Black Snakeroot

Sanicula marilandica or Sanicula europaea

COMMON NAMES

• American Sanicle
• Black Sanicle
• Black Snakeroot
• Sanicle

Black snakeroot - a perennial herb with a thick rhizome and almost leafless flower stalks that grow erect, 1 - 4 feet tall. Basal leaves of black snakeroot are long-stalked with five oval to elliptical, unequally toothed, often deeply cleft leaflets. Flower clusters (June-July), each with 12-25 greenish-white blossoms, are followed by fruits covered with hooked bristles.

When European settlers made a poultice of the crushed roots of S. marilandica (black snakeroot) to draw out snakebite venom, they were expanding upon the long list of curative properties attributed to black snakeroot's European cousin S. europaea, or sanicle, which was considered a cure-all. English herbalists, for example, used sanicle to treat internal bleeding, chronic cough, tumors, stomach ulcers, varicose veins, pains in the bowels, gonorrhea, kidney problems, and "laxes of the belly." Black snakeroot was claimed to be equally good for chapped hands, hemorrhoids, and dysentery. John Gerard, the famed 16thcentury English herbalist, had high praise for the mixing of black snakeroot in "vulnerary potions, or wound drinks, which make whole and sound all inward wounds and outward hurts."

North American Indians, quite independently, also developed uses for black snakeroot. In particular, they used black snakeroot to treat fever, sore throat, skin conditions, St. Vitus' dance (a type of chorea that results in temporary loss of muscular control) and St. Anthony's fire (erysipelas, a painful infection of the skin produced by streptococcus bacteria).

PARTS USED

Aerial parts.

USES

With its longstanding reputation for healing wounds and treating internal bleeding, black snakeroot is a potentially valuable plant, but it is not used much in contemporary herbal medicine. Black snakeroot may be used to treat bleeding within the stomach or intestines, the coughing up of blood, and nosebleeds. Black snakeroot may also be of use in treating diarrhea and dysentery, bronchial and congestive problems, and sore throats. This herb is traditionally thought to be detoxifying and has also been taken internally for skin problems. Externally, black snakeroot may be applied as a poultice or ointment for wounds, burns, chilblains, hemorrhoids, and inflamed skin.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Found throughout most of Europe and western and central Asia, black snakeroot is common in woodland areas, particularly in damp, shady sites. Black snakeroot is collected in summer.

CONSTITUENTS

Black snakeroot contains up to 13% saponins, allantoin, a volatile oil, tannins, chlorogenic and rosmarinic acid, mucilage, and vitamin C. Allantoin increases the healing rate of damaged tissue. Rosmarinic acid is anti-inflammatory.

COMMENTS