Coral root

Feverish restlessness with clammy, unresolving skin at the very onset of an acute infection

Hectic night sweats with a hacking cough but without marked prostration

Overview. Corallorhiza odontorhiza, coral root or crawley, is a small, leafless, mycoheterotrophic orchid of eastern North American woodlands that draws its nourishment through fungal partners rather than photosynthesis. Its coralloid underground root, resembling a piece of branching coral, is the part traditionally collected and dried. It held a notable place in nineteenth century American eclectic and physiomedicalist practice as a gentle diaphoretic used at the start of febrile and inflammatory illness.

Clinical Notes. Eclectic physicians reached for crawley chiefly at the very onset of a cold, fever, or inflammatory chest complaint, valuing it as a diaphoretic that promoted sweating without the prostrating after-effects seen with stronger sudorifics of the day.

Action and Therapy. This is the most perfect diaphoretic we know of, duplicating the natural process of perspiration when given in small doses, and increasing the watery contents when administered in hot infusion. It even excels asclepias, is pleasant to the taste, acts kindly upon the stomach, and lacks the heart depressing qualities of jaborandi.

Conservation. Corallorhiza odontorhiza is an uncommon, slow growing, mycoheterotrophic orchid dependent on specific fungal associations, and root harvest kills the plant; it should not be wild collected and is essentially unavailable in commerce.