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 Hellebore.
Veratrum Viride Ait.
Pharmacopoeial Name — Veratrum.
Other Common Names — True veratrum, green veratrum, American veratrum, green hellebore, swamp-hellebore, big hellebore, false hellebore, bear-corn, bugbane, bugwort, devil's-bite, earth-gall, Indian poke, itchweed, tickleweed, duckretter.
Habitat and Range — American Hellebore 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 Hellebore 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 clusters. American Hellebore belongs to the bunchflower family (Melanthiaceae) and is a perennial.