Flora Medica

MELANTHACE^l.Nat. syst.ed. 2. p. 347.VERATRUM.Flowers polygamous. Perianth 6-parted; segments broad,concave, imbricating, nearly equal, striated, not excavated at thebase. Stamens 6, equal, inserted into the base of the segments ;filaments subulate ; anthers reniform with confluent cells.Ovarywith 3 divaricating stigmas. Capsule 3-horned, separating into3 many-seeded follicles. Seeds compressed, winged at theapex.1236. V. viride Ait. Hort. Kew. iii. 422. Bigelow med. hot. ii.t. 33. R. and S. vii. 1556. Veratrum album Mich.fi. bar.am. ii. 249. Helonias viridis Sot. Mag.t. 1096. Common inthe United States in swamps and wet meadows in the spring.Rhizoma thick and fleshy, its upper portion tunicated, its lowerhalf solid and sending forth a multitude of large whitish roots.Stem from 3 to 5 feet high, roundish, solid, striated and pubescent,throughout the greater part of its length closely invested with thesheathing bases of the leaves. Lower leaves large, from a foot to afoot long, oval, acuminate, pubescent, strongly plaited and nerved; thelower part -of their edges meeting round the stem; upper leavesgradually narrower the ; uppermost, or bracts, linear-lanceolate. Flowersnumerous, in compound racemes axillary from the upper leaves, andterminal; the whole forming a sort of panicle. Peduncles roundish,downy. Bracts boat-shaped, acuminate, downy. Pedicels many timesshorter than the bracts. Perianth divided into 6 green, oval, acute,nerved segments, of which the alternate ones are longest ; all the segmentscontracted at base into a sort of claw with a thickened or cartilaginousedge. Stamens 6 with recurved filaments and roundish, 2-lobed anthers. Carpels 3, cohering, with acute recurved styles as longas the stamens. A part of the flowers are barren and have only therudiments of styles, so that the plant is strictly polygamous. The seedvessel consists of 3 capsules united together, separating at top andopening on their inner side. Seeds flat, winged, imbricated. Theroots are an acrid emetic and powerful stimulant followed by sedativeeffects. In all respects it closely resembles Veratrum album in itsproperties.1237. V. album Linn. sp. pi. 1479. Mart, and Koch d.fi.ii. 625. Bieb. taur. cauc. xi. 445. Jacq.fi.austr. t. 335. Woodv.t. 100. E. and S. vii. 1554. Meadows in the South of Europe,from Spain to the Caucasus. (White Hellebore.)Rhizoma somewhat horizontal, oblong, praemorse, the thickness of afinger, blackish externally, whitish internally. Stem 1^-4 feet high.585