PLANTS FURNISHING MEDICINAL LEAVES AND HERBS. on 
BALMONY. 
Chelone glabra L. 
Other common names.—Turtlehead, turtle bloom, fishmouth, codhead, salt-rheum 
weed, snake-head, bitter herb, shell flower. 
Habitat and range.—This native perennial grows in swamps and along streams from 
Newfoundland to Mani- 
toba and south to Florida 
and Kansas. 
Description.—Balmony 
is a slender, erect herb, 
with a 4-angled stem 1 to 
3 feet in height, occasion- 
ally branched. Theshort- 
-stemmed leaves, which 
are from 3 to 6 inches in 
length, are narrowly lance 
shaped to broadly lance 
shaped, the lower ones 
sometimes broadly oval, 
narrowing toward the base 
and with margins fur- 
nished with sharp, close- 
lyingteeth. Inlatesum- 
mer or early fall theshowy 
clusters of whitish or pink- 
ish flowers are produced. 
Each flower is about an 
inch in length, with a 
tubular, inflated corolla, 
with the mouth slightly 
open and resembling the 
head of a turtle or snake; 
its broad arched upper lip 
is keeled in the centerand 
notched at the apex, while 
the lower lip is three Fic. 23.—Balmony (Chelone glabra), leaves and flowers. 
lobed, the smallest lobe 
in the center, and the throat bearded with woolly hairs. (Fig. 23.) The seed capsule 
is oval, about half an inch in length, and contains numerous small seeds. 
Collection, prices, and uses.—The herb (especially the leaves), which brings from 
3 to 4 cents a pound, should be collected during the flowering period. — 
Balmony has a very bitter taste, but no odor, and is used as a tonic, for its cathartic 
properties, and for expelling worms. 
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