| C₁₀H₁₂ |  | OCH₃ |
| OCH₃, |
boiling at about 235°.
The water from which the oil separates contains isobutyric acid, probably also a little angelic and formic acid; but neither capronic nor caprylic acid, which had been pointed out by Walz.
Arnica root contains inulin, which Dragendorff extracted from it to the extent of about 10 per cent.
Uses—Arnica is used chiefly in the form of tincture as a popular application to bruises and chilblains; internally it is occasionally prescribed as a stimulant and diaphoretic.
Adulteration—Arnica root has been met with[1443] adulterated with the root of Geum urbanum L., a common herbaceous plant of the order Rosaceæ. The latter is thicker than the rhizome of arnica, being ³/₁₀ to ⁴/₁₀ of an inch in diameter; it is a true root, furnished on all sides with rootlets, and has an astringent taste. The leaves of Geum are pinnate and quite unlike those of arnica.
FLORES ARNICÆ.
Botanical Origin—[See preceding article].
History—The flowers probably in the first line attracted the attention of popular medicine in Germany, as we pointed out, page 390.
Description—Arnica montana produces large, handsome, orange-yellow flowers, solitary at the summit of the stem or branches. The involucral scales of the capitulum (20 to 24) are of equal length, but are imbricated, forming a double row. They are very hairy, the shorter hairs being tipped with viscid glands. The receptacle is chaffy, ¼ of an inch in diameter, with about 20 ligulate florets, and of tubular a much larger number. The ligulate florets, an inch in length, are oblong, toothed at the apex, and traversed by about 10 parallel veins. The achenes are brown and hairy, crowned by pappus consisting of a single row of whitish barbed hairs.