Botanical atlas

Maryland Sanicle

Sanicula marilandica

Long before it had a place in any garden bed, Maryland Sanicle was quietly at work in the shaded understory of eastern forests, where Native healers and later the nineteenth century Eclectic physicians came to know its root as an alterative and astringent. It found its way into washes for wounds and skin eruptions, and into gargles meant to soothe an inflamed throat. Its common name, black snakeroot, echoes an old folk hope that the root could counter snakebite, a belief tied more to hard times and hope than to any tested fact, and one that should never be relied upon today. What survives is a quieter reputation, that of a humble woodland plant once trusted for cleaning and mending the skin.

Safety.

Maryland sanicle belongs to the carrot family, which also includes poison hemlock and water hemlock, so never gather it from the wild unless identification has been confirmed by an experienced forager. It has had very little modern safety research.