SOLIDAGO GOLDEN-ROD. 175 



Erigeron Canadense Linne. Canada Fleabane, Horse- Weed, Butter- 

 Weed. 



Description. Heads very numerous, small, cylindrical, panicled ; rays 

 numerous, inconspicuous, shorter than the involucre. Pappus simple. 



Stem erect, 3 to 5 feet high, panicled above, hispid or sometimes nearh 

 glabrous. Leaves lanceolate-linear, mostly entire, hispidly ciliate ; radical 

 leaves cut-lobed. It blooms from July till late in the autumn. 



Habitat. A common and unsightly weed, widely diffused over the 

 world. 



These three species fairly represent the whole genus, though several 

 others have been employed medicinally. 



Parts Used. The leaves and tops not official, though they were for- 

 merly. 



Constituents. All these species of erigeron when distilled with water 

 yield volatile oil, E. Canadense producing a greater proportion than the 

 others, and an article of slightly different character. Among their other 

 constituents are tannic and gallic acids and bitter extractive. 



Preparations. Among the commercial preparations are solid and fluid 

 extracts. The plants are most commonly administered in decoction or in- 

 fusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. There is probably little difference in the 

 kind of effect produced by the different species of erigeron, but it is gen- 

 erally admitted that E. Canadense is most active. This is considered diu- 

 retic, tonic, and astringent. It has been used beneficially in diseases of the 

 urinary organs and in dropsies. The oil is said to be useful in uterine, 

 pulmonary, and other internal hemorrhages. 



SOLIDAGO. G OLDEN-ROD. 



Solidago odora Aiton. Sweet-scented Golden- Rod. 



Description. Heads few-flowered, radiate ; rays 3 or 4, rather large, 

 oblong, obtuse, pistillate ; disk-flowers tubular, perfect. Scales of the in- 

 volucre oblong, acute, destitute of foliaceous tips, the outer ones shorter 

 and imbricating the others. Receptacle small, not chaffy. Achenia many- 

 ribbed, somewhat terete. Pappus simple, of numerous scabrous capillary 

 "bristles. 



Stem slender, 2 to 3 feet high, smooth or slightly pubescent below, 

 pubescent above. Leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, reticulate-veiny, but 

 only the mid-vein distinct, rough on the margin, otherwise smooth and 

 shining, pellucid-dotted. Heads in racemose, one-sided panicles, appear- 

 ing in September. 



Habitat. In the margins of thickets and in old fields, in sandy soil, 

 from Maine and Vermont to Kentucky and southward. 



Parts Used. The leaves and tops not official. 



