624 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



long, calyx 5-toothed, about 4 cm. long, separating transversely 

 near the base at maturity, the upper part falling away ; corolla 

 funnel-shaped, yellowish- or purplish-white, about 8 cm. long, 

 limb plaited, 5-lobed ; stamens five, included, inserted near the 

 middle of the corolla tube ; stigma slightly 2-lobed. The immature 

 fruit somewhat conical, 4-valved. Seeds numerous. Odor dis- 

 agreeable. Taste unpleasant, nauseous. 



Inner Structure. See Figs. 117; 287, D; 285, C. 



Constituents. The important constituents of Stramonium 

 leaves are similar to those of belladonna leaves, the amount of 

 total alkaloids, however, being about one-half less (0.2 to 0.4 per 

 cent). The substance known as daturine is a mixture of hyoscy- 

 amine and atropine, the former being in excess (see Belladonnie 

 Folia and Hyoscyamus). Stramonium leaves also contain a vola- 

 tile oil, resin, and yield about 17 per cent, of ash, containing con- 

 siderable potassium nitrate. 



The amount of total alkaloids varies in different parts of the 

 same plant and has been reported as follows : Roots, 0.02 per 

 cent. ; stems, 0.02 per cent. ; leaves, 0.07 per cent., and seeds, 0.25 

 per cent. 



Stramonii Semen (Stramonium Seed). Campylotropous, 

 reniform, flattened, about 3 to 4 mm. long, 2 to 3 mm. 

 broad ; externally bluish-black, minutely reticulate ; hard but 

 easily cut lengthwise along the edge; internally (Fig. 122, B) 

 whitish, the reserve layer occupying about one-half the seed, the 

 embryo crook-shaped ; odor slight, disagreeable when the drug is 

 bruised ; taste bitter. They contain about 25 per cent, of fixed oil ; 

 proteins ; about 0.4 per cent, of alkaloids, consisting principally of 

 hyoscyamine, together with a small proportion of atropine and 

 scopolamine (hyoscine) ; ash 2 to 3 per cent. 



Allied Drugs. See Hyoscyamus and Belladonnse Folia. 



The Purple Stramonium {Datura Tatiila) which is naturalized 

 in the United States from tropical America resembles D. Stram- 

 oniwn, but the stems and flowers are purplish. The constituents 

 in the two plants are similar. Several other species are also used 

 in medicine, as Datura arhorea indigenous to Chile and Peru, and 

 cultivated for its handsome flowers. The leaves contain 0.44 per 

 cent, of total alkaloids. 



