22 



The clusters of berries should be carefully dried in the shade. They 

 are poisonous, have no odor, a sweetish taste at first, then acrid. 



Fig. 11.— Pokewced, flowering and fruiting branch. 



Pokeweed has a very large, fleshy, and poisonous root, conical in 



shape and branched. (Fig*. 12.) It should be 

 gathered in the latter part of the fall, thoroughly 

 cleaned, cut into transverse slices, and carefully 

 dried. When dry it has a grayish, wrinkled ap- 

 pearance, breaks with a fibrous fracture, and the 

 slices show many concentric rings. There is a 

 slight odor and the taste is sweetish and acrid. 



Both the berries and roots are alterative, act 

 upon the bowels and cause vomiting, and prepa- 

 rations made from them are used in treating 

 various diseases of the skin and blood, and in 

 certain cases in relieving pain and allaying inflam- 

 mation. 



Price. — Phytolacca or pokeroot brings from 

 2 to 5 cents per pound, and the dry berries 

 about 5 cents per pound. 



FOXGLOVE. 



Digitalis purpurea L. 



Other common names. — Purple foxglove, thimbles, fairy cap, fairy 

 fingers, fairy thimbles, fairy bells, dog's finger, finger flower, lady's 

 glove, lady fingers, lady's thimble, popdock, flapdock, flopdock, 



Fig. 12.— Pokeroot. 



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