Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants Part 25

Description of Rootstock--The rootstock of the Yellow Jasmine is horizontal and runs near the surface of the ground, attaining great length, 15 feet or more; it is branched, and here and there produces fibrous rootlets. When freshly removed from the ground it is very yellow, with a peculiar odor and bitter taste. For the drug trade it is generally cut into pieces varying from 1 inch to 6 inches in length, and when dried consists of cylindrical sections about 1 inch in thickness, the roots, of course, thinner. The bark is thin, yellowish brown, with fine silky bast fibers and the wood is tough and pale yellow, breaking with a splintery fracture and showing numerous fine rays radiating from a small central pith. Yellow Jasmine has a bitter taste and a p.r.o.nounced heavy odor.

Collection, Prices and Uses--The root of Yellow Jasmine is usually collected just after the plant has come into flower and is cut into pieces from 1 to 6 inches long. It is often adulterated with portions of the stems, but these can be distinguished by their thinness and dark purplish color. The prices range from 3 to 5 cents a pound.

Yellow Jasmine, which is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, is used for its powerful effect on the nervous system.

Sweet-Flag.

Acorus Calamus L.

Pharmacopoeial Name--Calamus.

Other Common Names--Sweet cane, sweet gra.s.s, sweet myrtle, sweet rush, sweet sedge, sweet segg, sweetroot, cinnamon-sedge, myrtle-flag, myrtle-gra.s.s, myrtle-sedge, beewort.

Habitat and Range--This plant frequents wet and muddy places and borders on streams from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, southward to Florida and Texas, also occurring in Europe and Asia. It is usually partly immersed in water, and is generally found in company with the cat-tail and other water-loving species of flag.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sweet Flag (Acorus Calamus).]

Description of Plant--The sword like leaves of the Sweet-Flag resemble those of other flags so much that before the plant is in flower it is difficult to recognize simply by the appearance of its leaves. The leaves of the blue flag or "poison-flag," as it has been called, are very similar to those of the Sweet-Flag, and this resemblance often leads to cases of poisoning among children who thus mistake one for the other. However, as the leaves of the Sweet-Flag are fragrant, the odor will be a means of recognizing it. Of course when the Sweet-Flag is in flower the identification of the plant is easy.

The sheathing leaves of this native perennial, which belongs to the arum family (Araceae), are from 2 to 6 feet in height and about 1 inch in width; they are sharp pointed and have a ridged midrib running their entire length. The flowering head, produced from the side of the stalk, consists of a fleshy spike sometimes 3 1/2 inches long and about one-half inch in thickness, closely covered with very small, greenish yellow flowers, which appear from May to July.

Description of Rootstock--The long, creeping rootstock of the Sweet-Flag is thick and fleshy, somewhat spongy, and producing numerous rootlets. The odor is aromatic and agreeable, and taste pungent and bitter. The dried article, as found in the stores, consists of entire or split pieces of various lengths from 3 to 6 inches, light brown on the outside with blackish spots, sharply wrinkled lengthwise, the upper surface marked obliquely with dark leaf scars, and the lower surface showing many small circular scars, which, at first glance, give one the impression that the root is worm-eaten, but which are the remains of rootlets that have been removed from the rootstock. Internally the rootstock is whitish and of a spongy texture. The aromatic odor and pungent, bitter taste are retained in the dried article.

Collection, Prices and Uses--The United States Pharmacopoeia directs that the unpeeled rhizome, or rootstock, be used. It is collected either in early spring or late in autumn. It is pulled or grubbed from the soft earth, freed from adhering dirt, and the rootlets removed, as these are not so aromatic and more bitter. The rootstock is then carefully dried, sometimes by means of moderate heat.

Sweet-Flag deteriorates with age and is subject to the attacks of worms. It loses about three-fourths of its weight in drying.

Some of the Sweet-Flag found in commerce consists of handsome white pieces. These usually come from Germany, and have been peeled before drying, but they are not so strong and aromatic as the unpeeled roots. Unpeeled Sweet-Flag brings from 3 to 6 cents a pound.

Sweet-Flag is employed as an aromatic stimulant and tonic in feeble digestion. The dried root is frequently chewed for the relief of dyspepsia.

Blue Flag.

Iris Versicolor L.

Other Common Names--Iris, flag-lily, liver-lily, snake-lily, poison-flag, water-flag, American fleur-de-lis or flower-deluce.

Habitat and Range--Blue Flag delights in wet, swampy localities, making its home in marshes, thickets, and wet meadows from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Florida and Arkansas.

Description of Plant--The flowers of all of the species belonging to this genus are similar, and are readily recognized by their rather peculiar form, the three outer segments or parts reflexed or turned back and the three inner segments standing erect.

Blue Flag is about 2 to 3 feet in height, with an erect stem sometimes branched near the top, and sword shaped leaves which are shorter than the stem, from one-half to 1 inch in width, showing a slight grayish "bloom" and sheathing at the base. This plant is a perennial belonging to the iris family (Iridaceae), and is a native of this country. June is generally regarded as the month for the flowering of the Blue Flag, altho it may be said to be in flower from May to July, depending on the locality. The flowers are large and very handsome, each stem bearing from two to six or more. They consist of six segments or parts, the three outer ones turned back and the three inner ones erect and much smaller. The flowers are usually purplish blue, the "claw" or narrow base of the segments, variegated with yellow, green, or white and marked with purple veins.

All of the species belonging to this genus are more or less variegated in color; hence the name "iris," meaning "rainbow," and the specific name "versicolor," meaning "various colors." The name poison-flag has been applied to it on account of the poisonous effect it has produced in children, who, owing to the close resemblance of the plants before reaching the flowering stage, sometimes mistake it for sweet flag.

The seed capsule is oblong, about 1 1/2 inches and contains numerous seeds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Blue Flag (Iris Versicolor).]

Description of Rootstock--Blue Flag has a thick, fleshy, horizontal rootstock, branched, and producing long, fibrous roots. It resembles sweet-flag (Calamus) and has been mistaken for it. The sections of the rootstock of Blue Flag, however, are flattened above and rounded below; the scars of the leaf sheaths are in the form of rings, whereas in sweet-flag the rootstock is cylindrical and the scars left by the leaf sheaths are obliquely transverse. Furthermore, there is a difference in the arrangement of the roots on the rootstock, the scars left by the roots in Blue Flag being close together generally nearer the larger end, while in sweet-flag the disposition of the roots along the rootstock is quite regular. Blue Flag is grayish brown on the outside when dried, and sweet-flag is light brown or fawn colored. Blue Flag has no well-marked odor and the taste is acrid and nauseous, and in sweet-flag there is a pleasant odor and bitter, pungent taste.

Collection, Prices and Uses--Blue Flag is collected in autumn and usually brings from about 7 to 10 cents a pound. Great scarcity of Blue Flag root was reported from the producing districts in the autumn of 1906. It is an old remedy, the Indians esteeming it highly for stomach troubles, and it is said that it was sometimes cultivated by them in near-by ponds on account of its medicinal value. It has also been used as a domestic remedy and is regarded as an alterative, diuretic and purgative. It was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia of 1890.

Crane's-Bill.

Geranium Maculatum L.

Pharmacopoeial Name--Geranium.

Other Common Names--Spotted crane's-bill, wild crane's-bill, stork's-bill, spotted geranium, wild geranium, alum-root, alumbloom, chocolate-flower, crowfoot, dovefoot, old-maid's-nightcap, shameface.

Habitat and Range--Crane's-Bill flourishes in low grounds and open woods from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Georgia and Missouri.

Description of Plant--This pretty perennial plant belongs to the geranium family (Geraniaceae) and will grow sometimes to a height of 2 feet, but more generally it is only about a foot in height. The entire plant is more or less covered with hairs, and is erect and usually unbranched. The leaves are nearly circular or somewhat heart shaped in outline, 3 to 6 inches wide, deeply parted into three or five parts, each division again cleft and toothed. The basal leaves are borne on long stems, while those above have short stems. The flowers, which appear from April to June, are borne in a loose cl.u.s.ter; they are rose purple, pale or violet in color, about 1 inch or 1 1/2 inches wide, the petals delicately veined and woolly at the base and the sepals or calyx lobes with a bristle-shaped point, soft-hairy, the margins having a fringe of more bristly hairs. The fruit consists of a beaked capsule, springing open elastically, and dividing into five cells, each cell containing one seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Crane's-bill (Geranium Maculatum), Flowering Plant, Showing also Seed Pods and Rootstock.]

Description of Rootstock--When removed from the earth the rootstock of Crane's-bill is about 2 to 4 inches long, thick, with numerous branches bearing the young buds for next season's growth and scars showing the remains of stems of previous years, brown outside, white and fleshy internally, and with several stout roots. When dry, the rootstock turns a darker brown, is finely wrinkled externally, and has a rough spiny appearance, caused by the shrinking of the buds and branches and the numerous stem scars with which the root is studded.

Internally it is of a somewhat purplish color. Crane's-bill root is without odor and the taste is very astringent.

Collection, Prices and Uses--Crane's-bill root depends for its medicinal value on its astringent properties and as its astringency is due to the tannin content, the root should, of course, be collected at that season of the year when it is richest in that const.i.tuent. Experiments have proved that the yield of tannin in Crane's-bill is greatest just before flowering, which is in April or May, according to locality. It should, therefore, be collected just before the flowering periods, and not, as is commonly the case, in autumn. The price of this root ranges from 4 to 8 cents a pound.

Crane's-bill root, which is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, is used as a tonic and astringent.

CHAPTER x.x.xI.

FIELD PLANTS.

Dandelion.

Taraxac.u.m Officinale Weber, (a).

Synonyms--Taraxac.u.m taraxac.u.m (L.) Karst: (a) Taraxac.u.m densleonis Desf.

Pharmacopoeial Names--Taraxac.u.m.

Other Common Names--Blow-ball, cankerwort, doon-head, clock, fortune-teller, horse gowan, Irish daisy, yellow gowan, one-o'clock.

Habitat and Range--With the exception, possibly, of a few localities in the South, the dandelion is at home almost everywhere in the United States, being a familiar weed in meadows and waste places, and especially in lawns. It has been naturalized in this country from Europe and is distributed as a weed in all civilized parts of the world.

Description of Plant--It is hardly necessary to give a description of the dandelion, as almost every one is familiar with the coa.r.s.ely toothed, smooth, s.h.i.+ning green leaves, the golden-yellow flowers which open in the morning and only in fair weather, and the round fluffy seed heads of this only too plentiful weed of the lawns. In spring the young, tender leaves are much sought after by the colored market women about Was.h.i.+ngton, who collect them by the basketful and sell them for greens and salad.

Dandelion is a perennial belonging to the chicory family (Cichoriaceae) and is in flower practically throughout the year. The entire plant contains a white milky juice.