Herbal Glossary | Medicinal Glossary | Herbal Preparations | Ayervedic Formulas | Chinese Formulas
Folk Remedies | Native American Formulas | Herbal Remedies | Nutritional Guidelines

Senega Snakeroot

Scientific Names


• Polygala senega L.
• Polygalaceae
• Milkwort family

Common Names

Milkwort
Mountain flax
Seneca snakeroot
Back to Top

---

Parts Usually Used

Root
Back to Top

---

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Senega snakeroot is a perennial plant, 6-18 inches tall; the hard, crooked, snake-like rootstock produces 15 to 20 or more smooth, erect stems which grow from 6-18 inches high. The alternate, lanceolate leaves are sessile or almost so and come to a fairly sharp point. Small, pea-like, white or greenish flowers grow in dense terminal spikes, 5 sepals, 3 petals and the capsules are small, 2 celled and 2 valved; from May to June.
Back to Top

---

Where Found

Native to the rocky woods and hills of eastern North America, growing as far sough as North Carolina and Arkansas.
Back to Top

---

Medicinal Properties

Antispasmodic, cathartic, diaphoretic, emetic, expectorant, stimulant
Back to Top

---

Biochemical Information

Polygalic acid, virginic, pectic, tannic acids, fixed oil, gum, albumen, salts, alumina, silica, magnesia and iron
Back to Top

---

Uses

Most commonly used as an expectorant in respiratory problems. The Seneca Indians, who introduced it to the white man, chewed the root to make a mash which was applied to snakebites after cutting the bite and sucking out the poison.

Native Americans also used the root tea as an emetic, to induce sweat, to regulate menses, for colds, croup, pleurisy, iritis, blood poisoning, smallpox, rheumatism, heart troubles, convulsions, coughs, and poulticed root for swellings.

Historically, root tea was used similarly but added pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma; thought to relax the respiratory mucous membranes. Research suggests use for pulmonary conditions.
Back to Top

---

Formulas or Dosages

The rootstock is used dried. Gather in autumn just before the frost.

Infusion: steep 1 tsp. root in 1 cup hot water. Take 1 cup a day, a mouthful at a time.

Tincture: a dose is from 5 to 10 drops.
Back to Top

---

Warning

Large doses cause vomiting and diarrhea; an overdose is poisonous. Use with medical supervision.
Back to Top



Bibliography

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

The Herbalist Almanac, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts, by Frances Densmore, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974

Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973

Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

Back to Top