Part 13

(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.

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, 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).

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).

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.

WAFER-ASH.

Ptelea trifoliata L.

Other common names.—Ptelea, wingseed, hop-tree, shrubby trefoil, swamp-dogwood, three-leaved hop-tree, ague-bark, prairie-grub, quinine-tree, stinking ash, stinking prairie-bush, sang-tree, pickaway-anise.

Habitat and range.—This indigenous shrub is found in shady woods from New York to Florida, west to Minnesota and Texas, occurring in greatest abundance west of the Alleghanies.

Description of shrub.—The wafer-ash, belonging to the rue family (Rutaceæ), is a shrub or small tree usually from 6 to 8 feet and not more than 20 feet in height, with leaves consisting of three oval leaflets 2 to 5 inches long, dark green and shining above, paler beneath, the margins slightly round toothed (fig. 28). The leaves are borne on long stems, but the leaflets are stemless. The flowers, which appear in June, are numerous in terminal compound clusters, greenish white, and have a disagreeable odor. The foliage also has an unpleasant odor. The flowers are followed by large clusters of winged fruits, each one containing two seeds. These fruits are flat, rounded in outline, the seeds surrounded by a membranous, veined wing (fig. 28). They have a bitter taste and have been used in place of hops. The wood of the wafer-ash is light brown.

Description of bark.—The dried bark of the root is the part employed in medicine, and as found in the stores it is in quilled pieces varying in length from one to several inches. The thin cuter layer is pale brown and irregularly ridged and wrinkled. The inner surface is yellowish white, becoming darker with age. The bark, which is brittle, breaks with a smooth fracture, has a peculiar odor, and a bitter, pungent, and somewhat acrid taste.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The bark is taken from the roots. At present it brings collectors from about 4 to 8 cents a pound.

Wafer-ash bark possesses tonic properties, and is employed in fevers. It is also said to be useful as an anthelmintic.

BLACK ALDER.

Ilex verticillata (L.) A. Gray.

Synonym.—Prinos verticillata L.

Other common names.—Prinos, winterberry, common winterberry, Virginia winterberry, false alder, white alder, feverbush.

Habitat and range.—The black alder is native in swamps, moist woods, and along banks of streams, in Canada and the eastern United States, and westward to Wisconsin and Missouri.

Description of shrub.—The fruits of the black alder are a familiar sight in the Christmas markets, the bare branches with the persistent, shining, bright red berries being much used for decorative purposes during the holiday season. Black alder is a shrub usually from 6 to 8 feet high (sometimes 25 feet), with grayish bark and smooth twigs. The leaves are oval or oblong lanceolate, pointed at the apex, about 2 to 3 inches long, and about an inch in width. They are rather thick and leathery in texture, dark green and smoothish on the upper surface, hairy on the lower surface, especially along the veins, and sharply toothed. In autumn the leaves turn black.

The flowers, which appear from about May to July, are small and white, the male clusters consisting of 2 to 10 flowers, and the female of only 1 to 3. The fruits are bright red and shining, about the size of a pea, clustered around the stem, and each containing six seeds (fig. 29). Black alder belongs to the holly family (Aquifoliaceæ).

Description of bark.—The bark, which was official in the United States Pharmacopœia from 1820 to 1890, occurs in commerce in somewhat quilled strips or pieces of an ashy brown color outside, with whitish patches and round black spots and lines. The inner surface is greenish or yellowish, and marked with short lines. The fracture is short, showing a greenish tinge. It has a faint, peculiar odor and a bitter, astringent taste.