ABSTRACT
The concept of a snakeroot, or the root of a plant that counteracts the poison of snakes, appears to be of American origin. Europeans, however, were well versed in poisons, and firmly believed in counterpoisons. In Spanish counterpoisons were contrayerbas. Europeans were also familiar with poisonous snakes, having several species of Vipera (Viperidae) spread from England and Germany south. However, these “adders” were not as large or as toxic as those encountered in the New World (Ditmars 1931, Darlington 1957).
