44 AMERICAN ROOT DRUGS. 



flover. namely, the pea iaiuily (Fabacea>). It is an erect, niucli-branclied, 

 very leafy plant, of couipact growth, the 3-Ieaved. bluish green foliage some- 

 what resembling clover leaves. The flowers, as already stated, are like com- 

 mon clover flowers — that is, not lil^e clover heads, but the single flowers 

 composing these: they are bright yellow, about one-half inch in length, and 

 are produced in numerous clusters which appear from June tt) September. 

 The seed pods, on stalks longer than the calyx, are nearly globular or ovoid 

 and are tipped with an awl-shai)ed style. (Fig. 1(5.) 



Another species, said to jtossess properties similar to those of Baptisia tiiic- 

 toria. and sul)stituted for it. is B. alha R. Br., called the white wild indigo. 

 This plant has white flowers and is found in the Southern States and on the 

 lilains of the Western States. 



Description of root. — Wild indigo has a thick, knotty crown or head, with 

 several stem scars, and a round, fleshy root, sending out cylindrical branches 

 and rootlets almost 2 feet in length. The white woody interior is covered with 

 a thick, dark-brown bark, rather scaly or dotted with small, wartlike excres- 

 cences. The root breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture. There is a scarcely 

 perceptible odor, and the taste, which resides chiefly in the bark, is nauseous, 

 bitter, and acrid. 



Collection, prices, and uses. — The i-oot of wild indigo is collected in autumn, 

 iind brings from 4 to 8 cents a pound. 



Large doses of wild indigo are emetic and cathartic and may prove dangerous. 

 It also has stimulant, astringent, and antiseptic properties, and is used as a 

 local application to sores, ulcer.s, etc. 



The herb is sometimes employed like the root, and the entire jilant was 

 official from 1830 to 1840. 



In some sections the young tender shoots are used for greens, like those of 

 the pokeweed. but great care must be exercised to gather them before they are 

 too far advanced in growth, as otherwise l>ad results will follow. 



A blue coloring matter has been prepared from the plant and used as a sub- 

 stitute for indigo, to which, however, it is very much inferior. 



craxe's-bill. 



(Icnniiitiii iiKiciildtinii li. 



Pliarniacopceial name. — Geranium. 



Other common names. — Spotted crane's-bill, wild crane's4»ill. stork's-bill. 

 spotted geranium, wild geranium, alumroot, alunibloom. chocolate-flower, crow- 

 foot, dovefoot. old-maid"s-nightcap. shameface. 



Habitat anil range. — Crane's-bill 11<mrishes in low grounds and open woods 

 from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Geoi-gia and Missouri. 



Descriptioti of plant. — This pretty perennial plant belongs to the geranium 

 family (Geraniacea»). and will grow sometimes to a height of 2 feet, but more 

 generally it is only about a foot in height. The entire iilant is more or less 

 covered with hairs, and is erect and usually unbranched. The leaves are nearly 

 circular or somewhat heart shaped in outline. 3 to G inches wide, deeply parted 

 into three or five parts, each division again cleft and toothed. The b;isa! 

 leaves are borne on long stems, while those above have shorter stems. The 

 flowers, which appear from .Vi)ril to .Iiuie. are borne in a loose cluster; they 

 are rose purple, jiale or violet purple in color, about 1 inch or li inches wide, 

 the petals delicately veined and woolly at the base, and the sepals or calyx lobes 

 with a bristle-shaped point, soft-hairy, the margins having a fringe of more 

 bristly hairs. The fruit consists of a beaked capsule, springing open elastically, 

 and dividing into five cells, each cell containing one seed. (Fig. 17.) 

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