352 



SOLANACE^ 



not common. The most dangerous poisonous plant in Britain, 

 its berries being fatally attractive to children. A strong emetic, a 

 dose of magnesia, and to keep the patient from dozing are the 

 best precautions in cases of poisoning by its berries, pending the 

 arrival of medical aid. (Name from Atropos, one of the Fates, who 

 was suppos'ed to cut the thread of human destiny.) — Fl. June — 

 August. Perennial. 



HYOSCYAMUS NIGER {Covimon Henbane). 



4. Datura, represented by T). Stramonium (Thorn Apple), a 

 coarse, strong smelling plant, i — 2 feet high, with widely diverging 

 2 — 3-furcate branches ; large, ovate, glabrous, sinuate-dentate 

 leaves ; large, erect, white iiowers on short stalks in the forks of the 

 branches ; and a densely spinous, ovate, 4-valved capsule. — Waste 

 places; rare. (Name of Arabic origin.) — Fl. June, July. Annual. 



5. Hyoscyamus (Henbane). — Strong-smelling, often sticky 

 herbs ; calyx bell-shaped, persistent ; corolla with a short tube and 



