48 R^te ( Rutacece) 



to five, or obsolete. Seed-cases, three to five, separate, 

 but with their slender styles more or less united. 

 April, May. 



Leaves, alternate. Leaflets, in two to four pairs, with an 

 odd one at the end ; edges entire or nearly so ; sur- 

 face smooth above (or when young, downy), downy 

 beneath. 



Branches, and often the leaf-stalks armed with short, 

 stout, brown prickles. 



Fruit, thick and fleshy, one-celled, splitting lengthwise 

 into two parts ; one- to two-seeded. Seeds, black, 

 smooth, and shining. 



Found, in rocky woods, and along river banks ; often 

 forming thickets ; common, especially northward. 



A shrub four to twelve feet high, or in cultivation 

 sometimes twenty feet high. All its parts are bitter and 

 aromatic. The leaves furnish a home remedy for rheu- 

 matism, toothache, etc. When crushed they yield a strong 

 lemon odor, due to an oil contained in the transparent 

 dots. The bush serves well for hedges. 



It is said that the Indians use the prickly ash as a 

 medicine under the name of Hantola ; that they chew the 

 bark for aching teeth ; make decoctions, mostly of the 

 roots, for rheumatism and colic; and, mixed with bear's 

 grease, use it for poultices. 



In typhoid cases the tincture of the berry is consid- 

 ered very helpful. "In typhus fever, typhus pneumonia, 

 and typhoid conditions generally, I am compelled to say 

 that I consider the tincture of prickly-ash berries superior 

 to any other kind of medicine." DR. KING as quoted by 

 Millspaugh. 



