Save the Seneca
by Kahlee Keane
The Latin genus name Polygala translates to "much milk" from classical Latin. This refers to the milky excretions contained in the root. The species name senega refers to the Seneca Indian Tribe of western New York who were among the first native people to demonstrate the medicinal use of the plant to the colonists.
Early European settlers reported that various North American native groups used the root of a plant dubbed "snakeroot" or "rattlesnake root" as a cure for rattlesnake bite. At that time John Tennent, a Scottish physician practicing in Pennsylvania, noticed that certain symptoms of rattlesnake bite poisoning were similar to those of pleurisy and pneumonia and decided to try the root to help cure these conditions with good results. And so Polygala senega was accepted in the materia medica of western medicine.
Seneca is native to North America, originally found from eastern woodlands to Alberta in the North, and from Georgia to the upland regions of Arkansas in the south. Although not officially listed as an endangered species, Seneca root has been all but eradicated in the eastern portions of its range and is greatly reduced in the rest of the continent by destruction of the natural habitat and over harvesting.
For several reasons, Seneca is not an ideal choice for economic exploitation. Primarily the fact that it takes several years to develop a harvestable root limits the amount that can be safely collected each year without damaging the wild population. Cultivation is also not really a good alternative to collecting in the wild because Seneca seeds do not germinate readily even in the hands of experts.
Once a species of plant or animal disappears, it can never be re-created. Medicinal plants such as Seneca are a challenge to current provincial conservation management. As such, priorities and guidelines must be developed before it is too late. I encourage all of you to examine this issue and urge you to pressure government to stop the commercial harvesting not only of Seneca but of all medicinal plants in Saskatchewan until appropriate programs have been developed to study, save, restore and wisely manage species and their habitats before it is too late.
Regrettably, information on distribution, life history, biology, population status, levels of extraction and trade, or resource management of medicinal plants is almost non-existent. It is up to us to insist that this information be in place before any more commercial harvesting takes place.
Root Woman, Kahlee Keane is a founding member of Save Our Saskatchewan Species, living in Saskatoon. Contact Kahlee regarding her correspondence herbology course and five-week classroom course in herbology. Write to: #27, 2001 - 8th St. E., Saskatoon, SK S7H 0T8; e-mail:rootwoman@sk.sympatico.ca; web: www.connect.to/rootwoman.