Part 9

Other common names.—Stone-oak, stave-oak.

Habitat and range.—The white oak is found in woods from Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas, but is most abundant in the Middle States. It is indigenous to this country.

Description of tree.—In dense woods this stately tree sometimes reaches a height of 150 feet. Usually it is about 60 to 80 feet high, the trunk about 3 to 4 feet in diameter, and with many wide-spreading branches. The bark is grayish and comes off in thin scales (fig. 11). When young, the leaves are red and hairy, becoming smooth and thin when older, with a light green upper surface and paler lower surface furnished with prominent veins. In autumn they turn a beautiful red. The leaves are 4 to 7 inches long, and about half as wide, borne on stems about half an inch in length; they are divided into from 3 to 9 oblong, blunt lobes, with entire or toothed margins (fig. 12). About the time that the leaves appear, the very small greenish or yellowish flowers are produced. The male flowers are borne in slender, usually drooping aments, or spikelike clusters, and the female flowers singly. The fruits (acorns) mature the first autumn, and are about 1 inch in length, about one-fourth covered by the scaly cup (fig. 12). The white oak is a member of the beech family (Fagaceæ).

Description of bark.—The dried bark of the white oak is official in the United States Pharmacopœia. As found in the stores it is in nearly flat pieces about one-eighth of an inch or more in thickness, rough and fibrous on the outside, with the outer layer removed, brownish, and the inside with short, coarse grooves, the whole breaking with a coarse, tough, and splintery fracture. The odor is rather strong, reminding one somewhat of tanbark, and the taste very astringent. The Pharmacopœia adds that it does not tinge the saliva yellow when chewed.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The best time for collecting white oak bark is in the spring, as at that time it is said to contain the greatest amount of tannic acid. The outer layer is first scraped off. As directed by the United States Pharmacopœia, the bark should be “collected from trunks or branches 10 to 25 years of age, and deprived of the periderm.”

The price paid for white oak bark ranges from 1 to 3 cents a pound.

The bark is a powerful astringent and is also antiseptic.

SLIPPERY ELM.

Ulmus pubescens Walt.

Pharmacopœial name.—Ulmus.

Synonym.—Ulmus fulva Michx.

Other common names.—Moose-elm, red elm, Indian elm, rock-elm, sweet elm.

Habitat and range.—This tree is native in woods, along streams, and on hills from Quebec to North Dakota, south to Florida and Texas. It is more common in the western part of its range.

Description of tree.—The slippery elm is usually about 40 to 50 feet in height, although it will sometimes grow as tall as 70 feet, with a trunk about 2-1/2 feet in thickness. In dense woods it grows tall and straight, branching some distance from the ground, but in open woods and fields, where it often occurs singly, it is more spreading and irregular in growth. It has a dark, reddish wood, hard and durable, and is covered with a rough, reddish brown bark (fig 13). Even the small branches are rough and the twigs are furnished with rough hairs. The leaf buds, a few weeks before expanding, are soft and downy with rust-colored hairs. Short downy stalks support the rather large leaves, the upper surface of which is very rough and the lower hairy. The leaves are about 4 to 8 inches long and about 2 to 2-1/2 inches wide, pointed at the apex, usually lance-shaped oval in outline, sharply toothed, and with an obtuse, unevenly shaped and generally heart-shaped base. The flowers appear very early in the spring (in March or April), before the leaves. They occur in dense, lateral clusters and consist of a bell-shaped, downy calyx, usually 7 lobed, no corolla, and 5 or 7 reddish stamens. The winged fruit which follows, known botanically as a “samara,” is flattened and circular; the seed is borne in the center, surrounded by the winged, membranous margin, which aids its dispersion by the wind (fig. 14). Slippery elm belongs to the elm family (Ulmaceæ).

Description of bark.—The commercial article consists of pale brown or whitish brown flat pieces tied in bundles, and it also occurs on the market in smaller pieces of uneven size, suitable for grinding purposes, but which bring a lower price. The flat pieces are of varying length and width, about an eighth of an inch in thickness, the outer bark having been removed in accordance with the requirements of the Pharmacopœia, but sometimes patches of it are still found adhering. They are tough, and break with a fibrous fracture. The inner surface is yellowish brown and marked with fine furrows. Slippery elm has a faint, peculiar odor, and a mucilaginous but insipid taste.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The outer bark is rossed or shaved off before removing the inner bark from the tree, which alone is recognized as official in the United States Pharmacopœia. It is taken from the tree in long strips, and generally dried under pressure so that it will remain flat.

The price paid for slippery elm bark is from 3 to 10 cents a pound, depending upon quality, the small, irregular pieces having less value than the large, flat pieces.

The mucilaginous character of slippery elm bark renders it useful in relieving coughs, and it is also employed in treating diarrheal complaints. It is soothing and allays inflammation, and is also somewhat nutritious. In certain sections of the country poultices are made from the bark and applied to abscesses.

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 1-1/2 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: