144 HAMAMELACE^E. 



Preparations. None are official. A fluid extract occurs as a commer- 

 cial article. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Hydrangea is said to exert a specific ac- 

 tion upon the bladder in calculous affections in their earlier stages, effect- 

 ing the removal of the deposits and moderating the pain incident to their 

 passage all of which may be true, but further evidence is desirable. 



SAXIFRAGES. 



Character of the Sub-Order. Herbs, with alternate, or rarely opposite, 

 exstipulate leaves. Calyx 4- to 5-toothed. Petals imbricated, or rarely 

 convoluted in the bud, deciduous or withering-persistent. Stamens as 

 many or twice as many as the lobes of the calyx. Ovary more or less ad- 

 herent to the calyx-tube. Fruit dry, capsular, or follicular. 



HEUCHERA. ALUM-ROOT. 



Heuchera Americana Linne. Alum-Root. 



Description. Calyx bell-shaped, the tube adherent at the base to the 

 ovary, 5-cleft. Corolla : petals 5, spatulate, as long as the lobes of the 

 calyx, purplish or white. Stamens 5. Styles 2, slender. Pod 1 -celled, 

 with 2 parietal placentae, many-seeded, 2-beaked, opening between the 

 beaks. 



An herbaceous perennial. Leaves nearly all radical, roundish-cordate, 

 somewhat 7- to 9-lobed ; the lobes short and rounded, dentate-crenate, with 

 short and broad mucronate teeth. Scapes 2 to 3 feet high, glandular, and 

 more or less hirsute with short hairs, rarely with one or two small leaves. 

 Panicle loose, many-flowered, the flowers appearing in May and June. 



Habitat. In woods and rocky places from Connecticut to Wisconsin 

 and southward. 



Part Used. The root not official. 



Constituents. Alum-root contains from eighteen to twenty per cent, of 

 tannin. 



Preparations. None are official. It is generally employed in decoc- 

 tion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Alum-root, though formerly official, is 

 seldom employed except as a domestic remedy. It is chiefly used, in 

 decoction, as a topical astringent in sore throat, leucorrhcea, menorrhagia, 

 etc. Other species of heuchera possess similar properties. 



HAMAMELACE/E. 



Character of the Order. Shrubs or trees, with alternate simple leaves 

 and deciduous stipules. Flowers in heads or spikes, often polygamous or 

 moncecious. Calyx adherent to the base of the ovary. Petals narrow, 



