18 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



77. PTELEA TRIFOLIATA, L. 



HOP-TREE, WAFER ASH, SHRUBBY TREFOIL. 



Ger., Dreyllattrige LederUume; Fr., Arlre de fiouUon ; Sp., Arbol de 



lupulo. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: Leaves with rather long petioles and sessile, acute, ovate, 

 nearly entire leaflets, 3-5 inches in length, the lateral ones inequilateral and the 

 central one cuneate at base, downy when young. Flowers and fruit as described for 

 the genus. 



(The specific name, tnfoliata, is the Latin for three-leaved, in allusion to the num- 

 ber of leaflets.) 



Generally hardly more than a shrub, bat in favorable localities some- 

 times attaining the dimensions of a small tree, the largest we have seen 

 being about 20 ft. (6 m. ) in height and 15 or 18 inches (0.45 m.) in 

 diameter of trunk, this being a low tree for the thickness of trunk, with 

 crooked and distorted branches. It is conspicuous in winter from the 

 bunches of winged fruit which persist long after the leaves have fallen. 

 The bark of the trunk is of a grayish-brown color, checking and flaking 

 off with age in thin, irregular scales. The bark and leaves are of a 

 strongly bitter, hop-like, persisting flavor. 



HABITAT. Western New York, southern Ontario and westward to 

 Minnesota, and southward into northern Florida and Mexico, growing 

 along the rocky banks of streams and lake shores. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood heavy, hard, strong and compact; of 

 a light brownish color and very thin yellowish-white sap-wood ; the 

 annual rings conspicuous from the numerous fine ducts along the inner 

 margins and the markedly whitish cast of the outer margins. Specific 

 Gravity, 0.8319 ; Percentage of Ash, 0.30 ; Relative Approximate Fuel 

 Value, 0.8294 ; Weight of a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 51.84. 



USES. Little if any use is made of this wood, as it is so rarely found 

 of sufficient size for use, though as an ornamental shrub or small tree it 

 is quite extensively planted. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES are found in the bark of this species, that of 

 the root being the commercial source. They are yielded to water, but 

 more readily to alcohol, and are used in the treatment of dyspepsia and 

 generally in diseases requiring tonics. It is used in debility following 

 low fevers, and especially connected with gastro-intestinal irritation, to 

 which it seems to be peculiarly applicable from its mild and unirritating 

 qualities. It exercises a soothing influence upon the stomach, which 

 receives it when rejecting other tonics ; while it promotes the appetite, 

 invigorates digestion, and helps greatly to re-establish health in con- 

 valescence.* 



* U. 8. Dispensatory, 16th ed., p. 1899. 



