292 SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED PHARMACOGNOSY 



Constituents. Gallotannic acid, a glucosoidal tannin, and gallic 

 acid. The bark apparently also contains a volatile oil consisting 

 chiefly of a terpene, which is obtained by distillation in the prepa- 

 ration of hamamelis water or extract of witchhazel. 



Caules Hamamelidis. HAMAMELIS TWIGS. WITCHHAZEL 

 TWIGS. The fresh twigs of Hamamelis virginina (Fam. Hamameli- 

 dacese), collected in the fall. 



Twigs with nodes 2-ranked giving the younger portions frequently 

 a zigzag outline; externally yellowish-brown. 



Inner Structure. (Fig. 130.) The epidermal layer of young twigs 

 show numerous stellate branching hairs similar to those described 

 under Hamamelis Leaves (Fig. 129) a hypodermis of 6 or 8 rows of 

 cells; a cortical layer, the cells for the most part being filled with 

 chloroplasts, otherwise containing small starch grains and occa- 

 sionally crystals of calcium oxalate either in the form of monoclinic 

 prisms or rosette aggregates; a continuous circle of mechanical tissue 

 consisting of groups of bast fibers separated by stone cells, the walls 

 of both being strongly lignified; a narrow leptome or sieve area; a 

 xylem composed of large tracheae, with scalariform or reticulate 

 thickenings and associated with numerous tracheids having numer- 

 ous bordered pores, the medullary rays being one cell wide and 

 filled with very small starch grains; pith nearly circular, the cells 

 having thick porous walls and the lumina more or less filled with 

 small, somewhat angular starch grains. In the thicker stems the 

 epidermis is replaced with cork, the walls of the cells being usually 

 yellowish-brown and the lumina often filled with a yellowish-brown 

 amorphous substance, otherwise the structure is the same as that 

 of the young twigs. 



STYBAX. Storax. A balsam obtained from the trunk of Liquid- 

 ambar orientalis (Fam. Hamamelidaceae), a tree indigenous to Asia 

 Minor and the Levant. The balsam is a pathological product, and 

 is produced by bruising the bark of the tree, removing it and then 

 boiling the inner bark in sea-water, the balsam which rises to the 

 surface being skimmed off. 



Description. A viscid, grayish, more or less opaque semi-liquid 

 mass, depositing on standing a heavier, dark brown, oleo-resinous 

 stratum; translucent in thin layers; odor agreeable ; taste balsamic. 



Storax is insoluble in water; between 60 and 70 per cent is sol- 

 uble in warm alcohol, and the residue on evaporation of the alcoholic 

 solution is almost completely soluble in ether, carbon disulphide, 

 or benzol, but insoluble in benzin; the portion undissolved after 

 thorough extraction with boiling alcohol should not be more than 



