Common Names
Spreading dogbane, American ipecac, bitter dogbane, bitter-root, black Indian hemp, catch fly, colicroot, common dog’s-bane, dogbane, fly trap, honey bloom, Indian hemp, milk ipecac, milkweed, rheumatism wood, wandering milkweed, western wallflower, wild ipecac.

Description
A perennial that grows to 3 to 6 feet in height, and is widely spread from horizontal rootstock. Leaves opposite, nearly sessile. Flowers large, oval, and whitish. The pods are double, 4 to 6 inches long, and slender. The plant produces a milky juice.

Flowering Period
June to August.

Habitat
Open woods, roadside banks, meadows, thickets, and stream banks.

Harvest
Roots and rhizomes in late fall.

Uses
This plant, which is extremely poisonous, is a cardioactive drug. It has been used also as a tonic, diuretic, and purgative.