''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the family

Nartheciaceae Nartheciaceae is a family of flowering plants. The APG III system places it in the order Dioscoreales, in the clade monocots. As circumscribed by APG IV (2016) it includes 35 species of herbaceous plants in the following five genera: * ''Aletris ...

, native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and to eastern and southeastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, especially

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It was used as a component in

Lydia Pinkham Lydia Estes Pinkham (born Estes; February 9, 1819 – May 17, 1883) was an American inventor and marketer of an herbal-alcoholic "women's tonic" for menstrual and menopausal problems, which medical experts dismissed as a quack remedy, but w ...

's original Vegetable Compound.

Species

''Aletris'' species include:Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution maps
/ref> * '' Aletris alpestris'' Diels. - Guizhou, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan * '' Aletris aurea'' Walter - from Texas and Oklahoma to Maryland * '' Aletris bracteata'' Northr. - Florida, Bahamas * '' Aletris capitata'' F.T.Wang & Tang - Sichuan * '' Aletris cinerascens'' F.T.Wang & Tang - Yunnan, Guangxi * ''

Aletris farinosa ''Aletris farinosa'', called the unicorn root, true unicorn, crow-corn, white colic-root or white stargrass, is a plant species found across much of the eastern United States. It has also been reported from the southern part of Ontario, Canada. I ...

'' L. - Ontario and much of eastern United States * ''

Aletris foliata ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia P ...

'' (Maxim.) Makino & Nemoto - Korea, Japan * ''

Aletris foliolosa ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' Stapf - Sumatra, Sabah, Mindoro * '' Aletris foliosa'' (Maxim.) Bureau & Franch. - Japan * ''

Aletris glabra ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia P ...

'' Bureau & Franch. - Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Tibet, Fujian, Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan * '' Aletris glandulifera'' Bureau & Franch. - Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan * ''

Aletris gracilis ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' Rendle - Nepal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar, Tibet, Yunnan * ''

Aletris laxiflora ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' Bureau & Franch. - Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou * ''

Aletris lutea ''Aletris lutea'' (Yellow colic-root) is a plant species native to the southeastern United States from Louisiana to Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. stat ...

'' Small - Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana * ''

Aletris megalantha ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' F.T.Wang & Tang - Yunnan * ''

Aletris nana ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' S.C.Chen - Tibet, Yunnan, Nepal * ''

Aletris obovata ''Aletris obovata'' (southern colicroot or white colic-root) is a plant species native to the southeastern United States (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia). ''Aletris obovata'' grows in moist areas, such as pine woodlands and savannah ...

'' Nash - - Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina * ''

Aletris pauciflora ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' (Klotzsch) Hand.-Mazz - Tibet, Yunnan, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, northern India * ''

Aletris pedicellata ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' F.T.Wang & Tang - Sichuan * ''

Aletris scopulorum ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' Dunn - Shikoku, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang * ''

Aletris simpliciflora ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' R.Li & Shu D.Zhang - Tibet * ''

Aletris spicata ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' (Thunb.) Franch. - Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, much of China * ''

Aletris stenoloba ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' Franch. - Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan * ''

Aletris × tottenii ''Aletris'', the colicroot, colicweed, crow corn, or unicorn root, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nartheciaceae, native to North America and to eastern and southeastern Asia, especially China. It was used as a component in Lydia ...

'' E.T.Browne - Georgia (hybrid, ''A. lutea × A. obovata)'' * '' Aletris yaanica'' G.H.Yang - Sichuan

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q953802 Nartheciaceae Dioscoreales genera