32 



AMERICAN ROOT DRUGS. 



has only two lt*aves, seems to fork at the top, one branch bearing a large leaf 

 and the other a smaller one and a flower. A third leaf, which is much smaller 

 than the other two and stemless, is occasionally produced. The leaves are 

 palmately 5 to 9 lobed, the lobes broad, acute, sharply and unequally toothed ; 

 they are prominently veined on the lower surface, and at flowering time, when 

 they are very much wrinkled, they are only partially develQped, but they con- 

 tinue to expand until they are from G to 8 inches in diameter, becoming thinner 

 in texture and smoother. The upper leaf subtends or incloses the flower bud. 



The greenish white 

 flower appears about 

 April or May, but it is 

 of short duration, last- 

 ing only five or six 

 days. It is less than 

 half an inch in diame- 

 ter and, instead of pet- 

 als, has three small 

 petal-like sepals, which 

 fall away as soon as 

 the flower expands, 

 leaving only the nu- 

 merous stamens (as 

 many as 40 or 50), in 

 the center of which 

 are about a dozen pis- 

 tils, which finally de- 

 velop into- a round, 

 fleshy, berry-like head 

 which ripens in July 

 or August. The fruit 

 when ripe turns a 

 bright red and resem- 

 bles a large raspberry, 

 whence the common 

 n a m e " ground-rasp- 

 berry " is derived. It 

 contains from 10 to 20 

 small, black, shining, 

 hard seeds. (Fig. 9.) 

 Description of root- 

 stock. — The fresh root- 

 stock of goldenseal, 

 which has a rank, 

 nauseating odor, is bright yellow, both internally and externally, with fibrous 

 yellow rootlets produced from the sides. It is from 1* to 24 inches in length, 

 from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch in thickness, and contains a large 

 amount of yellow juice. (Fig. 10.) 



In the dried state the rootstock is crooked, knotty, and wrinkled, from ] to 

 2 inches in length, and from one-eighth to one-third of an inch in diameter. It 

 is of a dull-brown color on the outside and breaks with a clean, short, resinous 

 fracture, showing a lemon-yellow color inside. After the rootstock has been 

 kept for some time it will become greenish yellow or brown internally and 

 107 



Fig. 9. — Goldenseal (Hydrastis caiinde7isis), floweringplant and fruit. 



