46 



AMERICAN ROOT DRUGS. 



sometimes slightlj tinged with red, from ti inches to a foot in height, and 

 generally unbranched. The leaves alternate on the stem, are lance shaped 

 or oblong lance shaped, thin in texture, 1 to 2 inches long, and stemless. 

 The flowering spikes are borne on the ends of the stems and consist of I'ather 

 crowded, small, greenish white, insignificant flowers. The flowering period 

 of Seneca snakeroot is from May to June. The spike blossoms gradually, 

 and when the lowermost flowers have already fruited the upper part of the 

 spike is still in flower. The seed capsules are small and contain two black, 

 somewhat hairy seeds. (Fig. IS.) The short slender stalks supporting these 

 seed capsules have a tendency to break off from the main axis before the 

 seed is fully mature, leaving the spike in a rather ragged-looking condition, 

 a^d the yield of seed, therefore, is not very large. Seneca snakeroot belongs to 



the milkwort family 

 (Polygalaceie). 



A form of Seneca 

 snakeroot, growing 

 mostly in the North- 

 Central States and 

 distinguished by its 

 taller stems a n d 

 broader leaves, has 

 been called Poh/f/ala 

 .■^(')irfja Yin: hiti folia. 

 Description of 

 ioot. — Seneca snake- 

 root (fig. IS) is de- 

 scribed in the United 

 States P h a r m a - 

 copoeia as follows : 

 " Somewhat cylin- 

 drical, tapering, more 

 or less flexuous, .■> to 

 15 cm. long and 2 to 

 8 mm. thick, bearing 

 several similar hori- 

 zontal branches and 

 a few rootlets ; crown 

 knotty with numer- 

 ous buds and short 

 stem remnants ; ex- 

 ternally yellowish 

 gray or brownish 

 yellow, longitudinally wrinkled, usually marked by a. keel which is more promi- 

 nent in perfectly dry roots near the crown ; fracture short, wood light yellow, 

 usually excentrically developed ; odor slight, nauseating ; taste sweetish, after- 

 wards acrid." 



The Seneca suakeroots found in commerce vary greatly in size, that obtained 

 from the South, which is really the official drug, being usually light colored and 

 small. The principal supply of Seneca snakeroot now comes from Minnesota, 

 Wisconsin, and farther northward, and this western Seneca snakeroot has a 

 much larger, darker root, with a crown or head sometimes measuring 2 or 3 

 inches across and the upper part of the root very thick. It is also less twisted 

 and not so distinctly keeled. 

 107 



Fig. 18. — Seneca snakeroot (Polygala senega) , flowering plant with root. 



