_Coptis trifolia_
_Flowers_--Small, white, solitary, on a slender scape 3 to 6 in. high.
Sepals 5 to 7, petal-like, falling early; petals 5 to 6, inconspicuous,
like club-shaped columns; stamens numerous; carpels few, the stigmatic
surfaces curved. _Leaves:_ From the base, long petioled, divided into 3
somewhat fan-shaped, shining, evergreen, sharply toothed leaflets.
_Rootstock:_ Thread-like, long, bright yellow, wiry, bitter.
_Preferred Habitat_--Cool mossy bogs, damp woods.
_Flowering Season_--May-August.
_Distribution_--Maryland and Minnesota northward to circumpolar regions.
Dig up a plant, and the fine, tangled, yellow roots tell why it was
given its name. In the good old days when decoctions of any herb that
was particularly nauseous were swallowed in the simple faith that
virtue resided in them in proportion to their revolting taste, the
gold-thread’s bitter roots furnished a tea much valued as a spring
tonic and as a cure for ulcerated throats and canker-sore mouths of
helpless children.