24. Polyporus igniarius, Fries.—Hard Amadou Polyporus.
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.
