HYDRANGEA. 143 



Preparations. — Of blackberry root : Extractum rubi fluidum — fluid ex- 

 tract of rubus ; syrupus rubi— syrup of rubus. Of Eubus Idaeus (or II. 

 strigosus or R. occidentalis) : Syrupus rubi idtei — syrup of raspberry. — 

 United States Pharmacopoeia. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Blackberry is used as a mild astringent 

 chiefly in the diarrhoeas of infants and young children. It is generally 

 well borne by the stomach, and though less efficient than many other 

 drugs which are used for the same purposes, may often be employed with 

 excellent results. 



Raspberries, in the form of the official syrup, are used only as a vehicle. 



SAXIFRAGACE/E. 



A large order of herbs, shrubs, or trees, whose limits are not alto- 

 gether settled. As the medicinal species of the order indigenous to 

 North America are few in number and belong to different, well-charac- 

 terized sub-orders, it is more convenient to study them under the latter 

 than to attempt, from the few species examined, to characterize the entire 

 order. 



HYDRANGEA. 



Character of the Sub-Order. — Shrubs or trees, with opposite, simple, 

 exstipulate leaves. Flowers in cymes, the central ones complete, the 

 outer ones with large petals, and often barren. Calyx more or less adher- 

 ent to "the ovary, 4- to 6-toothed. Petals 4 to 6, deciduous. Stamens 

 8 to 12, in two rows, or numerous, attached to the calyx. Ovary of 2 to 5 

 carpels united ; styles 2 to 5. Fruit a many-seeded capsule, crowned with 

 the persistent styles. 



HYDRANGEA. 



Hydrangea arborescens Linne. — Wild Hydrangea. 



Description. — Calyx-tube hemispherical, 8- to 10-ribbed, coherent with 

 the ovary, the limb 4- to 5-toothed. Petals ovate, valvate in the bud. 

 Stamens 8 to 10, filiform. Capsule 2-celled, many-seeded, crowned with 

 the persistent styles. 



A shrub, 4 to 8 feet high. Leaves 3 to 6 inches long, ovate, rarely cord- 

 ate, acuminate, serrate, green both sides. Cymes flat ; the marginal flow- 

 ers usually sterile and radiant, consisting of a flat, dilated, and colored 

 calyx ; sometimes all fertile. 



Habitat. — Rocky banks from New Jersey to the mountains of Georgia 

 and westward to Illinois. 



Part Used. — The root — not official. 



Constituents. — Analysis has not as yet yielded any results which throw 

 light upon the asserted therapeutic properties of this plant. 



