The tubers of Dicentra Canadensis, De Candolle (Bicuculla Canadensis (Goldie), Millspaugh; Corydalis formosa, Pursh; Corydalis Canadensis, Goldie
The tubers of Dicentra Canadensis, De Candolle (Bicuculla Canadensis (Goldie), Millspaugh; Corydalis formosa, Pursh; Corydalis Canadensis, Goldie).
COMMON NAMES: Turkey-corn, Squirrel-corn, Wild turkey-pea, Stagger-weed.
Botanical Source.—This is an indigenous perennial plant, from 6 to 12 inches in height, and having a root-stalk bearing many small deep-yellow round tubers, about as large as peas. The leaves are ternately compound, with stalked divisions, incisely dissected into linear or oblanceolate segments, and decidedly glaucous underneath. The scape is slender and naked, rises from 8 to 12 inches in height, and bears a simple raceme of from 4 to 8 flowers, which are cordate-ovate, 5 lines broad at base and 7 to 9 lines long, short-petioled, nodding, greenish-white tinged with purple, and somewhat fragrant. The spurs or nectaries are short and rounded. The fruit is a many-seeded pod-like capsule.
History.—This beautiful little plant has been considerably employed in medicine. It flowers very early in the spring, in this section of the country as early as March; and the root or tuber, which is a small, round ball, should be collected only while the plant is in flower. It grows in rich soil, on hills and mountains, among rocks and old decayed timber, and is found westward and south of New York to North Carolina. It must be distinguished from the Dicentra (Corydalis) Cucullaria, which flowers at the same time, and very much resembles it.
Description.—The root or tuber of the Dicentra Canadensis (C. formosa, Pursh. when fresh is of a darkish-yellow color throughout, while the Dicentra Cucullaria (C. Cucullaria), or White ear-drop has a black cortex or rind, and is white internally. When dried, the external covering of the tuber is of a light grayish-yellow color, about ¼ of a line thick, inclosing an internal light-yellow substance; frequently it is of a dark color externally, and internally yellow or brownish -yellow, It has a faint peculiar odor, and a taste at first slightly bitter, succeeded by a somewhat, penetrating, peculiar, and persistent sensation, which gently influences the fauces, and increases the flow of saliva. Water or alcohol extracts its virtues.
Chemical Composition.—The only analysis we find on record of this species of Corydalis (C. formosa, Pursh), is that of Mr. William T. Wenzell (Amer. Jour. Pharm., 1855, Vol. 27, p. 207), who found the root to contain corydaline, fumaric acid, yellow bitter extractive, acrid resin soluble in alcohol or ether, containing volatile oil, tasteless resin, soluble in alcohol and insoluble in ether, brown coloring matter, starch, albumen, bassorin, cellulose and cortical substance, and inorganic salts. The alkaloid corydaline occurs in several species of Corydalis, covered 