Magnolia.
(1) Magnolia acuminata L.; (2) Magnolia tripetala L.; (3) Magnolia glauca L.
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.
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.
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 1½ 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.
At present there does not seem to be much demand for magnolia bark. The 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.
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.)
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 1¼ 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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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 1¼ 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.
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.
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).
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, 1½ 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).
The leaves consist of 5 to 17 ovate lance-shaped leaflets 1½ 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).
Description of bark.—The dried bark of both of these species is official in the United States Pharmacopœia under the general name Xanthoxylum. That of the northern prickly ash occurs in commerce in small curved or quilled pieces about 2 inches in length and sometimes nearly one-eighth of an inch thick, with a brownish gray, corky outside layer showing whitish patches and small black dots, slightly wrinkled, and a few shining, brown, straight spines, or prickles, about one-fourth of an inch in length and with a base about three-fourths of an inch long. The inner surface of northern prickly ash bark is smooth, whitish, or yellowish. It breaks with a short fracture, showing the green outer layer and the yellowish inner layer. The taste is very pungent and somewhat bitter, but there is no odor.
Southern prickly ash, as found in the trade, is in large sheets or quilled pieces, the outside a bluish gray or slate gray, with patches of silvery gray and numerous large corky excrescences sometimes with the large spines still attached. In other particulars it resembles the northern prickly ash.
Prices and uses.—The price paid to collectors ranges from about 4 to 9 cents a pound for the northern prickly ash and from 3 to 8 cents for the southern prickly ash.
Prickly ash bark has alterative, stimulant, and sialagogue properties, and is used in rheumatism and for increasing the secretions, for toothache, and externally as a counterirritant.
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The pharmacopœial usage. ↩