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Reference

Compendium

Ingredients for spellwork: their formal and folk names, categories, deities and forms, with the sources behind them.

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    313 ingredients

    313 ingredients

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    Botanical Name
    Senega officinalis

    Seneca Snakeroot

    Seneca snakeroot is a perennial herb of the milkwort family, Polygalaceae, native to southern Canada and the central and eastern United States, where it grows on prairies, in woods and on wet shores and riverbanks, usually in thin, rocky, limy soil. A mature plant may send up dozens of stems, about half a metre tall at most, from a hard, woody rootstock; they carry narrow, lance-shaped leaves and end in a slender spike of small white or greenish flowers. The twisted root smells faintly of wintergreen. It is named after the Seneca people, who used the root for snakebite: around 1735 John Tennent, a Scottish physician in Pennsylvania, learned of it from them, tried it on pleurisy and pneumonia, and soon had it accepted in Europe. Other Native nations used it as well, the Cherokee as an expectorant and for colds and croup and the Cree chewing it for sore throats and toothache. It became a standard expectorant in the pharmacies and still goes into cough syrups, teas, lozenges and gargles, and about three quarters of the world's supply is dug from the wild in Manitoba. Cunningham, who files it as rattlesnake root, gives it powers of protection and money: an infusion added to the bath and to the water clothes are rinsed in guards against anyone trying to harm you, and rubbed on the hands or feet it is said to lead you to money.

    Caution

    AHPA safety classes 2b and 2d, interaction class A: not for use in pregnancy except under the supervision of a qualified practitioner (it has traditionally been used to bring on menstruation), not for long-term use, do not exceed the recommended dose, and not for anyone with gastritis or gastric ulcers. Prolonged use or an overdose may irritate the stomach and gut and cause nausea, vomiting, retching and diarrhoea. Animal studies suggest it may alter blood-sugar regulation, so people with diabetes should watch their blood sugar closely and consult a qualified practitioner before use. Its safety while nursing has not been established; no drug interactions are known. Cunningham's health codes for the root: not if pregnant, or with gastritis or gastric ulcers.

    Forms

    • Root

    Folk Names

    • Mountain Flax
    • Rattlesnake Root
    • Seneca
    • Senega Snakeroot
    • Senegaroot
    • Seneka

    Categories

    • Protection
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