EMERGENCY FOOD PLANTS AND POISONOUS PLANTS 25-26 



of Malaysia and parts of Polynesia, it is known as putat 

 laut, bitung, butun, hutun, keben, modgin, puutin, kun, futu, 

 hutu, puting, utu, vutu, vup. The large solitary seed is 

 mashed and thrown into the pools where the fish occur. 

 Another often used plant that is frequently fairly common, 

 is the shrub or small tree Croton tiglium (par. 26a). The 

 small seeds are crushed and used as in Barringtonia. The 

 species is rather commonly found about settlements, near 

 houses, and is naturalized in waste places; it does not occur 

 in the forests. Some of the local names are tuba- tuba, 

 chemekian, cherdken, simaldkian, panchdhar, adalddal, 

 simuli, kowe, kamaisa, kamdgsa, tuba, makaisa. Tephrosia 

 purpurea (par. 26c) is a small shrub or somewhat woody herb 

 with small purple flowers and a small flat pod. It is proba- 

 bly the most used fish poison in Polynesia and Micronesia, 

 where it is widely distributed. The whole plant is pounded 

 or crushed and thrown into the water. Local names: Avdsa, 

 hora, hola, auhola, kohuhu. The word tuba which is widely 

 used in Malaya and applied to a number of totally different 

 plants usually indicates a plant that may be used for stupe- 

 fying fish. Incidentally, a charge of dynamite or even a 

 hand grenade thrown in a pool is a very effective way of 

 stunning fish. 



1 26. Specific Plants. — a, Croton oil plant (Croton ti- 

 glium) . — ^This shrub, or small tree, is cultivated and spon- / 

 taneous. The seeds are used chiefly for poisoning fish. \ 

 Warning: A very violent purgative. Not to be eaten under 

 any circumstances. Local names: Kamaisa, kamdgsa, ke- 

 mdde, makaisa, tuba, tjerdkin, simildkian, kemaldkijan, 

 ddal-ddal, pentjdhar, rungkou, dungkow, lungkow, Idnta, 

 kelmure, tupo, humulite, semuli, kowe. 



b. Derris elliptica. — This is a most efficient fish poison, 

 its use for suffocating fish in slow streams, pools, and even 

 tide pools is widely known. There are many different species 

 of the genus, some more potent than others. The parts used 

 are chiefly the crushed roots, but sometimes the crushed 



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