WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1904.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY,
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF,
_Washington, D. C., December 10, 1903_.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper on Weeds Used in
Medicine, and recommend that it be published as a Farmers’ Bulletin.
This paper was prepared by Miss Alice Henkel, Assistant in Drug and
Medicinal Plant Investigations, and was submitted by the Botanist with
a view to publication.
Respectfully, B. T. GALLOWAY,
_Chief of Bureau_.
Hon. JAMES WILSON,
_Secretary of Agriculture_.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction 7
Collection and curing of drugs 7
Roots 8
Barks 9
Leaves and herbs 9
Flowers 10
Seeds 10
Disposal of the drugs 10
Descriptions of plants 10
Burdock 11
Dandelion 13
Docks 15
Yellow dock 15
Broad-leaved dock 16
Yellow-rooted water dock 18
Dock roots 18
Couch grass 19
Pokeweed 20
Foxglove 22
Mullein 24
Lobelia 26
Tansy 27
Gum plant 28
Scaly grindelia 29
Boneset 30
Catnip 31
Hoarhound 32
Blessed thistle 34
Yarrow 35
Canada fleabane 36
Jimson weed 37
Purple thorn-apple 39
Poison hemlock 39
American wormseed 41
Black mustard 42
White mustard 44
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
Fig. 1. Burdock, flowering plant 11
2. Burdock, first year’s growth 12
3. Dandelion 13
4. Dandelion root 14
5. Yellow dock, first year’s growth 15
6. Broad-leaved dock, first year’s growth 16
7. Leaf, fruiting spike, and root of broad-leaved dock 17
8. Yellow dock root 18
9. Couch grass 19
10. Pokeweed 21
11. Pokeweed, flowering and fruiting branch 22
12. Pokeroot 22
13. Foxglove 23
14. Mullein 25
15. Lobelia 26
16. Tansy 28
17. Gum plant 28
18. Scaly grindelia 29
19. Boneset 30
20. Catnip 32
21. Hoarhound 33
22. Hoarhound, flowering top 34
23. Blessed thistle 35
24. Yarrow 36
25. Canada fleabane 37
26. Jimson weed 38
27. Leaves, flower, and capsules of jimson weed 39
28. Poison hemlock 40
29. American wormseed 41
30. Black mustard 43
31. White mustard 44
B. P. I.—89. B. I. E.—55.
WEEDS USED IN MEDICINE.
INTRODUCTION.
It is a matter of interest, primarily to the farmer, that certain of
the well-known weeds now either generally or locally infesting the
country are the sources of crude drugs at the present time obtained
wholly or in part by importation from abroad. Roots, leaves, and
flowers of several of the species most detrimental in the United States
are gathered, prepared, and cured in Europe, and not only form useful
commodities there but supply to a considerable extent the demands of
foreign lands. Hence it appears probable that while weeds can hardly
be made desirable, still in his fight to exterminate them the farmer
may be able to turn some of them to account. Some of the plants
coming within this class are in many States at present subject to
antiweed laws and farmers are required to take measures toward their
extermination. It seems, therefore, desirable to make these pests
sources of profit where possible. In many cases, when weeds have been
dug, the work of handling and curing them is not excessive and can
readily be done by women and children.
The prices paid for crude drugs from these sources are not great and
would rarely tempt anyone to pursue this line of work as a business.
Yet, if in ridding the farm of weeds and thus raising the value of the
land the farmer can at the same time make these pests the source of a
small income instead of a dead loss, something is gained.
In order to help the farmer to obtain the best possible prices for such
products, instructions for collecting and preparing crude drugs derived
from weeds are here briefly given. The collector should observe them
carefully.
COLLECTION AND CURING OF DRUGS.
Too much emphasis can not be placed upon the importance of carefully
and thoroughly drying all crude drugs, whether roots, herbs, leaves,
barks, flowers, or seeds. If insufficiently dried, they will heat
and become moldy in shipping, and the collector will find his goods
rejected by the drug dealer and have all his trouble for nothing.
Another important matter to be considered in collecting drugs for
market is freedom from foreign substances. All drugs should be clean
and wholesome looking and contain no admixture of fragments of other
plants, stones, dirt, or other impurities. A bright natural color is
extremely desirable in leaves, herbs, and flowers, and adds much to
the salability of the product. This can be readily brought about by
giving careful attention to proper drying in the shade (not in direct
sunlight), and by protection from dew or rain by placing the drugs
under cover at nightfall or whenever necessary. Roots may be cleaned by
washing, but leaves, herbs, and flowers should never be washed.
It is important also to collect drugs in proper season only. Neglect in
this respect will bring nothing but disappointment to the gatherer, as
drugs collected out of season not only are not acceptable to the dealer
on account of inferior medicinal qualities, but there will also be, in
the case of roots, a greater amount of shrinkage in a root dug during
the growing season than will take place when it is collected after
growth has ceased.
The collector should be sure that the plant he is collecting is the
right one. There are many plants that closely resemble one another,
yet one may possess medicinal properties and the other be absolutely
useless. Again, a plant may contain very poisonous principles, and if
represented to be something else, it might of course do untold injury.
It would therefore be best, where any doubt exists, to send a specimen
of the entire plant, including leaves, flowers, and fruits, to a drug
dealer or to the nearest State experiment station for identification.
ROOTS.
Roots should never be collected during the growing season, as at that
time they are deficient in medicinal properties, and they also shrink
more in drying and weigh less than when gathered at full maturity.
The roots of annual plants should be dug just before the flowering
period, and those of biennial or perennial plants after the tops have
dried, the former in the autumn of the first year and the latter in the
fall of the second or third year.
After the roots have been dug the adherent soil should be well
shaken from them, and all foreign particles, such as stones, dirt,
roots and parts of other plants, should be removed. If the roots
can not be sufficiently cleared of soil by shaking, they should be
thoroughly washed in clean water. It does not pay to be careless in
this matter. The presence of soil increases the weight of the roots,
but the intending purchaser is not willing to pay for the weight of
the dirt, and grades the uncleaned drug accordingly. It is the clean,
bright-looking root that will bring a good price.
After washing, the roots should be carefully dried. This can best be
accomplished by exposing them to light and air (not direct sunlight) on
racks or shelves, or on clean, well-ventilated barn floors or lofts.
They should be spread out thinly and turned occasionally from day to
day until completely cured. When this point is reached, in perhaps
three to six weeks, the roots will snap readily when bent. During the
curing process the roots, if dried out of doors, should be placed under
shelter at night and upon the approach of rainy weather.
With some roots additional preparation is required, such as slicing and
the removal of fibrous rootlets. Wherever this is necessary mention
will be made of it under the descriptions of the different plants. In
general, it may be said that large roots should always be split or
sliced when green in order to facilitate drying.
BARKS.
The plants considered in this bulletin do not furnish medicinal barks,
but inasmuch as there are certain sections of the country where trees
furnishing such barks are rather abundant, directions for their
collection may not be out of place here.
Barks of trees should be gathered in spring, when the sap begins to
flow, but may also be peeled in winter. In the case of the coarser
barks (as elm, hemlock, poplar, oak, pine, and wild cherry) the outer
layer is shaved off before the bark is removed from the tree, which
process is known as “rossing.” Only the inner bark of these trees is
used medicinally. Barks may also be cured by exposure to sunlight.
Moisture must be avoided.
LEAVES AND HERBS.
Leaves and herbs should be collected when the plants are in full
flower. It is very desirable that they retain their bright green color
after curing, and this can be done by careful drying in the shade. In
the collection of leaves the whole plant may be cut and the leaves
may be stripped from it, rejecting the stems as much as possible. In
the case of herbs the coarse and large stems should be rejected and
only the flowering tops and more tender stems and leaves included. All
grasses, bits of other plants, and other foreign substances should be
carefully removed, as well as dead, shriveled, diseased, and discolored
specimens.
Both leaves and herbs should be spread out in thin layers on clean
floors, racks or shelves, in the shade but where there is free
circulation of air, and turned frequently until thoroughly dry.
Moisture will darken them. The same precautions that are necessary in
curing roots apply here also, so far as placing them under cover to
avoid dew or rain is concerned.
FLOWERS.
Flowers are collected when they first open or immediately after—not
when they are beginning to fade. To preserve the bright natural color
as nearly as possible they should be carefully dried in the shade, in
the same manner as directed for leaves and herbs.
SEEDS.
Seeds should be gathered just as they are ripening, before the seed
pods open, and should be winnowed in order to remove fragments of
stems, leaves, and shriveled specimens.
DISPOSAL OF THE DRUGS.
Samples representative of the lot of drugs to be sold should be sent
to the nearest commission merchant, general store, or drug store,
for inspection and for quotation on the amount of drug that can be
furnished, or for information as to where to send the article. The
size of the sample depends, of course, upon the kind of drug; from
3 to 4 ounces—or, say, at least a good handful—should be submitted.
The package containing the sample should be plainly marked as regards
contents, and the name and address of the sender given. In writing to
the different dealers for information and prices, it should be stated
how large a quantity of a particular drug can be furnished and how
soon this can be supplied, and postage should always be inclosed for
reply. In no case should the entire lot of collected drugs be sent to
dealers without preliminary correspondence. The collector should bear
in mind that freight is an important item, and it is best, therefore,
to address such dealers as are nearest to the place of production. When
ready for shipment, crude drugs may be tightly packed in burlap or
gunny sacks, or in dry, clean barrels.
DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANTS.
The plants included in this bulletin are burdock, dandelion, the docks,
couch grass, and pokeweed (principally root drugs); foxglove, mullein,
lobelia, tansy, gum plant, scaly grindelia, boneset, catnip, hoarhound,
yarrow, fleabane, blessed thistle, jimson weed, and poison hemlock (of
which either the leaves, flowers, herb, or seeds are used in medicine);
and also wormseed, and black and white mustards, of which the seeds
only are used.
Descriptions of these plants follow, together with the common names
by which they are known in different localities, the habitat (or, in
other words, the kinds of places or soils in which they are likely to
be found), their geographical range, information as to the parts to be
collected, their uses, the extent to which they are imported and the
prices usually paid by dealers.
The principal uses for which these plants are employed in medicine are
briefly indicated, but none of the drugs mentioned should be taken
without the advice of a physician.
With the exception of the figures for dandelion and mustard, which were
obtained from the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce
and Labor, the imports are based on estimates furnished by dealers,
and the prices per pound, while serving to give an idea as to what
may be expected for the drugs, will vary from year to year, depending
principally upon supply and demand.
There are of course a large number of plants used in medicine that are
not included in this bulletin, which is intended to cover only such
medicinal plants as may be classed as weeds.
BURDOCK.
_Arctium lappa_ L.
=Other common names.=—Cockle button, cuckold dock, beggars’ buttons,
hurr-bur, stick button, hardock, and bardane. (Fig. 1.)
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—Burdock (_Arctium lappa_ L.). Flowering plant.]
=Habitat and range.=—Burdock is one of the most common weeds. It was
introduced from the Old World, and is common and often very abundant in
the Eastern and Central States and in some scattered localities in the
West, growing along roadsides, in fields, pastures, and waste places.
=Description.=—This is a coarse, unsightly biennial weed of the aster
family (Asteraceæ), which produces during the first year of its growth
only a rosette of large, thin leaves (fig. 2) and a long, tapering
root having a diameter of from one-half to 1 inch. When full grown it
measures from 3 to 7 feet high. The round, fleshy stem is branched,
grooved, and hairy, with very large leaves, even in the early stages
of the growth of the plant, the lower leaves often measuring 18 inches
in length. The leaves are alternate, on long, solid, deeply furrowed
leafstalks; thin, roundish or oval, but usually heart-shaped; with
even, wavy, or toothed margins; smooth above, and pale and woolly on
the under surface. The flowers are purple, in small, clustered heads,
appearing in the second year, from July to frost. These flower heads
are armed with hooked tips, and the burs thus formed are a great pest,
attaching themselves to clothing and to the wool and hair of animals.
The seed of burdock is produced in great abundance, one plant bearing
as many as 400,000 seeds.
=Parts used.=—The root alone is recognized in the United States
Pharmacopœia, but there is a limited demand for burdock seed, and the
leaves also are employed. Burdock roots and seeds are used in blood
and skin diseases, and the leaves externally as a cooling poultice for
swellings and ulcers, the latter being employed only in the fresh state.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.—Burdock. First year’s growth.]
Burdock has a large taproot, about 12 inches long, fleshy, the outside
blackish-brown or grayish-brown, the inside light in color and spongy
in the center. It is to be collected in the fall of the first year. The
roots must be washed, split lengthwise, and carefully dried. Drying
causes the root to lose about four-fifths of its weight, and to become
scaly, and wrinkled lengthwise. Sometimes the bases of the leafstalks
remain at the top of the root in the form of a small, white, silky
tuft. The odor of the root is weak and unpleasant.
The seeds are oblong, curved, flattened, and angular, dark brown
and sometimes spotted with black, and have no odor. These should be
collected when ripe or nearly so.
=Imports and prices.=—About 50,000 pounds of lappa or burdock root are
imported annually, and the best root is said to come from Belgium,
where great care is exercised in its collection.
The price of the root ranges from 3 to 8 cents per pound, and that of
the seed from 5 to 10 cents.
DANDELION.
_Taraxacum taraxacum_ (L.) Karst. (_Taraxacum officinale_ Weber.)
[Illustration: FIG. 3.—Dandelion (_Taraxacum taraxacum_ (L.) Karst).
(An unusually fibrous root.)]
=Other common names.=—Blow-ball, cankerwort, doon-head-clock,
fortune-teller, horse gowan, Irish daisy, yellow gowan, one o’clock.
(Fig. 3.)
=Range and habitat.=—Dandelion is distributed as a weed in all
civilized parts of the world, and in this country is naturalized from
Europe. With the exception of the South, it is very abundant throughout
the United States in fields and waste places, and it is especially
troublesome in lawns and meadows.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—Dandelion root, 16 inches long.]
=Description.=—The dandelion is so well known a weed, especially in
lawns, that it scarcely requires a description, almost everyone being
familiar with its rosette of coarsely toothed leaves, golden-yellow
flowers, and round fluffy seed heads. It is a perennial plant of the
chicory family (Cichoriaceæ), and it may be said to be in flower
throughout almost the entire year. In spring the young leaves are
collected and used for greens or salad, but the part employed in
medicine is the root. The flowering stem of the dandelion is usually
longer than the smooth, shining green, coarsely toothed leaves,
reaching a height of from 5 to 10 inches. It is erect, smooth, naked,
and hollow, bearing at the summit a solitary yellow flower head,
which opens in the morning and only in fair weather. The entire plant
contains a white, milky juice.
=Part used.=—As already stated, the root of dandelion is used
medicinally. It is a large taproot, sometimes 20 inches long, thick
and fleshy, dull-yellow or brownish on the outside, white inside,
practically without odor, and bitter. (Fig. 4.) Dandelion is often used
as a tonic in diseases of the liver and in dyspepsia.
The best time for digging dandelion root is from July to September,
during which time the milky juice becomes thicker and the bitterness
increases. It should be carefully washed and thoroughly dried.
Dandelion roots decrease considerably in size by drying, weighing less
than half as much as the fresh roots and becoming wrinkled lengthwise.
The dried root should not be kept too long, as drying diminishes its
medicinal virtues.
=Imports and prices.=—During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, the
imports of taraxacum or dandelion root into the United States amounted
to 115,522 pounds. The price per pound ranges from 4 to 6 cents.
DOCKS.
_Rumex_ species.
Several species of docks possess medicinal properties. Among these
are the yellow dock (_Rumex crispus_ L.), the broad-leaved dock (_R.
obtusifolius_ L.), and the yellow-rooted water dock (_R. britannica_
L.), all more or less abundant throughout the United States. Other
species are also recognized as possessing value in medicine, but those
above mentioned are the kinds generally collected.
Yellow Dock.
_Rumex crispus_ L.
=Other common names.=—Curled dock, narrow dock, sour dock. (Fig. 5.)
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—Yellow dock (_Rumex crispus_ L.). First year’s
growth.]
=Range and habitat.=—The species most commonly employed in medicine
is the yellow dock, a perennial introduced from Europe and now found
throughout the United States as a troublesome and very persistent weed
in cultivated as well as waste ground, among rubbish heaps, and along
roadsides.
=Description.=—The deep, spindle-shaped root sends up an erect,
angular, and furrowed stem about 2 to 4 feet high, leafy, branching
near the top, and bearing numerous elongated clusters of inconspicuous
flowers. The leaves are lance-shaped, acute, with the margins strongly
waved and crisped. The lower leaves are obtuse or heart shaped at the
base, from 6 to 8 inches in length, and are borne on long stalks, while
those nearer the top are narrower and shorter, being only 3 to 6 inches
long, on short stems or stemless.
From June to August the yellow dock puts forth, interspersed with
leaves, its many long dense clusters of green, drooping groups of
inconspicuous flowers placed in circles around the stem.
Broad-leaved Dock.
_Rumex obtusifolius_ L.
=Other common names.=—Bitter dock, common dock, blunt-leaved dock,
butter dock. (Fig. 6.)
[Illustration: FIG. 6.—Broad-leaved dock (_Rumex obtusifolius_ L.).
First year’s growth.]
=Range and habitat.=—The range of this very common weed extends from
the New England States to Oregon and south to Florida and Texas; it
occurs in waste places.
=Description.=—Broad-leaved dock differs from the yellow dock
principally in its more robust habit of growth. It grows to about the
same height, but its stem is stouter, and the leaves, which are wavy
along the margin as in the yellow dock, are much broader and longer.
The lower leaves have long stalks, and are from 6 to 14 inches in
length, with heart-shaped or roundish bases, while the upper ones are
from 2 to 6 inches long and are on short stalks.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.—Leaf, fruiting spike, and root of broad-leaved
dock.]
The green flowers appear from June to August, and are in rather long,
open clusters, the groups rather loose and far apart. In all of the
docks here mentioned, the three inner divisions of the calyx (outer
covering of flower) in fruiting form a kind of triangular nut, like the
grain of buckwheat (to which family, Polygonaceæ, the docks belong),
and one or more of these divisions bear on the back a small granule.
The difference between flower and fruit is barely distinguishable when
seen from a little distance so long as the fruit is immature, both
being green, but later in the season, as the fruit ripens, the spikes
take on a rusty-brown color. (Fig. 7.)
Yellow-rooted Water Dock.
_Rumex britannica_ L.
=Habitat and range.=—As the common name indicates, this plant frequents
swampy and wet places and banks of streams. It is found from Canada to
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and westward to Minnesota, Illinois, and
Iowa.
=Description.=—The yellow-rooted water dock is a taller plant than
either of the docks previously mentioned, its stout stem sometimes
reaching a height of 6 feet. The leaves at the base of the plant are
borne on long stalks, and are from 1 to 2 feet in length, but, as with
the other two species, the leaves toward the top of the plant are
shorter, as are also the stalks supporting them. The densely flowered
clusters are not as leafy as in the preceding species mentioned. The
plant flowers from July to August.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.—Yellow dock root.]
Dock Roots.
The root, which is the part to be collected for medicinal purposes, is
very similar in all of these species of dock (figs. 7 and 8), usually
from 8 to 12 inches long, fleshy, often somewhat branched, the outside
dark reddish-brown with a rather thick bark, internally yellowish. It
possesses but a very faint odor and a bitter, astringent taste. The
roots should be collected in late summer or autumn after the fruiting
tops have ripened, then washed, split lengthwise into halves or
quarters, and carefully dried.
The docks are largely employed for purifying the blood and as a remedy
in skin diseases.
=Imports and prices.=—Rumex or dock roots are imported into this
country to the extent of about 125,000 pounds annually. The price
ranges from 2 to 8 cents per pound.
COUCH GRASS.
_Agropyron repens_ (L.) Beauv. (_Triticum repens_ L.)
=Other common names.=—Dog-grass, quick-grass, quack-grass,
quitch-grass, scutch-grass, twitch-grass, witch-grass, wheat-grass,
Chandler’s grass, creeping wheat-grass, devil’s-grass, durfa-grass,
Durfee-grass, Dutch-grass, Fin’s grass, quake-grass. (Fig. 9.)
=Range and habitat.=—Couch grass, like so many other pernicious
weeds, was introduced into this country from Europe, and is now a
most troublesome pest in cultivated ground, causing the farmer a
loss of thousands of dollars annually by taking possession of fields
and crowding out valuable crops. It is most abundant from Maine to
Maryland, and westward to Minnesota and Missouri, but is rather
sparingly distributed in the South. It is gaining ground on farms on
the Pacific slope.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.—Couch grass (_Agropyron repens_ (L.) Beauv.).]
=Description.=—This rather coarse grass produces several stems, 1
to 3 feet high, from a long, creeping, jointed rootstock, and bears
densely flowered spike-like heads resembling those of rye or beardless
wheat. The stems are round, smooth, thickened at the joints, and
hollow, bearing from five to seven leaves. These have a long cleft
sheath, and are rough on the upper surface. The heads or spikes are
terminal, solitary, compressed, with two rows of spikelets on a wavy
and flattened axis.
Couch grass is one of the most difficult weeds to eradicate, on
account of the long jointed rootstock, each joint of which is capable
of producing a new plant. Every bit of the rootstock must therefore be
removed from the soil or killed in order to eradicate it.
=Part used.=—The most important part of this grass, not only
agriculturally but also pharmaceutically, is its long, tough rhizome or
rootstock, creeping along underneath the ground and pushing in every
direction. It is pale yellow, smooth, about one-eighth of an inch in
diameter, with joints at intervals of about an inch from which slender
branching rootlets are produced.
One of the best methods of destroying this weed is to plow up the roots
and burn them. They need not be burned, however, but may be saved and
prepared for the drug market. After the rootstocks have been collected
and washed the rootlets should be removed and the rhizome or rootstock
(not the rootlets) cut into short pieces about two-fifths of an inch
long. An ordinary feed-cutting machine may be used for this purpose.
These should then be dried as suggested in the general instructions.
In the drug trade this plant is generally known as dog grass or
triticum. As found in the stores, it is in the form of small, angular
pieces, about one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch long, straw colored,
shining, and hollow. These pieces are odorless but have a somewhat
sweetish taste.
The fluid extract prepared from dog grass is used in kidney and bladder
troubles.
=Imports and prices.=—Couch grass is almost wholly an imported article,
some 250,000 pounds coming into this country annually from Europe. The
price is about 3 to 7 cents per pound.
POKEWEED.
_Phytolacca americana_ L. (_Phytolacca decandra_ L.)
=Other common names.=—Poke, pigeon-berry, garget, scoke, pocan, coakum,
Virginian poke, ink-berry, red-ink-berry, American nightshade, cancer
jalap, redweed. (Fig. 10.)
=Range and habitat.=—Pokeweed is common in rich, moist soil along fence
rows, margins of fields, and in uncultivated land from the New England
States to Minnesota and south to Florida and Texas. It is native in
this country and naturalized in Europe, where it is regarded as an
ornamental garden plant.
=Description.=—The reddish purple stems, rich green foliage, and
clusters of white flowers and dark-purple berries give to this plant a
rather handsome appearance. Pokeweed attains a height of from 3 to 9
feet from a very large perennial root. It is erect, branched, the stems
stout, smooth, green at first, then reddish. On examining a piece of
the stem, the pith will be seen to be divided into disk-shaped pieces,
with hollow spaces between them. The leaves are ovate or ovate-oblong,
acute at the apex, smooth, about 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide,
on short stems. The margins are without indentation. About July to
September the long clusters of whitish flowers are produced, followed
by the green berries, which upon ripening become a rich dark-purple
color. The flower clusters are from 3 to 4 inches in length and on long
stalks, the flowers numerous and borne on reddish stems. The berries
are globular, flattened both at top and bottom, smooth and shining, and
contain ten black seeds imbedded in a rich crimson juice. (Fig. 11.)
[Illustration: FIG. 10.—Pokeweed (_Phytolacca americana_ L.).]
=Parts used.=—For medicinal purposes the berries and roots are
employed. Both of these should be collected when the berries are fully
mature, which usually occurs about two months after flowering. The
clusters of berries should be carefully dried in the shade. They are
poisonous, have no odor, a sweetish taste at first, then acrid.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.—Pokeweed, flowering and fruiting branch.]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.—Pokeroot.]
Pokeweed has a very large, fleshy, and poisonous root, conical in shape
and branched. (Fig. 12.) It should be gathered in the latter part of
the fall, thoroughly cleaned, cut into transverse slices, and carefully
dried. When dry it has a grayish, wrinkled appearance, breaks with a
fibrous fracture, and the slices show many concentric rings. There is a
slight odor and the taste is sweetish and acrid.
Both the berries and roots are alterative, act upon the bowels and
cause vomiting, and preparations made from them are used in treating
various diseases of the skin and blood, and in certain cases in
relieving pain and allaying inflammation.
=Price.=—Phytolacca or pokeroot brings from 2 to 5 cents per pound, and
the dry berries about 5 cents per pound.
FOXGLOVE.
_Digitalis purpurea_ L.
=Other common names.=—Purple foxglove, thimbles, fairy cap, fairy
fingers, fairy thimbles, fairy bells, dog’s finger, finger flower,
lady’s glove, ladyfingers, lady’s thimble, popdock, flapdock, flopdock,
lion’s mouth, rabbit’s flower, cottagers, throatwort, Scotch mercury.
(Fig. 13.)
[Illustration: FIG. 13.—Foxglove (_Digitalis purpurea_ L.).]
=Range and habitat.=—Foxglove was originally introduced into this
country from Europe as an ornamental garden plant, but has now escaped
from cultivation in a few localities and is assuming the character
of a weed. This is the case in parts of Oregon, Washington, and West
Virginia, where the plant is found in great abundance in dry, sandy
soil, along roads and fence rows, on the borders of timber land, and in
small cleared places.
=Description.=—This is a very handsome plant of the figwort family
(Scrophulariaceæ), biennial, and the first year forms only a rosette
of dense leaves, but in the second year of its growth the simple erect
flowering stalk is produced, attaining a height of from 3 to 4 feet.
This is round, indistinctly angled toward the top, leafy and downy. The
leaves are oblong-ovate, narrowed at the base into long winged stalks;
the upper surface of the leaves is dull-green and wrinkled, while the
under side is grayish, with short, soft hairs and a thick network of
prominent veins. The root leaves are rather large and are borne on long
stalks, but as the leaves approach the top of the plant they become
smaller and the leafstalks shorter.
The plant is in flower about June, and the long clusters of numerous
tubular bell-shaped flowers are very showy. The clusters are terminal,
and about 14 inches in length. The flowers are large, about 2 inches
long, the color ranging from white through lavender to purple, the
inside of the lower lobe bearing long, soft, white hairs and crimson
spots on a white ground.
=Part used.=—Leaves of the second year’s growth only are employed, and
these should be collected when about two-thirds of the flowers have
expanded. They should be very carefully dried in the shade and then
kept in closed boxes or barrels so as to keep out all moisture. The
greatest care is necessary in curing, as the leaves soon lose their
medicinal properties if not properly dried.
Preparations made from foxglove are of great value in heart troubles,
but they are poisonous and should never be used except on the advice of
a physician.
=Imports and prices.=—From 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of digitalis or
foxglove are annually imported into this country from Europe, where the
plant is cultivated. The American-grown product has so far never been
used, but leaves from the wild American plant have been assayed and
found to be equally as good as the European article.
The price per pound ranges from about 6 to 8 cents.
MULLEIN.
_Verbascum thapsus_ L.
=Other common names.=—Great mullein, velvet or mullein dock, Aaron’s
rod, Adam’s flannel, blanket leaf, bullock’s lungwort, cow’s or clown’s
lungwort, candlewick, feltwort, flannel leaf, old-man’s flannel, hare’s
beard, hedge taper, ice leaf, Jacob’s staff, Jupiter’s staff, lady’s
foxglove, Peter’s staff, shepherd’s club, torches, torchwort, velvet
plant. (Fig. 14.)
=Range and habitat.=—Mullein is a native of Europe, and occurs in this
country as a troublesome weed in fields and pastures, waste places,
and along roadsides from Maine to Minnesota and southward, and it is
also spreading in the far Western States. It produces great quantities
of seed, and, if allowed to persist, will soon stock the ground with
seeds which may retain their vitality and germinate at intervals for a
number of years.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.—Mullein (_Verbascum thapsus_ L.).]
=Description.=—Mullein can be easily recognized by its tall, erect
habit of growth, the white-woolly or felty appearance of the entire
plant, and its spike of golden-yellow flowers. It is a biennial
belonging to the figwort family (Scrophulariaceæ).
This plant has a stout, straight stem, which sometimes grows as tall
as 7 feet. The stem and also the leaves are densely hairy, the latter
alternate, sessile (stemless), their margins extending in wings along
down the stem. The rather thick, rough leaves are from 4 to 12 inches
in length, oblong, acute, and densely hairy above and below.
In the first year of its growth only a rosette of downy leaves is
produced, but during the second year the flower stalk with its densely
flowered spike appears. The golden-yellow flowers are produced from
June to August.
=Parts used.=—As the leaves and flowers are to be collected at the
time when the plant is in bloom, the propagation of the plant by the
dissemination of its seed is prevented. The leaves are cured in the
usual manner. They are practically inodorous, and have a somewhat
bitter, mucilaginous taste.
It is very desirable to have the flowers retain their bright yellow
color: they must therefore be thoroughly dried, and then kept free from
moisture in well-stoppered bottles. They readily absorb moisture and
if allowed to become damp will turn black. The corolla (petals), with
the adhering stamens only, is dried, the calyx being rejected. Mullein
flowers have a sweetish, pleasant odor.
Mullein is used in coughs and catarrh, to quiet nervous irritation,
and to relieve pain and inflammation. According to some authors the
dried leaves are often smoked like tobacco to relieve nasal catarrh and
throat affections.
=Imports and prices.=—About 5,000 pounds of verbascum or mullein
flowers are annually imported, chiefly from Germany, in which country
this plant is cultivated. The leaves are also imported to a small
extent.
The price paid for the leaves ranges from 2½ to 5 cents per pound, and
that for the flowers may range from 25 to 75 cents per pound.
LOBELIA.
_Lobelia inflata_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.—Lobelia (_Lobelia inflata_ L.).]
=Other common names.=—Indian tobacco, wild tobacco, bladder pod, asthma
weed, gagroot, pukeweed, vomitwort, low belia, eyebright. (Fig. 15.)
=Range and habitat.=—This poisonous weed occurs nearly everywhere
throughout the United States, being most plentiful east of the
Mississippi River, and thriving in dry, clayey, or siliceous soil in
sunny situations along roadsides, and in old fields and pastures.
=Description.=—The erect leafy stem of this annual herbaceous plant
is from 1 to 3 feet high, from a fibrous root. It is simple and
rough-hairy below, smooth above, and bears a few short branches.
The entire plant contains an acrid milky juice. It belongs to the
bellflower family (Campanulaceæ).
The pale-green leaves are alternate, from 1 to 2½ inches long,
gradually diminishing in size as they reach the summit of the plant,
the lower leaves being borne on stalks, while the upper ones are
stemless. They are thin, oblong or oval, blunt, irregularly toothed,
and almost wavy, with short hairs on both surfaces.
From July until frost the rather inconspicuous, very small pale-blue
flowers appear. These are very numerous, each one borne in the axils
of the upper leaves on very short stems, all together forming a long,
spike-like head. The lower lip of the flower has three lobes, the upper
one two segments, and from the center of the latter the tube of the
flower is cleft to the base. The seed pods are in the form of inflated
capsules, nearly globular, striated (grooved or marked with parallel
lines), and contain very numerous minute dark-brown seeds.
=Parts used.=—The leaves and flowering tops are used in medicine, and
there is also a good demand for the seed. The leaves and tops should be
gathered after some of the pods have become inflated, should be dried
in the shade, and when dry kept in covered vessels. The dried leaves
and tops have a rather disagreeable, somewhat sickening odor, and the
taste, though mild at first, soon becomes strongly acrid and nauseous.
The seeds are extremely minute, and each capsule is said to contain
from 450 to 500 seeds.
Lobelia is an expectorant, acts upon the nervous system and bowels,
causes vomiting, and is poisonous.
=Price.=—The price paid for the dried leaves and tops ranges from 3 to
8 cents per pound, and that for the seed from 15 to 20 cents per pound.
TANSY.
_Tanacetum vulgare_ L.
=Other common names.=—Bitter buttons, ginger plant, parsley fern,
scented fern. (Fig. 16.)
=Range and habitat.=—Tansy was originally introduced into this country
as a garden plant from Europe, where it is native. It has now escaped
from cultivation and is found as a weed along waysides and fences
in many places from New England to Minnesota and southward to North
Carolina and Missouri.
=Description.=—This strong-scented perennial herb belongs to the aster
family (Asteraceæ). The stout, erect stem is from 1½ to 3 feet high,
branching near the top, somewhat reddish, and usually smooth. The
general outline of the leaf is oval, and it is divided nearly to the
midrib into about seven pairs of segments, which, like the terminal
one, are again divided for about two-thirds of the distance to the
midvein into smaller lobes having saw-toothed margins. The entire leaf
is about 6 inches in length.
Tansy is in flower from July to September, and the roundish but
flat-topped yellow flower heads are produced in dense terminal clusters.
=Parts used.=—At the time of flowering the leaves and tops are
collected for medicinal purposes and are dried in the usual manner. The
odor of tansy is strongly aromatic and the taste bitter. In drying,
tansy loses about four-fifths of its weight.
Tansy is employed in derangements of women, and has stimulant and tonic
properties. It is also used for expelling worms. This drug is poisonous
and has been known to produce fatal results.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.—Tansy (_Tanacetum vulgare_ L.).]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.—Gum plant (_Grindelia robusta_ Nutt.).]
=Imports and prices.=—About 30,000 pounds of tanacetum or tansy are
imported annually. The price paid per pound ranges from 3 to 6 cents.
GUM PLANT.
_Grindelia robusta_ Nutt.
=Range.=—The gum plant (fig. 17) occurs in the States west of the Rocky
Mountains.
=Description.=—The entire plant is covered with a resinous substance,
which gives it a gummy, varnished appearance, whence its common name,
gum plant, is derived.
This perennial of the aster family of plants has an erect habit of
growth, and sends up a round, smooth stem about a foot and a half
high, narrowly grooved and freely branching near the top, each branch
terminating in a large yellow flower. The branches near the flower
heads have a slightly reddish appearance.
The pale-green leaves are about an inch long, of a leathery texture,
rather rigid, coated with resin, and show numerous translucent dots.
The leaves are oblong-spatulate (having a gradually narrowed base below
the broader rounded summit) and are more or less clasping at the base,
the lower ones somewhat saw-toothed.
The yellow flowers are borne singly at the ends of the branches and
measure about three-quarters of an inch across. The involucre (set
of small leaves immediately beneath the flower) is very resinous and
consists of numerous thick, overlapping scales, the tips of which are
rolled forward.
=Parts used and prices.=—The flowering tops and leaves of this and of
the scaly grindelia are collected indiscriminately, and bring from 5 to
12 cents per pound.
They are used in asthma and similar affections, and externally in cases
of poisoning by poison ivy.
SCALY GRINDELIA.
_Grindelia squarrosa_ (Pursh) Dunal.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.—Scaly grindelia (_Grindelia squarrosa_ (Pursh)
Dunal).]
=Range.=—Scaly grindelia (fig. 18) has a wider distribution than the
gum plant, being quite common on the plains and prairies from the
Saskatchewan to Minnesota, south to Texas and Mexico, and westward to
California.
=Description.=—This species is very similar to the gum plant, with the
exception that it is smaller and does not have the gummy appearance
of the former. The slender, erect stems are from 1 to 2 feet high and
somewhat sparingly branched near the top. The branches near the flower
heads appear to be somewhat more reddish than in the species previously
mentioned. In this species, also, the leaves are not borne on stalks,
but are somewhat clasping at the base, and they are longer (about
2 inches long), not rigid, thinner, and more prominently toothed.
The flowers are also very similar to those of the gum plant, but are
smaller, the scales narrower, and the recurved tips longer and more
slender.
=Parts used.=—The leaves and flowering tops are collected with those of
the gum plant, _Grindelia robusta_.
BONESET.
_Eupatorium perfoliatum_ L.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.—Boneset (_Eupatorium perfoliatum_ L.).]
=Other common names.=—Thoroughwort, crosswort, wood boneset, teasel,
ague-weed, feverwort, thorough-stem or thorough-wax, vegetable
antimony, sweating plant, Indian sage, wild sage, tearal, wild Isaac.
(Fig. 19.)
=Range and habitat.=—Boneset delights in moist situations, and is
common as a weed in clayey or sandy soil, in low, wet ground, and along
streams, on the edges of swamps and in thickets from the New England
States west to Nebraska and south to Texas and Florida.
=Description.=—One of the features which will aid in recognizing this
plant is the peculiar arrangement of the leaves. These are opposite
each other and joined together at the base around the stem, and
therefore have the appearance of a single leaf with the stem passing
through the center of it.
Boneset is a perennial herb of the aster family of plants (Asteraceæ),
with stout, rough, hairy stems 1 to 5 feet high, from a horizontal,
crooked root. The leaves are opposite, united at the base, lance
shaped, tapering to a point, bluntly toothed, rough with prominent
veins, wrinkled, dark green on the upper surface, downy and paler green
on the lower surface. Both leaves together measure from 8 to 14 inches
from point to point and 1 to 1½ inches wide. The flowers are white,
tubular, ten to twenty or more united in dense heads, and the heads are
borne in rather crowded flat-topped clusters, appearing from July to
September.
=Parts used.=—The leaves and flowering tops are the parts used in
medicine, and these should be collected when the plants are in
flower, stripped from the stalk, and carefully dried. They lose about
three-fourths of their weight in drying. The odor is faintly aromatic,
the taste bitter and astringent.
As indicated by the common names “ague-weed” and “feverwort,” this is a
popular remedy in fever and ague. It is used also in colds, dyspepsia,
jaundice, and for toning up the system. In large doses it is an emetic
and cathartic.
=Prices.=—Eupatorium or boneset leaves and tops bring from 2 to 8 cents
per pound.
CATNIP.
_Nepeta cataria_ L.
=Other common names.=—Catmint, catrup, cat’s wort, field mint. (Fig.
20.)
=Range and habitat.=—This very common weed is naturalized from Europe,
and is found in rather dry soil in waste places and cultivated land,
about old buildings and along fences, from Canada to Minnesota and
southward to Virginia and Arkansas.
=Description.=—The erect, square stems of this perennial herb of the
mint family (Menthaceæ) grow to a height of 2 to 3 feet, are branched,
and somewhat whitish in appearance from the covering of fine white
hairs.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.—Catnip (_Nepeta cataria_ L.)]
The leaves are opposite and borne on stems, heart shaped or oblong,
with an acute apex, 1 to 2½ inches long, evenly and finely scalloped,
green above, beneath grayish-green with fine white hairs. The
many-flowered clusters appear from June to September, and are borne in
thick spikes 1 to 5 inches long at the top of the stems and branches.
The flowers are white or somewhat purple, two-lipped, the upper lip
two-cleft, the lower one three-lobed and sometimes spotted with red,
the middle lobe broadest and round-toothed.
=Parts used.=—The flowering tops and leaves are to be collected
when the plant is in flower and carefully dried. They have a strong
mint-like odor and a bitter taste. The coarser stems and branches
should be rejected.
Catnip is used in derangements of women, as a mild stimulant and tonic,
and has a quieting effect on the nervous system.
=Imports and prices.=—Cataria or catnip is imported in but small
quantities. The price paid for the flowering tops and leaves is from 2
to 8 cents per pound.
HOARHOUND.
_Marrubium vulgare_ L.
=Other common names.=—Houndsbene, marvel, marrube. (Fig. 21.)
=Range and habitat.=—Hoarhound has been naturalized from Europe, and
has escaped from gardens in this country, being found now rather
abundantly in dry sandy or stony soil in waste places, pastures,
fields, along roadsides, and near dwellings, from Maine to South
Carolina, Texas, and westward to California and Oregon. It is very
abundant in pastures in California, Oregon, and in limited areas in
Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Michigan. In southern California this
plant has proved a most troublesome weed, occurring almost everywhere
and growing in such dense masses as to crowd out all other vegetation.
It has spread rapidly over thousands of acres, taking complete
possession of the land and destroying pastures.
=Description.=—The entire plant has a whitish, woolly appearance,
caused by the dense covering of hairs. It is a perennial plant, and as
will be seen from the characteristic lip-shaped flowers, is a member
of the mint family (Menthaceæ). The whole plant has a rather pleasant,
balsamic odor.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.—Hoarhound (_Marrubium vulgare_ L.).]
Hoarhound is a bushy, branching herb, with fibrous roots sending
up numerous woolly stems about 1 to 3 feet high, rounded below and
four-angled above. The leaves are opposite each other, 1 to 2 inches
long, oval or nearly round, wrinkled, somewhat blunt at the apex,
narrowed or somewhat heart shaped at the base, with rounded teeth,
somewhat hairy and wrinkled on the upper surface, and prominently
veined and very hoary on the lower surface. The flowers are whitish,
two-lipped, the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-lobed, and are
borne in dense, woolly clusters in the axils of the leaves. (Fig. 22.)
The plant flowers from June to September, and the characteristic hooked
calyx teeth of the mature flower clusters cling to the wool of sheep
like a bur, resulting in the scattering of the seeds.
=Parts used.=—The leaves and tops are used in medicine. These should
be gathered just before the herb is in flower, rejecting the coarse
stalks, and should be dried in the shade in the usual manner. The
balsamic odor diminishes in drying. The herb has a bitter, persistent
taste.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.—Hoarhound, flowering top.]
Hoarhound is well known as a remedy for colds, and is also used in
dyspepsia and for expelling worms.