Ovate, tapering, coriaceous capsule, enclosed in a persistent envelope
Taste
bitter-sweet soapy taste
Aletris farinosa, commonly known as Unicorn root , stargrass , whitetube stargrass , crow corn , Ague grass , Aloerot , Devil’s-bit , colic root , ague root , starwort , blazing star , mealy starwort , huskwort is a plant species native to North America and is distributed widely throughout the continent. Three other species of aletris, Aletris aurea Walt, A. lutea Small, and A. obovata Nash, bear much resemblance to A. farinosa and are frequently collected with the latter. It is a perennial herb spreading by means of underground rhizomes and forming rosettes of leaves.
Plant Description
Aletris is a low-growing, spreading perennial herb, with tuberous cylindrical, somewhat horizontal root, having many fibers from its lower surface. The plant grows in grassy or sandy woodlands, in dry or moist peats, sands and gravels, especially on the seashore. No stem is found in this plant. Leaves are lanceolate, acute, ribbed, sessile, or slightly sheathing at base, smooth and flat, pale colored, thin and coriaceous. Flower-stem are simple with remote scales, 1 to 3 feet high, topped with a spiked raceme of short-stalked, white, bell-shaped oblong flowers that blooms from May to August. The outer surface of these has a mealy frosted appearance. Fruit is an ovate, tapering, coriaceous capsule, enclosed in a persistent envelope. Seeds are numerous, ovate, ribbed, albuminous, fleshy, and oily.
History
Aletris is actually a North American plant which is recognized throughout the world in traditional folk medicine. Aletris occurs in dry, generally sandy soil from Maine to Minnesota, Florida, and Tennessee. It had been used by American Indians in the Carolinas as an antidiarrheal tea and in Appalachia for the management of rheumatisms and as a tonic and a sedative. It has been included in laxatives and has been used as an anti-flatulent (hence the name “colic root”) and antispasmodic. The roots and rhizomes are collected in the fall and dried for preservation.
