26 RANUNCULACE^. Hydrastis. 



Tribe V. HYDRASTIDEjE. Torr. 4- Gr. 



Sepals 3, petaloid, caducous. Petals none. Stamens numerous : anthers innate. Ovaries 



numerous, 2-ovuled : styles short : stigmas dilated, induplicate. Fruit composed of 



baccate 1 - 2-seeded carpels, crowded in a globose head. — Herbaceous, perennial ; 



rhizoma and roots yellow and bitter. Stem simple, 2-leaved, \-jlowered ; the foliage and 



fruit resembling a llubus. 



16. HYDRASTIS. Linn.; Juss. gen. p. 232 ; Endl. gen. ^111 . yellow-ROOT. 



[Supposed to be from the Greek hydor, water; because it giows in moist places.] 

 Character same as of the tribe. 



1. Hydrastis Canadensis, Linn. Yelloio-root. 



Michx.Jl. I. p. 317; Pursh,fl. 2.^.389; Ell. sk.2. p. 55 ; DC.prodr. \.p.5Z ; Darlingt. 

 fl. Cest. p. 336 ; Bot. mag. t. 3019, and t. 3232 (the fruit). Torr. ^ Gr.fl. N. Am. l.p. 40. 

 Warneria Canadensis, Mill. diet. 



Rhizoma a thick yellowish fleshy oblong tuber, about three-fourths of an inch long ; roots 

 consisting of numerous strong fibres. Stem 6-10 inches high, simple, pubescent, with 

 several oblong, sheathing, greenish-yellow stipules at the base. The summit usually 2-leaYed, 

 and sometimes a separate radical leaf on a long petiole. Leaves 2-5 inches wide, palmately 

 3 - 5-lobed ; the lobes acute, doubly serrate : lower leaf petiolate ; upper one sessile. Pe- 

 duncle an inch long. Calyx pale rose-color, small, falling very soon after the flower is 

 expanded. Stamens very numerous, filaments linear-spatulate : anthers oval. Ovaries in a 

 globose head : stigmas compressed, dilated. Carpels succulent when ripe, forming a com- 

 pound purplish fruit about the size of a large raspberry. Seeds obovate ; testa crustaceous, 

 nearly black, shining, lined with a thin and membranaceous tegmen. Embryo minute, at 

 the base of somewhat fleshy and oily albumen. 



Shady moist woods. Parma, Monroe County, and Clinton, Oneida County ; rare {Dr. 

 Bradley). Fl. April - May. Fr. July. 



The root (or rhizoma) is a bitter tonic and stimulant {Lindl. med. bot. ; Wood ^ Bache's 

 U. S. Dispens. p. 200). This plant has received various names, such as Wild Curcuma, 

 Golden Seal, Yellow Puccoon, Orange-root. 



