A perennial plant having a stem from 2 to 3 feet high, glabrous and branching, yellowish-green in color, and studded with small black dots. The leaves are subsessile, 3-foliate-palmate; the leaflets small, roundish, or obovate, acute at base, very obtuse at apex, bluish-green in color, and turn black on drying. The stipules are setaceous and caducous. The flowers are bright yellow, few, and borne in small, loose, terminal racemes. The calyx is 4 or 5-toothed. Petals 5, stamens 10, and distinct. The fruit is a subglobose, bluish-black pod the size of a pea, on a stalk longer than the calyx, and contains several seeds.
Herb Effects
Cholagogue, emetic, febrifuge and purgative (root); antiseptic, astringent and laxative (fresh root)
In the treatment of upper respiratory infections such as tonsillitis and pharyngitis, and is also valuable in treating infections of the chest, gastro-intestinal tract and skin (infusion); soothes sore or infected nipples and infected skin conditions (root); as a gargle to treat mouth ulcers, gum infections and sore throats (decoction of plant).
Health Remedies 
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