474 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



grandiflora) which has evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers and is exten- 

 sively planted in the South; the sweet bay (M. virginiana) a. shrub or small 

 tree with fragrant flowers ; the cucumber tree (M. acuminata) ; the umbrella 

 tree (M. tripctala) ; the Yulan tree (M. Yulan) of China and Japan; the 

 purple magnolia {M. obovata) ; the tulip tree {Liriodendron Tulipifcra) fre- 

 quently planted as an ornamental tree and producing the most valuable tnnber 

 of the family; the star anise {Illicium floridanum) of the south has aromatic 

 bark and pods. The fruit of /. anisatum of Japan, found growing around 

 Buddist temples, furnishes the poisonous sikimin; from the same species in 

 China is made the liquor anisette; Anise is furnished by /. anisatum. 



Fig. 243. Great-flowered Magnolia {Magnolia grandiflora). An ornamental tree of 

 the southern United States. (After Faguet). The odor of the flowers said to be injurious 

 to some people. 



Poisonous properties. The crystalline substance magnolin, a glucoside, and 

 a volatile oil occur in the large leaved Magnolia (M. macrophylla) of the south. 

 The tulip tree contains the bitter principle liriodcndrin, also an alkaloid, and a 

 glucoside. The Talauma macrocarpa of Mexico contains a haemolytic substance 

 capable of dissolving the red corpuscles of the blood. The flowers of Michelia 

 nilagirica are used in perfume. The winter's bark (Drimys JVinferi) is used 

 in medicine. 



Illicium anisatum of Japan is said to contain a poison belonging to the 

 picrotoxin class, says Blyth. In 1880 five children in Japan were poisoned by 

 eating the seeds of this plant; three died. After considerable experimentation 



