Part 17

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.