58 AMERICAN ROOT DRUG,?. 



Hahitat and range. — Comfrey is uaturalized from Europe, and occurs in 

 waste places from Newfoundland to Minnesota, south to ^Maryland. 



Description of plant. — This coarse, rough, hairy perennial herb is from 2 

 to 3 feet hit^h, erect and branched, with thick, I'ough leaves, the lower ones 

 ovate lance shajied, .". to 10 inches long, pointed at the apex, and narrowed at 

 the base into margined stems. The uppermost leaves are lance shaped, smaller, 

 juid stemless. Comfrey is in flower from June to August, the purplish or dirty- 

 white, tubular, bell-shaped flowers numerous and borne in dense terminal clus- 

 ters. (PI. VI, fig. 4.) The nutlets which follow are brown, shining, and some- 

 what wrinkled. Comfrey belongs to the borage family (Boraginacete). 



Description of root. — Comfrey has a large, deep, spindle-shaped root, thick 

 and fleshy at the top, white inside, and covered with a thin, blackish brown 

 bark. (PI. VI, fig. 4.) The dried root is hard, black, and very deeply and 

 roughly wrinkled, breaking with a smooth, white, waxy fracture. As it occurs 

 in commerce it is in pieces ranging from about an inch to several inches ui 

 length, only about one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and usually considerably 

 l>ent. It has a very mucilaginous, somewhat sweetish and astringent taste, but 

 no odor. 



CoUectioii. jirices, and uses. — The root is dug in autumn, or sometimes in 

 early spring. Comfrey root when first dug is vei'y fleshy and juicy, but about 

 four-fifths of its weight is lost in drying. The price ranges from 4 to S cents a 

 pound. 



The mucilaginous character of comfrey root renders it usefiil in coughs and 

 diarrheal complaints. Its action is demulcent and slightly astringent. 



The leaves are also used to some extent. 



STONEROOT. 

 Collinsoiiid caiKKlcnsis L. 



Other common names. — Collinsonia. knobroot, knobgrass, knobweed. knotroot. 

 horse-balm, horseweed, richweed, richleat. ox-balm, citronella. 



Hahitat and range. — Stoneroot is found in moist, shady woods from Maine to 

 Wisconsin, south to Florida and Kansas. 



Description of plant. — Like most of tht^ other members of the mint family 

 (Menthacete). stoneroot is aromatic also, the fresh flowering plant possessing a 

 very pleasant, lemon-like odor. It is a tall, perennial herb, growing as high as 

 5 feet. The stem is stout, erect, branched, smooth, or the upper part hairy. 



The leaves are opi)osite, about 3 to 8 inches long, thin, ovate, pointed at the 

 apex, narrowed or sometimes heart shaped at the base, and coarsely toothed ; 

 the lower leaves are largest and are borne on slender stems, while the upper 

 ones are smaller and almost stendess. Stoneroot is in flower from July to 

 October, itroducing large, loose, ojien terminal ])anicles or heads of small, pale- 

 yellow lemon-scented flowers. The flowers have a funnel-shaped 2-lipped 

 corolla, the lower lip lai'ger. pendent, and fringed, with two very much pro- 

 truding stamens. (PI. VII, fig. 1.) 



Description of root. — Even the fresh I'oot of this plant is very hard. It is 

 horizontal, large, thick, and woody, and the upper side is rough and knotty and 

 l)ranched irregularly. (PI. VII, fig. 1.) The odor of the root is rather dis- 

 agreeable, and the taste pungent and spicy. In the fresh state, as well as when 

 dry, the root is extremely hard, whence the common name " stoneroot." The 

 dried root is grayish brown externally, irregularly knotty on the upper surface 

 from the remains of branches and the scars left by former stems, and the lower 

 surface showing a few thin roots. The inside of the root is hard and whitish. 

 107 



