ERYTHRONIUM 107 



bordered pores or scalariform or reticulate thickenings associated 

 with sclerenchymatous fibers having rather thin, very slightly lig- 

 nified and porous walls. 



Constituents. Sarsaparilla contains three glucosidal principles, 

 which are present to the extent of about 3 per cent parillin, saponin 

 and sarsosaponin, of which the latter is the most active; it also con- 

 tains about 15 per cent of starch; raphides of calcium oxalate; vol- 

 atile oil, and resin. 



Allied Products. American Sarsaparilla is the rhizome of wild 

 or Virginia Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis, Fam. Araliacese), a peren- 

 nial acaulescent herb, indigenous to Canada and the Northern 

 United States as far west as Nebraska. The rhizome is of variable 

 length, from 5 to 15 mm. thick; externally brownish-gray and some- 

 what annulate; internally light brown, more or less spongy, and with 

 an aromatic odor and taste. 



The rhizome and roots of American spikenard (Aralia racemosa), 

 growing in the Eastern and Central United States, have constituents 

 similar to those of A. nudicaulis, but are more aromatic. The bark 

 of Hercules' Club (Aralia spinosa) , of the Eastern and Central United 

 States, contains the glucoside araliin and possibly also saponin. 



The roots of Cocculus villosus (Fam. Menispermacese) are used 

 in the East Indies like Sarsaparilla. 



Literature. Schleiden, Archiv. d. Pharm., 1847, p. 25; Meyer, 

 Ibid., 1881, p. 272; Holfert, Ibid., 1889, p. 507; Hartwich, Ibid., 

 1902, p. 325; Hartwich, Ber. Deutsch. Pharm. Ges., 1907, p. 250. 



Erythronium. Of the 12 species of this genus all but one are 

 indigenous to North America. The species represented in the United 

 States are commonly known as dog's tooth violet, or adder's tongue. 

 The plants have a solid, scaly corm set deeply in the ground, which is 

 used to a very limited extent in medicine. The corms contain large 

 quantities of starch and it is surprising that they are not utilized com- 

 mercially in this country to some extent. In Japan, starch is man- 

 ufactured from E. Denscanis and is official in the Japanese Pharma- 

 copoeia. The starch grains are mostly single, from 0.020 to 0.025 mm. 

 in diameter and which vary from broadly ovoid or pear-shaped, to 

 irregularly club-shaped grains, having an excentral point of origin 

 of growth and indistinct lamellae. 



Literature. Holm, Merck's Report, 1907, p. 223. 



TRILLIUM. Bethroot or Birthroot. The rhizome and roots 

 of Trillium erectum (Fam. Liliacese), a low perennial herb grow- 

 ing in rich woods from North Carolina to Quebec and Ontario. 

 It produces a rather stout stem, having three leaves, arranged in a 



