Part 1
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY—BULLETIN NO. 139. B. T. GALLOWAY, _Chief of Bureau_.
AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS.
BY
ALICE HENKEL, ASSISTANT, DRUG-PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.
ISSUED JUNE 5, 1909.
[Illustration: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE]
WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1909.
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.
_Chief of Bureau_, BEVERLY T. GALLOWAY. _Assistant Chief of Bureau_, ALBERT F. WOODS. _Editor_, J. E. ROCKWELL. _Chief Clerk_, JAMES E. JONES.
DRUG-PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.
SCIENTIFIC STAFF.
R. H. True, _Physiologist in Charge_.
W. W. Stockberger, Frank Rabak, Arthur F. Sievers, _Experts_. Alice Henkel, _Assistant_. G. Fred Klugh, T. B. Young, S. C. Hood, _Scientific Assistants_.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF,
_Washington, D. C., September 1, 1908_.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith and to recommend for publication as Bulletin No. 139 of the series of this Bureau the accompanying manuscript, entitled “American Medicinal Barks.” This paper was prepared by Miss Alice Henkel, Assistant in Drug-Plant Investigations, and has been submitted by the Physiologist in Charge with a view to its publication.
Thirty-five drugs are fully described, and under many of the descriptions briefer information concerning closely related species is included. All of the “official” barks obtained from trees and shrubs occurring in this country are described, as well as many “nonofficial” ones.
This bulletin forms the second installment on the subject of American medicinal plants, the first one treating of American root drugs, and has been prepared to meet the steady demand for information concerning the medicinal plants of this country. It is intended as a guide and reference book for those who may be interested in the study or collection of the medicinal plants found in the United States.
Respectfully,
B. T. GALLOWAY, _Chief of Bureau_.
Hon. JAMES WILSON, _Secretary of Agriculture_.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction 7
The collection of barks 8
Trees and shrubs furnishing medicinal barks 9
White pine (_Pinus strobus_) 9
Tamarack (_Larix laricina_) 10
Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_) 11
White willow (_Salix alba_) 12
Bayberry (_Myrica cerifera_) 14
Butternut (_Juglans cinerea_) 15
Ironwood (_Ostrya virginiana_) 15
Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_) 16
Tag-alder (_Alnus rugosa_) 18
White oak (_Quercus alba_) 18
Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_) 20
Magnolia (_Magnolia acuminata_, _M. tripetala_, and _M. glauca_) 21
Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_) 23
Sassafras (_Sassafras sassafras_) 25
Spicebush (_Benzoin benzoin_) 26
Witch-hazel (_Hamamelis virginiana_) 27
Blackberry (_Rubus villosus_, _R. nigrobaccus_, and _R. cuneifolius_) 28
American mountain-ash (_Sorbus americana_) 29
Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_) 30
Prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum americanum_ and _X. clava-herculis_) 31
Wafer-ash (_Ptelea trifoliata_) 33
Black alder (_Ilex verticillata_) 34
Wahoo (_Euonymus atropurpureus_) 35
False bittersweet (_Celastrus scandens_) 36
Horse-chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_) 37
Cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_) 38
Cotton (_Gossypium hirsutum_) 40
Dogwood (_Cornus florida_) 41
Moosewood (_Dirca palustris_) 43
White ash (_Fraxinus americana_) 44
Fringe-tree (_Chionanthus virginica_) 45
Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_) 46
Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_) 47
Cramp-bark tree (_Viburnum opulus_) 48
Black haw (_Viburnum prunifolium_) 48
Index 51
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
FIG. 1. White pine (_Pinus strobus_), leaves and cones 10
2. Tamarack (_Larix laricina_), leaves and cones 10
3. Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), trunk 11
4. Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), leaves and capsules 12
5. Bayberry (_Myrica cerifera_), leaves and fruit 14
6. Butternut (_Juglans cinerea_), trunk 15
7. Ironwood (_Ostrya virginiana_), leaves and fruit 16
8. Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_), trunk 17
9. Sweet birch (_Betula lenta_), leaves, catkins, and fruit 17
10. Tag-alder (_Alnus rugosa_), leaves, catkins, and fruit 18
11. White oak (_Quercus alba_), trunk 19
12. White oak (_Quercus alba_), leaves and acorns 19
13. Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_), trunk 20
14. Slippery elm (_Ulmus pubescens_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 21
15. Cucumber-tree (_Magnolia acuminata_), leaves 21
16. Umbrella-tree (_Magnolia tripetala_), leaves 22
17. Sweet bay (_Magnolia glauca_), leaves and fruiting cones 23
18. Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_), trunk 24
19. Tulip-poplar (_Liriodendron tulipifera_), leaves, flowers, and fruit 24
20. Sassafras (_Sassafras sassafras_), leaves and fruits 25
21. Spicebush (_Benzoin benzoin_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 26
22. Witch-hazel (_Hamamelis virginiana_), leaves, flowers, and capsules 27
23. American mountain-ash (_Sorbus americana_), leaves and fruits 29
24. Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_), trunk 30
25. Wild cherry (_Prunus serotina_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 30
26. Southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum clava-herculis_), trunk 32
27. Southern prickly ash (_Xanthoxylum clava-herculis_), leaves, fruits, and branchlet showing prickles 32
28. Wafer-ash (_Ptelea trifoliata_), leaves and fruits 33
29. Black alder (_Ilex verticillata_), fruits 34
30. Wahoo (_Euonymus atropurpureus_), leaves and fruits 35
31. False bittersweet (_Celastrus scandens_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 36
32. Horse-chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_), trunk 37
33. Horse-chestnut (_Aesculus hippocastanum_), leaves and fruits 37
34. Cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_), five-year-old tree 38
35. Cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_), leaves and fruits 39
36. Cotton (_Gossypium hirsutum_), leaves, flowers, and bolls 41
37. Dogwood (_Cornus florida_), trunk 42
38. Dogwood (_Cornus florida_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 42
39. Moosewood (_Dirca palustris_), leaves and flowers 43
40. White ash (_Fraxinus americana_), trunk 44
41. White ash (_Fraxinus americana_), leaves and fruits 44
42. Fringe-tree (_Chionanthus virginica_), leaves and flowers 45
43. Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_), leaves, flowers, and fruits 46
44. Buttonbush (_Cephalanthus occidentalis_), leaves and flowers 47
45. Black haw and nanny-berry (_Viburnum prunifolium_ and _V. lentago_), leaves and flowers 49
B. P. I.—424.
AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS.
INTRODUCTION.
Among the manifold uses of the trees of our forests not the least important is the utilization of their barks for medicinal purposes.
While the “official” barks—that is, those that are recognized in the Eighth Decennial Revision of the United States Pharmacopœia—number only seventeen in all, twelve of which are furnished by trees and shrubs growing in the United States either as native or introduced species, there are many others which are nevertheless used in medicine to a considerable extent by one or another school of practitioners. All of the “official” barks are described in this bulletin, and an effort has been made to include such “nonofficial” ones as seemed to be most in demand, judging from the trade catalogues of wholesale dealers in crude drugs, but a number of others that are not so much used have been omitted on account of lack of space. The number of drugs fully described is thirty-five, but under many of the descriptions closely related species are also briefly treated.
Many factors have contributed to the destruction of our forests. Beginning with the settlement of this country, when land had to be cleared of timber to make way for homes, and on through the centuries there have been steady and increasingly heavy drafts upon our natural forest resources by an increasing population and the building up of various new enterprises, and until within very recent years with little or no thought for the needs and welfare of generations to come. In the collection of barks, too, may be seen another instance contributing in a measure to the depletion of our forests; for too often trees are felled and killed outright simply for the sake of obtaining the bark, or a tree is peeled to such an extent that death is certain to result. When it is considered that of cascara sagrada (_Rhamnus purshiana_) alone about 100,000 trees are annually sacrificed, and that the oak, pine, elm, birch, poplar, willow, and larch all contribute their quota of bark, it will be seen that at no very distant date more careful methods of bark collection and the replanting of now denuded areas will be needed. The Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has issued Forest Planting Leaflets, giving full information in regard to the planting and propagation of many of our forest trees, and anyone interested in the subject can have these leaflets for the asking.
The statements herein regarding medicinal uses are based on the information contained in various dispensatories and other works relating to materia medica, and in a publication of the character of this bulletin can, of course, be referred to only in the most general manner. It is not the purpose herein to prescribe the use of any of these barks for medicinal purposes; such use should be made only under the direction of a physician.
The writer is indebted to Mr. George B. Sudworth, Dendrologist of the Forest Service, for an examination of the manuscript and for the use of a number of photographs taken by him and other members of that Service.
Other illustrations in this bulletin have been reproduced from photographs taken from nature by Mr. C. L. Lochman, and use has also been made of a number of illustrations found in the Handbook of the Trees of the Northern States and Canada, by Mr. R. B. Hough.
The writer also wishes to gratefully acknowledge information of various kinds furnished by wholesale drug dealers.
THE COLLECTION OF BARKS.
As with other medicinal portions of plants, the best time to collect the barks is at a period when the greatest quantity of the active constituents is contained therein. In the case of barks this is in early spring, before active growth takes place, or in late fall or even winter.
There are various methods of obtaining the bark. In some cases the outer corky layer is first shaved off before the bark is peeled, a process which is known as “rossing.” This is generally done where the outer layer is considered inert. Then incisions a few inches wide are made, and, depending upon the nature of the bark, sometimes strips several feet in length are peeled. The barks of some branches or roots are removed by making long, lengthwise incisions, permitting the bark to be readily slipped off, or in other cases the bark is first loosened by pounding with a mallet.
After collection, the bark is taken to a clean, well-aired place for drying, spread out on shelves or on the floor and protected from moisture. Barks contain less moisture and absorb less moisture than other parts of plants, but they nevertheless need to be protected from wet weather. Sometimes barks are strung on wires or strings to facilitate drying.
When the barks are thoroughly dried and have been broken or cut up into suitable lengths, they may be packed in dry, clean barrels or other proper containers ready for shipment.
It will be well to repeat here what has been said in the first of this series of papers, entitled “American Root Drugs,” with regard to the advisability of correspondence with crude-drug dealers previous to shipment, in order to ascertain whether a particular drug is desired, how large a quantity is wanted, and what price will be paid. Samples representative of the drug to be disposed of should be sent at the same time.
It is necessary also to emphasize the fact that the prices given in this bulletin are approximations only, being those paid at the present writing, and it must be remembered that before this bulletin is off the press a drug now listed at 10 cents a pound may have declined to 5 cents or less, while a drug quoted at 2 cents may be worth 5 or 10 cents or more. The object in noting prices is simply to give prospective collectors an idea of the range of prices, but with the constant fluctuations that take place in the drug market it will be readily understood that these prices can be but remotely approximate and that the actual price to be paid can be ascertained only through correspondence with drug dealers.
TREES AND SHRUBS FURNISHING MEDICINAL BARKS.
Each section contains synonyms and the pharmacopœial name, if any, the common names, habitat, range, descriptions of the tree or shrub, as well as of the bark as found in commerce, and information concerning collection, prices, and uses.
Bittersweet (_Solanum dulcamara_) is the only one of American medicinal plants of which the young branches alone are used, but it is nevertheless given a place with the barks, as it can more properly be included in this series than in any other.
WHITE PINE.
_Pinus strobus_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—White pine (_Pinus strobus_), leaves and cones.]
_Other common names._—Northern pine, Weymouth pine, American white pine, American deal-pine, soft deal-pine, spruce-pine.
_Habitat and range._—The white pine, indigenous to this country, occurs in woods from Canada south to Georgia and Iowa.
_Description of tree._—This large, handsome evergreen tree—sometimes 200 feet in height and with a straight trunk measuring 3 to 4 feet in diameter—has horizontal branches, both trunk and branches covered with a smooth, grayish green bark when young, becoming dark and rough with age, and longitudinally fissured. The wood is soft and white, and much used for flooring, etc.
The slender, pale green leaves, or needles, are usually five in a sheath, about 3 to 5 inches long, the flowers rather inconspicuous, and the cones cylindrical, drooping, sometimes slightly curved, resinous, about 5 to 10 inches long and about an inch in thickness, but much wider after the scales spread apart, which generally occurs in September, allowing the seeds to fall out. (Fig. 1.) It requires two seasons for the cones to mature. The white pine belongs to the pine family (Pinaceæ).
_Description of bark._—The inner bark of the white pine is the part employed medicinally. It occurs in flat pieces of irregular size, about an eighth of an inch in thickness, brownish on the outside, the inner surface sometimes lighter colored and sometimes darker than the outside, smoothish, and marked with fine grooves. It breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture, and has a slight turpentine odor. The taste is described as “mucilaginous, sweetish, bitterish, and astringent.”
_Prices and uses._—At present collectors are paid from about 1/2 to 3 cents a pound.
White pine bark is used as an expectorant, forming one of the ingredients in the sirup which bears its name, which is much used for coughs and colds to facilitate expectoration.
TAMARACK.
_Larix laricina_ (Du Roi) Koch.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.—Tamarack (_Larix laricina_), leaves and cones.]
_Synonym._—_Larix americana_ Michx.
_Other common names._—American larch, black larch, red larch, hackmatack.
_Habitat and range._—This tree frequents swamps and moist places from Canada south to New Jersey, Indiana, and Minnesota. It is native in this country.
_Description of tree._—In spring the light green, feathery appearance of the young leaves of the tamarack make it a rather conspicuous and attractive tree. It is a slender tree belonging to the pine family (Pinaceæ), but unlike other members of this family, except bald cypress, it loses its leaves upon the approach of winter. The bark is thin and close, finally becoming scaly. The wood, which is light brown in color, hard and resinous, is strong and durable.
The tamarack has horizontally spreading branches, and reaches a maximum height of 100 feet. The pale green leaves, which appear early in spring, are short, very slender, and needle shaped, from 20 to 40 together in a fascicle, or bundle, similar to the manner in which pine needles grow, except that they are without sheaths (fig. 2).
The aments, or flower clusters, are inconspicuous, and are of two kinds, staminate or male, and pistillate or female. The female clusters have a reddish and greenish tinge, and develop later into small erect cones, resembling in miniature cones of some of the pines and spruces (fig. 2).
_Description of bark._—The tamarack bark, as found in the stores, is in rather large, coarse pieces or slabs, having the outer layer removed. The outer surface has a rather fibrous appearance, cinnamon brown in color, occasionally showing patches of brownish red or almost purplish where the outside layer has been imperfectly shaved off; the inner surface is smooth and light brown. The whole breaks with a somewhat woody fracture, showing ragged, splintery edges. The odor is rather strong and disagreeable.
_Prices and uses._—Tamarack bark at present is paid for at the rate of from 1-1/2 to 3 cents a pound.
The bark, in decoction, is said to be useful as a tonic and alterative, and also as a laxative and diuretic.
ASPEN.
_Populus tremuloides_ Michx.
_Other common names._—White poplar, American poplar, trembling poplar, American aspen, mountain-asp, quaking asp, quiverleaf, auld-wives’-tongues.
_Habitat and range._—The aspen is found in dry or moist soil from northern Canada and Alaska south to the mountains of Pennsylvania, to southern Illinois, northwestern Missouri, and in the Rocky Mountains to Lower California.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.—Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), trunk.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—Aspen (_Populus tremuloides_), leaves and capsules.]
_Description of tree._—The greatest height attained by the aspen is 100 feet, with a trunk measuring about 3 feet in diameter. It is a native of this country and belongs to the willow family (Salicaceæ). The branches and trunks of the younger trees are covered with a smooth, light grayish green bark, but on older trees the bark becomes dark and deeply fissured (fig. 3). The young unfolding leaves are whitish and woolly, but become smooth as they expand. The leaves are broadly oval or rounded, with a somewhat heart-shaped base, a short-pointed apex, and finely round-toothed or frequently saw-toothed margin (fig. 4). They are about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in length, and are borne on long, slender stalks which are flattened on the sides, causing the leaves to be set in motion by the slightest breeze and to quiver and tremble almost continually, which has given rise to some of the tree’s common names, such as quaking asp, trembling poplar, and quiverleaf. Early in spring, before the leaves are out, the drooping catkins appear, the staminate (male) from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, the pistillate (female) crowded and longer. The capsules which follow are conical in shape, pointed, and two-valved (fig. 4).
_Description of bark._—This bark generally occurs in straight pieces from about 2 to 5 inches long and about one-fourth to one-half inch wide. The outside is grayish and smoothish except here and there where marked with lenticels. The inner surface is somewhat rough to the touch, light colored to brownish. The fracture is even, somewhat corky, and the odor faintly aromatic.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The bark of the aspen, or white or American poplar, as it is often known in the drug trade, is collected in spring, and collectors are paid from about 1 to 4 cents a pound.
It is used for its tonic properties, and has also been employed in the treatment of intermittent fever.
As in the case of the willows, to which family (Salicaceæ) the poplars belong, the glucoside salicin is also obtained from the barks of the various species of Populus.
WHITE WILLOW.
_Salix alba_ L.
_Other common names._—Salix, common European willow, duck-willow, Huntington willow.
_Habitat and range._—The white willow has been introduced into this country from Europe, and has sparingly escaped from cultivation. It occurs in wet soil along streams from Pennsylvania northward to New Brunswick and Ontario.
_Description of tree._—This is a tree of very rapid growth, and attains quite a size, sometimes 90 feet in height, with a trunk perhaps 6 feet in diameter. There is a group of willows known as “crack willows,” on account of the brittleness of the twigs where they are attached to the branches, and the white willow belongs to this group, as does the “crack willow,” or “brittle willow,” (_S. fragilis_), mentioned farther on. All of the species described are members of the willow family (Salicaceæ).
The gray and rough-barked white willow has lance-shaped leaves, pointed at the apex and narrowed at the base, and with saw-toothed margins. When young, both sides of the leaves are covered with silky hairs, but as they mature they become less hairy and are pale green on the lower surface, or covered with a “bloom.”
The long, loose, green, cylindrical aments, or catkins, are staminate and pistillate and are borne on different trees, appearing with the leaves in spring.
A variety of this species, with yellowish green twigs and with leaves smooth on the upper surface, is known as golden osier (_S. alba_ var. _vitellina_ (L.) Koch), and is the most common form found in North America.
_Description of bark._—The white willow bark of commerce is generally in tough, flexible strips, the outer surface smooth or slightly wrinkled, and of a yellowish brown or grayish brown color. The inner surface varies from a light brown to darker brown, and is marked with long, fine lines. White willow bark has a bitter, astringent taste, but practically no odor.
_Collection, prices, and uses._—The best time to collect white willow bark is in the spring when the sap begins to flow, at which time it is easy to remove.
White willow bark should not be kept very long, as the salicin content diminishes with age. This bark itself is not official in the United States Pharmacopœia, but the glucoside salicin obtained from it is so recognized. The medicinal properties of willow bark depend upon its two most important constituents, salicin and tannin.
Salicin has tonic, antiperiodic, and febrifuge properties, and is occasionally employed in rheumatic affections.
The wood of white willow furnishes a very pure charcoal which is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. The young branches, known as osiers, are much used in the manufacture of baskets, etc.
The prices paid to collectors range from 2 to 5 cents a pound.
_Other species._—Roughly speaking, the willows, or Salix species, may be said to be divided into two classes, those with yellowish twigs and those with reddish or purplish twigs. Most of the yellow-barked species belong to the “crack willows,” which have their twigs attached in such a manner that they break off very easily. It is claimed that the red or purple barked twigs contain the most salicin, while those with yellow twigs are richest in tannin.[1]
Of those containing the most salicin may be mentioned the crack willow, or brittle willow (_Salix fragilis_ L.). This, a native of Europe, has escaped from cultivation in this country, and occurs from Massachusetts to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is a tall and slender tree, the trunk covered with a rough gray bark, and the twigs with reddish green bark. At the point of attachment the twigs are very fragile and break off readily. The twigs when planted grow very rapidly. The leaves are 3 to 6 inches in length, long pointed and narrowing toward the base, smooth, dark green on the upper surface, and of a lighter color underneath, and with margins slightly toothed. The flowers appear in April or May; the fruiting catkin is rather loose and about 3 to 5 inches in length, while the staminate or male catkin is only about 1 or 2 inches long.
Another species employed in medicine is the black willow, pussy-willow, or swamp-willow (_Salix nigra_ Marsh). This is a native willow and occurs along the banks of rivers from Canada to Florida; it is not found west of the Great Plains, except in southern New Mexico and Arizona and isolated in California. It is tall and has a rough dark brown or black bark, and brittle yellowish branches. The leaves are narrowly lance shaped, and the catkins (pussy-willows) appear about the same time as the leaves, the male catkins about 1 to 2 inches long, and the female catkins as long as 3 inches, spreading apart in fruit. The bark of this species is used in medicine and the fresh aments, or catkins, are also employed.
[Footnote 1: The National Standard Dispensatory, 1905.]
BAYBERRY.
_Myrica cerifera_ L.
_Other common names._—Wax-myrtle, candleberry, candleberry-myrtle, wax-berry, tallow-bayberry, tallow-shrub, bayberry wax-tree, American vegetable tallow-tree, vegetable-tallow, American vegetable-wax.
_Habitat and range._—The bayberry, which is indigenous, is found in sandy swamps or wet woods from Texas and Florida northward to Arkansas and along the coast of Maryland. In its southern home it is a small evergreen tree, but as it goes farther north it becomes, successively, a tall semideciduous shrub or a dwarfed and deciduous shrub.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—Bayberry (_Myrica cerifera_), leaves and fruit.]