BISTORT 195 



indigenous to Europe and naturalized in the United States, growing 

 in waste places throughout the Eastern and Central States. The 

 rhizome and roots are gathered late in the summer, cut longitudinally 

 and transversely into pieces in order to facilitate their drying. 



The drug resembles that obtained from Rumex crispus, but is 

 dark brown and considerably branched at the crown. In structure 

 it resembles R. crispus, but there are small groups of yellowish bast 

 fibers in the cortical layer; the wood parenchyma is furthermore 

 thick-walled and lignified. The following constituents have been 

 isolated from it: Rumicin or chrysophanic acid, emodin, tannic acid, 

 resin, lapathinic acid, sugar and ash. The latter is found to the 

 extent of 9 per cent and contains iron. 



Bistorta. RHIZOMA BISTORTS, BISTORT, SNAKEROOT OR ENGLISH 

 SERPENTARY. The rhizome of Polygonum Bistorta (Fam. Poly- 

 gonacese), a tall perennial herb growing in moist woods of 

 Europe and Asia. The rhizome is collected in the fall, deprived of 

 its roots, cut into smaller pieces and dried. 



The rhizome occurs in laterally flattened, occasionally branching 

 pieces, from 2 to 6 cm. in length and 10 to 15 mm. in diameter; 

 externally dark brown, more or less annulate, with a few slender 

 roots and number of root scars; hard, tough and breaking with an 

 almost smooth fracture; internally reddish-brown, distinctly radiate 

 and showing a circle of darker vascular bundles, separating the large 

 pith from a moderately wide cortex. 



In microscopic sections the rhizome shows either an epidermal 

 layer of thick reddish-brown cells, or the development of one or more 

 rows of brownish-black cork cells; the parenchyma of both the cor- 

 tex and pith contain either starch, rosette aggregates of calcium 

 oxalate, or tannin; the collateral vascular bundles are separated by 

 medullary rays from 2 to 8 cells in width. 



Bistort contains from 15 to 20 per cent of gallic acid; 0.5 per cent 

 of ellagic acid; 30 per cent of starch; 0.5 per cent of sugar; and 10 

 per cent of a nitrogenous substance. 



Literature. Zornig, Arzneidrogen. 



CHENOPODIACEJE, OR GOOSEFOOT FAMILY 



The plants are annual or perennial herbs and are widely distrib- 

 uted. The leaves are mostly alternate and without stipules, the 

 flowers are usually small and of a green color, and the fruit is a 1- 

 seeded utricle. The most prominent characteristic in the structure 



