AMERICAN MEDICINAL PLANTS 



49 



top. These are from 3 to 7 inches in length and of about the same width and 

 are practically stemless. The flower, which appears from April to June, is borne 

 singly at the end of the stem on a slender stalk. Its parts are arranged in threes 

 which feature serves to identify the plant. The three petals, which are 1% inches 

 long and one-half inch wide, are dark purple, pink, greenish, or white. The 

 flower has an unpleasant odor. It is followed by a reddish berry. 



Part used. — The root, collected toward the close of summer. In limited 

 demand only. 



QUACK GRASS 



Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. (Fig. 91.) 



Other common names. — Dog grass, couch grass, quitch grass, quake grass, 

 scutch grass, twitch grass, witch grass, wheatgrass, creeping wheatgrass, devil's 

 grass, durfa grass, durfee grass, Dutch grass, Fin's grass, chandler's grass. 



Habitat and range. — Like many of our weeds, quack grass was introduced 

 from Europe and is now one of the worst pests with which the farmer has to con- 

 tend, taking possession of cultivated ground and crowding out valuable crops. It 

 occurs most abundantly from Maine to Maryland, westward to Minnesota and 

 Missouri, and is spreading on farms on the Pacific slope, but is rather sparingly 

 distributed in the South. 



Description. — Quack grass is rather coarse, 1 to 3 feet high, and when in flower 

 resembles rye or beardless w x heat. Its smooth hollow stems, which are thickened 

 at the joints, are produced from a long, creeping rootstock. The flowering heads 

 are produced from July to September. 



Part used. — The rootstocks, collected in the spring, are carefully cleaned, cut 

 into small pieces about a fourth of an inch long, and dried. In reasonably con- 

 stant demand. 



Figure 91.— Quack grass (Agropyron repens) 



Figure 92.— Sassafras (Sassafras variifolium) 



SASSAFRAS 



Sassafras variifolium (Salisb.) Kuntze. (Fig. 92.) 



Synonyms. — Sassafras officinale Nees and Eberm.; S. sassafras (L.) Karst. 



Other common names. — Ague tree, saxifrax, cinnamonwood, saloop, smelling- 

 stick. 



Habitat and range. — Sassafras is a native tree, growing in rich woods from 

 southern Maine to Ontario, Michigan, and Kansas and south to Florida and Texas. 



Description. — The sassafras occurs in the North as a shrub, but in the Southern 

 States it sometimes attains a height of 100 feet. The leaves are variable in shape, 

 some with three lobes and others with but one lobe on the side, shaped like a 

 mitten. The yellowish green, fragrant flowers are borne in clusters which appear 

 in early spring. Male and female flowers are borne on different trees. The 



