16 



AMERICAN MEDICINAL LEAVES AND HERBS. 



PIPSISSEWA. 



Chimnphila umbellata (L.) Niitt. 



Pharmacopoeial name. — Chimaphila . 



Synonyms. — PyroJa umbellata L.; Chimaphila corymbosa Pursh. 



()th<'r common nanies. — Prince's pine, pyrola, rheumatism weed, hitler wiutergreen, 

 groiind holly, king's cure, love-in-winter, noble pine, pine tulip. 



Habitat and range. — Pipsissewa is a native of this country, growing in dry, shady 



woods, especially in pine 

 forests, and its range ex- 

 tends from Nova Scotia to 

 British Columbia, south to 

 Georgia, Mexico, and Cali- 

 fornia. It also occurs in 

 Europe and Asia. 



Description. — This small 

 perennial herb, a foot or less 

 in height, has a long, run- 

 ning, partly underground 

 stem. It belongs to the 

 heath family (Ericaceis) 

 and has shining evergreen 

 leaves of a somewhat leath- 

 ery texture placed in a cir- 

 cle around the stem, usually 

 near the top or scattered 

 along it. They are dark 

 green, broader at the top, 

 with a sharp or blunt apex, 

 narrowing toward the base 

 and with margins sharply 

 toothed; they are from 

 about 1 to 2 inches long and 

 about three-eighths to a 

 lit tie more than half an inch 

 wide at the broadest part. 

 From about June to August 

 the pipsissewa may be 

 found in flower, its pretty 

 waxy-white or ))inkish fra- 



FiG. 8.— i'ii)sisse\va (B) and spotted wiiiteri^reeii {A) (Chimaphila 

 umbellata and C. maculala), flowrrins and fruiting plants. 



grant flowers, consisting of five rounded, concave petals, each one with a dark-pink 

 spot at the base, nodding in clusters from the top of the erect stem. The brown 

 capsules contain numerous very small seeds. (Fig. 8.) 



Collection, prices, and uses. — Although the United States Pharmacopoeia directs 

 that the leaves be used, the entire i)lant is frecjuently employed, as all parts of it are 

 active. Pipsissewa leaves have no odor, but a bitter, astringent taste. They bring 

 about 4 cents a ])ound. Pipsissewa has slightly tonic, astringent, and diuretic prop- 

 erties and is sometimes employed in rheumatic and kidney affections. Externally 

 it has been applied to ulcers. ,'.'.• 



Another species. — The leaves of the spotted wintergreen (C/imap/aVa maculata Pursh) 

 were ofTicial in the Pharmacopa'ia of the United States from 1830 to 1840. These may 

 be distingui.shod from the leaves of ('. umbellata (pii)sissewa) by their olive-green 

 color marked with white along the midrib and veins. They are lance shaped in out- 

 line and are broadest at the base instead of at the top as in C. umbellata. 



