56 MEDICINAL PLANTS 



antidote in hydrophobia. The Kalmucks use it as food when dried, as 

 it contains much fecula. Recommended in diseases of urinary organs. 



Sagittaria* Sagitifolia, Linn., (Arrow Head). Has a fleshy rhi- 

 zome, which is used for food by the Indians ; abounds in starch ; edi- 

 ble even in the fresh state. Sometimes several inches in diameter. 



CypripediumJ" Pubescens, Swartz, (Yellow Lady's Slipper). A 

 very energetic antispasmodic and nervine, nearly equal to Valerian. 

 The root is employed. We have used it in hysteria and other nervous 

 diseases with striking benefit, in the form of powder and infusion. The 

 Speciabile, (Showy Lady's Slipper,) and Acaule, (Noah's Ark,) have 

 the same properties. 



Iridace^:, Juss. — (The Iris Tribe.) 



Iris Versicolor, Linn., (Blue Flag). A very certain and mild 

 cathartic ; in small doses diuretic, in larger, emetic. As a cathartic, 

 the powdered root is equal to any of our indigenous articles. (See N. 

 Y. Jour. Med., vol. ix.) Fresh root has a sweetish sub-acrid taste, and 

 a faint, disagreeable odor ; both nearly dissipated by drying. Take 

 the fresh-dug roots, cut into slices, dry in an oven heated to about 100°, 

 then pulverize, and keep in close-stopped bottles. Dose of powder, as 

 cathartic, 10 to 15 grs. It should be combined with some stimulant, as 

 cayenne, ginger, or myrrh. These prevent nausea and griping. It 

 operates as a mild yet effectual cathartic, producing copious discharges 

 well tinged with bile. An alterative in smaller doses, 2 to 4 grs. Con- 

 sidered by some equal to jalap, and might be substituted for it in some 

 cases. 



Smilace^;, R. Brown. — (The Smilax Tribe.) 



Trillium:}: Cernuum, Linn., (Nodding Three-leaved Night Shade, 

 Birth Root, or Birth-wort). T. Erectum, Linn., (False Wake Robin). 

 T. Grandiflorum, Salisb., (Large-flowered Trillium). All these spe- 

 cies are medicinal, possessing alterative, tonic and astringent virtues. 

 The fresh roots have an aromatic taste, and the odor of turpentine, 

 causing an acrid sensation in the mouth. They are much used in he- 

 morrhagic cases, and with benefit by botanic doctors, and in domestic 

 practice. I found the Indians on Lake Superior (1846) using the root 

 of the Cernuum to facilitate child-birth ; it is in common use among 



* From the Latin sagitta, arrow, the shape of the leaf. 



t From the Greek Kypris, Venus, and podeon, a shoe — i. e., the slipper of Venus. 



} From the Latin triplix, triple, most parts of the plant being in threes. 



