Part 7

Iris versicolor L.

Other common names.—Iris, flag-lily, liver-lily, snake-lily, poison-flag, water-flag, American fleur-de-lis or flower-de-luce.

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 (Iridaceæ), and is a native of this country. June is generally regarded as the month for the flowering of the blue flag, although 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. (Pl. II, fig. 4.) 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 1½ inches long, and contains numerous seeds.

Description of rootstock.—Blue flag has a thick, fleshy, horizontal rootstock, branched, and producing long fibrous roots. (Pl. II, fig. 4.) 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 in 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 Pharmacopœia of 1890.

LADY’S-SLIPPER.

(1) Cypripedium hirsutum Mill. and (2) Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb.

Synonym.—(1) Cypripedium pubescens Willd.

Pharmacopœial name.—Cypripedium.

Other common names.—(1) Large yellow lady’s-slipper, yellow lady’s-slipper, yellow moccasin-flower, Venus’-shoe, Venus’-cup, yellow Indian-shoe, American valerian, nerve-root, male nervine, yellow Noah’s-ark, yellows, monkey-flower, umbil-root, yellow umbil; (2) small yellow lady’s-slipper.

Habitat and range.—Both of these native species frequent bogs and wet places in deep shady woods and thickets. The large yellow lady’s-slipper may be found from Nova Scotia south to Alabama and west to Nebraska and Missouri. The range for the small yellow lady’s-slipper extends from Newfoundland south along the mountains to Georgia, and west to Missouri, Washington, and British Columbia.

Description of plants.—The orchid family (Orchidaceæ), to which the lady’s-slippers belong, boasts of many beautiful, showy, and curious species, and the lady’s-slipper is no exception. There are several other plants to which the name lady’s-slipper has been applied, but one glance at the peculiar structure of the flowers in the species under consideration, as shown in the illustration (Pl. III, fig. 1), will enable anyone to recognize them as soon as seen.

The particular species of lady’s-slipper under consideration in this article do not differ very materially from each other. Both are perennials, growing from 1 to about 2 feet in height, with rather large leaves and with yellow flowers more or less marked with purple, the main difference being that in hirsutum the flower is larger and pale yellow, while in parviflorum the flower is small, bright yellow, and perhaps more prominently striped and spotted with purple. The stem, leaves, and inside of corolla or lip are somewhat hairy in the large yellow lady’s-slipper, but not in the small yellow lady’s-slipper. These hairs are said to be irritating to some people, in whom they cause an eruption of the skin.

The leaves of the lady’s-slipper vary in size from 2 to 6 inches in length and from 1 to 3 inches in width, and are broadly oval or elliptic, sharp pointed, with numerous parallel veins, and sheathing at the base, somewhat hairy in the large lady’s-slipper. The solitary terminal flower, which appears from May to June, is very showy and curiously formed, the lip being the most prominent part. This lip looks like an inflated bag (1 to 2 inches long in the large lady’s-slipper), pale yellow or bright yellow in color, variously striped and blotched with purple. The other parts of the flower are greenish or yellowish, with purple stripes, and the petals are usually twisted.

Description of rootstock.—The rootstock is of horizontal growth, crooked, fleshy, and with numerous wavy, fibrous roots. (Pl. III, fig. 1.) As found in commerce, the rootstocks are from 1 to 4 inches in length, about an eighth of an inch in thickness, dark brown, the upper surface showing numerous round cup-shaped scars, the remains of former annual stems, and the lower surface thickly covered with wavy, wiry, and brittle roots, the latter breaking off with a short, white fracture. The odor is rather heavy and disagreeable, and the taste is described as sweetish, bitter, and somewhat pungent.

Collection, prices, and uses.—Both rootstock and roots are used, and these should be collected in autumn, freed from dirt, and carefully dried in the shade. These beautiful plants are becoming rare in many localities. Sometimes such high-priced drugs as goldenseal and senega are found mixed with the lady’s-slipper, but as these are more expensive than the lady’s-slipper, it is not likely that they are included with fraudulent intent, and they can be readily distinguished. The prices paid to collectors of this root range from 32 to 35 cents a pound.

The principal use of lady’s-slipper, which is official in the United States Pharmacopœia, is as an antispasmodic and nerve tonic, and it has been used for the same purposes as valerian.

CRAWLEY-ROOT.

Corallorhiza odontorhiza (Willd.) 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 (Orchidaceæ), 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 clustered head of purplish flowers 2 to 4 inches long. It does not grow much taller than about a foot in height. (Fig. 4.)

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 somewhat globular.

Description of rootstock.—The rootstock of this plant is also curious, resembling in its formation a piece of coral (fig. 4), on account of which it is known by the name “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.