Definition of snakeroot in US English:
snakeroot
nounˈsneɪkˌrutˈsnākˌro͞ot
1Any of a number of North American plants reputed to contain an antidote to snake poison.
('Virginia snakeroot') a birthwort with long heart-shaped leaves and curved tubular flowers (Aristolochia serpentaria, family Aristolochiaceae)
('white snakeroot') a poisonous plant that causes milk sickness in livestock (Eupatorium rugosum, family Compositae)
Example sentencesExamples
- Wood wrote that their poison could kill a man in an hour unless he treated the bite with snakeroot, moreover if the victim lived, the snake died.
- Interestingly, according to Vogel, Senega snakeroot was ‘the chief remedy for heart trouble among the Potawatomis and Meskwakis‘.
- Herbal medicine has contributed aspirin from willow bark, reserpine from snakeroot, taxol from the yew tree, but ‘natural’ is not automatically safe.
2Any of a number of plants thought to resemble a snake in shape, in particular Indian snakeroot.
See rauwolfia
Example sentencesExamples
- According to legend, mentioned and discredited by Rudyard Kipling in his story ‘Rikki Tikki Tavi,’ mongooses eat Indian snakeroot before engaging in battle with cobras.
- The Natural Database rates valerian (with or without lemon balm) as possibly effective for insomnia; however, they have found insufficient evidence to recommend Indian snakeroot.