WHITE AND GREENISH WILD FLOWERS 



the numerous stamens and pistils, from which they may 

 be distinguished by their club-shaped, hollow-pointed 

 ends. This low, perennial herb grows from three to 

 five inches high. The shining, evergreen, fan-shaped 

 leaves are prominently veined, and like the flowers, 

 they are borne on long, slender stems rising directly 

 from the root. They are compounded of three small, 

 wedge-shaped, dark green leaflets having sharply 

 notched edges. The roots, from which the common 

 name is derived, are slender with numerous long, forked, 

 bright yellow, thread-like parts. They are quite bitter 

 to the taste, and yield a yellow dye. Country people 

 make a tea of them, which is used as an invigorating 

 spring tonic. In New England the steepings of the 

 dried roots are used as a gargle for canker spots in the 

 mouth and throat, and they are also chewed as a remedy 

 for these affections. The scientific name Coptis is 

 from the Greek, meaning to cut, and alludes to the 

 margins of the leaves. 



BLACK SNAKEROOT. BLACK COHOSH 



Cimicifuga racemosa. Crowfoot Family. 



The attractive, feathery spikes of the Black Snake- 

 root emit a rank, offensive odour, and country people 

 used to say that they were good for driving away bugs 

 and flies from their rooms. For centuries the Indians 

 regarded the thick, knotted root of this plant as being 

 a certain cure for snake bites, and it was a very popular 

 domestic remedy among their squaws. It was also 

 used for relieving rheumatism, dropsy and hysteria, 



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