Part 19

Asclepias tuberosa L.

Pharmacopœial name.—Asclepias.

Other common names.—Butterfly-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 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 (Asclepiadaceæ); 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 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. (Pl. VI, fig. 3.) 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. (Pl. VI, fig. 3.) 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.

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 Pharmacopœia. 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, wooly with matted hairs and covered with prickles 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 rough, 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 root 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 of tuberosa, appear from July to September, and are flesh colored or rose colored. The pods are 2 to 3½ 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.

COMFREY.

Symphytum officinale L.

Other common names.—Symphytum, healing-herb, knitback, ass-ear, backwort, blackwort, bruisewort, gum-plant, slippery-root.

Habitat and range.—Comfrey is naturalized from Europe, and occurs in waste places from Newfoundland to Minnesota, south to Maryland.

Description of plant.—This coarse, rough, hairy perennial herb is from 2 to 3 feet high, erect and branched, with thick, rough leaves, the lower ones ovate lance shaped, 3 to 10 inches long, pointed at the apex, and narrowed at the base into margined stems. The uppermost leaves are lance shaped, smaller, and stemless. Comfrey is in flower from June to August, the purplish or dirty-white, tubular, bell-shaped flowers numerous and borne in dense terminal clusters. (Pl. VI, fig. 4.) The nutlets which follow are brown, shining, and somewhat wrinkled. Comfrey belongs to the borage family (Boraginaceæ).

Description of root.—Comfrey has a large, deep, spindle-shaped root, thick and fleshy at the top, white inside, and covered with a thin, blackish brown bark. (Pl. VI, fig. 4.) The dried root is hard, black, and very deeply and roughly wrinkled, breaking with a smooth, white, waxy fracture. As it occurs in commerce it is in pieces ranging from about an inch to several inches in length, only about one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and usually considerably bent. It has a very mucilaginous, somewhat sweetish and astringent taste, but no odor.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The root is dug in autumn, or sometimes in early spring. Comfrey root when first dug is very fleshy and juicy, but about four-fifths of its weight is lost in drying. The price ranges from 4 to 8 cents a pound.

The mucilaginous character of comfrey root renders it useful in coughs and diarrheal complaints. Its action is demulcent and slightly astringent.

The leaves are also used to some extent.

STONEROOT.

Collinsonia canadensis L.

Other common names.—Collinsonia, knobroot, knobgrass, knobweed, 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.