38 



AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS. 





this country, and found in great abundance in Ohio. It gives off a fetid odor, 

 and has leaves consisting of five ovate leaflets, and small insignificant yellow 

 flowers. The bark and nut of this species are also employed in medicine, having 

 properties similar to those of the horse-chestnut, but it is said that their action 

 is more powerful. 



Description of bark. — The horse-chestnut bark of commerce is thin, brownish 

 gray on the outside, and with a few warty protuberances, leafscars, and 



lichens; the inside of the bark is 

 smooth and whitish, and the whole 

 breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture, 

 showing a brownish color within. 

 The bark has a faint, disagreeable 

 odor, and a rough, bitter, astringent 

 taste. 



Collection, prices, and uses. — Horse- 

 chestnut bark is collected in the 

 autumn, and preference is given to 

 the bark from the younger branches. 

 From 1 to 4 cents a pound is the price 

 paid to collectors. 



This bark is used for its " tonic, 

 astringent, febrifuge, narcotic, and 

 antiseptic " properties. The nuts are 

 said to have a narcotic action, and 

 when powdered, excite sneezing. 



The leaves are an old remedy in 

 the treatment of whooping cough. 



CASCARA SAGRADA. 



Rhamnus pursJiiana DC. 



Pharmacopoeial name. — R h a m n u s 

 purshiana. 



Other common names. — Chittem- 

 bark, sacred bark (a translation of the 

 Spanish name " cascara sagrada"), 

 bearberry-tree, bearwood, shittim- 

 wood, Purshiana bark, Persiana bark. 



Habitat and range. — This indige- 

 nous tree occurs on the sides and 

 bottoms of canyons from the Rocky 

 Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, ex- 

 tending north into British America. 

 Description of tree. — The tree furnishing the cascara sagrada of the Pharma- 

 copoeia is of small size, usually from 15 to 20 feet in height (fig. 34), the young 

 twigs hairy, and the leaves rather thin. It belongs to the buckthorn family 

 (Rhamnacese). The dark green leaves are elliptical in form, from 2 to 6 

 inches long, and about 1 to 3 inches wide, blunt at the apex or with a short 

 sharp point, finely saw toothed, rounded or slightly heart shaped at the base, 

 somewhat hairy on the lower surface, and rather prominently veined (fig. 35). 

 139 



Fig. 34. — Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus pursh- 

 iana), five-year-old tree. 



