Tree of Life.
Botanical name:
Arbor vitae
A small tree of irregular growth, a native of America, but common in our gardens. The trunk is covered with a rough brown bark: the branches are numerous, and irregular; the young twigs are flatted and the leaves of them are very flat, and of a scaly texture; they are of a bright green, narrow, and somewhat like the leaves of cyprus, only not prickly; the flowers are whitish, small, and inconsiderable: they stand towards the tops of the branches. The whole tree has a strong and not agreeable smell, it brings into one's mind old bad cheese.
The young shoots and tops of the branches, are used fresh. An infusion of them is good against obstructions of the lungs, but it must be slight, and the use continued.
