4 BULLETIN 26, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



:iik1 is also used for neuralgic troubles and for allaying irritation of the mucous 

 membranes. 



Saw-palmetto berries now bring about 25 to 27 cents a pound. 



WORMSEED. 



Chenopodium anthelminticum L. 



Synonym. — Chenopodium ambrosioides anthelminticum A. Gray. 

 Other common names. — Chenopodium, American wormseed, Jerusalem oak. 

 Habitat and range. — Wormseed has been naturalized in this country from 



tropical America and 

 occurs in waste places 

 from New England to 

 Florida and westward to 

 California. 



Description. — This 

 common weed is an an- 

 nual or sometimes a 

 perennial belonging to 

 the goosefoot family 

 (Chenopodiacere) and it 

 has a smoothish, much- 

 branched stem about 2 

 to 3 feet in height and 

 oblong or lance-shaped 

 leaves. The margins of 

 the leaves are wavy 

 toothed or almost un- 

 broken. The lower 

 leaves are about 1 to 3 

 inches long, the nu- 

 merous upper leaves 

 being much smaller and 

 usually tapering at both 

 ends. The greenish flow- 

 ers are produced from 

 about July to Septem- 

 ber, in crowded spikes 

 mixed with leaves, and 

 are followed by small, 

 green, and roundish 

 fruits. The entire plant 

 has a strong, disagreeable odor, due to the essential oil which it contains. The 

 fruits likewise have a very powerful odor. (Fig. 3.) 



Collection, prices, and uses. — The fruits are the part employed medicinally 

 and were official in the Pharmacopoeia for 1S00. They are in the form of 

 small grains, round but sligbtly flattened, about the size of a pinhead, and 

 inclosing tbe small, shining black seeds. They have a green color and a disa- 

 greeable, strong, and penetrating odor which does not diminish in drying. The 

 fruit is distilled for the oil, which it contains in large quantities. In the 

 United States Pharmacopoeia for 1890 the fruit alone was directed to be used 



Fig. 



-Wormseed (Chenopodium anthelminticum), fruit- 

 ing branches. 



