544 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



but is reddish-brown, and tinges the saHva yellowish ; it contains 

 besides tannin a yellow glucosidal principle quercitrin, which 

 yields quercetin, a yellow coloring principle. 



ULMUS. SLIPPERY-ELM BARK. The bark of Ulnms 

 fulva (Earn. LHrnacese), a tree indigenous to the Eastern and 

 Central United States and Canada (p. 254). The bark is col- 

 lected in spring (Eig. 99, C), deprived of the periderm and dried, 

 the commercial article coming chiefly from Michigan. 



Description. In flat oblong pieces about 30 cm. long, 10 to 

 15 cm. in diameter, 3 to 4 mm. thick; outer surface light brown, 

 longitudinally wrinkled and furrowed and with occasional dark- 

 brown patches of periderm ; inner surface yellowish or light 

 brown, more or less uniformly wrinkled longitudinally; fracture 

 fibrous, surface light brown, porous from large mucilage cells; 

 odor slight, distinct ; taste mucilaginous. 



Inner Structure. See Eig. 99, C. 



Constituents. The principal constituent is mucilage ; it also 

 contains starch and calcium, oxalate. 



Allied Plants. Ulmiis campcstris, or European elm, yields 

 a bark which is dark brown, and contains, besides mucilage, a 

 bitter principle and tannin. 



QUASSIA. QUASSIA WOOD. The wood of Picrasma 

 excelsa (Eam. Simarubaceae), a tree indigenous to Jamaica and 

 other islands of the West Indies (p. 309). The trees are felled 

 and cut into billets. The latter are exported and afterward man- 

 ufactured into " quassia cups," the shavings constituting the drug 

 known as Jamaica Quassia. The market supply of this drug was 

 at one time almost exclusively obtained from Quassia amara 

 (Eam. Simarubaceae), a small tree or shrub indigenous to 

 Brazil and cultivated in Columbia, Panama, West Indies and 

 other tropical countries (p. 309). The wood exported from 

 Surinam is known as Surinam Quassia ; this is the variety used 

 in continental Europe and is now also official. 



Jamaica Quassia. Usually in raspings, light or bright yel- 

 low, medullary rays two to five cells wide in transverse section 

 (Eig. 239, A), the cells containing tetragonal prisms or crypto- 

 crystalline crystals of calcium oxalate ; fracture fibrous ; odor 

 slight ; taste bitter. 



