300 COMMON WEEDS 



plant is narcotic and astringent, and " smells like mice " 

 (Hooker). It is a simple vegetable irritant, causing 

 nausea and purging (Smith), and should be avoided. 



SOLANACE.E 



Deadly Nightshade or Dwale (Atropa Belladonna L.) 

 is not so widely known as is sometimes believed, many 

 persons confusing it with Solanum Dulcamara L. (p. 302). 

 It is found in waste places, thickets, and banks, " especi- 

 ally in chalk and limestone soils, oftenest near ruins," 

 according to Hooker, who says that it occurs "from 

 Westmorland southwards ; also rare and near houses 

 in Forfar, Argyle, and Ireland." The author has 

 found it on the coast of Fife. It is a perennial 

 branched herbaceous plant, which grows from 2 to 5 

 feet high. The leaves are large, oval, and pointed, up 

 to 8 inches long, downy, and tl usually in unequal 

 pairs." The flowers, which appear between June and 

 August, are bell-shaped or "tubular," and about i inch 

 in length, purple in colour, sometimes with a greenish 

 tinge. When ripe the berries are black, two-celled, and 

 contain many seeds. The fleshy rootstock is stout and 

 creeping (Fig. 84). 



Animals and man suffer in varying degrees from the 

 effects of Dwale poisoning, but animals are quite un- 

 likely ever to touch the plant. The root is the most 

 poisonous part, followed by the leaves, flowers, and 

 stem, while the berries are least poisonous. The last 

 are, however, the most likely to be eaten by children, 

 and care should always be exercised where this plant is 

 known to occur. Drying the plant does not result in 

 getting rid of the poison. The toxic principle is the 

 alkaloid Atropine, and the drug prepared from the plant 

 is well known and widely used in medicine. 



