Part 4

Synonyms.—Dracontium foetidum L.; Symplocarpus foetidus Nutt.

Other common names.—Dracontium, skunkweed, polecat-weed, swamp-cabbage, meadow-cabbage, collard, fetid hellebore, stinking poke, pockweed.

Habitat and range.—Swamps and other wet places from Canada to Florida, Iowa, and Minnesota abound with this ill-smelling herb.

Description of plant.—Most of the common names applied to this plant, as well as the scientific names, are indicative of the most striking characteristic of this early spring visitor, namely, the rank, offensive, carrion odor that emanates from it. Skunk-cabbage is one of the very earliest of our spring flowers, appearing in February or March, but it is safe to say that it is not likely to suffer extermination at the hands of the enthusiastic gatherer of spring flowers. In the latitude of Washington skunk-cabbage has been known to be in flower in December.

It is a curious plant, with its hood-shaped, purplish striped flowers appearing before the leaves. It belongs to the arum family (Araceæ) and is a perennial. The “flower” is in the form of a thick, ovate, swollen spathe, about 3 to 6 inches in height, the top pointed and curved inward, spotted and striped with purple and yellowish green. The spathe is not open like that of the wild turnip or calla lily, to which family this plant also belongs, but the edges are rolled inward, completely hiding the spadix. In this plant the spadix is not spikelike, as in the wild turnip, but is generally somewhat globular, entirely covered with the numerous, dull-purple flowers. (Pl. I, fig. 2.) After the fruit has ripened the spadix will be found to have grown considerably, the spathe meantime having decayed.

The leaves, which appear after the flower, are numerous and very large, about 1 to 3 feet in length and about 1 foot in width; they are thin in texture, but prominently nerved with fleshy nerves, and are borne on deeply channeled stems.

Description of rootstock.—Skunk-cabbage has a thick, straight, reddish brown rootstock, from 3 to 5 inches long, and about 2 inches in diameter, and having a whorl of crowded fleshy roots (Pl. I, fig. 2) which penetrate the soil to considerable depth. The dried article of commerce consists of either the entire rootstock and roots, which are dark brown and wrinkled on the outside, whitish and starchy within, or of very much compressed, wrinkled, transverse slices. When bruised, the root has the characteristic fetid odor of the plant and possesses a sharp acrid taste, both of which become less the longer the root is kept.

Collection, prices, and uses.—The rootstock of skunk-cabbage should be collected early in spring, soon after the appearance of the flower, or after the seeds have ripened, in August or September. It should be carefully dried, either in its entire state or deprived of the roots and cut into transverse slices. Skunk-cabbage loses its odor and acridity with age, and should therefore not be kept longer than one season. The range of prices is from 4 to 7 cents a pound.

Skunk-cabbage, official from 1820 to 1880, is used in affections of the respiratory organs, in nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsical complaints.

SWEET-FLAG.

Acorus calamus L.

Pharmacopœial name.—Calamus.

Other common names.—Sweet cane, sweet grass, sweet myrtle, sweet rush, sweet sedge, sweet segg, sweetroot, cinnamon-sedge, myrtle-flag, myrtle-grass, myrtle-sedge, beewort.

Habitat and range.—This plant frequents wet and muddy places and borders of 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.

Description of plant.—The swordlike 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 (Araceæ), 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 3½ inches long and about one-half inch in thickness, closely covered with very small greenish yellow flowers, which appear from May to July. (Pl. 1, fig. 3.)

Description of rootstock.—The long, creeping rootstock of the sweet-flag is thick and fleshy, somewhat spongy, and producing numerous rootlets. (Pl. I, fig. 3.) The odor is very aromatic and agreeable, and the 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 Pharmacopœia 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 root 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 root 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.

CHAMAELIRIUM, OR HELONIAS.

Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A. Gray.

Synonym.—Helonias dioica Pursh.

Other common names.—Unicorn-root, false unicorn-root, blazingstar, drooping starwort, starwort, devil’s-bit, unicorn’s-horn.

In order to avoid the existing confusion of common names of this plant, it is most desirable to use the scientific names Chamaelirium or Helonias exclusively. Chamaelirium is the most recent botanical designation and will be used throughout this article, but the synonym Helonias is a name very frequently employed by the drug trade. The plant with which it is so much confused, Aletris farinosa, will also be designated throughout by its generic name, Aletris.

Habitat and range.—This native plant is found in open woods from Massachusetts to Michigan, south to Florida and Arkansas.

Description of plant.—Chamaelirium and Aletris (Aletris farinosa) have long been confused by drug collectors and others, owing undoubtedly to the transposition of some of their similar common names, such as “starwort” and “stargrass.” The plants can scarcely be said to resemble each other, however, except perhaps in their general habit of growth. (See Pl. II, figs. 1 and 2.)

The male and female flowers of Chamaelirium are borne on separate plants, and in this respect are entirely different from Aletris; neither do the flowers resemble those of Aletris.