ARALIACE^E. 



345 



Description. — Root per- Fig. 163. 



ennial, brown, cylindrical, 

 horizontal, giving rise to 

 a single, very short stem, 

 from which arise a single 

 scape and one leaf ; this 

 latter is triquinate or tri- 

 ternate; the leaflets are 

 ovate, rounded at base, 

 serrulate, acuminate ; the 

 lateral ones are sessile, 

 and the terminal petio- 

 late. The scape is shorter 

 than the leaf, and supports 

 three pedunculated urn- 

 bels ; it is furnished at 

 base with scarious scales. 

 The flowers are yellowish 

 or greenish-white, small. 

 The calyx is greenish, 

 united to the ovary, and 

 5-toothed. The petals are 

 oboval, obtuse. The sta- 

 mens and styles are fili- 

 form. The fruit is small, 

 round, juicy, and pur- 

 plish-black. 



This plant is found 

 from Maine to Geor- A . nudicauiis. 



gia, but is most com- 

 mon in the Northern and Middle States. It usually occurs in rocky woods, 

 in a good soil, and flowers about the end of May and beginning of June. 

 The root, which is the officinal portion, is of a brown colour, variously 

 twisted and contorted, possessing a fragrant, balsamic smell, and a warm, 

 aromatic, sweetish taste : the berries partake of these qualities, but not to an 

 equal degree. 



Medical Properties. — The root is a mild, stimulating diaphoretic, and alte- 

 rative, and has been advantageously employed as a substitute for sarsaparilla. 

 It has been used with some success in rheumatic, venereal, and cutaneous 

 affections. Dr. Mease (Phil. Med. Mas. ii. 161), states a watery infusion 

 was beneficial in zona, and also as a tonic in dyspepsia. It has likewise ob- 

 tained some reputation in domestic practice in pulmonary diseases, but should 

 not be administered whilst inflammation exists. 



2. A. spinosa, Linn. — Stem and leaves prickly ; panicle much branched ; umbels race- 

 mose ; involucre few-leaved. 



Linn., Sp. PI. 392 ; Torrey and Gray, Fl. i. 647 ; Michaux, Fl. i. 186. 

 Common Names. — Prickly ash; Angelica tree ; Prickly elder, &c. 



Description. — A small tree, with a crooked, shrubby, unbranched stem, which is naked 

 and prickly below, with the leaves crowded at the summit of the stems, somewhat like 

 the palms; it is generally not more than ten to twenty feet high, but to the south attains 

 a height of thirty, and even sixty feet. The petioles are very long and prickly. The 

 leaves are bipinnately compound, composed of ovate-acuminate, serrate, mostly glabrous 

 leaflets, which are somewhat glaucous beneath. The umbels are in large, much-branched 

 panicles, with small, few-leaved involucres. The flowers are white, with connivent styles. 



