Collinsonia canadensis

Last updated

Collinsonia canadensis
Collinsonia canadensis.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Collinsonia
Species:
C. canadensis
Binomial name
Collinsonia canadensis
L.

Collinsonia canadensis, commonly called richweed [1] or stoneroot, [2] is a species of perennial herb in the mint family.

Contents

It is native to eastern North America, primarily east of the Mississippi River, where it is widespread. It is the most broadly distributed member of the genus Collinsonia, [3] ranging north to Quebec and south to Florida. [4] Its natural habitat is nutrient-rich mesic forests, most often in rocky, calcareous areas. [5] [6] Collinsonia canadensis can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and has terminal clusters of tiny, tubular yellow flowers. Leaves are green, large, sharply toothed, and ovate. [7]

It produces lemon-scented flowers in mid-summer, a time when little else is in bloom in densely shaded forests. [5]

Traditional herbal use

Collinsonia canadensis was used by Native Americans to treat a variety of ailments. [3] However, European-American settlers in North America did not often use this species after they initially discovered it, due to it lacking any conspicuous toxic qualities. [8] It was not until the mid-1800s when it regained popularity as a medicinal herb. [9] [10]

The leaves can be brewed into tea, and the subterranean stem was once used as a diuretic, tonic, and astringent. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Alliaria petiolata</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Alliaria petiolata, or garlic mustard, is a biennial flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, north-western Africa, Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern Scandinavia, and east to northern Pakistan and Xinjiang in western China.

<i>Gaultheria procumbens</i> Species of flowering plant

Gaultheria procumbens, also called the eastern teaberry, the checkerberry, the boxberry, or the American wintergreen, is a species of Gaultheria native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Alabama. It is a member of the Ericaceae.

<i>Aquilegia canadensis</i> Species of plant

Aquilegia canadensis, the Canadian or Canada columbine, eastern red columbine, or wild columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial native to woodland and rocky slopes in eastern North America, prized for its red and yellow flowers. It readily hybridizes with other species in the genus Aquilegia.

<i>Sanguinaria</i> Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria, included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to Eomecon of eastern Asia.

<i>Cornus canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus canadensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, C. canadensis is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 centimetres tall.

<i>Ageratina altissima</i> Species of plant

Ageratina altissima, also known as white snakeroot, richweed, or white sanicle, is a poisonous perennial herb in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America. An older binomial name for this species is Eupatorium rugosum, but the genus Eupatorium has undergone taxonomic revision by botanists, and some species once included in it have been moved to other genera.

<i>Pedicularis canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Pedicularis canadensis, commonly called Canadian lousewort or wood betony, is a flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to North America, where it is found in southeastern Canada, the eastern United States, and eastern Mexico. It has a wide-ranging natural habitat, being found in mesic to dry, forests, woodlands, and prairies.

<i>Grindelia squarrosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Grindelia squarrosa, also known as a curly-top gumweed or curlycup gumweed, is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant.

<i>Uvularia grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Uvularia grandiflora, the large-flowered bellwort or merrybells, is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae, native to eastern and central North America.

<i>Eurybia macrophylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Eurybia macrophylla, commonly known as the bigleaf aster, large-leaved aster, largeleaf aster or bigleaf wood aster, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Asteraceae that was formerly treated in the genus Aster. It is native to eastern North America, with a range extending from eastern and central Canada through the northeastern deciduous and mixed forests of New England and the Great Lakes region and south along the Appalachians as far as the northeastern corner of Georgia, and west as far as Minnesota, Missouri and Arkansas. The flowers appear in the late summer to early fall and show ray florets that are usually either a deep lavender or violet, but sometimes white, and disc florets that are cream-coloured or light yellow, becoming purple as they mature. It is one of the parent species of the hybrid Eurybia × herveyi.

<i>Polygonatum biflorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Polygonatum biflorum is an herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern and central North America. The plant is said to possess scars on the rhizome that resemble the ancient Hebrew seal of King Solomon. It is often confused with Solomon's plume, which has upright flowers.

<i>Solidago canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago canadensis, known as Canada goldenrod or Canadian goldenrod, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is native to northeastern and north-central North America and often forms colonies of upright growing plants, with many small yellow flowers in a branching inflorescence held above the foliage. It is an invasive plant in other parts of the continent and several areas worldwide, including Europe and Asia. It is grown as an ornamental in flower gardens.

<i>Eutrochium purpureum</i> Species of flowering plant

Eutrochium purpureum, commonly known as purple Joe-Pye weed or sweetscented joe pye weed, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from Ontario east to New Hampshire and south as far as Florida, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

<i>Eupatorium altissimum</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium altissimum, with the common names tall thoroughwort and tall boneset, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family with a native range including much of the eastern and central United States and Canada. It is a tall plant found in open woods, prairies, fields, and waste areas, with white flowers that bloom in the late summer and fall.

<i>Ribes aureum</i> Species of plant

Ribes aureum, known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ribes native to North America.

<i>Cirsium discolor</i> Species of thistle

Cirsium discolor, the field thistle, is a North American species of plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. It is native to thirty-three states in the United States as well four Canadian provinces. It occurs across much of eastern and central Canada as well as eastern and central United States. It has been found from New Brunswick west to Saskatchewan and south as far as Texas and Georgia.

<i>Polymnia canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Polymnia canadensis, commonly known as whiteflower leafcup, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America from Ontario south to Alabama and from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota east to North Carolina, Vermont and Connecticut. It is considered endangered in the last two states. It is typically found in moist forests over calcareous rocks.

<i>Liparis liliifolia</i> Species of plant (orchid)

Liparis liliifolia, known as the brown widelip orchid, lily-leaved twayblade, large twayblade, and mauve sleekwort, is a species of orchid native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States. It can be found in a variety of habitats, such as forests, shrublands, thickets, woodlands, and mountains. The orchid is considered globally secure, but it is considered rare or endangered in many northeastern states.

<i>Potentilla simplex</i> Species of flowering plant

Potentilla simplex, also known as common cinquefoil or old-field five-fingers or oldfield cinquefoil, is a perennial herb in the Rosaceae (rose) family native to eastern North America from Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador south to Texas, Alabama, and panhandle Florida.

<i>Verbena canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Verbenaceae

Verbena canadensis, commonly known as rose mock vervain, rose verbena, clump verbena or rose vervain is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae) with showy pink to purple flowers.. It is native to the eastern and south-central areas of the United States. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and naturalized populations have been established outside its native range, such as in the northeastern U.S.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Collinsonia canadensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  2. Hoffmann, David (2003-10-24). Medical Herbalism. Inner Traditions. p. 383. ISBN   9781594778902.
  3. 1 2 Yatskievych, George (2013). Flora of Missouri, Volume 3. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. p. 312.
  4. "Collinsonia canadensis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 IllinoisWildflowers
  6. Alan Weakley (2015). "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
  7. "Collinsonia canadensis - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  8. Scudder; Fyfe; Felter; Locke; Webster; et al. (1904). Mundy, William (ed.). A Treatise on Collisonia canadensis (PDF). Lloyd Brothers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-23. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
  9. Cook, William (1869). Collinsonia canadensis in Physiomedical Dispensatory. Scanned and republished on Web.
  10. Petersen, J. Fred (1905). Materia Medica and Clinical Therapeutics.
  11. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 571. ISBN   0-394-50432-1.