512 
PECULIAR  ACRID  PRINICPLE  OF  TRILLIACEiE. 
PECULIAR  ACRID  PRINCIPLE  OF  THE  NAT.  ORD.  TRILLIACEIE. 
By  E.  S.  Wayne. 
The  plants  belonging  to  the  order  of  Trilliacese,  comprise  an 
extensive  genus  of  N.  American  herbaceous  perennial  plants, 
which  are  variously  known  by  the  names  of  wake  robin,  birth 
root,  Indian  balm,  lamb's  quarter,  ground  lilly,  &c.  They  have 
a  faint  tanner's  oil  like  odor,  and  when  chewed  impart  an  acrid 
astringent  impression  in  the  mouth,  causing  a  flow  of  saliva,  and 
a  sensation  of  heat  in  the  throat  and  fauces.  Nearly  all  of  the  spe- 
cies of  this  genus  are  said  to  be  medicinal,  and  possess  analogous 
properties,  the  most  common  of  which  are  T.  erythrocarpum,  T. 
grandiflorum,  T.  sessile,  T.  erectumand  T.  nivale,  and  are  conse- 
quently most  frequently  collected.  The  Trillium  pendulum 
seems  to  be  intended  as  the  officinal  plant  in  the  A.  E.  Dispensa- 
tory. But  whether  the  root  I  have  examined  is  the  product  of 
this  variety  or  not,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say.  We  receive  a  large 
quantity  of  the  root  from  the  interior  of  Kentucky,  and  have 
not  been  able  to  get  any  information  from  those  that  collect  or 
we  receive  it  from,  to  enable  me  to  form  an  opinion  to  which 
particular  member  of  the  family  it  belongs.  From  the  simi- 
larity of  the  root,  I  should  judge  it  to  be  obtained  from  one  and 
the  same  plant. 
The  root,  as  we  receive  it,  is  an  oblong  rhizome,  with  numer- 
ous rootlets  attached  to  it,  and  of  a  yellowish  brown  color.  The 
acridity  of  the  root  seems  to  reside  in  the  rhizome,  as  the  rootlets 
have  little  or  none  of  its  acrimony.  Upon  removing  the  epidermis 
of  the  rhizome  with  a  knife,  it  presents  a  white,  starchy  appear- 
ance, and  tinct.  of  iodine  added  to  the  cut  surface  strikes  a  deep 
blue  color,  indicating  the  presence  of  starch  in  abundance.  This 
root  has  been  examined  and  found  to  contain  volatile  oil,  gum 
resin,  extractive,  tannic  acid  and  starch. 
Mr.  Merrill  has  obtained  a  substance  from  the  root  which  he 
calls,  I  believe,  trillin ;  the  process  for  obtaining  which  he  has 
not  made  public,  nor  have  I  examined  the  product. 
I  was  induced  to  examine  this  root  from  its  exceedingly  acrid 
taste,  resembling  that  of  senega  somewhat  when  chewed,  with 
the  expectation  of  finding  in  it  some  principle  analogous  to 
senegin. 
