AMERICAN MEDICINAL FLOWERS, FRUITS, AND SEEDS. 



9 



1£ to 2 inches long, with somewhat pointed apex and wavy-toothed or unbroken 

 margins; they are dark green above and paler green underneath. The leaflets 

 are somewhat hairy when young, but later they become smooth or, at least, 

 are only slightly hairy. About April or May, before the leaves are out, the 

 greenish yellow flowers appear, crowded together in small stemless clusters 

 in the axils of the branches. 



The seed capsules are roundish or somewhat oval, wrinkled or pitted, green- 

 ish red, and with a lemon odor. One or two shining black seeds are contained 

 in each capsule. 



The southern prickly ash is generally taller than the northern, but rarely 

 exceeds 45 feet in height, and sometimes occurs only as a shrub. The bark 

 of the trunk is of a slate-gray color, and the entire tree is covered with sharp 

 spines. All of these spines have broad corky bases, which on the trunk remain 

 after the spines or prickles have fallen away. The spines on the leaf stems 

 and branches are larger than those of 

 the trunk. 



The leaves consist of 5 to 17 leaf- 

 lets, 1| to 3 inches long, ovate lance 

 shaped in outline, pointed at the top, 

 and with uneven sides furnished with 

 wavy-toothed margin ; the upper sur- 

 face is smooth and shining and the 

 lower side dull. The numerous small, 

 greenish white flowers are produced 

 after the leaves have appeared, in 

 large clusters at the ends of the 

 branches, not in the axils of the 

 leaves as in the northern prickly ash. 

 The wrinkled seed capsules are round- 

 ish obovoid and contain roundish ob- 

 long, black, and coarsely wrinkled 

 seeds. (Fig. 6.) 



Collection, uses, and prices. — The 

 berries are gathered at time of ma- 

 turity. As found in the stores they 

 consist of the open, valved, brownish 

 capsules, sometimes with the seed still 

 inclosed, but generally it has shattered 

 out. They have an aromatic odor, a 

 pungent, aromatic taste, and are used 

 medicinally for their stimulant, carminative, and antispasmodic properties. 



The bark of both of the foregoing species is employed medicinally and is at 

 present official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. 



The present wholesale price of prickly-ash berries is quoted at 19 cents a 

 pound. 



SMOOTH SUMAC. 



Fig. 6. — Southern prickly ash (Zanthoxy- 

 lum clava-herciilis), leaves, fruits, and 

 branchlet showing prickles. 



Rhus glabra L 



Pharmacopoeial name. — Rhus glabra. 



Other common names. — Mountain sumac, upland sumac, scarlet sumac, sleek 

 sumac, white sumac, Pennsylvania sumac, shoe-make, vinegar tree, senhalanac. 



