86 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



low grounds from Canada to Georgia. The purgative and 

 antiscorbutic properties of the plant have long been known 

 in North America, and in 1862 the roots, or more properly 

 the rhizomes, were introduced into this country as a cardiac, 

 arterial, and nervous sedative. 



COLCHICUM SEEDS (Colchicum autumnale). A well- 

 known liliaceous plant in meadows and pastures in this 

 country, as well as over a large portion of Middle and 

 Southern Europe. The conns are the source of the specific 

 known as wine of Colchicum, and have been used in medicine 

 from early times. In 1820 the seeds were introduced into 

 medical practice on account of their being said to have a 

 more certain action than the corm, and were introduced 

 into the Pharmacopoeia in 1824. 



