32 



MISC. PUBLICATION 77, TJ. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



GOLDTHREAD 



Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. (Fig. 57.) 



Other common names. — Coptis, cankerroot, mouth root, yellowroot. 



Habitat and range. — Goldthread is found in damp, mossy woods and bogs 

 from Canada and Alaska south to Maryland and Minnesota. It is most common 

 in the New England States, northern New York and Michigan, and in Canada, 

 where it frequents the dark sphagnum swamps, cold bogs, and the shade of dense 

 forests of cedars, pines, and other evergreens. 



Description. — This plant, which in its general appearance somewhat resembles 

 the strawberry plant, is of low growth, being only 3 to 6 inches in height. Its 

 shiny, evergreen leaves, which are divided into three parts, grow directh' from 

 the base of the plant. A single small, white, star-shaped flower, which appears 

 from May to August, is borne at the end of each flowering stalk. The plant is 

 appropriately named after the long, slender, creeping, much-branched and fre- 

 quently matted, bright golden-yellow root. 



Part used. — The root, collected in autumn. In reasonablv constant demand. 



Figure 57. — Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) 



Figure 58.— Ground-ivy (Nepeta hederacea) 



GROUND-IVY 



Nepeta hederacea (L.) Trev. (Fig. 58.) 



Synonym. — Nepeta glechoma Benth.; Glecoma hederacea L. 



Other common names. — Field balm, gill-over-the-ground, gill, creeping Charlie, 

 robin-runs-away, cat's-foot. 



Habitat and range. — Ground-ivy is found in damp and shady places, especi- 

 ally in thickets, from Newfoundland and Ontario to Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, 

 and Colorado. 



Description. — This small herb has numerous creeping, leafy, hairy stems 

 sometimes 18 inches long, commonly branching at the base. The opposite 

 leaves are round kidney-shaped, bluntly toothed, green on both sides, and one- 

 half to 1H inches in diameter. The stems of the lower leaves are commonly 

 longer than the leaves. The blue and white tube-shaped flowers are borne, few 

 in a cluster, in the axils of the leaves from March to May. 



Part used. — The herb. In limited demand only. 



GUM PLANT 



(1) Grindelia robusta Nutt.; (2) G. squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal. (Fig. 59.) 



Other common names. — (2) Broad-leafed gum plant, scaly grindelia. 



Habitat and range. — The gum plant (Grindelia robusta) grows in California, 

 while the broad-leafed gum plant (G. squarrosa) is more widely distributed, 

 being of common occurrence on the Plains and prairies from Saskatchewan to 

 Minnesota and south to Texas and Mexico. 



Description. — The name "gum plant" is applied especially to Grindelia robusta 

 on account of the fact that the entire plant is covered with a resinous substance, 

 giving it a gummy, varnished appearance. It is an erect herb with a round, 

 smooth stem about l l A feet in height. The leaves, about 1 inch in length, are 

 green, leathery, rather rigid, and covered with resin. The plant branches freely 

 near the top, each branch terminating in a yellow flower about three-fourths of 

 an inch in diameter, 



