Clustered Snakeroot, Sanicula odorata, synonymous with Sanicula gregaria is an easily over looked wild flower of mid summer. The name snakeroot comes from its use as a folk medicine to treat venomous snakebites.  This member of the Parsley Family was not widely use for its medicinal properties. When it was by American Indians, it was used to relieve pain, aid kidney functions, stops nosebleeds.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry.

Clustered Snakeroot Sources:

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 2. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 1715

Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. 2nd. ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print. pg. 73-74

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 55

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 517

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 426-427

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.