Part 24 (1/2)
SWAMP PLANTS.
Skunk-Cabbage.
Synonyms--Dracontium Foetidum L.
Other Common Names--Dracontium, skunk-weed, polecat-weed, swamp-cabbage, meadow-cabbage, collard, fetid, h.e.l.lebone, stinking poke, pockweed.
Habitat and Range--Swamps and other wet places from Canada to Florida, Iowa and Minnesota abound with this ill-smelling herb.
Description of Plant--Most of the common names applied to this plant, as well as the scientific names, are indicative of the most striking characteristic of this early spring visitor, namely, the rank, offensive, carrion odor that emanates from it. Skunk-Cabbage is one of the very earliest of our spring flowers, appearing in February or March, but it is safe to say that it is not likely to suffer extermination at the hand of the enthusiastic gatherer of spring flowers. In the lat.i.tude of Was.h.i.+ngton Skunk-Cabbage has been known to be in flower in December.
It is a curious plant, with its hood shaped, purplish striped flowers appearing before the leaves. It belongs to the arum family (Araceae) and is a perennial. The ”flower” is in the form of a thick, ovate, swollen spathe, about 3 to 6 inches in height, the top pointed and curved inward, spotted and striped with purple and yellowish green.
The spathe is not like that of the wild turnip or calla lily, to which family this plant also belongs, but the edges are rolled inward, completely hiding the spadix. In this plant the spadix is not spike-like, as in the wild turnip, but is generally somewhat globular, entirely covered with numerous, dull-purple flowers. After the fruit has ripened the spadix will be found to have grown considerably, the spathe meantime having decayed.
The leaves, which appear after the flower, are numerous and very large, about 1 to 3 feet in length and about 1 foot in width; they are thin in texture, but prominently nerved with fleshy nerves, and are borne on deeply channeled stems.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Skunk Cabbage (Spathyema Foetida).]
Description of Rootstock--Skunk-Cabbage has a thick, straight, reddish brown rootstock, from 3 to 5 inches long, and about 2 inches in diameter, and having a whorl of crowded fleshy roots which penetrate the soil to considerable depth. The dried article of commerce consists of either the entire rootstock and roots, which are dark brown and wrinkled within, or of very much compressed, wrinkled, transverse slices.
When bruised, the root has the characteristic fetid odor of the plant and possesses a sharp acrid taste, both of which become less the longer the root is kept.
Collection, Prices and Uses--The rootstock of Skunk-Cabbage are collected early in spring, soon after the appearance of the flower, or after the seeds have ripened, in August or September. It should be carefully dried, either in its entire state or deprived of the roots and cut into transverse slices. Skunk-Cabbage loses its odor and acridity with age, and should therefore not be kept longer than one season. The range of prices is from 4 to 7 cents a pound.
Skunk-Cabbage, official from 1820 to 1880, is used in affections of the respiratory organs, in nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsical complaints.
American h.e.l.lebore.
Veratrum Viride Ait.
Pharmacopoeial Name--Veratrum.
Other Common Names--True veratrum, green veratrum, American veratrum, green h.e.l.lebore, swamp-h.e.l.lebore, big h.e.l.lebore, false h.e.l.lebore, bear-corn, bugbane, bugwort, devil's-bite, earth-gall, Indian poke, itchweed, tickleweed, duckretter.
Habitat and Range--American h.e.l.lebore is native in rich, wet woods, swamps and wet meadows. Its range extending from Canada, Alaska, and Minnesota south to Georgia.
Description of Plant--Early in spring, usually in company with the Skunk-Cabbage, the large bright green leaves of American h.e.l.lebore make their way thru the soil, their straight, erect leaf spears forming a conspicuous feature of the yet scanty spring vegetation.
Later in the season a stout and erect leafy stem is sent up, sometimes growing as tall as 6 feet. It is solid and round, pale green, very leafy, and closely surrounded by the sheathing bases of the leaves, unbranched except in the flowering head. The leaves are hairy, prominently nerved, folded or pleated like a fan. They have no stems, but their bases encircle or sheathe the main stalk, and are very large, especially the lower ones, which are from 6 to 12 inches in length, from 3 to 6 inches in width, and broadly oval. As they approach the top of the plant the leaves become narrower. The flowers, which appear from May to July, are greenish yellow and numerous, and are borne in rather open cl.u.s.ters. American h.e.l.lebore belongs to the bunchflower family (Melanthiaceae) and is a perennial.
This species is a very near relative of the European white h.e.l.lebore (Veratrum alb.u.m L.), and in fact has by some been regarded as identical with it, or at least as a variety of it. It is taller than V. alb.u.m and has narrower leaves and greener flowers. Both species are official in the United States Pharmacopoeia.
[Ill.u.s.tration: American h.e.l.lebore (Veratrum Viride).]
Description of Rootstock--The fresh rootstock of American h.e.l.lebore is ovoid or obconical, upright, thick, and fleshy, the upper part of it arranged in layers, the lower part of it more solid, and producing numerous whitish roots from all sides. In the fresh state it has a rather strong, disagreeable odor. As found in commerce, American h.e.l.lebore rootstock is sometimes entire, but more generally sliced, and is of a light brown or dark brown color externally and internally yellowish white. The roots, which are from 4 to 8 inches long, have a shriveled appearance, and are brown or yellowish. There is no odor to the dried rootstock, but when powdered it causes violent sneezing.
The rootstock, which has a bitter and very acrid taste, is poisonous.
Collection, Prices and Uses--American h.e.l.lebore should be dug in autumn after the leaves have died and washed and carefully dried, either in the whole state or sliced in various ways. It deteriorates with age, and should therefore not be kept longer than a year.