ULMUS ELM. 243 



ever, must be conceded — stillingia is certainly not without activity. Now, 

 while it is not claimed to act specifically in syphilis, the fact seems well es- 

 tablished that in certain cases, by stimulating the secretory functions, it 

 exerts a very beneficial influence. The same may be said of its action in 

 scrofulous and cutaneous affections. It undoubtedly deserves more care- 

 ful examination than it has hitherto had, in order that its sphere of use- 

 fulness may be more accurately defined. 



URTICACE/E. 



Character of the Order. — Plants with alternate or opposite, stipulate 

 leaves, and monoecious, dioecious or, rarely, perfect flowers. Calyx regu- 

 lar, monosepalous, or with 2 to 5 or more divisions. Stamens as many 

 as the segments of the calyx, and opposite them. Ovary free, 1-celled, 1- 

 ovuled, rarely 2-celled ; style or stigma simple. Fruit 1 -seeded. 



A very large order of chiefly tropical plants, comprising several well- 

 characterized sub-orders. Not very well represented in North America. 



ULMUS.— Elm. 



Ulmus fulva Michaux. — Slippery Elm, Bed Elm. 



Description. — Flowers polygamous. Calyx bell- shaped, 7- to 9-lobed. 

 Stamens 7 to 9, with long, slender filaments. Ovary 2-celled, each cell 1- 

 ovuled ; styles 2, diverging. Fruit a 1-celled, 1-seeded, membranaceous 



samara. 



A medium-sized tree, 20 to 60 feet high, 1 to 2 feet in diameter, with 

 a rough, light-gray bark and reddish wood. Leaves alternate, 4 to 8 

 inches long, ovate-oblong, taper-pointed, doubly serrate, rough above, soft- 

 downy beneath. Flowers reddish, pubescent, in lateral clusters, preced- 

 ing the leaves in March and April. 



Habitat. — In rich, rather dry soil, from Western New England to Lake 

 Superior and southward. 



Part Used. — The inner bark — official name, Ulmus — United States Phar- 

 macopoeia. 



Constituents. — The only important constituent of slippery elm bark is 

 an abundance of mucilage. 



Preparations. — Mucilago ulmi — mucilage of elm. — United States Phar- 

 macopoeia. This is merely an infusion of the sliced bark in boiling water. 



Medical Properties and Uxes. — Slippery elm is demulcent and slightly 

 nutritious. It is used largely in acute inflammatory and febrile affections, 

 either alone or slightly acidulated with lemon-juice, and is one of the most 

 valuable agents of its class, seldom or never deranging the stomach. Ex- 

 ternally it is often employed in the form of a poultice, being first ground 

 or torn into shreds, and made into a mass of proper consistence with boil- 

 ing water. It has also been employed, in the form of tents, to dilate the 

 neck of the uterus and fistulous tracts. 



