PT.ANIS FrRNTSHIN(i M Kl il( I NA I . l.lvWKS ANH IIKHMS. 



31 



BALMONY. 



Chclntir gliihrti I,. 



Other cowmov vnvi('s.-T\ui]vh('a(\, (urtlc hlodiii, fislimontli, codhead, palt-rheum 

 weed, snake-head, bitter herb, shell flower. 



Hahilal and range. — This native perennial grows in swamps and along streama from 

 Newfoundland to Mani- 

 toba and south to Florida 

 and Kansas. 



Description. — Bahnony 

 is a slender, erect herb, 

 with a 4-angled stem 1 to 

 3 feet in height, occasion- 

 ally branched. The short- 

 stemmed leaves, which 

 are from 3 to 6 inches in 

 length, are narrowly lance 

 shaped to broadly lance 

 shaped, the lower ones 

 sometimes broadly oval, 

 naiTOwing toward the base 

 and with margins fm*- 

 nished with sharp, close- 

 lying teeth. In late sum- 

 mer or early fall the showy 

 clusters of whitish or pink- 

 ish flowers are produced. 

 Each flower is about an 

 inch in length, with a 

 tubular, inflated corolla, 

 with the mouth slightly 

 open and resembling the 

 head of a turtle or snake; 

 its broad arched upper lip 

 is keeled in the center and 

 notched at the apex, while 

 the lower lip is three 

 lobed, the smallest lobe 

 in the center, and the throat bearded with woolly hairs. (Fig. 23.) The seed capsule 

 is oval, about half an inch in length, and contains numerous small seeds. 



Collection, prices, and uses.— The herb (especially the leaves), which brings from 

 3 to 4 cents a pound, should be collected during the flowering period. 



Balmony has a very bitter taste, but no odor, and is used as a tonic, for its cathnrtic 

 properties, and for expelling worms. 

 219 



Fig. 2.3.— Balmony (Ckclone i/Iabra). leaves and flowers. 



