On May 12th, 1886, in search of poisonous plants | found the 
bark of this tree to have a very persistently bitter taste. Physi- 
ological experiments were immediately made, which led to the 
discovery of its toxic action. Other species of the same genus are 
likewise poisonous. It is interesting botanically to note such a 
poisonous genus in this order. 
The alkaloid or its salts have an intensely bitter taste; it is 
odourless and extremely poisonous, slightly soluble in water, 
very soluble in alcohol, ether, and chlorotorm. Warm blooded 
animals poisoned with Cryptocarya exhibit respiratory difhculty, 
soon ending in asphyxial convulsions and death. On frogs it 
causes paralysis of the reflex function of the spinal cord and the 
peripheral ends of motor nerves as effectually as curara. 
The fact that Bancroft was led to make further studies 
because of the very persistent bitter taste has an interest- 
ing parallel among the Kofin Indians. Most, if not all, 
of the plants which they use in preparing arrow poisons 
are bitter. Mqually true, one of the first diagnostic charac- 
ters used by the Nofins in identifying a plant is its taste. 
After first tasting the bark of a tree, for example, they 
will look up into the forest canopy and try to find leaves 
associated with the tree. It is quite possible that bitter- 
ness, inza/tst in Kofan, led to the original discovery of 
the plants used for their arrow poisons. Moreover, in 
many cultures bitterness has become associated with 
death. An association which may have resulted from 
primitive man’s observation that many bitter plants can 
‘cause death. 
NYLEM ANATOMY OF Ocotea venenosa 
Pores are decidedly rounded and occur mostly in the 
solitary (76% ), radial multiple (20% ), and clustered (4%) 
distributions. Radial multiples usually comprise only 2 
pores, 8- and 4-pored multiples being rather uncommon. 
Only 8-pored clusters were noted. Tangential pore 
diameter ranged from 87—-155p with an average of 117p, 
based on measurements of 50 pores. Vessel elements all 
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