Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants Part 21

Various other species of Trillium are used in medicine, possessing properties similar to those of the species under consideration. These are also very similar in appearance to Trillium Er.e.c.t.u.m.

Description of Root--Bethroot, as found in the stores, is short and thick, of a light-brown color externally, whitish or yellowish inside, somewhat globular or oblong in shape, and covered all around with numerous pale brown, shriveled rootlets. The top of the root generally shows a succession of fine circles or rings, and usually bears the remains of stem bases.

The root has a slight odor, and is at first sweetish and astringent, followed by a bitter and acrid taste. When chewed it causes a flow of saliva.

Collection, Prices and Uses--Bethroot is generally collected toward the close of summer. The price ranges from 7 to 10 cents a pound.

It was much esteemed as a remedy among the Indians and early settlers. Its present use is that of an astringent, tonic, and alterative, and also that of an expectorant.

Culver's-Root.

Veronica Virginia L. (a)

Synonym--Leptandra Virginica (L) Nutt. (a)

Other Common Names--Culver's physic, blackroot, bowman's-root, Beaumont-root, Brinton-root, tall speedwell, tall veronica, physic-root, wholywort.

Habitat and Range--This common indigenous herb is found abundantly in moist, rich woods, mountain valleys, meadows and thickets from British Columbia south to Alabama, Missouri and Nebraska.

Description of Plant--Culver's-Root is a tall, slender stemmed perennial belonging to the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). It is from 3 to 7 feet in height, with the leaves arranged around the simple stems in whorls of three to nine. The leaves are borne on very short stems, are lance shaped, long pointed at the apex, narrowed at the base, and sharply toothed, 3 to 6 inches in length and 1 inch or less in width. The white tube-shaped flowers, with two long protruding stamens, are produced from June to September and are borne in several terminal, densely crowded, slender, spikelike heads from 3 to 8 inches long.

(a) Some authors hold that this plant belongs to the genus Leptandra and that its name should be Leptandra virginica (L.) Nutt. The Pharmacopoeia is here followed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Culver's Root (Veronica Virginica), Flowering Top and Rootstock.]

The flowers, as stated, are usually white, tho the color may vary from a pink to a bluish or purple and on account of its graceful spikes of pretty flowers it is often cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant. The fruits are small, oblong, compressed, many-seeded capsules.

Description of Rootstock--After they are dried the rootstocks have a grayish brown appearance on the outside, and the inside is hard and yellowish, either with a hollow center or a brownish or purplish pith. When broken the fracture is tough and woody. The rootstock measures from 4 to 6 inches in length, is rather thick and bent, with branches resembling the main rootstock. The upper surface has a few stem scars, and from the sides and underneath numerous coa.r.s.e, brittle roots are produced which have the appearance of having been artificially inserted into the rootstock. Culver's-root has a bitter and acrid taste, but no odor.

Collection, Price and Uses--The rootstock and roots should be collected in the fall of the second year. When fresh these have a faint odor resembling somewhat that of almonds, which is lost in the drying. The bitter, acrid taste of Culver's-root also becomes less the longer it is kept, and it is said that it should be kept at least a year before being used. The price paid to collectors ranges from 6 to 10 cents a pound.

Culver's-root, which is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, is used as an alterative, cathartic and in disorders of the liver.

Stone-Root.

Collinsonia Canadensis L.

Other Common Names--Collinsonia, k.n.o.b-root, k.n.o.bgra.s.s, k.n.o.bweed, knotroot, horse-balm, horseweed, richweed, richleaf, ox-balm, citronella.

Habitat and Range--Stoneroot is found in moist, shady woods from Maine to Wisconsin, south to Florida and Kansas.

Description of Plant--Like most of the other members of the mint family (Menthaceae), Stoneroot is aromatic also, the fresh flowering plant possessing a very pleasant, lemon-like odor. It is a tall perennial herb, growing as high as 5 feet. The stem is stout, erect, branched, smooth, or the upper part hairy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Stoneroot (Collinsonia Canadensis).]

The leaves are opposite, about 3 to 8 inches long, thin, ovate, pointed at the apex, narrowed or sometimes heart-shaped at the base, and coa.r.s.ely toothed; the lower leaves are largest and are borne on slender stems, while the upper ones are smaller and almost stemless.

Stoneroot is in flower from July to October, producing large, loose, open terminal panicles or heads of small, pale-yellow lemon-scented flowers. The flowers have a funnel-shaped 2-lipped corolla, the lower lip, larger, pendant and fringed, with two very much protruding stamens.

Description of Root--Even the fresh root of this plant is very hard.

It is horizontal, large, thick, and woody, and the upper side is rough and knotty and branched irregularly. The odor of the root is rather disagreeable, and the taste pungent and spicy. In the fresh state, as well as when dry, the root is extremely hard, whence the common name "stoneroot." The dried root is grayish brown externally, irregularly knotty on the upper surface from the remains of branches and the scars left by former stems and the lower surface showing a few thin roots. The inside of the root is hard and whitish.

Collection, Prices and Uses--Stoneroot, which is collected in autumn, is employed for its tonic, astringent, diuretic and diaph.o.r.etic effects. The price of the root ranges from 2 to 3 1/2 cents a pound.

The leaves are used by country people as an application to bruises.

Crawley-Root.

Corallorhiza Odontorhiza (Wild) Nutt.

Other Common Names--Corallorhiza, crawley, coralroot, small coralroot, small-flowered coralroot, late coralroot, dragon's-claw, chickentoe, turkey-claw, feverroot.

Habitat and Range--Rich, shady woods having an abundance of leaf mold produce this curious little plant. It may be found in such situations from Maine to Florida, westward to Michigan and Missouri.

Description of Plant--This peculiar native perennial, belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae) is unlike most other plants, being leafless, and instead of a green stem it has a purplish brown, sheathed scape, somewhat swollen or bulbous at the base and bearing a cl.u.s.tered head of purplish flowers 2 to 4 inches long. It does not grow much taller than about a foot in height.

The flowers, 6 to 20 in a head, appear from July to September, and consist of lance-shaped sepals and petals, striped with purple and a broad, whitish, oval lip, generally marked with purple and narrowed at the base. The seed capsule is large oblong, or some what globular.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Crawley-root (Corallorhiza Odontorhiza).]

Description of Rootstock--The rootstock of this plant is also curious, resembling in its formation a piece of coral on account of which it is known by the name of "coralroot." The other common names, such as chickentoe, turkey-claw, etc., all have reference to the form of the rootstock. As found in commerce, Crawley-root consists of small, dark-brown wrinkled pieces, the larger ones branched like coral. The taste at first is sweetish, becoming afterwards slightly bitter. It has a peculiar odor when fresh, but when dry it is without odor.

Collection, Prices and Uses--Crawley-root should be collected in July or August The price ranges from 20 to 50 cents a pound. Other species of Corallorhiza are sometimes collected and are said to probably possess similar properties. This root is aid to be very effective for promoting perspiration and it is also used as a sedative and in fever.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

FOREST PLANTS.

Male Fern.

Pharmacopoeial Name--Aspidium. Other Common Names: (1) Male shield-fern, sweet brake, knotty brake, basket-fern, bear's-paw root; (2) marginal-fruited shield-fern, evergreen wood-fern.

Habitat and Range--These ferns are found in rocky woods, the male shield-fern inhabiting the region from Canada westward to the Rocky Mountains and Arizona. It is widely distributed also through Europe, northern Asia, northern Africa, and South America. The marginal-fruited shield-fern, one of our most common ferns, occurs from Canada southward to Alabama and Arkansas.

Description of Plants--Both of these species are tall, handsome ferns, the long, erect fronds, or leaves, arising from a chaffy, scaly base, and consisting of numerous crowded stemless leaflets, which are variously divided and notched. There is but little difference between these two species. The male shield-fern is perhaps a trifle stouter, the leaves growing about 3 feet in length and having a bright-green color, whereas the marginal-fruited shield-fern has lighter green leaves, about 2 1/2 feet in length, and is of more slender appearance. The princ.i.p.al difference, however, is found in the arrangement of the "sori," or "fruit dots," These are the very small, round, tawny dots that are found on the backs of fern leaves, and in the male shield-fern these will be found arranged in short rows near the midrib, while in the marginal-fruited shield-fern, as this name indicates, the fruit dots are placed on the margins of the fronds. Both plants are perennials and members of the fern family (Polypodiaceae).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Marginal-Fruited Shield-Fern (Dryopteris Marginalis).]

Description of the Rootstock--These ferns have stout ascending or erect chaffy rootstocks, or rhizomes as they are technically known.

As taken from the ground the rootstock is from 6 to 12 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches thick, covered with closely overlapping, brown, slightly curved stipe bases or leaf bases and soft, brown, chaffy scales. The inside of the rootstock is pale green. As found in the stores, however, male-fern with the stipe bases and roots removed measure about 3 to 6 inches in length and about one-half to 1 inch in thickness, rough where the stipe bases have been removed, brown outside, pale green and rather spongy inside.

The stipe bases remain green for a very long period, and these small, claw-shaped furrowed portions, or "fingers" as they are called, form a large proportion of the drug found on the American market and, in fact, are said to have largely superseded the rootstock. Male-fern has a disagreeable odor, and the taste is described as bitter-sweet, astringent, acrid, and nauseous.