A genus of plants in the lily family, native to North America and Asia, with small star-shaped flowers and medical or herbal uses.
From Greek aletes (wandering) or possibly from a-, 'without,' + letron, related to forgetting—the true etymology is uncertain but likely descriptive of the plant's appearance or behavior.
Aletris plants have a weird botanical history: they're called 'colic root' in Appalachia where settlers used them medicinally, yet modern herbalists still debate whether the plant actually works or if traditional use created false confidence.
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