Ulmus. Elm Bark. The dried inner bark of Ulmus Campestris, the broad-leaved Elm; deprived of its outer layers; Lin. Syst., Pentandria monogynia; indigenous to and cultivated in Britain.

Description. Elm bark is of a lightish-brown colour; the pieces are broad, about half a line thick, and of varying lengths, and consist of the bark, deprived of its epidermis and outer layer. It is without smell; taste mucilaginous, slightly bitter and astringent.

Prop. & Comp. It yields its active properties to water, and contains a large amount of mucilage, and about 2.7 per cent. of tannin. Ulmin, a peculiar substance, of dark brown colour, insoluble in cold, and but slightly so in boiling water, which it tinges of a brown colour, readily soluble in alkaline solutions, received its name from being first obtained from this bark; it is now thought to be a constituent of many other barks. The decoction is turned green by perchloride of iron, and precipitates with a solution of gelatine.

Prep. Decoctum Ulmi, Lond., 1851. Decoction of Elm. (Bruised elm bark, two ounces; distilled water, two pints.) Boil down to a pint, and strain).

Therapeutics. Elm bark is demulcent, slightly tonic and astringent, and has been recommended in some chronic skin affections, as psoriasis and lepra. Some practitioners think highly of its powers as an alterative; sometimes diuretic and diaphoretic effects are produced by the use of the decoction.

Dose. Of the decoction, 1 fl. oz. to 2 fl. oz.

[Ulmus Fulva. Slippery Elm. The inner bark of Ulmus fulva. U. S.

The slippery elm bark is simply a demulcent, and is destitute of astringency, and of tonic powers. Powdered it is employed in the formation of cataplasms, and it may be used internally in infusion ad libituum.]