74 MAGNOLIACE^E. 



notch, which gives the leaf the appearance of having been cut off. Above 

 the leaves are smooth and shining, of a dark yellowish-green ; underneath 

 much lighter, and strongly veined. The flowers are 2 to 3 inches in di- 

 ameter, beautifully tinted, resembling some varieties of the tulip, whence 

 the common name, and, as they are produced in immense numbers, add 

 greatly to the beauty of this majestic tree during the period of its inflo- 

 rescence. The flowers appear, in the latitude of New York, about the first 

 of June, when the tree is in full leaf. 



Habitat. From Canada to Florida and westward to Eastern Kansas, 

 growing more luxuriantly in rich moist ground, though occurring not un- 

 frequently in elevated and dry situations. Under the name of white wood 

 it is extensively used in cabinet work, in the inner wood-work of houses* 

 for carriage panels, etc. In some sections of the country it is known as 

 white poplar, in others yellow poplar ; both unfortunate appellations, since 

 it in no way resembles the true poplars, but is, on the contrary, a tree sui 

 generis, being the only species of its genus in the known world. 



Part Used. The bark, taken indiscriminately from the root, trunk, or 

 branches not official. 



Constituents. The bark of the tulip tree has a pungent, aromatic, bitter 

 taste, and to analysis yields a crystalline principle, termed liriodendrin, 

 having the same sensible properties. Whatever medicinal effects may be 

 attributed to the drug are doubtless due to this principle. It may be 

 obtained in a crystalline form from the alcoholic tincture, or as an amor- 

 phous powder from the infusion. It exists in greater proportion in the 

 fresh bark than in that which has been long kept. 



Preparations. There are no official preparations, nor is the active 

 principle prepared in commercial quantities. The drug may be adminis- 

 tered in powder, or in the form of infusion or tincture. The earlier 

 writers, from whom most of our knowledge of this subject comes, preferred 

 to administer it in substance. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Like magnolia, the tulip tree possesses 

 aromatic, bitter tonic properties. Some of the earlier writers upon Amer- 

 ican medicinal plants considered it nearly, if not altogether, as efficacious 

 as cinchona in the treatment of intermittent fevers. It was, however, 

 administered in combination with flowering dogwood (Cornus florida], 

 probably a much more efficient drug. It has also been used as a stimu- 

 lant diaphoretic in both acute and chronic rheumatism, and as a simple 

 tonic in dyspeptic ailments, and in convalescence from acute dysentery 

 and other acute diseases. At present it can scarcely be said to hold a 

 place in scientific medicine, and even as a domestic remedy it is probably 

 seldom employed. 



