HYDRASTIS 165 



DESCRIPTION or DRUG. A knotty, contorted rhizome about 40 mm. 

 (i% in.) long and 5 mm. (^ in.) thick; on the upper side are several 

 scars which mark the positions and detachment of former herbaceous 

 stems; these scars (cup-like projections) have given rise to the name 

 "golden seal." Externally rough, of a dull yellowish-brown color, 

 annulate, and beset with numerous slender rootlets; internally of 

 a lemon-yellow color; breaks with a short, resinous fracture; a 



PIG. 72. Hydrastis canadensis. 



cross-section shows a thick bark, narrow wood-wedges, and 'broad 

 medullary rays which radiate from a large pith. The rootlets show 

 a woody center surrounded by a thick parenchymatous cortical tissue 

 which is bordered by an outer row of compressed cells; odor distinct; 

 taste bitter. Two to three hundred thousand pounds of the drug are 

 annually consumed. 

 Powder. Characteristic elements: See Part iv, Chap. I, B. 



CONSTITUENTS. The two alkaloids, hydrastine, C 2 iH 2 iN0 6 (colorless 

 and slightly acrid), and berberine (yellow and intensely bitter), 



