COMMON NAMES. Iron-wood, Hop-hornbeam.
    MEDICINAL PART. The inner wood.
    Description. -- This small tree of from twenty-five to thirty feet in height is remarkable for its fine, narrow, brownish bark. The wood is white, hard, and strong; leaves oblong-ovate, acuminate, serrate, and somewhat downy. Flowers, fertile and sterile, green, and appear with the leaves.
    History. -- The inner wood and bark are the parts in which reside the curative virtues, and the latter, which are immense, readily yield to water. The tree flowers in April and May, and is common to the United States. The bark and wood should be gathered in August or September.
    Properties and Uses. -- Lever-wood is anti-periodic, tonic, and alterative. It is very good in cases of intermittent fever, neuralgia, nervous debility, scrofula, and dyspepsia. It is sometimes administered, with fair success, as a remedy for fever and ague.
    Dose. -- Decoction, one or two fluid ounces, three or four times a day.