24 AMERICAN ROOT DRUGS. 



1 to about 2 feet in height, with rather large leaves and with yellow flowers 

 more or less marked with purple, the main difference being that in liirsiifuin the 

 flower is larger and pale yellow, while in pa rv iff arum the flower is small, bright 

 yellow, and perhaps more prominently striped and spotted with purple. The 

 stem, leaves, and inside of corolla or lip are somewhat hairy in the large yellow 

 lady's-slipper. but not in the small yellow lady's-slipper. These hairs are said 

 to be irritating to some people, in whom they cause an eruption of the skin. 



The leaves of the lady's-slipper vary in size from 2 to 6 inches in length 

 and from 1 to 3 inches in width, and are broadly oval or elliptic, sharp pointed, 

 with numerous parallel veins, and sheathing at the base, somewhat hairy in the 

 large lady's-slipper. The solitary terminal flower, which appears from May to 

 June, is very showy and curiously formed, the lip being the most prominent 

 part. This lip looks like an inflated bag (1 to 2 inches long in the large lady's- 

 slipper), pale yellow or bright yellow in color, variously striped and blotched 

 with purple. The other parts of the flower are greenish or yellowish, with 

 purple stripes, and the petals are usually twisted. 



Description of rootstock. — The rootstock is of horizontal growth, crooked, 

 fleshy, and with numerous wavy, fibrous roots. (PI. Ill, flg. 1.) As found in 

 commerce, the rootstocks are from 1 to 4 inches in length, about an eighth of an 

 inch in thickness, dark brown, the upper surface showing numerous round 

 cup-shaped scars, the remains of former annual stems, and the lower surface 

 thickly covered with wavy, wiry, and brittle roots, the latter breaking off 

 with a short, white fracture. The odor is rather heavy and disagreeable, and 

 the taste is described as sweetish, bitter, and somewhat pungent. 



Collection, prices, and uses.— Both rootstock and roots are used, and these 

 should be collected in autumn, freed from dirt, and carefully dried in the shade. 

 These beautiful plants are becoming rare in many localities. Sometimes such 

 high-priced drugs as goldenseal and senega are found mixed with the lady's- 

 slipper, but as these are more expensive than the lady's-slii^per, it is not likely 

 that they are included with fraudulent intent, and they can be readily distin- 

 guished. The prices paid to collectors of this root range from 32 to 35 cents 

 a pound. 



The principal use of lady's-slipper. which is official in the United States 

 Pharmacopoeia, is as an antispasmodic and nerve tonic, and it has been used for 

 the same purposes as valerian. 



CRAWLEY-ROOT. 

 Corallorhiza odontorhiza (Willd.) Nutt. 



Other common names. — Corallorhiza, crawley. coralroot, small coralroot, 

 small-flowered coralroot, late coralroot, dragon's-claw, chickentoe, turkey-claw, 

 feverroot. 



Habitat and range. — Rich, shady woods having an abundance of leaf mold 

 produce this curious little plant. It may be found in such situations from Maine 

 to Florida, westward to Michigan and Missouri. 



Description of plant. — This peculiar native perennial, belonging to the orchid 

 family (Orchidaceae). is unlike most other plants, being leafless, and instead 

 of a green stem it has a purplish brown, sheathed scape, somewhat swollen or 

 bulbous at the base and bearing a clustered head of purplish flowers 2 to 4 

 inches long. It does not grow much taller than about a foot in height. (Fig. 4.) 



Tne flowers, a to 20 in a head, appear from July to September, and con- 

 sist of lance-shaped sepals and petals striped with purple and a broad, whitish, 

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