Rhus Glabra.
Related entries: Rhus aromatica
The fruit, leaves and root bark of Rhus glabra, Linné (Nat. Ord. Anacardiaceae). Common in thickets in the United States and Canada. Dose, 1 to 30 grains (bark).
Common Names: Smooth Sumach, Upland Sumach, Pennsylvania Sumach.
Principal Constituents.—A large amount of tannin abounds in the bark and leaves; resin (bark); tannic and gallic acids, malic acid and malates, volatile oil, and red-coloring matter (fruit).
Preparation.—Fluidextractum Rhois Glabrae, Fluidextract of Rhus Glabra. Dose, 5 to 60 drops.
Specific Indications.—Relaxed mucosa, with unhealthy discharges; mercurial ulcerations; aphthous stomatitis; spongy gums; flabbiness and ulceration of tissues; ulcerative sore throat with fetid secretion.
Action and Therapy.—External. All parts of the smooth sumach are astringent and antiseptic and of much value in flabbiness of tissue, with tendency to ulceration and unhealthy secretion. An infusion of the fruit provides an excellent gargle for fetid sore throat and a wash for aphthous ulcerations. It is a useful drug in decoction of the bark, infusion of the berries, or in fluidextract wherever a mild and deodorant astringent is required; especially is it serviceable in the spongy bleeding gums of scorbutic patients and that of hemophiliacs.
