STRYCHNACE#. 
trees or shrubs. 
corymbose. 
Leaves opposite, usually nerved. Flowers 
* Tendrils none. 
1 S. Nvu’x-Vomica (Lin. spec. 271.) leaves 3-5-nerved, 
oval, shining; berries many-seeded. h. S. Native of the 
coast of Coromandel. Woody. med. bot. 2. p. 29. t. 223. 
Church. et Stev. med. bot. 2. t. 52. Roxb. cor. 1. p. 8. t. 4. 
Gaertn. fruct. t. 179. f. 7. Hayne, darst. t. 17. Plenck, icon. 
117. Caniram, Rheed. mal. 1. p. 67. t. 387. Blackw. t. 395. 
Caniram vomiquier, Pet. Th. dict. sc. no. 1. Colubrini ligni 
tertium, genus in Malabar, Bauh. pin. p. 301. The tree is 
called Koochila by the Bengalese, and Musadi by the Telingas. 
Leaves smooth, shining, from 14 to 4 inches long. Stipulas 
wanting. Flowers small, greenish white, collected into terminal 
corymbs.  Anthers half within the tube, and half out. Berry 
round, smooth, size of a pretty large apple, orange-coloured, 
when ripe. ‘The wood of this tree being hard and durable, is 
used for many purposes by the natives. It is exceedingly bitter, 
particularly that of the root, which is used to cure intermitting 
fevers, and the bite of venomous snakes, when that of Naga- 
Musadi, the S. colubrina, cannot be had. The seeds are em- 
ployed in the distillation of country spirits, to render them more 
intoxicating. The pulp of the fruit seems perfectly innocent, as 
it is greedily eaten by many sorts of birds. 
Nux Vomica is one of the narcotic acrid class of poisons, and 
seems to have a direct power over the spinal cord. It produces 
laborious perspiration, which is followed by torpor, trembling, 
coma, convulsions, and death. M. Drapiez has ascertained, by 
numerous experiments, that the fruit of Feuillea cordifolia is a 
powerful antidote against this, and other vegetable poisons. 
For a century Nua Vomica has been known as a powerful medi- 
cine, and is employed in a vast variety of diseases, with different 
degrees of success. M. Majendie discovered that the plant 
possessed the singular effect of strongly affecting the spinal 
marrow, without affecting, except indirectly, the function of the 
brain; andit was conjectured by him, that it might be turned to 
advantage in the cure of diseases. This conjecture has since 
been amply confirmed. M. Majendie, ignorant of Dr. Fouquier's 
published cases, succeeded in curing persons of paralysis; and 
has since given the alcaholic extract of Nux Vomica, not merely 
to palsies, both partial and general, but also to various other 
kinds of local and general debility. Strychnine is a preparation 
of Nux Vomica. 
Vomit-Nut, or Poison Nut. Clt. 1788. Tree middle-sized. 
2 S. rorarónuM (Lin. spec. p. 227.) leaves opposite, from 
ovate to oval, glabrous, pointed ; bark deeply cracked; berries 
l-seeded. 5. S. Native of the East Indies, in mountains and 
woods of great extent. Lin. suppl. p. 148. Roxb. cor. 1. p. 9. 
t. 5. Strychnos Téttan-cótta, Retz. obs. 2. p. 12. Geertn. 
fruct. 2. p. 477. t. 179. .Caniram Titan-cótta, Pet. Th. dict. 
des. sc. no. 2. The Hindoo and Bengalese name of the tree is 
Nirmulee; it is called Induga by the Telingas, and Tettan- 
Kotta by the Tamuls. The leaves cannot be either said to be 
3-nerved or triple-nerved. Stipulas connecting. Corymbs from 
the tops of the last year's shoots, round the base of the present 
year's, bearing, in a ternary order, many small, greenish yellow, 
fragrant flowers. Berry shining, black when ripe. The wood 
of this, like that of the former, is hard and durable, and is used 
for various economical purposes. The pulp of the fruit, when 
ripe, is eaten by the natives, although not very agreeable to 
Europeans. The ripe seeds are dried, and sold in every market, 
to clear muddy water. The natives never drink clear well- 
water, if they can get pond or river water, which is always more 
or less impure. One of the seeds is well rubbed, for a minute or 
two, round the inside of the vessel containing the water, gene- 
rally an unglazed earthen one, which is then left to settle; in a 
VOL. IV. 
I. SrrycuNos. 65 
very short time the impurities fall to the bottom, leaving the 
water clear, and perfectly wholesome. These seeds are gene- 
rally carried about by the more provident part of our officers 
and soldiers, in time of war, to enable them to purify their 
water. They are easier to be obtained than alum, and are pro- 
bably less hurtful to the constitution. 
Drinkers’ Strychnos or Clearing Nut. 
to 20 feet. 
3 S. ovatiréria (Wall. cat. no. 1592.) leaves oval, tapering 
to both ends, acuminated; peduncles axillary, corymbose; fruit 
size of a small cherry. h. S. Native of Penang. Leaves 
with three principal nerves. S. laurina, Wall. cat. no. 1591, 
a native of Tavoy, does not appear to differ much from the present 
species, unless in the peduncles being branched and panicled. 
Oval-leaved Strychnos. Shrub cl ? 
4 S. Mapacascarie’ssis (Pet. Th. ex Poir. dict. 8. p. 696.) 
leaves ovate, acute ; corolla quadrifid, with a villous throat; fruit 
very large, l-seeded. h. S. Native of Madagascar, about 
Foul-Point. Caniram de Madagascar, Pet. Th. l. c. no. 3. 
Flowers in axillary bracteate corymbs, at the tops of the branches. 
Very nearly allied to S. potatórum. 
Madagascar Strychnos. Clt. 1823. Tree. 
5 S. spindsa (Lam. ill. no. 2449. Poir. dict. 8. p. 697.) 
branches spiny; leaves obovate, acute or acuminated; corolla 
with a bearded throat, hardly longer than the calyx. h.S. 
Native of Madagascar, in sand, on the shore. Caniram, Voutac. 
Pet. Th. l.c. no. 4. Voutàca, Flacourt, mad. p. 121. no. 13.— 
Pluk. phyt. t. 170. f. 4. Leaves glabrous, 3 inches long, and 2 
broad, 5-nerved. Spines (abortive tendrils) longer than the 
petioles, axillary. Corymbs axillary, at the top of the branches, 
with opposite peduncles. Corolla tubularly ventricose, small. 
Fruit globose, many-seeded, 8 inches in diameter, at length 
orange-coloured. 
Spiny Strychnos. Clt. 1818. Tree 10 to 12 feet, cl. 
6 S. tu'crpa (R. Br. prod. p. 469.) leaves ovate, acutish, 
coriaceous, 3-nerved; nerves bipartite. h. G. Native of 
New Holland, within the tropic. 
Shining-leaved Strychnos. Shrub. 
7 S. Icna‘tn (Berg. mat. med. p. 149.) leaves ovate, acute, 
glabrous; berry pear-shaped, many-seeded ; peduncles axillary, 
about 4-flowered. kh. |. S. Native of Cochinchina, and 
the Philippine Islands.  Ignàtia amàra, Lin. suppl. p. 149.— 
Gaertn. fruct. t. 179. f. 8. Ignatiàna Philippinica, Lour. coch. p. 
125. Caniram de St. Ignatio, Pet. Th. l. c. no. 6. Camélli, 
Phil. trans. 21. t. 1. f. 46. Branches sarmentose, scandent. 
Leaves a span long, veiny. Panicles small, axillary, composed 
of 3-4-flowered peduncles. Flowers long, drooping, white, 
with the scent of jasmine. Fruit ovate, attenuated at the neck, 
size of a Bon Chretien pear. Loureiro, however, says that the 
fruit is rounded, attenuated at the neck, dry. Seeds ovate, 
trigonal, of a dry, very bitter substance. 
St. Ignatius's Bean. Shrub cl. 
Cit. 1794. Tree 15 
* * Tendrils present. 
8 S. corusrina (Lin. spec. 271.) scandent; tendrils sim- 
ple; leaves from oval to oblong, bluntly acuminated, triple- 
nerved, polished ; berries many-seeded. k.. S. Native of 
the coast of Coromandel, and of Silhet. Plenck, off. t. 118. 
Modira Caniram, Rheed. mal. 8. t. 24. — Caniram a Crochet, 
Pet. Th. l. c. no. 5. Arbor ligni Colubrini, Rumph. amb. 2. t. 
37.  Tendrils lateral, becoming thick and woody. Corymbs 
terminal, small, composed of 2-3 pairs of villous branches. 
Stipulas none. Flowers small, greenish yellow. Leaves 3-6 
inches long, and 2-3 broad. Berry often as large as an orange: 
rind yellowish. The tree is called by the Bengalese Koochila- 
luta, nd by the Telingas Naga-Musadi. (Naga, or Tansoopaun, 
