Veratrum is a genus of in the family Melanthiaceae.[ Tropicos, Veratrum L.] It occurs in damp habitats across much of temperate and subarctic Europe, Asia, and North America.[ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families][ Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 72, False hellebore, skunk-cabbage, corn-lily, vérâtre, varaire, Veratrum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1044. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5: 468. 1754. ][ Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 82 藜芦属 li lu shu Veratrum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1044. 1753. ][ Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Veratrum includes photos and European distribution maps][ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps]
Veratrum species are vigorous herbaceous plant perennial plant with highly poisonous black rhizomes, and panicles of white or brown flowers on erect stems.
File:Veratrum nigrum Ciemiężyca czarna flowers 01.jpg| Veratrum nigrum flowers, Poland
File:Veratrum album subsp. oxysepalum 0807.JPG| Veratrum album subsp. oxysepalum, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
File:VeratrumViride-pousses-1.jpg| Veratrum viride shoot emerging, Quebec, Canada
File:Veratrum stamineum 06.jpg| Veratrum stamineum in the mountains of Japan
Linguistics
Veratrum is from the
Latin word for "hellebore", of uncertain origin;
Anatoly Liberman believes that the reconstructed
Proto-Slavic term for the genus
Veratrum,
*čemerъ, is probably
cognate with the English word
Conium maculatum, a plant similarly used for poison in
Ancient history.
Ecology
Veratrum species are used as food plants by the
of some
Lepidoptera species including Setaceous Hebrew Character.
Habitat
Widely distributed in montane habitats of
temperateness Northern Hemisphere,
Veratrum species prefer full sunlight and deep, wet soils, and are common in wet mountain meadows, swamps, and near streambanks.
Toxicity
Veratrum plants contain highly toxic steroidal alkaloids (e.g.
veratridine) that activate sodium ion channels and cause potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias if ingested.
The teratogenic steroid
Cyclopamine is also found in these plants and is known to induce holoprosencephaly in farm animals.
All parts of these plants are poisonous, with the roots and
being the most poisonous.
If ingested, symptoms, which typically occur between thirty minutes and four hours, include
nausea,
vomiting, abdominal pain, numbness,
headache,
sweating, muscle weakness,
bradycardia,
hypotension, cardiac arrhythmia, and
seizures.
Treatment for poisoning includes
gastrointestinal decontamination with activated charcoal followed by supportive care including
for persistent nausea and vomiting, along with
atropine for treatment of bradycardia and fluid replacement and
for the treatment of hypotension.
The toxic alkaloids are only produced during active growth, and are degraded and metabolized during the winter months. Native Americans harvested their roots for medicinal purposes during their dormant period.
Uses
Native Americans were well aware of
Veratrum's extreme toxicity and used the roots to poison arrows before combat. The roots, when dried and ground into powder, were also used as an insecticide.
[Edible and Medicinal plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ] Western American Indian tribes have a long history of using these plants medicinally, and combined minute amounts of the winter-harvested root of these plants with
Salvia dorii to potentiate the effects and reduce the herb's toxicity.
Medical research
During the 1930s
Veratrum extracts were investigated in the treatment of high blood pressure in humans. While initial results were promising, many of the patients suffered side effects due to the narrow therapeutic index of these products. Due to their toxicity and the availability of other less toxic drugs, use of
Veratrum as a treatment for high blood pressure in humans was discontinued.
Herbal medicine
Veratrum plants are known both in western herbalism and traditional Chinese medicine as toxic herbs to be used with great caution. It is one of the medicinals (
Li lu, 藜蘆) cited in Chinese herbal texts as incompatible with many other common herbs because of its potentiating effects. Especially, many root (and root-shaped) herbs, particularly
ginseng, san qi, and
Holothuroidea, will create and or exacerbate a toxic effect.
[Bensky, D., Clavey, S., Stoger, E. (2004). Materia Medica (3rd edition). Seattle: Eastland Press. p. 461.]
The roots of Veratrum nigrum and V. schindleri have been used in Chinese herbalism, where plants of this genus are known as li lu. Li lu is used internally as a powerful emetic of last resort, and topically to kill external parasites, treat tinea and scabies, and stop itching.
Species
- Accepted species
-
Veratrum albiflorum: Russian Far East
-
Veratrum album: Europe, Siberia, Caucasus, Turkey
-
Veratrum alpestre: Primorye, Korea, Japan
-
Veratrum anticleoides: Russian Far East
-
Veratrum californicum: western USA; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango)
-
Veratrum dahuricum: Siberia, Russian Far East, Korea, China
-
Veratrum dolichopetalum: Russian Far East, Korea, China
-
Veratrum fimbriatum: California (Sonoma + Mendocino Cos)
-
Veratrum formosanum: Taiwan
-
Veratrum grandiflorum: China
-
Veratrum hybridum (syn V. latifolium): eastern United States
-
Veratrum insolitum: Washington, Oregon, California
-
Veratrum lobelianum: Russia, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Central Asia, Caucasus
-
Veratrum longibracteatum: Honshu
-
Veratrum maackii: Russian Far East, China, Korea, Japan
-
Veratrum mengtzeanum: China, Thailand
-
Veratrum micranthum: Sichuan, Yunnan
-
Veratrum nigrum: Eurasia from France to Korea
-
Veratrum oblongum: Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi
-
Veratrum oxysepalum: Asiatic Russia, China, Korea, Japan, Alaska
-
Veratrum parviflorum: southern Appalachians in eastern USA
-
Veratrum schindleri: China
-
Veratrum shanense: China, Myanmar
-
Veratrum stamineum: Japan
-
Veratrum taliense: Sichuan, Yunnan
-
Veratrum × tonussii : Italy
-
Veratrum versicolor: Korea, China
-
Veratrum virginicum: central and eastern United States
-
Veratrum viride: northeastern and northwestern North America (but not central)
-
Veratrum woodii: south-central United States
See also
-
List of plants known as lily
External links
