SNAKEROOT--CANADA AND VIRGINIA.
Canada Snakeroot.
Asarum Canadense L.
Other Common Names--Asarum, wild ginger, Indian ginger, Vermont
snakeroot, heart-snakeroot, southern snakeroot, black snakeroot,
colt's-foot, snakeroot, black snakeweed, broadleaved asarabacca,
false colt's-foot, cat's foot, colicroot.
Habitat and Range--This inconspicuous little plant frequents rich
woods or rich soil along road sides from Canada south to North
Carolina and Kansas.
Description of Plant--Canada snakeroot is a small, apparently
stemless perennial, not more than 6 to 12 inches in height, and
belongs to the birthwort family (Aristolochaceae). It usually has but
two leaves which are borne on slender, finely hairy stems; they are
kidney shaped or heart shaped, thin, dark green above and paler green
on the lower surface, strongly veined, and from 4 to 7 inches broad.
The solitary bell-shaped flower is of an unassuming dull brown or
brownish purple and this modest color, together with its position on
the plant, renders it so inconspicuous as to escape the notice of the
casual observer. It droops from a short, slender stalk produced
between the two leaf stems and is almost hidden under the two leaves,
growing so close to the ground that it is sometimes buried beneath
old leaves, and sometimes the soil must be removed before the flower
can be seen. It is bell shaped, wooly, the inside darker in color
than the outside and of a satiny texture. The fruit which follows is
in the form of a leathery 6-celled capsule.
[Illustration: Canada Snakeroot (Asarum Canadense).]
Description of Rootstock--Canada snakeroot has a creeping, yellowish
rootstock, slightly jointed, with this rootlets produced from joints
which occur about every half inch or so. In the drug trade the
rootstock is usually found in pieces a few inches in length and about
one-eighth of an inch in diameter. These are four-angled, crooked,
brownish and wrinkled on the outside, whitish inside and showing a
large central pith, hard and brittle and breaking with a short
fracture. The odor is fragrant and the taste spicy and aromatic, and
has been said to be intermediate between ginger and serpentaria.
Collection, Prices and Uses--The aromatic root of Canada snakeroot is
collected in autumn and the price ranges from 10 to 15 cents a pound.
It was reported as very scarce in the latter part of the summer of
1906. Canada Snakeroot, which was official in the United States
Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1880, is used as an aromatic, diaphoretic
and carminative.
Serpentaria.
(1) Aristolochia serpentaris L. and (2) Aristolochia reticulata Nutt.
Pharmacopoeial Name--Serpentaria.
[Illustration: Verginia Serpentaria (Aristolochia serpentaris).]
Other Common Names--(1) Virginia serpentaria, Virginia snakeroot,
serpentary, snakeweed, pelican-flower, snagrel, sangrel,
sangree-root; (2) Texas serpentaria, Texas snakeroot, Red River
snakeroot.
Habitat and Range--Virginia serpentaria is found in rich woods from
Connecticut to Michigan and southward, principally along the
Alleghenies, and Texas serpentaria occurs in the Southwestern States,
growing along river banks from Arkansas to Louisiana.
Description of Virginia Serpentaria--About midsummer the queerly
shaped flowers of this native perennial are produced. They are very
similar to those of the better known "Dutchman's-pipe," another
species of this genus, which is quite extensively grown as an
ornamental vine for covering porches and trellises. Virginia
serpentaria and Texas serpentaria both belong to the birth wort
family (Aristolochiaceae). The Virginia serpentaria is nearly erect,
the slender, wavy stem sparingly branched near the base, and usually
growing to about a foot in height, sometimes, however, even reaching
3 feet. The leaves are thin, ovate, ovate lance shaped or oblong
lance shaped, and usually heart shaped at the base; they are about 2
1/2 inches long and about 1 or 1 1/2 inches in width. The flowers are
produced from near the base of the plant, similar to its near
relative, the Canada snakeroot. They are solitary and terminal, borne
on slender, scaly branches, dull brownish purple in color, and of a
somewhat leathery texture; the calyx tube is curiously bent or
contorted in the shape of the letter S. The fruit is a roundish
6-celled capsule, about half an inch in diameter and containing
numerous seeds.
Description of Texas Serpentaria--This species has a very wavy stem,
with oval, heart-shaped, clasping leaves, which are rather thick and
strongly reticulated or marked with a network of veins; hence the
specific name reticulata. The entire plant is hairy, with numerous
long, coarse hairs. The small, densely hairy purplish flowers are
also produced from the base of the plant.
Description of Rootstock--Serpentaria has a short rootstock with many
thin, branching, fibrous roots. In the dried state it is thin and
bent, the short remains of stems showing on the upper surface and the
under surface having numerous thin roots about 4 inches in length,
all of a dull yellowish brown color, internally white. It has a very
agreeable aromatic odor, somewhat like camphor, and the taste is
described as warm, bitterish and camphoraceous.
The Texas serpentaria has a larger rootstock, with fewer roots less
interlaced than the Virginia serpentaria.
Collection, Prices and Uses--The roots of serpentaria are collected
in autumn. Various other roots are sometimes mixed with serpentaria,
but as they are mostly high-priced drugs, such as golden seal,
pinkroot, senega and ginseng, their presence in a lot of serpentaria
is probably accidental, due simply to proximity of growth of these
plants. Abscess-root (Polemonium Reptans L.) is another root with
which serpentaria is often adulterated. It is very similar to
serpentaria, except that it is nearly white. The price of serpentaria
ranges from 35 to 40 cents a pound.
Serpentaria is used for its stimulant, tonic, and diaphoretic
properties. Both species are official in the United States
Pharmacopoeia.