BOTANIC MATERIA MEDICA, Io7 
Sanguinaria Canadensis, Blood Root.—Nat- 
ural order Papaveracez, commonly known as 
Tetter-wort, Puccoon root and Indian paint. 
Blood root is indigenous to the United States 
and Canada. This small perennial plant has 
handsome, waxy white flowers, which have from 
six to twelve petals and as many as twenty-four 
stamens, and blooms in the early part of May. 
The leaves do not appear until after the flower 
has fallen; the leaf is palmately cut, and usually 
with seven to nine lobes. The rhizome, as 
found in the stores, is in short pieces, cylindri- 
calin shape and somewhat wrinkled ; when fresh 
it is found surcharged with an acrid red liquid 
resembling arterial blood (hence the name). 
Good specimens of blood root are about % inch 
(12 millimeters) thick, more or less. Exter- 
nally it is of a brownish-red, and a little deeper 
in color internally; cut transversely it shows 
many resin cells even to the naked eye, but upon 
examination under a good lens we see a struc- 
ture to awaken our interest; when broken the 
fracture is abrupt and shows a waxy consistence. 
Blood root has little or no odor, while the taste 
is bitter and acrid. The time for collecting the 
rhizome is October and November. Sanguina- 
ria Canadense is said to contain, besides the 
alkaloid sanguinarina, or sanguinarine, chelery- 
thrine, protopine homocheledonine, resin, starch, 
malic and citric acids. Blood root is tonic, al- 
terative, stimulant, emetic and sternutatory in 
its effects; the dose of the powder (rarely given) 
is 3 to 15 grains (0.2 to t.o grams); of the tinc- 
ture and fluid extract the dose is from 5 to 30 
drops (0.3 to 2.0 grams), repeated at the dis- 
