Alum Root.

Alum Root. This name is given in the United States to two plants, natives of that country, very different from one another, but agreeing in the remarkable astringency of their roots, which are medicinally used. One of these plants is Geranium maculatum (see GERANIUM). The root contains more tannin than Kino (q.v.) does. The property of astringency belongs, in an inferior degree, to some other species of Geranium, and of the kindred genera, Erodium and Pelargonium.—The other American plant to which the name alum root is given is Heuchera americana, a plant of the natural order Saxifragaceæ (q.v.), an order in which also astringency is a prevalent property. The root is a powerful styptic, and is used to form a wash for wounds and obstinate ulcers.