MYRICACEJE. 



nearly white. They consist of a hard stone inclosing a dicotyledonous 

 kernel. This stone is studded on its outside with small black grains 

 resembling fine gunpowder, over which is a crust of dry white wax, 

 fitted to the grains and giving the surface of the fruit a granulated 

 appearance. Bigelow. — Bark of the root acrid and astringent, in large 

 doses producing vomiting accompanied by a burning sensation ; costive- 

 ness generally follows its use. The powder stimulating and very acrid. 

 The fruit is covered with a waxy aromatic secretion which may be 

 collected and purified, and which is used for many of the purposes for 

 which beeswax and candles are employed. It has occasionally been 

 used in pharmacy in various compositions intended for external use, 

 and is mild or stimulating according as it is more or less pure. Bigelow. 



COMPTONIA. 



$ . A cylindrical loosely imbricated catkin, with deciduous 

 1 -flowered bracts. Sepals 2. Stamens 6, adhering in pairs. 

 J. Catkins ovate, densely imbricated, with 1 -flowered bracts. 

 Sepals 6 larger than the bracts. Styles 2, capillary. Nut 

 1-seeded. 



630. C. asplenifolia Ait. Kew. iii. 334. Willd. iv. 320. Pursh. 

 fl. am. sept. ii. 635. — Liquidambar asplenifolium Linn. sp. 

 pi. 1418. — Mountains and woods of the United States. (Sweet 

 fern.) 



A small bush, 3-4 feet high, yielding a powerful aromatic fragrance 

 when rubbed. Leaves long, linear, pinnatifid, brown and rather downy 

 on the under side, shining on the upper, the lobes almost in the form of 

 a right angled triangle the apex of which has been rounded off with the 

 perpendicular next the upper end of the leaf. — A tonic and astringent. 

 In North America it is a favourite domestic remedy in the cure of 

 diarrhoea. 



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