Gillenia stipulata (Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt.

American Ipecac; Midwestern Indian Physic

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

American Ipecac is a native herbaceous perennial in the Rose family (Rosaceae). It can be found in central and northern Alabama. American Ipecac grows in rich hardwood forests, in ravines, on steep slopes, and in rocky woods. It is a perennial from a woody rhizome. Stems are upright, 2-3 feet in height, usually unbranched below the inflorescence, green or reddish in color, and glabrous or pubescent with simple and glandular hairs. Leaves are basal and cauline. The leaves are petiolate (stem leaves may be sessile), and ternate. The leaves are subtended by a pair of large, persistent ovate stipules with serrate or doubly serrate margins. The leaflets are ovate to oblong in outline and doubly serrate to laciniately lobed margins with gland tipped teeth. The upper surface of the leaf is glabrous or pubescent with short hairs and/or sessile glands. The lower surface of the leaf is pubescent with longer hairs and stalked glands. The leaves turn reddish-yellow to orange in the autumn before falling. Flowers are produced in open, terminal 3-9 flowered panicles. Individual flowers have 5 green sepals, and 5 white or pale rose pink petals. The fruit is an aggregated of long-beaked follicles. American Ipecac can be used in a woodland garden. It prefers a well-draining soil in partial shade. The dried and powdered roots of American Ipecac were once used as a laxative and emetic.—A. Diamond.

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Native

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