Chamaelirium
luteum (L.) A. Gray Standardized Common
Name: False
Unicorn
Other Common Names: Blazing Star,
Devil’s Bit, Fairy Wand, False Unicorn Root, Helonias, Starwort
Family: Liliaceae
Taxonomy: Chamaelirium
includes only one species, which is endemic to eastern North America.
Description: Perennial herb from
tuberous rhizome; rhizome to 5 cm long, vertical or oblique, with numerous
roots. Stem unbranched, <15 cm high; scape elongating up to 1 m in female plants
at fruiting, 15–35 cm in male plants. Basal leaves in a rosette, spatulate to
oblanceolate, 5–20 cm long, bases tapering; apices obtuse; cauline leaves
sessile, much smaller and reduced further on upper part of stem. Dioecious.
Inflorescence a terminal raceme or spike. Male racemes 7–15 cm long,
white-stalked; flowers more or less pedicellate; tepals 6, white, 3–4 mm long,
1-nerved; stamens 6, anthers white. Female racemes 1.5–4 cm long, elongating to
35 cm at maturity; flowers often nearly sessile; tepals 6, greenish, 2–3 mm
long, 1-nerved; staminodes 6; stigma 3-branched. Fruit a loculicidal capsule,
3-locular, 7–11 mm long, ellipsoid; seeds 5–6 mm long, narrowly ellipsoid,
reddish brown.
Parts
in Commerce:
Rhizome with roots
Identification:
- (0.5–)2–5 cm
long, to 1 cm in diameter, vertical or oblique, sometimes curving
- More or less
cylindrical, with a few constrictions
- Surface grayish
to yellowish brown, with annular wrinkles; oblique rhizomes may have few
circular stem scars to 7 mm in diameter on upper surface
- Roots or small
circular root scars numerous, mostly on one side if rhizome is oblique
rather than vertical
- Rhizome apex
with remains of leaf bases and small central bud
- Rhizome base
terminating abruptly
- Roots several cm
long, 1–2 mm wide, somewhat curved
- Root surface
wrinkled, sometimes orange-tinged; outer part of root sometimes falls off
leaving tough, pale brown central vascular tissue
- In
cross-section, inner surface of rhizome yellowish brown; contains narrow
bark, broad cortex containing traces of numerous rootlets, and central
vascular tissue with 3–4 irregular concentric rings of small vascular
bundles
- Root
cross-section shows epidermis, cortex, endodermis, and central vascular
cylinder with 5–8 xylem strands separated by parenchyma
- Rhizome fracture
hard
- Taste bitter,
soapy
Adulterants: Aletris farinosa
L. (Aletris, also called True Unicorn Root) shares several of the same common
names and may be used similarly. As it is cheaper than False Unicorn,
deliberate substitution has been reported. It differs in several features:
- Rhizome
horizontal or oblique rather than tending to the vertical, often laterally
compressed, and inconspicuously jointed
- Upper portion
may bear the remains of papery leaf bases or stem bases up to 8 mm long,
as well as stem scars
- Roots borne on
lower surface of rhizome, very fine, pale (but when cortex has fallen off,
remaining tissue may be purplish)
- Numerous small
glandular hairs may be visible on rhizome epidermis
- In
cross-section, one to several layers of distinctive stone cells separate
the epidermis from the cortex; the endodermis between the cortex and the
vascular tissue is conspicuous, several layers thick, often pulling away
from the former; and the central cylinder contains numerous small vascular
bundles that are scattered rather than arranged in rings
- Fracture mealy,
with broken ends of vascular bundles protruding from the broken surfaces
- Taste starchy
and acrid, not as bitter as Chamaelirium
The
rhizome or root of Liatris species (Asteraceae) is mentioned as a
historical substitute, perhaps because these species have also been called
Blazing Star or Devil’s Bit, though they can scarcely be mistaken for Chamaelirium.
Their odor is described as resembling turpentine; the common species has a
thickened taproot with multiple major branches, much longer than the rhizomes
or roots of Chamaelirium.
References:
Fernald ML. Gray’s Manual of Botany, 8th ed. New York: American Book
Company; 1950:424–425.
Radford AE, Ahles HE, Bell CR. Manual of the
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North
Carolina Press; 1968.
Youngken HW. Text-Book of Pharmacognosy, 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: The
Blakiston Company; 1943:197–200.
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