1 i EUTACE^. 



ill 3 to 5 pairs niul an odd terminal one, ovt. te-lanceolate, crenate-senoi- 

 lato, oblique, shining above. Flowers in a teriuinul cyme, appearing in 

 June after the leaves are expanded. 



Ihibilal. — In di-y soil near the coast, from Florida to North Carolina 

 and westward. 



Fart U^t'd. — The bark of hoth speeies — United States PharmacopnUi. 

 The fruit is also used to some extent, Init is not official. 



Const it Koitfi. — Prickly ash has a taste which is at tirst aromatic, then 

 bitter, and finally persistently acrid. It contains volatile and fixed oils, 

 resin, gum, coloring matter, and berberiue, the latter being probably its 

 most important constituent. 



VrepurutionH, — Extractum xanthoxyli flnidum — fluid extract of xanthox- 

 ylum. — L'niled Stales /'hnrniacopada. It yields its virtues readily to boil- 

 ing water and to alcohol, and may therefore be administered in decoction 

 or tincture. The fruit is used in like manner. 



Medical ProperlicH and Uses. — Prickly ash is stimulant and diapho- 

 retic, and has long enjoyed a certain degree of popularity as a remedy for 

 chronic rheumatism. It powerfully stimulates secretion from nnicous sur- 

 faces, causes a sensation of warmth in the stomach, and luidoubtedly exerts 

 an eliminant inlluence. Hence it has 1)een used with benefit in constitu- 

 tional syphilis. As a tonic it is manifestly inferior to its alkaloid, ber- 

 beriue, but as an alterative and eliminant much superior. It is employed 

 topically in domestic practice as a remedy for toothache and as a counter- 

 irritant, and has been recommended as a local ai)iilication in chronic 

 pharyngitis characterized by dryness of the nuicous membrane. 



PTELEA.— SnuuHBY Tuefoil. 



Ptelea trifoliata Linne. — Shrulihy Tir/uU, Hop Tree. 



Jh:.<cripli()i). — Calyx : sepals 3 to 5, small. Corolla : petals 3 to 5, im- 

 bricated in the bud, much longer than the sepals. Stamens 3 to 5, alter- 

 nate with the petals ; filaments densely villous below the middle, longer 

 than the style in the sterile flowers, shorter in the fertile ones. Ovary 

 2-celled, each cell 2-ovuled ; styles short or absent ; stigma 2-lobed. Fruit 

 an orbicular samara, 2-celled, 2-seeded, nearly one inch in diameter. 



An iniarmed shrub, 8 to 12 feet high. Leaves tri£t)liate, on petioles 

 about 2 inches long ; leaflets 2 to 4 inches long, oval or ol)long, mostly 

 acute, obscurely crenate-serrate, the lateral ones somewhat oblique, pubes- 

 cent when 3'oung. Flowers polygamous, small, greenish-white, in com- 

 pound terminal cymes, appearing in May and June, and having a disagree- 

 able odor. 



Habitat. — In rocky places from Pennsylvania to Florida and west- 

 wai'd. 



Farts Used. — The fruit, leaves, and bark of the root — not official. 



