Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants Part 28

Description of Rootstock--Not only have the plants of Aletris and Chamaelirium been confused, but the rootstocks as well. There is, however, no resemblance between them.

Aletris has a horizontal rootstock from one-half to 1 1/2 inches in length, rough and scaly, and almost completely hidden by the fibrous roots and remains of the basal leaves. Upon close examination the scars of former leaf stems may be seen along the upper surface. The rootlets are from 2 to 10 inches in length, those of recent growth whitish and covered with several layers of epidermis which gradually peel off, and the older rootlets of the rootstock showing this epidermis already scaled off, leaving only the hard, brown, woody center. The rootstock in commerce almost invariably shows at one end a tuft of the remains of the basal leaves, which do not lose their green color. It is grayish brown outside, whitish within, and breaks with a mealy fracture. It has no odor, and a starchy taste, followed by some acridity, but no bitterness.

Collection, Prices and Uses--Aletris should be collected in autumn, and there is no reason why collectors should make the common mistake of confusing Aletris with Chamaelirium. By comparing the description of Aletris with that of Chamaelirium, it will be seen that there is scarcely any resemblance. Aletris ranges from 30 to 40 cents a pound.

As indicated under Chamaelirium, the medicinal properties have also been considered the same in both plants, but Aletris is now regarded of value chiefly in digestive troubles. Aletris was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1870.

Wild Indigo.

Baptisia Tinctoria (L.) R. Br.

Other Common Names--Baptisia, indigo-weed, yellow indigo, American indigo, yellow broom, indigo-broom, clover-broom, broom-clover, horsefly-weed, shoofly, rattlebush.

Habitat and Range--This native herb grows on dry, poor land, and is found from Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisiana.

Description of Plant--Many who have been brought up in the country will recognize in the wild indigo the plant so frequently used by farmers, especially in Virginia and Maryland, to keep flies away from horses, bunches of it being fastened to the harness for this purpose.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Wild Indigo (Baptisia Tinctoris) Branch Showing Flowers and Seed Pods.]

Wild Indigo grows about 2 to 3 feet in height and the clover-like blossoms and leaves will show at once that it belongs to the same family as the common clover, namely, the pea family (Fabaceae). It is an erect, much-branched, very leafy plant of compact growth, the 3-leaved, bluish green foliage somewhat resembling clover leaves. The flowers, as already stated, are like common clover flowers--that is, not like clover heads, but the single flowers composing these; they are bright yellow, about one-half inch in length and are produced in numerous cl.u.s.ters which appear from June to September. The seed pods, on stalks longer than the calyx, are nearly globular or ovoid and are tipped with an awl shaped style.

Another species, said to possess properties similar to those of baptisia tinctoria and subst.i.tuted for it, is B. alba R. Br., called the white wild indigo. This plant has white flowers and is found in the Southern States and on the plains of the Western States.

Description of Root--Wild Indigo has a thick, knotty crown or head, with several stem scars, and a round, fleshy root, sending out cylindrical branches and rootlets almost 2 feet in length. The white woody interior is covered with a thick, dark brown bark, rather scaly or dotted with small, wart-like excrescences. The root breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture. There is a scarcely perceptible odor and the taste, which resides chiefly in the bark, is nauseous, bitter and acrid.

Collection, Prices and Uses--The root of Wild Indigo is collected in autumn, and brings from 4 to 8 cents a pound.

Large doses of Wild Indigo are emetic and cathartic and may prove dangerous. It also has stimulant, astringent and antiseptic properties, and is used as a local application to sores, ulcers, etc.

The herb is sometimes employed like the root and the entire plant was official from 1830 to 1840.

In some sections the young, tender shoots are used for greens, like those of pokeweed, but great care must be exercised to gather them before they are too far advanced in growth, as otherwise bad results will follow.

A blue coloring matter has been prepared from the plant and used as a subst.i.tute for indigo, to which, however, it is very much inferior.

Pleurisy-Root.

Asclepias Tuberosa L.

Pharmacopoeial Name--Asclepias.

Other Common Names--b.u.t.terfly weed, Canada-root, Indian-posy, orange-root, orange swallowwort, tuberroot, whiteroot, windroot, yellow or orange milkweed.

Habitat and Range--Pleurisy-Root flourishes in the open or in the pine woods, in dry, sandy or gravelly soil, usually along the banks of streams. Its range extends from Ontario and Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida, Texas and Arizona, but it is found in greatest abundance in the South.

Description of Plant--This is a very showy and ornamental perennial plant, indigenous to this country, and belonging to the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae); it is erect and rather stiff in habit, but with brilliant heads of bright orange-colored flowers that attract attention from afar.

The stems are rather stout, erect, hairy, about 1 to 2 feet in height, sometimes branched near the top, and bearing a thick growth of leaves. These are either stemless or borne on short stems, are somewhat rough to the touch, 2 to 6 inches long, lance shaped or oblong, the apex either sharp pointed or blunt, with a narrow, rounded or heart shaped base. The flower heads, borne at the ends of the stem and branches, consist of numerous, oddly shaped orange colored flowers. The corolla is composed of five segments, which are reflexed or turned back and the crown has five erect or spreading "hoods," within each of which is a slender incurved horn. The plant is in flower for some time, usually from June to September, followed late in the fall by pods, which are from 4 to 5 inches long, green, tinged with red, finely hairy on the outside, and containing the seeds with their long, silky hairs. Unlike the other milkweeds, the Pleurisy Root contains little or no milky juice.

Description of Root--The root of this plant is large, white and fleshy, spindle shaped, branching. As found in commerce it consists of lengthwise or crosswise pieces from 1 to 6 inches in length and about three-fourths of an inch in thickness. It is wrinkled lengthwise and also transversely and has a knotty head. The thin bark is orange brown and the wood yellowish, with white rays. It has no odor and a somewhat bitter, acrid taste.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Pleurisy-Root (Asclepias Tuberosa).]

Collection, Prices and Uses--The root, which is usually found rather deep in the soil, is collected in autumn, cut into transverse or lengthwise slices and dried. The price ranges from 6 to 10 cents a pound.

Pleurisy-Root was much esteemed by the Indians, has long been used in domestic practice, and is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. It is used in disordered digestion and in affections of the lungs, in the last-named instance to promote expectoration, relieve pains in the chest, and induce easier breathing. It is also useful in producing perspiration.

Other Species--Besides the official Pleurisy-Root there are two other species of Asclepias which are employed to some extent for the same purposes, namely, the common milkweed and the swamp-milkweed.

The common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) is a perennial, native in fields and waste places from Canada to North Carolina and Kansas. It has a stout, usually simple stem 3 to 5 feet in height and oblong or oval leaves, smooth on the upper surface and densely hairy beneath.

The flowers, similar in form to those of Asclepias tuberosa, are pinkish purple and appear from June to August, followed by erect pods 3 to 5 inches long, woolly with matted hair and covered with p.r.i.c.kles and borne on recurved stems. The plant contains an abundance of milky juice.

The root of the common milkweed is from 1 to 6 feet long, cylindrical and finely wrinkled. The short branches and scars left by former stems give the root a round, knotty appearance. The bark is thick, grayish brown and the inside white, the root breaking with a short, splintery fracture. Common milkweed root has a very bitter taste, but no odor.

It is collected in autumn and cut into transverse slices before drying. Common milkweed ranges from 6 to 8 cents a pound.

Swamp-milkweed (Asclepias incarnata L.) is a native perennial herb found in swamps from Canada to Tennessee and Kansas. The slender stem, leafy to the top, is 1 to 2 feet in height, branched above, the leaves lance shaped or oblong lance shaped. The flowers, also similar to those A tuberosa, appear from July to September, and are flesh colored or rose colored. The pods are 2 to 3 1/2 inches long, erect, and very sparingly hairy.

The root of the swamp-milkweed, which is also collected in autumn, is not quite an inch in length, hard and knotty, with several light brown rootlets. The tough white wood, which has a thick, central pith, is covered with a thin, yellowish brown bark. It is practically without odor, and the taste, sweetish at first, finally becomes bitter. This root brings about 3 cents a pound.

CHAPTER x.x.xIII.

RICH SOIL PLANTS.

Bloodroot.

Sanguinaria Canadensis L.

Pharmacopoeial--Sanguinaria.

Other Common Names--Redroot, red pucc.o.o.n, red Indian-paint, pucc.o.o.n-root, c.o.o.nroot, white pucc.o.o.n, pauson, snakebite, sweet-slumber, tetterwort, tumeric.

Habitat and Range--Bloodroot is found in rich, open woods from Canada south to Florida and west to Arkansas and Nebraska.

Description of Plant--This indigenous plant is among the earliest of our spring flowers, the waxy-white blossom, enfolded by the grayish green leaf, usually making its appearance early in April. The stem and root contain a blood-red juice. Bloodroot is a perennial and belongs to the same family as the opium poppy, the Papaveraceae. Each bud on the thick, horizontal rootstock produces but a single leaf and a flowering scape, reaching about 6 inches in height. The plant is smooth and both stem and leaves, especially when young, present a grayish green appearance, being covered with a "bloom" such as is found on some fruits. The leaves are palmately 5 to 9 lobed, the lobes either cleft at the apex or having a wavy margin, and are borne on leaf stems about 6 to 14 inches long. After the plants have ceased flowering the leaves, at first only 3 inches long and 4 to 5 inches broad, continue to expand until they are about 4 to 7 inches long and 6 to 12 inches broad. The under side of the leaf is paler than the upper side and shows prominent veins. The flower measures about 1 inch across, is white, rather waxlike in appearance, with numerous golden-yellow stamens in the center. The petals soon fall off, and the oblong, narrow seed pod develops, attaining a length of about an inch.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) Flowering Plant with Rootstock.]

Description of Rootstock--When dug out of the ground Bloodroot is rather thick, round and fleshy, slightly curved at the ends, and contains a quant.i.ty of blood-red juice. It is from 1 to 4 inches in length, from one-half to 1 inch in thickness, externally reddish brown, internally a bright red blood color, and produces many thick, orange colored rootlets.

The rootstock shrinks considerably in drying, the outside turning dark brown and the inside orange-red or yellowish with numerous small red dots, and it breaks with a short, sharp fracture. It has but a slight odor and the taste is bitter and acrid and very persistent.

The powdered root causes sneezing.

Collection, Prices and Use--The rootstock should be collected in autumn, after the leaves have died, and after curing, it should be stored in a dry place, as it rapidly deteriorates if allowed to become moist. Age also impairs its acridity. The price paid to collectors for this root ranges from about 5 to 10 cents per pound.