AMERICAN MEDICINAL PLANTS 



21 



CASCARA BUCKTHORN 



Rhamnus purskiana DC. (Fig. 35.) 



Other common names. — Cascara sagrada, chittembark, chittam wood, sacred 

 bark, bearberry-tree, bearwood. 



Habitat and range. — This native tree occurs on the sides and bottoms of canyons 

 from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, extending north into British 

 America. 



Description. — The cascara tree is usuall}- from 15 to 20 feet in height. The 

 rather thin leaves are from 2 to 6 inches long and about 1 to 3 inches wide, some- 

 what hairy on the lower surface and rather prominently veined. The small, 

 insignificant greenish flowers are produced in clusters and are followed by black, 

 3-seeded berries of a somewhat insipid taste. The bark has a somewhat aromatic 

 odor and an extremely bitter taste. In the cascara district several other species 

 of Rhamnus occur which are not commercially important, but their resemblance 

 to R. purshiana may lead inexperienced persons to include the bark of such 

 species in their collections. 



Part used. — The bark, collected during the summer. The collecting season 

 opens about the end of May and closes before the rainy season sets in, as bark 

 collected after exposure to wet weather is difficult, to cure properly. The strips 

 of bark after removal from the trees are dried in such a way that the inner surface 

 is not exposed to the sunlight, in order to retain its yellow color. Cascara 

 bark must be aged at least one year be- 

 fore it is used. If collectors in removing 

 the bark allow enough to remain to pre- 

 vent the tree from dying it will develop 

 new bark, thus prolonging the natural 

 supply of this valuable drug which is grad- 

 ually being exhausted. 



Figure 35.— Cascara buckthorn 

 (Rhamnus purshiana) 



Figure 



Catnip (Nepeta cataria) 



CATNIP 



Nepeta cataria L. (Fig. 36.) 



Other common names. — Cataria, catmint, catwort, catnip. 



Habitat and range. — Catnip, a common weed, occurs in rather dry soil in 

 waste places and cultivated land from New Brunswick to Minnesota and south to 

 Virginia and Arkansas. 



Description. — Catnip has a somewhat whitish appearance due to the fine 

 white hairs on the stems. It grows to a height of from 2 to 3 feet with erect, 

 square, branched stems. The leaves, from 1 to 2y 2 inches in length, are some- 

 what heart-shaped, covered below with fine white hairs. From June to September 

 the plant produces thick flowering spikes at the end of the stem and branches, 

 consisting of many whitish flowers dotted with purple. The plant has a strong 

 odor. 



