Clasping Venus' looking-glass

Description

Triodanis perfoliata, the clasping Venus' looking-glass or clasping bellflower, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is an annual herb native to North and South America, the natural range extending from Canada to Argentina. It is also naturalized in China, Korea and Australia. The flowers are wheel-shaped or bell-shaped and violet blue. They have 5-lobed corollas and are radially symmetrical. The leaves are 1/4–1" wide, are scallop-edged and shell-shaped. The plant is 6–18" high and flowers from May to August. It produces a small, many seeded capsule for fruit. The Cherokee take a liquid compound of root for dyspepsia from overeating, and take an infusion of roots taken and use it as a bath for dyspepsia. The Meskwaki use it as an emetic to make one "sick all day long", and smoke it at ceremonies. Triodanis is a genus of flowering plants within the family Campanulaceae, native to North and South America. Venus' looking-glass is a common name for plants in this genus.