272 LILIACEiE. 



titioners, and is liighly esteemed by them as a liydragogue cathartic, an 

 alterative, sialagogue, vermifuge, and diuretic. 



LILIACE/E. 



Character of the Order. — Herbs, rarely woody plants, with bulbs, corms, 

 rhizomes, or fibrous roots, simple, sheathing or clasping leaves, and regu- 

 lar flowers. Perianth colored, of 6 divisions or 6-cleft ; stamens 6 ; ovary 

 3-celled ; style single ; stigma simple or 3-lobed. Fruit 3-celled, capsular 

 or succulent. 



A very large order in temperate and tropical regions. Many of them 

 are actively emetic, cathartic, etc., while others, as the onion and garhc, 

 are edible. 



TRILLIUM. —Three-leaved Nightshade. 



Character of the Genus. — Divisions of the perianth in 2 series, the 

 outer 3 (sepals) lanceolate, spreading, often fohaceous, persistent ; the 

 inner 3 (petals) larger, colored, withering. Anthers on short filaments, ad- 

 nate. Styles or sessile stigmas 3, separate down to the ovary, persistent. 

 Ovary 3- to 6-angled. Fruit an ovate, 3-celled, many-seeded berry. 



Perennial herbs with a simple stem rising from a short thick rhizome, 

 and bearing a whorl of 3 leaves and a single terminal flower. 



Trillium e rectum Linne. — Bethroot, Birthroot, Wake-Robin. 



Description. — Flower on a slender, erect or inclined peduncle, 1 to 3 

 inches long. Petals ovate, acutish, dark purple, spreading, withering, a 

 httle longer than the sepals. Leaves dilated-rhomboidal, about as broad 

 as long. It blooms in May. 



A variety of this species {var. album Pursh — T. pendulum Alton) has 

 the petals greenish-white or yellowish. 



Habitat. — In rich woods ; common. The variety is found in similar 

 locations. 



Trillium grand if lo rum Salisbury.— Large White Wake-Robin. 



Description. — Flower on a slender erect or inclined peduncle, 2 to 3 

 inches long. Petals obovate, spreading, 2 to 2^ inches long, much longer 

 than the sepals, white, changing to rose-color and finally withering. 

 Leaves rhomboid- obovate, longer than broad. It blooms in June. 



Habitat.— la rich woods from Vermont to Kentucky, Wisconsin and 

 northward. 



The above described species of trillium will serve to illustrate the ge- 

 nus. There is probably little difference in the activity of any indigenous 

 species, and all are collected indiscriminately. 



Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official. 



Constituents. — In addition to common vegetable constituents, as starch, 



