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MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



Fig. 336. Wild Ipecac (Euphorbia Ipecacuan- 

 Iiae.) Plant that possesses irritating proper- 

 ties and is also a purgative. (Millspaugh and 

 Charlotte M. King.) 



Euphorbia heterophylla L. Cruel Plant 



An erect, smooth annual from 1-3 feet high; leaves alternate, petioled, linear 

 lanceolate to orbicular, undulate, entire or toothed; the upper leaves usually 

 fiddle-shaped, with a red base; involucre in terminal clusters, 5-lobed, with a 

 single or a few almost sessile glands ; seeds nearly round, transversely wrinkled 

 and tubercled. 



Distribution. From Illinois and Missouri to Nebraska. 



Euphorbia Cyparissias L. Cypress Spurge 



A bright green perennial from 6-12 inches high with running rootstocks; 

 stems clustered, occurring in patches ; stem leaves linear, entire, densely crowded, 

 those of the flower heart-shaped and entire; flowers in umbellate clusters, umbel 

 many-rayed, glands crescent-shaped ; pods granular ; seeds oblong and smooth. 



Distribution. Native to Europe, but widely scattered in eastern North 

 America. First introduced as a cultivated plant in North America. 



Poisonous properties. All of the species are more or less irritating and in 

 drying give off very disagreeable odors. Many of the species of the genus are 

 used by quacks to remove warts and freckles; the juice produces an erysip- 

 elatous-like inflammation, and in one case mentioned by Dr. White, the whole 

 abdominal wall became gangrenous. 



The milky juice of the plant causes itching and inflammation. The general 

 effect is very much like that of poisoning from the poison ivy. In Texas, accord- 

 ing to Chesnut, the juice of E. marginata is used to brand cattle. The honey 



