500 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



Fig. 261. Common Sun- 

 dew (Drosera rotundi flora). 

 Poisonous to cattle. (After 

 Fitch). 



Fig. 262. Missouri Currant (Ribes 

 aureum). The flowers are spicy frag- 

 rant. It is a well known shrub. (W. 

 S. Dudgeon). 



(R. aureum}, the Crandall, a well known cultivated form; the cultivated goose- 

 berry (R. Grossularia}, Missouri gooseberry (R. gracile} ; the cultivated 

 hydrangeas (Hydrangea pa-niculata) ; the wild hydrangea (H. arborescent} ; 

 used as a diuretic; the mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius), and P. grandi 

 floms; Deutsia scabra, the Astilbe japonica and the alum root (Hcuchera 

 americana} a powerful astringent. Several members of this family are poison- 

 ous ; the western Jamesia americana, a pretty shrub of the Rocky Mountains 

 with white flowers, contains an appreciable amount of HCN, according to Gres- 

 hoff. The same substance also occurs in the garden Hydrangea hortensia, H. 

 arborescens, an American species of the southern region. The H. Thunbergii; 

 H. Lindlcyana and H. involucrata all contain HCN. The HCN, however, is 

 in a transitory stage. Greshoff states that the leaves of Philndelphus coronarius, 

 P. Lcmoinei and P. micro phylhts, and the seeds of P. grandiflorus contain sap- 

 onin, as do the leaves of Dcutzia staminea. The family Hamamelidaceae includes 

 the witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana} containing a bitter principle; the storax 

 (Liquidambar orientalis} of the Old World which contains two resin alcohols, 

 storesin and ester, and red gum (L. Styraciflua) a common tree of moist 

 woods of the South supplying a well known commercial wood; it is also an 

 ornamental tree, the leaves of which, when bruised, are fragrant. The family 

 Platanaceae contains the sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), a large tree which 

 furnishes valuable wood and is also used for ornamental purposes. According 

 to Greshoff the leaves of Platanus acerifolia, P. cuneata, P. occidentalis and P. 

 orientalis contain HCN. The young leaves are poisonous. 



Families of Resales 



Calyx free from the ovary, wholly superior. 



Simple 1-celled Leguminosae. 



Ovaries 2 or more compound ; stamens twice as many as the pistils 



. . Crassulaceae. 



