the small,
knoblike stigmas giving them the appearance of inserted pins, whence
the name “pinball.” The stems are covered with a rough yellowish bark,
while the smaller branches are smooth and tinged with red. Some of the
leaves are opposite, others ternate—that is, arranged in threes—and are
ovate or ovate lance shaped, pointed, smooth, and glossy, with unbroken
margins, and from 3 to 5 inches long. The flower heads, about 1 inch in
diameter, consist of numerous creamy white, stemless flowers, densely
crowded together in globular form, each flower having a funnel-shaped
corolla with 4-toothed margin, from which the slender style with its
globular stigma protrudes. (Fig. 44.) The small dry fruit is inversely
pear shaped, splitting open into two to four cells, each containing one
seed. The buttonbush belongs to the madder family (Rubiaceæ).
_Description of bark._—The bark occurs commercially in small, curved
pieces, smooth and grayish brown and marked with fine lines if taken
from young trees, furrowed and scaly and of a dull gray color if
collected from older trees. The inner root bark, which is also used,
occurs in shorter pieces, and is of a reddish brown color. The inner
surface of the bark is whitish and smooth, becoming a pale rust color
when it is no longer fresh. It breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture,
and has no odor, but a bitter and somewhat astringent taste.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark is collected from both stem
and root. It brings about 7 cents a pound, but at present there seems
to be no very great demand for it.
Buttonbush bark is used in fevers, and the inner bark is employed in
coughs and as a diuretic.
CRAMP-BARK TREE.
_Viburnum opulus_ L.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Viburnum opulus.
_Other common names._—Cranberry-tree, high-bush cranberry, wild
guelder-rose, gueldres-rose, cherry-wood, dog rowan-tree, whitten-tree,
red elder, rose-elder, marsh-elder, water-elder, white elder, gadrise,
gaiter-tree, gatten, love-rose, May-rose, pincushion-tree, squawbush,
witch-hobble, witch-hopple.
_Habitat and range._—This native shrub occurs in low rich woods and
borders of fields from New Jersey, Michigan, and Oregon, northward.
_Description of shrub._—The whitish flower heads of this species are
borne on stems about 1 inch in length, and measure from 3 to 4 inches
across; the flowers on the outside are large, sometimes an inch in
diameter, and sterile (without stamens or pistils), while those on the
inside of the flower cluster are considerably smaller and fertile.
The cultivated variety of this species, the well-known ornamental
“snowball” of the gardens, has all of its flowers sterile.
The cramp-bark tree grows from 8 to 10 feet high, with branches
generally erect and smooth, and broadly oval, 3-lobed leaves. The
leaves are usually smooth on the upper surface, but with the veins on
the lower surface somewhat hairy, and the margins coarsely toothed. The
showy white flower clusters appear about June. The red fruits, which
ripen rather late in the season and remain on the bush for some time,
are roundish or oval, sour, and contain a round, flat stone. As may be
inferred from some of the common names applied to this shrub, the fruit
in taste and appearance bears some resemblance to the cranberry. The
cramp-bark tree is a member of the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceæ).
_Description of bark._—Cramp bark, official in the United States
Pharmacopœia under the name “Viburnum opulus,” is in transversely
curved pieces, sometimes quilled, one-sixteenth of an inch or less in
thickness, the outside grayish brown surface marked with lengthwise
wrinkles and brown lenticels, and the inside pale brown, showing
lengthwise lines. It breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture. There is
practically no odor, and the taste is astringent and bitter.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Cramp bark is collected in the fall,
and at present is paid for at the rate of about 2 to 4-1/2 cents a
pound.
Cramp bark, as this name indicates, is of use as an antispasmodic, and
is also said to possess nervine, tonic, and astringent properties.
BLACK HAW.
_Viburnum prunifolium_ L.
_Pharmacopœial name._—Viburnum prunifolium.
_Other common names._—Sloe, sloe-leaved viburnum, stagbush.
_Habitat and range._—The black haw occurs in dry woods and thickets
and on rocky hillsides from Connecticut to Florida, west to Michigan
and Texas, but is found in greatest abundance in the South. It is
indigenous to this country.
_Description of shrub._—This shrub or small tree, from 10 to about 20
feet in height, has rather stout, spreading branches. The winter buds
are small, short pointed, smooth, or sometimes with reddish hairs.
Black haw has broadly oval or roundish-oval leaves, blunt or somewhat
pointed at the top, 1 to 3 inches long, with a narrow or rounded base;
they are nearly smooth, bright green, and have a finely toothed margin.
The numerous stemless flower clusters are from 2 to 4 inches broad,
composed of numerous white flowers appearing from April to June. The
fruit, which is sweet and edible, is oval or somewhat roundish, about
half an inch long, bluish black, covered with a bloom, and ripens in
early autumn. It contains a somewhat flattened stone. (Fig. 45.)
[Illustration: FIG. 45.—Black haw and nanny-berry (_Viburnum
prunifolium_ and _V. lentago_), leaves and flowers.]
_Description of bark._—The bark of the stem was formerly official, but
now the dried bark of the root is the part prescribed by the United
States Pharmacopœia, Eighth Decennial Revision. It is in irregular or
quilled pieces, of a dull brown color on the outer surface, somewhat
scaly and with shallow furrows; the inner surface reddish brown, and
the whole breaking with a weak, short, uneven fracture. There is a
faint peculiar odor, and a very bitter, somewhat astringent taste.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—Black haw bark is collected in autumn.
The present prices to collectors are from 3 to 8 cents a pound.
This bark has nervine, antispasmodic, tonic, and diuretic properties.
_Another species._—The sweet viburnum (_Viburnum lentago_ L.), known
also as nanny-berry and sheepberry, is a species which is collected
with _prunifolium_, and, with it, considered official. It grows in rich
soil from Canada south to Georgia and Kansas.
Sweet viburnum is an indigenous shrub or small tree, sometimes as
tall as 30 feet, and somewhat resembling _prunifolium_. The winter
buds, however, are longer pointed and smooth, the leaves have longer
slender stems and are oval, long pointed at the apex, and generally
rounded at the base. They are from 2 to 4 inches long, smooth on both
surfaces, and sharply toothed. The stemless flower clusters, 2 to 5
inches broad, appear about May, followed by the oval, bluish black,
bloom-covered fruit, which matures about October, becoming sweet and
edible. (Fig. 45.) The fruit sometimes remains on the shrub until the
following spring. It contains a very flat, round or oval seed. Like the
cramp-bark tree, the black haw and sweet viburnum both belong to the
honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceæ).
The bark of the sweet viburnum is also collected in autumn, and is used
like _prunifolium_.
INDEX.
Page.
Aesculus glabra and A. hippocastanum. _See_ Chestnut, horse 37-38
Ague-bark. _See_ Ash, wafer 33-34
tree. _See_ Sassafras 25-26
Alder, American, common, green, notch-leaved, red, smooth,
speckled, and swamp. _See_ Alder, tag 18
black, description 34
false, and white. _See_ Alder, black 34
spotted, and striped. _See_ Witch-hazel 27-28
tag, description 18
Allspice, wild. _See_ Spicebush 26-27
Alnus rugosa and A. serrulata. _See_ Alder, tag 18
Amara-dulcis. _See_ Bittersweet 46-47
Angelica-tree. _See_ Ash, prickly 31-33
Arrowwood, Indian. _See_ Wahoo and Dogwood 35, 41-43
Ash, American mountain, description 29-30
white ash, basket-ash, black ash, cane-ash,
hoop-ash, swamp-ash, and water-ash. _See_
Ash, white 44-45
bitter. _See_ Wahoo 35
flowering, and poison. _See_ Fringe-tree 45-46
northern prickly. _See_ Ash, prickly 31-33
prickly, description 31-33
sea. _See_ Ash, prickly 31-33
southern prickly. _See_ Ash, prickly 31-33
stinking. _See_ Ash, wafer 33-34
wafer, description 33-34
white, description 44-45
wild. _See_ Ash, American mountain 29-30
yellow prickly. _See_ Ash, prickly 31-33
Asp, mountain, and quaking. _See_ Aspen 11-12
Aspen, American. _See_ Aspen, description 11-12
description 11-12
Auld-wives’-tongues. _See_ Aspen 11-12
Barks, approximate prices 9
collection 8-9
dealers, communication necessary 9
samples to be sent 9
descriptions 9-49
medicinal, descriptions of trees and shrubs
furnishing 9-49
uses 8
methods of drying 8-9
obtaining 8
official and nonofficial 7
time for collecting 8
Basket-ash. _See under_ Ash, white 44-45
Bay, sweet, and white. _See_ Magnolia 21-23
Bayberry, description 14
tallow. _See_ Bayberry, description 14
wax-tree. _See_ Bayberry, description 14
Bearberry-tree. _See_ Cascara sagrada 38-40
Bearwood. _See_ Cascara sagrada 38-40
Beaver-tree. _See_ Magnolia 21-23
Benjamin-bush. _See_ Spicebush 26-27
Benzoin benzoin and B. odoriferum. _See_ Spicebush 26-27
Betula lenta. _See_ Birch, sweet 16-18
Bindweed, blue. _See_ Bittersweet 46-47
Birch, black, cherry, mahogany, river, and spice. _See_
Birch, sweet 16-18
sweet, description 16-18
Bittersweet, classification with medicinal barks, explanation 9
climbing, and shrubby. _See_ Bittersweet, false 36
description 46-47
_See also under_ Bittersweet, false.
false, description 36
Black haw, description 48-49
Blackberry, American, bramble high-bush, high-bush,
knee-high, low-bush, low-running, and sand. _See_
Blackberry, description 28-29
description 28-29
Bongay. _See_ Chestnut, horse 37-38
Boxwood, false boxwood, and New England boxwood. _See_ Dogwood 41-43
Brittle willow. _See under_ Willow, white 12-13
Buckeye, fetid, Ohio, and smooth. _See under_ Chestnut, horse 37-38
Burning-bush. _See_ Wahoo 35
Bursting-heart. _See_ Wahoo 35
Butternut, description 15