ULMUS ELM. 243 



ever, must be conceded stillingia is certainly not without activity. Now, 

 while it is not claimed to act specifically in syphilis, the fact seems well es- 

 tablished that in certain cases, by stimulating the secretory functions, it 

 exerts a very beneficial influence. The same may be said of its action in 

 scrofulous and cutaneous affections. It undoubtedly deserves more care- 

 ful examination than it has hitherto had, in order that its sphere of use- 

 fulness may be more accurately defined. 



URTICACE/E. 



Character of the Order. Plants with alternate or opposite, stipulate 

 leaves, and monoecious, dioecious or, rarely, perfect flowers. Calyx regu- 

 lar, monosepalous, or with 2 to 5 or more divisions. Stamens as many 

 as the segments of the calyx, and opposite them. Ovary free, 1-celled, 1- 

 ovuled, rarely 2-celled ; style or stigma simple. Fruit 1- seeded. 



A very large order of chiefly tropical plants, comprising several well- 

 characterized sub-orders. Not very well represented in North America. 



ULMUS. ELM. 



Ulmus fulva Michaux. Slippery Elm, Eed Elm. 



Description. Flowers polygamous. Calyx bell- shaped, 7- to 9-lobed, 

 Stamens 7 to 9, with long, slender filaments. Ovary 2-celled, each cell 1- 

 ovuled ; styles 2, diverging. Fruit a 1-celled, 1-seeded, membranaceous- 

 samara. 



A medium-sized tree, 20 to 60 feet high, 1 to 2 feet in diameter, with 

 a rough, light-gray bark and reddish wood. Leaves alternate, 4 to 8 

 inches long, ovate-oblong, taper-pointed, doubly serrate, rough above, soft- 

 downy beneath. Flowers reddish, pubescent, in lateral clusters, preced- 

 ing the leaves in March and April. 



Habitat. In rich, rather dry soil, from Western New England to Lake 

 Superior and southward. 



Part Used. The inner bark official name, Ulmus United States Phar- 

 macopoeia. 



Constituents. The only important constituent of slippery elm bark is 

 an abundance of mucilage. 



Preparations. Mucilago ulmi mucilage of elm. United States Phar- 

 macopoeia. This is merely an infusion of the sliced bark in boiling water. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Slippery elm is demulcent and slightly 

 nutritious. It is used largely in acute inflammatory and febrile affections, 

 either alone or slightly acidulated with lemon-juice, and is one of the most 

 valuable agents of its class, seldom or never deranging the stomach. Ex- 

 ternally it is often employed in the form of a poultice, being first ground 

 or torn into shreds, and made into a mass of proper consistence with boil- 

 ing water. It has also been employed, in the form of tents, to dilate the 

 neck of the uterus and fistulous tracts. 



