276 LILIACE^. 



Herbaceous jDerennials, witli thick, knotted rootstocks. Stems leafless be- 

 low, leafy above, and bearing small axillary flowers, which appear in early 

 summer. 



Polygonatum biflorum Elliott. — Smaller Solomon's Seal 



Description. — Flowers greenish, one-half inch long, on 1- to 3-, com- 

 monly 2-flowered pedimcles, nodding. Stem glabrous, 1 to 3 feet high, re- 

 curved. Leaves alternate, ovate-oblong, or lance-oblong, nearly sessile, 

 commonly minutely pubescent above, glaucous beneath. 



Habitat. — In rich woods ; common. 



Polygonatum giganteum Dietrich. — Great Solomon's Seal 



Description. — Flowers like the preceding but larger and on 2- to 8- 

 flowered peduncles. Entire plant glabrous. Stem stout, 2 to 8 feet high, 

 recurved. Leaves ovate, somewhat clasping, 5 to 8 inches long, the uj^jDer 

 oblong, nearly sessile. 



Habitat. — Li rich alluvial soil. 



farts Used. — The rhizome and rootlet of both species — not official. 



Constituents. — Unknown. 



Preparations. — Commonly used in decoction or infusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Solomon's seal has a sweetish, mucilagi- 

 nous taste, followed by a faint sense of bitterness, and apj)ears to owe what 

 little virtue it possesses to its mucilage. In decoction it is employed as a 

 domestic remedy to allay irritation of mucous surfaces, and in rhus poison- 

 ing, where it acts by protecting the inflamed j^arts from the air in the same 

 manner as other agents of like character. 



The rhizomes of several indigenoiis species of Smilacina, a closely alhed 

 genus, possess similar properties and are used for the same jDurposes. 



ERYTHRONIUM.— Dog's Tooth Violet. 



Erythronium Americanum Smith. — Adders Tongue, Dog's Tooth 

 Violet. 



Description. — Perianth of 6 distinct, petaloid sepals, in 2 series, re- 

 curved or spreading above, deciduous ; the outer series greenish-yellow 

 without, yellow witliin, inner series all yellow. Stamens 6, awl-shaped. 

 Style club-shaped ; stigmas united into one. Pod 3-valved, many-seeded. 

 A low stemless perennial, sending up in early sjoring, from a deei^ly buried 

 corm, a pair of clasping elliptical-lanceolate, pale green leaves, commonly 

 mottled with purplish, and a smooth scape bearing a single nodding flower. 



Habitat. — In damp places in woods ; common. 



Part Used. — The corm — not official. 



Constituents. — Unknown. 



Preparations. — It has been employed in powder and in infusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Dog's tooth violet in full doses acts as 

 an emetic, but its irritant properties are lost in drying, so that it becomes 

 bland and even edible. It has never been much used. 



