PLANTS FURNISHING ROOT DRUGS. 15 



skunk-('ahha<;e. 

 SiJathycma fnetida (L. » Kaf. 



i^yiiuni/in.s. — Draconthiiii fociUluni I.. : Huinplocurpus foitiihts Nutt. 



Other common uaincs. — Drac-ontiuiii. skunkweod. polecat-wood, swanip- 

 cal)baj;c'. meadow-cabbage, eollard. fetid bellebore. stinking i)okP, i)i)<k\vei"d. 



Habitat ami rainjr. — Swamps and otlier wet pla«-es from Canada to Florida, 

 Iowa, and Minnesota aitound with this ill-smelling herb. 



Description of plant. — Most of the common names applied to this plant, as 

 well as the scientific names, are indicative of the most striking characteristic 

 of this early spring visitor, namely, the rank, offensive, carrion odor that ema- 

 nates from it. Skunk-cabbage is one of the vei-y earliest of our spring flowers, 

 appearing in Februai-y or March, but it is safe to say that it is not likely to 

 suffer extermination at the hands of the enthusiastic gatherer of spring flowers. 

 In the latitude of Washington skunk-cabbage has been known to be in flower in 

 December. 



It is a curious plant, with its hood-sbaped, purplish striped flowers appearing 

 before the leaves. It belongs to the arunl family (Aracert>) and is a perennial. 

 The " flower " is in the form of a thick, ovate, swollen spathe. about 3 to 6 

 inches in height, the toi> iwinted and curved inward, siwtted aiid striped with 

 purple and yellowish green. The spathe is not open like that of the wild turnip 

 or calla lily, to which family this plant also belongs, but the edges are rolled 

 inward, completely hiding the spadix. In this plant the spadix is not spike- 

 like, as in the wild turnip, but is generally somewhat globular, entirely covered 

 with the numerous, dull-purple flowers. (PI. I, fig. 2.) After the fruit has 

 ripened the spadix will be found to have grown considerably, the spathe mean- 

 time having decayed. 



The leaves, which appear after the flower, are numerous and very large, 

 about 1 to 3 feet in length and about 1 foot in width ; they are thin in texture, 

 but prominently nerved with fleshy nerves, and are borne on deeply channeled 

 stems. 



Description of roo/.s/oo/.-.— Skunk-cabbage has a thick, straight, reddish brown 

 rootstock, from 3 to 5 inches long, and about 2 inches in diameter^ and having 

 a whorl of crowded fleshy roots (PI. I. tig. 2) which penetrate the soil to con- 

 siderable depth. The dried article of commerce consists of either the entire 

 rootstock and roots, which are dark brown and wrinkled on the outside, 

 whitish and starchy within, or of very much compressed, wrinkled, transverse 

 slices. When bruised, the root has the characteristic fetid odor of the plant 

 and possesses a sharp acrid taste, both of which become less the longer the root 

 is kept. 



Collection, prices, and uses. — The rootstock of skunk-cabbage should be col- 

 lected early in spring, soon after the appearance of the flower, or after the 

 seeds have ripened, in August or September. It should be carefully dried, 

 either in its entire state or deprived of the roots and cut into transverse 

 slices. Skunk-cabbage loses its odor and acridity with age, and should there- 

 fore not be kept longer than one season. The range of prices is from 4 to 7 

 cents a pound. 



Skunk-cabbage, official from 1820 to 1880, is used in affections of the respira- 

 tory organs, in nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsical complaints. 



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