Boletus igniarius, Linn.—An indigenous fungus found on willow, cherry, plum, and other trees, and commonly known by the names of Agaric of the Oak (Agaricus seu Fungus Quercus; Agaricus Quernus), or Surgeon's Agaric (Agaricus Chirurgorum); Spunk; Touchwood. Formerly used in surgery as a mechanical styptic, and still retained in some foreign pharmacopoeias (e.g. Pharm. Castrenis Ruthenica, 1840). It is prepared by decorticating it, cutting it into thin slices, and beating it with a mallet until it has become sufficiently soft. Its action in restraining hemorrhages is mechanical, like lint [Phil. Trans. vols. xlviii. and xlix.; Warner's Cases in Surgery, p. 338; Murray, App. Medicam. vol. v.]. In some places, both it and the following species are employed in the preparation of Amadou or tinder.
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