Collection, Prices and Uses — Hydrangea root is collected in autumn and as it becomes very tough after drying and difficult to bruise it is best to cut the root in short transverse pieces while it is fresh and still juicy and dry it in this way. The price ranges from 2 to 7 cents a pound.
Hydrangea has diuretic properties and is said to have been much used by the Cherokees and early settlers in calculous complaints.
Oregon Grape.
Berberis Aquifolium Pursi
Pharmacopeial Name — Berberis.
Other Common Names — Rocky Mountain grape, holly-leaved barberry, California barberry, trailing Mahonia.
Habitat and Range — This shrub is native in woods in rich soil among rocks from Colorado to the Pacific Ocean, but is especially abundant in Oregon and northern California.
Oregon Grape (Berberis Aquifolium).
Description of Plant — Oregon grape is a low-growing shrub, resembling somewhat the familiar Christmas holly of the Eastern states, and, in fact, was first designated as "mountain-holly" by members of the Lewis and Clark expedition on their way through the western country. It belongs to the barberry family (Berberidaceae), and grows about 2 to 6 feet in height, the branches sometimes trailing. The leaves consist of from 5 to 9 leaflets, borne in pairs, with an odd leaflet at the summit. They are from 2 to 3 inches long and about 1 inch wide, evergreen, thick, leathery, oblong or oblong ovate in outline, smooth and shining above, the margins provided with thorny spines or teeth. The numerous small yellow flowers appear in April or May and are borne in erect, clustered heads. The fruit consists of a cluster of blue or bluish purple berries, having a pleasant taste, and each containing from three to nine seeds.