Definition of "pinkroot" []

• A perennial plant (Spigelia marilandica) native to the southeast United States having flowers with a tubular corolla that is red outside and yellow inside. The rhizomes and roots were once used as a vermifuge. Also called wormgrass. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "-- Boil half an ounce of pinkroot in half a pint of water, add to the water (after straining it) half a pound of sugar, boil it to a candy, pull the candy into sticks, cut them about four inches long, and let the child eat it from time to time, for"
• "This plant is used by the Indians as an anthelmintic -- some say quite as efficient as the pinkroot."
• "Although the pinkroot is reported to have several remedial uses, presently herbal practitioners use the herb primarily to throw out worms, especially tapeworms and roundworms, from the intestines."