Historical Botanicals
Part II
In this newsletter we will cover gathering, preparation and uses of American medicinal barks. This information is summarized from a report prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The preface of this report has the following letter of transmittal with it: "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." Signed: B. T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau, September 1, 1908.
It is interesting that in 1908 the medicinal part of an herb was referred to as a "drug".
While the "official" barks--that is, those that are recognized in the Eighth Decennial Revision of the United States Pharmacopoeia--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, along with some others that although not 'official' seem to be most in demand, judging from the trade catalogues of wholesale dealers in crude drugs in 1908.
It is estimated that during the early 1900's as many as 100,000 cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana) trees were felled annually to obtain the bark for medicinal purposes. Also thousands of trees of oak, pine, elm, birch, poplar, willow, larch and others were taken for medicinal purposes. In the collection of these barks can 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.
Hopefully, those who gather barks for medicinal purposes would take care not to destroy the tree or in the case where a tree must be taken, there should be some plan of planting new trees. The Forest Service 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.
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 worthless. 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 speed up the drying process.
As we list the trees and procedure for gathering their bark and the medicinal purposes for which it was used in the early 1900's we will also mention, as a matter of interest, the going prices at the time for the barks.
WHITE PINE
(Pinus strobus), northern pine, weymouth pine, American deal-pine, soft deal-pine, spruce-pine. This tree occurs in woods from Canada south to Georgia and Iowa.
The inner bark of the white pine is the part employed medicinally. It occurs in flat pieces or 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 paid ranged from about 1/2 to 3 cents a pound. The bark was used as an expectorant, forming one of the ingredients in the syrup which bears its name, which is much used for coughs and colds to facilitate expectoration.
TAMARACK
(Larix laricina), American larch, black larch, red larch, hackmatack. This tree is found in swamps and moist places from Canada south to New Jersey, Indiana, and Minnesota. It is native in this country.
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.
Tamarack bark was paid for at the rate of from 1 1/2 to 3 cents a pound.
The bark, in decoction, was useful as a tonic and alterative, and also as a laxative and diuretic.
ASPEN
(Populus tremuloides), white poplar, American poplar, trembling poplar, American aspen, mountain-asp, quaking asp, quiverleaf, auld-wife's tongues.
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.
The 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.
The bark is collected in spring and collectors were paid from about 1 to 4 cents a pound back in 1908. 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 (Salicaceae) the poplars belong, the glucoside salicin is also obtained from the barks of the various species of Populus.
WHITE WILLOW
(Salyx alba), salyx, common European willow, duck-willow, Huntington willow. The white willow was introduced into this country from Europe. It occurs in wet soil along streams.
The bark 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.
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. The bark should not be kept very long, as the salicin content diminishes with age. This bark itself is not official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, 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 was occasionally employed in rheumatic affections.
The wood of white willow furnishes a very pure charcoal which was used in the manufacture of gunpowder.
Roughly speaking, the willows, or Salyx 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.
Of those containing the most salicin may be mentioned the crack willow, or brittle willow (Salyx fragilis). 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.
Another species employed in medicine is the black willow, pussy-willow, or swamp-willow (Salyx nigra). This is a native willow and occurs along the banks of rivers from Canada to Florida. It is tall and has a rough dark brown or black bark, and brittle yellowish branches. The bark of this species was used in medicine and the fresh aments, or catkins, are also employed.
BAYBERRY
(Myrica cerifera), wax-myrtle, candleberry, candleberry-myrtle. wax-berry, tallow bayberry, tallow-shrub, bayberry wax-tree, American vegetable tallow-tree, vegetable-tallow, American vegetable-wax.
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.
As found in commerce, bayberry bark occurs in curved or quilted pieces, sometimes only about an inch in length and sometimes 6 inches or more. The outside is covered with a thin corky layer, which is whitish and somewhat fissured. Underneath this layer the dark reddish brown, smooth bark may be seen. The inner surface of the bark is also reddish brown, but marked with faint lines. The bark, when powdered, has a pungent, aromatic odor, causing sneezing and coughing, and the taste is bitter, pungent, and acrid.
Late autumn is the best time to collect this bark, and after it has been thoroughly cleaned and while still fresh the bark is loosened and removed by beating it with a mallet or similar instrument. Bayberry bark brought from 2 to 5 cents a pound. It was used for its tonic and astringent properties. The wax obtained from the berries was used for making candles.
BUTTERNUT
(Juglans cinerea), juglans, white walnut, lemon-walnut, oil nut. The butternut tree, which is indigenous to this country, is of common occurrence in rich woods from New Brunswick to North Dakota and south to Georgia, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
Butternut bark, from the root collected in autumn, was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia for 1890. It occurs in quilted pieces varying in length, and about an eighth of an inch or a trifle more in thickness, deep brown and smoothish or somewhat scaly on the outside, the inner surface likewise brown and with parts of the thin, stringy inner layer of the bark attached. It breaks with a short, fibrous fracture, finely checkered with white and brown. The odor is faint, and the taste bitter and acrid.
Butternut bark, which brought the collector from 1 to 4 cents a pound, was taken from the root collected in autumn. Its use in medicine was that of a mild cathartic and tonic.
IRONWOOD
(Ostrya virginiana), hop-hornbeam, deerwood, leverwood, black hazel, Indian cedar. The ironwood is indigenous to this country, and is common in rich woods in Canada and the eastern United States, and westward to Minnesota and Texas. It is occasionally cultivated.
The inner wood and the bark, which are bitter, are the parts employed in medicine. The wood is white, very hard and strong, and occurs in pieces a few inches in length and of varying thickness. The bark, as it was found in stores, was in flat pieces about two inches in length; the outside grayish green with thin, short scales. The inside brown, marked with long fine lines or ridges, and generally with considerable of the woody portion adhering. There is practically no odor.
Prices paid to collectors ran from about 5 to 6 cents a pound. Ironwood was used for its tonic, alterative, and antiperiodic properties.
SWEET BIRCH
(Betula lenta), black birch, cherry birch, spice-birch, river-birch, mahogany-birch, mountain-mahogany.
This indigenous tree occurs in rich woodlands from Newfoundland to Ontario, south to Florida and Tennessee.
The birch bark of commerce consist of pieces of irregular size, generally reddish brown and smooth on the outside, the thin layer having been removed, but with pieces of it sometimes adhering. The inner surface is also reddish brown and smooth. Birch bark breaks with a clean, even, somewhat granular fracture.
The bark is collected in late summer. It furnishes the oil of sweet birch or oil of Betula, official in the United States Pharmacopoeia of 1909, and obtained by maceration and distillation. It is almost identical with wintergreen oil, and was employed for similar purposes. Both bark and oil were used for flavoring. Birch bark brought from about one to three cents a pound. The bitter, aromatic leaves were also used in domestic practice, and birch beer was made from the sweet sap.
TAG-ALDER
(Alnus rugosa), common alder, red alder, smooth alder, green alder, American alder, speckled alder, swamp-alder, notch-leaved alder.
Tag-alder is found in swamps and along the marshy banks of streams from New England south to Florida and Texas, and westward to Ohio and Minnesota. It is a native of this country.
As it occurs in commerce, tag-alder bark is in straight, curved or occasionally quilted pieces of varying length and width, but generally broken up into rather small pieces, the outer surface brownish gray or greenish gray and smoothish, the inside cinnamon colored and closely and coarsely ridged. It breaks with a sharp, even fracture. The odor is strong and rather aromatic, and the taste astringent and bitter.
Collectors were paid from one to four cents a pound. Tag-alder bark was used in medicine for its astringent, alterative, and emetic properties.
WHITE OAK
(Quercus alba), stone-oak, stave-oak. The white oak is found in woods from Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas, but is most abundant in the Middle States. It is indigenous to this country.
The dried bark of the white oak was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. As found in the stores it is in nearly flat pieces about one-eighth of an inch or more in thickness, rough and fibrous on the outside, with the outer layer removed, brownish, and the inside with short, coarse grooves, the whole breaking with a coarse, tough, and splintery fracture. The odor is rather strong, reminding one somewhat of tanbark, and the taste very astringent. It does not tinge the saliva yellow when chewed.
The best time for collecting white-oak bark is in the spring, as at that time it is said to contain the greatest amount of tannic acid. The outer layer is first scraped off. As was directed by the United States Pharmacopoeia, the bark would be collected from trunks or branches 10 to 25 years of age, and deprived of the periderm.
The price paid for white oak bark was from one to three cents a pound. The bark was used as a powerful astringent and also as an antiseptic.
SLIPPERY ELM
(Ulmus pubescens), moose-elm, red elm, Indian elm, rock-elm, sweet elm. This tree is native in woods, along streams, and on hills from Quebec to North Dakota, south to Florida and Texas. It is more common in the western part of its range.
The commercial article consists of pale bale brown or whitish brown flat pieces. The outer bark is removed in accordance with the requirements of the Pharmacopoeia, but sometimes patches of it are still found adhering. Slippery elm has a faint, peculiar odor, and a mucilaginous but insipid taste.
The outer bark is tossed or shaved off before removing the inner bark from the tree, which alone is recognized as official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. It is taken from the tree in long strips, and generally dried under pressure so that it will remain flat.
Three to ten cents a pound was paid for slippery elm bark depending upon quality, the small, irregular pieces having less value than the large, flat pieces.
The mucilaginous character of slippery elm bark rendered it useful in relieving coughs, and it was also employed in treating diarrheal complaints. It is soothing and allays inflammation, and is also somewhat nutritious. In certain sections of the country poultices were made from the bark and applied to abscesses.
MAGNOLIA
(Magnolia acuminata), cucumber-tree, mountain-magnolia, blue magnolia. This tree occurs in the mountainous regions from New York to Georgia, but is most abundant in the southern States.
Magnolia bark, as found in commerce, sometimes varies considerably, on account of the different species from which it is collected. They all possess similar properties.
The bark of the trunk or root is removed in spring or summer. It has a slight odor, the taste warm, spicy, and somewhat astringent and, especially of the young bark, bitter.
In 1909 there did not seem to be much demand for magnolia bark. The price paid for the collection of the bark was about three cents a pound.
The bark was used for its tonic properties, for exciting perspiration, and in the treatment of fevers.
TULIP-POPLAR
(Liriodendron tulipifera), Liriodendron, tulip-tree, whitewood, canoewood, yellow poplar, blue poplar, hickory-poplar, lyre-tree, saddleleaf, saddle-tree, cucumber-tree.
The bark of both trunk and root, deprived of the outer layer, was used medicinally, and the tulip-poplar, or, as it is most frequently called in the drug trade, yellow poplar, or Liriodendron, was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1880. It consists of slab-like pieces three or four inches long, very light, the outside as well as the inside of the inner bark yellowish white. There is a pronounced heavy, unpleasant odor, and the taste is aromatic, pungent, bitter, and somewhat astringent. The root bark is somewhat darker than that of the tree and is considered much more powerful.
In spring the bark is easily separated from the wood; the outer layer is shaved off, and the inner bark is then peeled in large slabs about six inches in width and from three to six feet in length. The root bark is collected in winter.
Collectors received from about 1 1/4 to three cents a pound. The bark of the tulip-poplar was regarded as a bitter, stimulant tonic, and was considered useful in fevers, rheumatism, and digestive disorders.
SASSAFRAS
(Sassafras sassafras), ague-tree, saxafrax, cinnamonwood, saloop, smelling-stick.
Sassafras is a native tree, occurring in rich woods from Massachusetts to Ontario and Michigan, south to Florida and Texas.
The dried bark of the root of sassafras was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. As it occurs in the shops, it is in irregular curved pieces of varying length; smooth, the outer grayish layer having been removed; rusty red, soft, and breaking with a short, cork-like fracture. The inside of the bark is marked with short, indefinite lines. The odor is very aromatic, and the taste is sweetish, bitingly aromatic, and astringent.
Sassafras bark is collected in early spring or autumn from the root, and the outer layer removed.
Sassafras bark was used for its tonic properties. It formed a popular domestic "spring medicine," and in early spring the market women displayed on their stands bundles of sassafras bark, to be made into a tea, by many people regarded as a useful remedy.
Sassafras oil, which was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, was distilled especially from the root bark, but often also from the whole root. Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania were the most important centers of production. It was also used as an anodyne, also as a stimulant in neuralgia, and for the purpose of flavoring confectionery and soaps.
The dried pith (or medulla) from the branches was likewise official. It yields a mucilaginous liquid with water, and forms a soothing application for inflamed conditions.
The price paid to collectors ranged from 2 to 10 cents a pound, according to quality.
SPICEBUSH
(Benzoin benzoin), feverbush, Benjamin-bush, wild allspice, spicewood, snapwood. This indigenous shrub frequents damp, shady woods and is seen along streams from Ontario south to North Carolina and Kansas.
The thin quilted pieces of bark, as found in commerce, are dark brown on the outside, with small corky warts, and lighter brown and smooth on the inner surface. In older bark the corky excrescences will be found more prominent, and the color is also more ashen. The bark of the spicebush breaks with a short, granular fracture, has a faint, pleasant odor, and a warm, spicy, and astringent taste.
In the spring the bark can be readily removed in quills, and this is generally the time when it is gathered. Collectors were paid about three cents a pound.
The bark was used as a remedy against worms and was also employed in the treatment of fevers. The fruits were likewise used in medicine.
WITCH-HAZEL
(Hamamelis virginiana), snapping hazel, winterbloom, wych-hazel, striped alder, spotter alder, tobacco-wood.
Witch-hazel is found in low damp woods from New Brunswick to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas.
The bark is found in commerce in the form of quills, varying in length and width, and is sometimes a purplish brown on the outside, sometimes a whitish or grayish brown color; occasionally it is smooth with a few warty protuberances or numerous lenticels, and again it is furrowed and scaly, or even ragged. The inside is pale brown or yellowish, usually with long, straight lines. Witch hazel bark breaks with a weak fracture. There is a scarcely perceptible odor, and the taste is astringent and somewhat bitter.
The bark and twigs are the parts designated as official. The witch-hazel industry was carried on to a considerable extent in portions of the New England States, the farmers bringing in to the distilleries cartloads of the brush. Witch-hazel bark brought about one to four cents a pound.
Witch-hazel was generally used for relieving inflammation of various kinds, and its soothing properties were known to the American Indians. The name "witch-hazel " is derived from the fact that formerly the forked branches were used as "divining rods," it having been the belief that these branches were endowed with a miraculous power of locating treasures, sources of water for wells, etc.
BLACKBERRY
(Rubus villosus), American blackberry, bramble high-bush blackberry, one-flowered dewberry, fingerberry.
The long, horizontal rootstocks covered with a thick bark, is the part used medicinally. In the stores it was found in long, quilted pieces, or in bands, tough and flexible. It breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture, and has no odor, but an astringent, somewhat bitter taste.
The amount paid for the collection of blackberry bark ranged from 2 to 4 cents per pound. The blackberry barks possess tonic and astringent properties and formed a popular remedy in the treatment of diarrheal complaints.
AMERICAN MOUNTAIN-ASH
(Sorbus americans), roundwood, round-tree, American rowantree, American service-tree, mountain sumac, dogberry, quick-beam, wild ash, wine-tree, witchwood, life-of-man, Indian mozemize, missey-moosey, moose-misse. The American mountain-ash occurs in swamps, low woods, or moist ground from Newfoundland south along the mountains to North Carolina, and to Michigan. It is most abundant in the northern portion of its range.
As found in the stores, American mountain-ash bark consists of coarse pieces of varying length, about a quarter of an inch in thickness, with the outer layer removed; the outside is yellowish or pale brown, smoothish or sometimes with faint, lengthwise wrinkles, the inside smooth and brown. It is odorless, but the taste is bitter and astringent.
The bark brought from about 3 to 5 cents a pound. It was used for its tonic, astringent, and antiseptic properties.
WILD CHERRY
(Prunus serotina), wild black cherry, cabinet-cherry, black choke, rum-cherry, whisky-cherry, Virginian prune-bark.
The wild cherry occurs in woods or open places, and is most abundant in the Southeastern States, but its range extends from Nova Scotia to Florida, westward to Texas, and north through Indian Territory, the eastern portions of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
In commerce wild cherry bark is usually found in curved or irregular pieces, the outer surface smooth and somewhat shining, of a light green or brownish green color, and showing numerous transverse, light-colored lines or grooves, or "lenticels," as they are technically known. The inner surface is rust colored. It breaks with a short, granular fracture. The taste is aromatic, astringent, and pleasantly bitter, reminding one somewhat of bitter almonds, as does the odor when the bark is soaked in water.
The bark should be collected in autumn, as at that time it contains the greatest amount of hydrocyanic acid. The outside layer is removed, so that the green layer underneath shows, and the bark is then carefully dried and preserved. Wild cherry bark should not be kept longer than a year, as it deteriorates with age. The bark from very small or very old branches should not be used. Young, thin bark is considered superior.
The price paid to collectors ranged from one to six cents a pound, the highest amount being paid for the "thin green," the next best price for the "thick green," and the lowest for the "thick-rossed."
Wild cherry bark was used for its tonic properties, and it also was used for its sedative action.
PRICKLY ASH
(Zanthoxylum americanum), Northern prickly ash, toothache-tree, toothache-bush, yellowwood, angelica-tree, pellitory-bark, suterberry. Northern prickly ash is common in woods, thickets, and along river banks from Virginia, Missouri, and Nebraska northward to Canada. Another variety of prickly ash (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) sometimes called southern prickly ash, Hercules-club, pepperwood, wild orange, yellowwood, or West Indian yellowwood is found along streams from southern Virginia to Florida, west to Texas and Arkansas. Both are indigenous to this country, and are members of the rue family (Rutaceae).
The dried bark of both of these species was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. The taste of both species is very pungent and somewhat bitter, but there is no odor. The price paid to collectors ranged from about 4 to 9 cents a pound for the northern prickly ash and from 3 to 8 cents for the southern prickly ash.
Prickly ash bark has alterative, stimulant, and sialagogue properties, and was used in rheumatism and for increasing the secretions, for toothache, and externally as a counterirritant.
WAFER-ASH
(Ptelea trifoliata), ptelea, wingseed, hop-tree, shrubby trefoil, ague-bark, prairie-grub, quinine-tree, stinking ash, sang-tree, swampdogwood. This indigenous shrub is found in shady woods from New York to Florida, west to Minnesota and Texas, occurring in greatest abundance west of the Alleghenies.
The dried bark of the root is the part employed in medicine, and as found in stores it is in quilted pieces varying in length from one to several inches. The thin outer layer is pale brown and irregularly ridged and wrinkled. The inner surface is yellowish white, becoming darker with age. The bark, which is brittle, breaks with a smooth fracture, has a peculiar odor, and a bitter, pungent, and somewhat acrid taste.
The bark is taken from the roots. Collectors were paid from about 4 to 8 cents a pound. Wafer-ash bark possesses tonic properties, and was employed in fevers. It was also said to be useful as an anthelmintic.
BLACK ALDER
(Hex verticillata), prinos, winterberry, common winterberry, Virginia winterberry, false alder, white alder, feverbush. The black alder is native in swamps, moist woods, and along banks of streams, in Canada and the eastern United States, and westward to Wisconsin and Missouri.
The bark as found in commerce is somewhat quilted strips or pieces of an ashy brown color outside, with whitish patches and round black spots and lines. The inner surface is greenish or yellowish, and marked with short lines. It has a faint, peculiar odor and a bitter, astringent taste.
Black alder bark is collected in autumn. The amount paid to collectors ranged from 2 to about 5 cents a pound. It was used in medicine as a tonic and astringent. The berries were employed for similar purposes as the bark.
WAHOO
(Euonymus atropurpureus), burning-bush, spindle-tree, Indian arrow wood, bursting-heart, strawberry-tree, strawberry-bush, American spindle-tree, bitter ash, pegwood. Wahoo is found in woods and thickets from Ontario and eastern United States west to Montana.
The dried bark of the root of wahoo was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. It is in quilted pieces of irregular size. The outside of the bark is furrowed and ridged, of any ashy or light brownish gray color, showing a few dark patches of soft cork. The inner surface is smooth and whitish or somewhat pale brownish. There is a distinct odor, and the taste is sweetish, bitter, and somewhat acrid.
Although the bark from the stem was also sometimes gathered, it was the root bark only which was recognized as official. The bark has tonic, diuretic, laxative, and antiperiodic properties; it acts on the liver, increasing the flow of bile, and was also employed in intermittent fevers and in dyspepsia.
CASCARA SAGRADA
(Rhamnus purshiana), sacred bark, (a translation of the Spanish name "cascara sagrada"), bearberry-tree, bearwood, Persiana bark. This indigenous tree occurs on the sides and bottoms of canyons from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
The cascara sagrada of commerce occurs in curved or quilted pieces, the outer surface of which is reddish brown, and usually covered with growths of light-colored or grayish lichen, wrinkled and somewhat fissured. The inner surface of the bark is smooth and marked with very fine lines; at first the inside is yellowish, but with age it turns a dark brown color. The saliva is colored yellow by it, and anything with which the bark comes in contact for any length of time will also be stained yellow.
The collecting season for cascara opens about the end of May or early in June and closes about the end of August, just before the rainy season sets in, as bark collected after exposure to wet weather is difficult to cure properly.
After the strips of bark have been removed from the trees, they are generally strung on wires to dry, care being taken not to expose the inner surface to the sun, the object being to retain the yellow color, as the action of the sunlight tends to darken the color, an undesirable result, inasmuch as it lowers the market price. During the drying process the strips curl up, forming quills, and when sufficiently dried these are cut or broken up into smaller pieces.
Several years are generally required after collection to properly age the bark for medicinal purposes, and the United States Pharmacopoeia directed that it should not be used until at least one year after it has been gathered. Some crude-drug dealers undertake the "aging" of the bark themselves rather than leave it to collectors.
Many trees were destroyed annually in the collection of cascara sagrada, as they were usually peeled to such an extent that no new bark was formed. It has been estimated that one tree furnishes approximately 10 pounds of bark, and granting a crop of 1,000,000 pounds a year, 100,000 trees were thus annually destroyed, and the world's consumption was said to be about 2,000,000 pounds a year.
The price paid to collectors for cascara sagrada varied form 3 to 4 1/2 cents a pound. On account of the fact that cascara sagrada requires several years aging before use, a shortage in the crop is not immediately felt.
Cascara sagrada is a most valuable laxative, differing from other drugs of this character in that it tones up the entire intestinal tract, making long-continued dosing or gradually increasing dosage unnecessary.
