Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
March,  1918.  ' 
Wafer,  Ash  Bark. 
161 
ovate  to  oblong,  serrate  leaflets.  The  terminal  leaflet  is  generally 
larger  than  the  other  two.  The  greenish-white  flowers  appear  from 
March  to  June  in  terminal  compound  cymes  and  possess  a  rather 
disagreeable  odor.  The  fruits  are  orbicular  samaras  2/z  to  3/J  of 
•an  inch  in  diameter,  the  wing  portion  of  each  being  membranous, 
reticulate  and  emarginate.  They  ripen  in  the  southern  latitude  in 
early  summer  but  not  until  late  in  autumn  in  the  northern  states 
and  persist  on  the  long  slender  pedicels  until  the  following  spring. 
Euonymus  N.  F.,  sometimes  called  wahoo  or  burning  bush,  is 
the  dried  bark  of  the  root  of  Euonymus  atropurpureus  Jacquin,  a 
shrub  growing  to  the  height  of  6  to  10  feet  or  rarely  (frequently 
west  of  the  Mississippi)  a  slender  tree  20  to  25  feet  high,  with  a 
trunk  6-7  inches  in  diameter  and  covered  with  ash-gray  fluted 
bark.  It  is  found  growing  in  rich  soil  generally  along  the  edge  of 
woods  from  Ontario  to  northern  Florida  and  west  to  Montana, 
Arkansas  and  the  Indian  Territory.  The  branchlets  (twigs)  are 
obtusely  4-angled  and  bear  simple,  opposite,  elliptical  to  ovate,  acumi- 
nate, serrulate  and  membranous  leaves,  2  to  5  inches  long  and  1  to 
2  inches  broad.  The  dark  purple  flowers  appear  on  7-  to  15-flowered 
cymes  from  May  until  the  middle  of  June.  The  fruit  is  a  3  to  4 
deeply  lobed  capsule  from  y2  to  %  inch  in  diameter  with  light 
purple  valves,  which  ripens  in  October,  dehisces  to  expose  its  seeds, 
and  remains  on  the  cyme  during  the  early  winter  months.  The 
seeds  are  characterized  by  being  covered  with  a  thin  scarlet  aril. 
Gross  Structure  of  Wafer  Ash  Bark. — This  bark  appears  on  the 
market  in  the  form  of  irregular  transversely  curved  pieces  or  in 
quills  of  variable  size  and  3  to  4  Mm.  thick.  Its  outer  surface  is 
light  brown  with  prominent  broad  irregular  transverse,  grayish- 
white  lenticels  and  transverse  ridges.  Its  inner  surface  is  brownish- 
yellow  and  smooth.  Its  fracture  is  short,  the  broken  surfaces  ap- 
pearing waxy  and  pale  yellow.  The  odor  is  faint  and  the  taste 
bitter  and  acrid. 
Gross  Structure  of  Euonymus  {Wahoo)  Bark. — It  occurs  in 
transversely  curved  pieces  or  single  quills  of  variable  size  and  1  to 
2.5  Mm.  thick.  Its  outer  surface  is  graying  to  grayish-brown,  irregu- 
larly furrowed  and  ridged  and  showing  occasional  transverse  len- 
ticels. Its  inner  surface  is  light  brown  or  light  buff.  Its  fracture  is 
short  exhibiting  silky  projecting  caoutchouc  threads  in  the  inner 
phloem  region.  Its  odor  is  characteristic  and  its  taste,  bitter  and 
acrid. 
