Part 6

Other common names.—American larch, black larch, red larch, hackmatack.

Habitat and range.—This tree frequents swamps and moist places from Canada south to New Jersey, Indiana, and Minnesota. It is native in this country.

Description of tree.—In spring the light green, feathery appearance of the young leaves of the tamarack make it a rather conspicuous and attractive tree. It is a slender tree belonging to the pine family (Pinaceæ), but unlike other members of this family, except bald cypress, it loses its leaves upon the approach of winter. The bark is thin and close, finally becoming scaly. The wood, which is light brown in color, hard and resinous, is strong and durable.

The tamarack has horizontally spreading branches, and reaches a maximum height of 100 feet. The pale green leaves, which appear early in spring, are short, very slender, and needle shaped, from 20 to 40 together in a fascicle, or bundle, similar to the manner in which pine needles grow, except that they are without sheaths (fig. 2).

The aments, or flower clusters, are inconspicuous, and are of two kinds, staminate or male, and pistillate or female. The female clusters have a reddish and greenish tinge, and develop later into small erect cones, resembling in miniature cones of some of the pines and spruces (fig. 2).

Description of bark.—The tamarack bark, as found in the stores, is in rather large, coarse pieces or slabs, having the outer layer removed. The outer surface has a rather fibrous appearance, cinnamon brown in color, occasionally showing patches of brownish red or almost purplish where the outside layer has been imperfectly shaved off; the inner surface is smooth and light brown. The whole breaks with a somewhat woody fracture, showing ragged, splintery edges. The odor is rather strong and disagreeable.

Prices and uses.—Tamarack bark at present is paid for at the rate of from 1-1/2 to 3 cents a pound.

The bark, in decoction, is said to be useful as a tonic and alterative, and also as a laxative and diuretic.

ASPEN.

Populus tremuloides Michx.

Other common names.—White poplar, American poplar, trembling poplar, American aspen, mountain-asp, quaking asp, quiverleaf, auld-wives’-tongues.

Habitat and range.—The aspen is found in dry or moist soil from northern Canada and Alaska south to the mountains of Pennsylvania, to southern Illinois, northwestern Missouri, and in the Rocky Mountains to Lower California.

Description of tree.—The greatest height attained by the aspen is 100 feet, with a trunk measuring about 3 feet in diameter. It is a native of this country and belongs to the willow family (Salicaceæ). The branches and trunks of the younger trees are covered with a smooth, light grayish green bark, but on older trees the bark becomes dark and deeply fissured (fig. 3). The young unfolding leaves are whitish and woolly, but become smooth as they expand. The leaves are broadly oval or rounded, with a somewhat heart-shaped base, a short-pointed apex, and finely round-toothed or frequently saw-toothed margin (fig. 4). They are about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in length, and are borne on long, slender stalks which are flattened on the sides, causing the leaves to be set in motion by the slightest breeze and to quiver and tremble almost continually, which has given rise to some of the tree’s common names, such as quaking asp, trembling poplar, and quiverleaf. Early in spring, before the leaves are out, the drooping catkins appear, the staminate (male) from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, the pistillate (female) crowded and longer. The capsules which follow are conical in shape, pointed, and two-valved (fig. 4).

Description of bark.—This bark generally occurs in straight pieces from about 2 to 5 inches long and about one-fourth to one-half inch wide. The outside is grayish and smoothish except here and there where marked with lenticels. The inner surface is somewhat rough to the touch, light colored to brownish. The fracture is even, somewhat corky, and the odor faintly aromatic.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The bark of the aspen, or white or American poplar, as it is often known in the drug trade, is collected in spring, and collectors are paid from about 1 to 4 cents a pound.

It is used for its tonic properties, and has also been employed in the treatment of intermittent fever.

As in the case of the willows, to which family (Salicaceæ) the poplars belong, the glucoside salicin is also obtained from the barks of the various species of Populus.

WHITE WILLOW.

Salix alba L.

Other common names.—Salix, common European willow, duck-willow, Huntington willow.

Habitat and range.—The white willow has been introduced into this country from Europe, and has sparingly escaped from cultivation. It occurs in wet soil along streams from Pennsylvania northward to New Brunswick and Ontario.

Description of tree.—This is a tree of very rapid growth, and attains quite a size, sometimes 90 feet in height, with a trunk perhaps 6 feet in diameter. There is a group of willows known as “crack willows,” on account of the brittleness of the twigs where they are attached to the branches, and the white willow belongs to this group, as does the “crack willow,” or “brittle willow,” (S. fragilis), mentioned farther on. All of the species described are members of the willow family (Salicaceæ).

The gray and rough-barked white willow has lance-shaped leaves, pointed at the apex and narrowed at the base, and with saw-toothed margins. When young, both sides of the leaves are covered with silky hairs, but as they mature they become less hairy and are pale green on the lower surface, or covered with a “bloom.”

The long, loose, green, cylindrical aments, or catkins, are staminate and pistillate and are borne on different trees, appearing with the leaves in spring.

A variety of this species, with yellowish green twigs and with leaves smooth on the upper surface, is known as golden osier (S. alba var. vitellina (L.) Koch), and is the most common form found in North America.

Description of bark.—The white willow bark of commerce is generally in tough, flexible strips, the outer surface smooth or slightly wrinkled, and of a yellowish brown or grayish brown color. The inner surface varies from a light brown to darker brown, and is marked with long, fine lines. White willow bark has a bitter, astringent taste, but practically no odor.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The best time to collect white willow bark is in the spring when the sap begins to flow, at which time it is easy to remove.

White willow bark should not be kept very long, as the salicin content diminishes with age. This bark itself is not official in the United States Pharmacopœia, but the glucoside salicin obtained from it is so recognized. The medicinal properties of willow bark depend upon its two most important constituents, salicin and tannin.