PIPSISSEWAY OR WINTER GREEN.
This is an evergreen found in pine woods and in light shady soils in all parts of the United States, which blossoms in mid summer. The whole plant has rather a pungent and bitter taste.
Medical Properties and Use.
It is diuretic and tonic and is useful in all eruptive forms of diseases, especially in scrofula and cancer. A strong decoction may be made of the leaves and twigs, and a gill taken 3 times a day. Many cures of old ulcers, sore throats and like affections have been ascribed to the use of the pipsisseway. A decoction made of the leaves and given in small portions is excellent for colic in children. For grown persons it should be put in good rye whiskey, which, if made strong will seldom fail to cure the severest cases of colic and cramps. The pipsisseway put into whiskey and distilled the same as Wickey’s cholera medicine is much better. Dose for an adult is from 1 to 3 tablespoonsful, for children from 10 drops to a teaspoonful.