Medicinal Herb InfoA reference archive of plants and their traditions
Not medical advice. This site documents how plants have been described and used historically. It is a botanical and folklore reference, not guidance for treating illness, and it carries no dosing instructions. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any plant medicinally — herbs interact with medication and some are toxic.

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Virginia Snakeroot

Botanical reference entry

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Parts Usually Used

Root

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Virginia snakeroot is a delicate perennial plant; its fibrous, horizontal rootstock produces many thin roots, as well as a wavy stem that reaches 1-3 feet in height. The alternate thin, green leaves are ovate and cordate, tapering gradually to a point at the apex; strongly arrow-shaped. A few solitary purple flowers, calabash-pipelike, with an S-shaped calyx inflated at both ends, bloom on short, scaly branches near the bottom of the plant, often under the litter, during June and July.

Where Found

Grows in rich, dry woods of the eastern United States. Connecticut to Florida; Texas to Missouri, Ohio. Too rare to harvest.

Medicinal Properties

Anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, bitter tonic, nervine, stimulant

Uses

Historically, herbalists administered this plant in an effort to stimulate poor appetite, aid digestion, and encourage blood circulation. Traditional practitioners also used it with the intention of addressing fevers, stomachaches, flatulence, and suppressed menses, while the tea was employed as a gargle for sore throats. At one time, the herb was regarded as a notable snakebite remedy, with various species of the same genus being utilized globally for this purpose.

In Native American traditions, the chewed root was applied topically to snakebites following incision and suction.

Warning

Virginia snakeroot contains an alkaloid which, in pure form, can paralyze the respiratory system. Use only small doses of the plant; and with medical supervision if possible. Too rare to harvest.

Bibliography

American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.

, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974