PODOPIIYLLFM — MAY-API'LE. 81 



midulato or Idliod. Fruit a succulent herry as lartife as a medium-sized 

 plum, smooth, yellowish-green wlien ripe, of a mildly acid taste and, to 

 man\' people, an aj^reeable llavor. Seeds 12 or more, eoveriii;^' the large 

 lateral placenta, in several rows, each seed enclosc.'d in a pulpy aril, the 

 whole forniin'T a soft mass which tills the cavitv of tlu! fruit. 



An herbaceous perennial having a creeping, librous-rooted rhizome, 

 1 to 6 feet in length, from which arise in early spring both flowering and 

 flowerless stems about 1 foot in height. The flowerl(>ss stem is tcrmi- 

 nated by a single, large, round, 7- to !)-lobed loaf, centrally peltate, the 

 lobes oblong, wedge-shai>ed, somewhat toothed or lobed at the ap(!x. The 

 flowering stem bifur(%ites G to 8 inches above the ground, and each 

 Immch bears at its summit, about 4 inches above the bifurcation, a single 

 one-sided leaf, the stalk fixed near the im.'er edge, lobed and toothed in a 

 manner similar to the leaves of the barren stems. At the bifurcation 

 is situated a single white flower about 2 inches in tliameter, upon a short, 

 curveil peduncle. 



The plant blossoms in Miy and ripens its fruit in August and Sep- 

 tember. 



HahUat. — This is a very common plant in rich, moist soil along the bor- 

 ders of woods and streams from Canada to T'lorida. Its l)eautil'ul foliage, 

 and still more beautiful flowers, render it an object of interest entirely 

 apai't from its medicinal importance. It is, moreover, very hardy, and 

 flourishes along the fences of cultivated fields long after many of its more 

 tender natural associates have been exterminated. In view of its medic- 

 inal importance this is inde k1 gratifying, since it is a fact that many of 

 our valuable indigenous medicinal plants will soon be completely eradi- 

 cated by the progress of the very civilization which has recognized and 

 utilized their virtues. Their natural habitat is the vii'gin soil of the un- 

 broken foi'est, and once this is turned by the plow they disappear for- 

 ever. 



Paris Ufied. — The rhizome and rootlets — United Sfatex rhnrmacopcria. 

 The leaves partake of the properties of the root, but are not employed. 

 The fruit, on the contrary, is entirely innocuous, and may be eaten, in any 

 reasonable quantity, with impunity. 



Cunslituents. — Podopiiyllum hasa bitter, aci'id taste, somewhat similar to 

 thai of other plants of the order. Its active properties reside in a resinous 

 substance which is obtained by precipitation from a concentrated alco- 

 holic tincture by means of water acidulated with hydrochloric acid. This 

 has long been used and sold under the incorrect name podophnUin. It 

 consists of two resins, one soluble in both ether and alcohol, the other 

 in alcohol only, and is a mixture of the active and some of the inert 

 principles of the root. The ultimate composition of these resins is still 

 a matter of dispute among analysts. In addition to the resin, there 

 also exist in the root the ordinary vegetable principles, but, as demon- 



