144 IIAMAMELACEif}. 



Proparalinnn. — None are official A fluid extract occurs as a commoi'- 

 (dal article. 



Medical J^'niwrlios and ^>'s. — Hydranrjeii m said to exert a sjiecific! ac- 

 tion upon the bladder in cidculons atltectionH in their earlier Hta^ea, eft'ect- 

 inp; the removal of the deposits and nioderatinf^ the pain incident to their 

 paHsage — all of which may he true, but further evidence is desirable. 



SAXIFRA(iE/E. 



Character of the Suh-(h'drr. — Herbs, -with alternate, or rarely opposite, 

 oxstipulate leaves. Calyx 4- to 5-toothed. I'etals imbricated, or rarely 

 (convoluted in the bud, deciduous or witherinf^-persistent. Stamens as 

 many or twice as many as the lobes of the calyx. Ovaiy more or less ad- 

 herent to the calyx-tube. I'ruit diy, capsular, or follicular. 



IIEUCHER A. — Ai.TTM-RooT. 



Heuchera Americana JAmxv.— Alum-Root. 



Description. — Calyx b(!ll-shaped, the tube adherent at the base to the 

 ovary, 5-clel't. Corolla : petals 5, spatulate, as \o\\f^ as the lobes of the 

 calyx, purplish or white. Stamens 5. Styles 2, slender. Pod 1-celled, 

 Avitli 2 parietid placentie, many-seeded, 2-beaked, oiicning between the 

 beaks. 



An herbaceous perennial. Leaves nearly all radical, roundish-cordate, 

 somewhat 7- to 9-lobed ; the lobes short and rounded, dentate-crenate, with 

 short and broad mucronato teeth. Scapc^s 2 to 3 feet high, glandular, and 

 moi-o or less hirsute with short hairs, rarely with one or two small leaves. 

 Panicle loose, many-flowered, the flowers appearing in May and Jiuie. 



Habitat. — In woods and rocky places from Connecticut to Wisconsin 

 and southward. 



J'art Used. — The root— not official. 



Constitaeuts. — Alum-root confjiins from eighteen to twenty per cent, of 

 tannin. 



/'reparation. — None are official. — It is generally employed in decoc- 

 tion. 



Medical Properties and- Uses. — Alum-root, though formerly official, is 

 seldom employed except as a domestic remedy. It is chieliy used, in 

 decoction, as a topical astringent in sore throat, leucorrhrea, menorrhagia, 

 etc. Other species of heuchera possess similar properties. 



HAMAMELACE/E. 



Character of the Order. — Shrubs or trees, with alternate simple leaves 

 and deciduous stipules. Flowers in heads or spikes, often jiolygamoiis or 

 monoecious. Calyx adherent to the base of the ovary. Petals narrow, 



