PLANTS FURNISHTNC; ROOT DRUGS. 



55 



BLACK IXDL\N HEMP. 



Apocyniiiit <(iiiiiuhitni>ii \.. 



I'liarmacopo idl iniiiii. — Apocyiiuin. 



Other commou names. — Canadian hemp, American hemp, amy-root, bowman's- 

 root, bitterroot. Indian-physic, rheumatism-\v('(>d. milkweed, wild cotton. Choc- 

 taw-root. 



The name " Indian lu-mi) " is often applied to this plant, but it should never 

 be used without the adjective " black." " Indian hemp " is a nam(> that properly 

 belongs to Cannabis indica, a true hemp plant. Iroin which the narcotic drui: 

 •'hashish" is obtained. 



Hatiitdt ami /(/^f/c— Black Indian hcmi> is a native of this country, and 

 may be found in thickets and along the 

 borders of old fields throughout the 

 rnited States. 



I)vsrrii)ti<ni of ijhnit. — This is a com- 

 mon herbaceous perennial about '1 to 

 4 feet high, with erect or ascending 

 branches, and. like most of the plants 

 l)elonging to the dogbane family ( .Vpocy- 

 nacesp), contains a milky juice. The 

 short-stemmed oi)posite leaves are ob- 

 long, lance-shaped oblong or ovate-ob- 

 long, about 2 to (> inches long, usually 

 sharp pointed, the upper surface smooth 

 iuid the lower sometimes hairy. The 

 plant is in flower from June to August 

 and the small greenish white flowers 

 are borne in dense heads, followed later 

 by the slender pods, which are about 

 4 inches in length and pointed at the 

 ape.x. (Fig. 22.) 



Other species. — Considerable con- 

 fusion seems to exist in regard to 

 which species yields the root which 

 has proved of greatest value medici- 

 n a 1 1 y . The Pharmacopoeia directs 

 that " the dried rhizome and roots of 

 Aixjcinniiii vamiahiniini or of closely allied species of Apocynum " be used. 



In the older botanical works and medical herbals only two species of Apo- 

 cynum were recognized, namely, .1 cannabimnn li. and A. androsaemi folium L., 

 although it was known that both of these were very variable. In the newer 

 botanical manuals both of these species still hold good, but the different forms 

 and variations are now recognized as distinct species, those formerly referred 

 to cannahinirm being distinguished by the erect or nearly erect lobes of the co- 

 rolla, and those of the androsaemifolium group being distinguished by the spread- 

 ing or recurved lobes of the corolla. 



Among the plants that were formerly collected as Apoeyniint cannabinum or 

 varietal forms of it, and which are now considered as distinct species, may be 

 mentioned the following : 



Riverbank-dogbaue (A. album Greene), which frequents the banks of rivers 

 and similar moist locations from Maine to Wisconsin, Virginia, and Missouri. 

 107 



Flu. 2'i.— Black Indian hemp (Apori/nitm canna- 

 liinum), flowering portion, pods, and rootstock 

 (.\fter King's American Dispensatory.) 



