199 



phytolaccic acid; formic acid; potassium formate 2 per cent; cal- 

 cium oxalate 6 per cent; and ash 13 per cent of which about one- 

 half is potassium oxide. 



FIG. 85. Poke weed (Phytolacca decandra): A, portion of shoot showing leaves 

 and stem which has a large pith with bi-convex cavities resembling the 

 pith of certain xerophytic Compositse, as Senecio praecox of Mexico; B, 

 raceme showing fruits at the lower portion and flowers at the summit; C, 

 transverse section of leaf showing upper epidermis (ue), palisade cells (p), 

 raphides (r), spiral tracheae (v), parenchyma (m) with large intercellular 

 spaces, lower epidermis (le); D, stoma of lower surface of leaf; E, transverse 

 section of fruit; F, longitudinal section of seed, the embryo being curved and 

 the endosperm containing starch. 



Phytolaccse Fructus or Phytolacca Fruit occurs in agglutinated 

 masses of a purplish-black color, and consists of the compound 



