What is "polygala senega"

Senecas \Sen"e*cas\, n. pl.; sing. Seneca. (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians who formerly inhabited a part of Western New York. This tribe was the most numerous and most warlike of the Five Nations.

Seneca grass(Bot.), holy grass. See under Holy.

Seneca eil, petroleum or naphtha.

Seneca root, or Seneca snakeroot (Bot.), the rootstock of an American species of milkworth ( Polygala Senega) having an aromatic but bitter taste. It is often used medicinally as an expectorant and diuretic, and, in large doses, as an emetic and cathartic. [Written also Senega root, and Seneka root.]

Senegin \Sen"e*gin\, n. (Med. Chem.) A substance extracted from the rootstock of the Polygala Senega (Seneca root), and probably identical with polygalic acid.

Snakeroot \Snake"root`\, n. (Bot.) Any one of several plants of different genera and species, most of which are (or were formerly) reputed to be efficacious as remedies for the bites of serpents; also, the roots of any of these.

Note: The Virginia snakeroot is Aristolochia Serpentaria; black snakeroot is Sanicula, esp. S. Marilandica, also Cimicifuga racemosa; Seneca snakeroot is Polygala Senega; button snakeroot is Liatris, also Eryngium; white snakeroot is Eupatorium ageratoides. The name is also applied to some others besides these.

Polygala senega is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family, Polygalaceae. It is native to North America, where it is distributed in southern Canada and the central and eastern United States. Its common names include Seneca snakeroot, senega snakeroot, senegaroot, rattlesnake root, and mountain flax. Its species name honors the Seneca people, a Native American group who used the plant to treat snakebite.