BELLADONNA 581 



The plants do not possess any special internal secretory tissues. 

 Furthermore, bast fibers are not usually found in the secondary 

 cortex, except possibly in Atropa Belladonna. The tracheae have 

 simple pores, occasionally bordered pores as in the roots of Atropa 

 Belladonna. The wood fibers usually possess thin walls having 

 simple pores, or thick walls marked by bordered pores. The medul- 

 lary rays of the xylem are generally narrow and wood parenchyma is 

 scantily developed. In Atropa, Datura, Solanum and Scopolia an 

 intraxylary leptome is frequently developed and in which scleren- 

 chymatous fibers may occur. The walls of the pith cells are usually 

 not lignified, except in Duboisia and some other genera. Calcium 

 oxalate is secreted in the form of solitary crystals, rosette aggregates 

 or sphenoidal microcrystals. The stomata are usually surrounded 

 by ordinary epidermal cells. Both glandular and non-glandular 

 hairs occur in a great variety of forms. 



BELLADONNA FOLIA. Belladonna Leaves. The leaves and 

 flowering tops of Atropa Belladonna (Fam. Solanacese), a perennial 

 herb (Figs. 243 and 244), native of central and southern Europe, 

 Asia Minor and Persia, and cultivated in England and Germany, 

 from which countries most of the commercial supply is obtained. 

 The leaves and tops are gathered when the plants are in flower, and 

 used fresh or after being dried. Sievers has shown that a drug of 

 good quality may contain as high as 20 per cent of stems, the latter 

 being from 7 to 8 mm. in diameter when green. (Amer. Jour. Pharm., 

 1918, 90, p. 838.) 



Description. Usually in irregular, matted fragments. Stem 

 hollow, cylindrical, flattened, longitudinally furrowed and wrinkled, 

 1.5 to 7 mm. in diameter, internodes from 2.5 to 6.5 cm. in length. 

 Leaves (Fig. 242) single or in unequal pairs, broadly ovate or some- 

 what elliptical, 6 to 15 cm. in length, 2.5 to 7 cm. in breadth; summit 

 acuminate; base acute, somewhat unequal and tapering into the 

 petiole; margin entire; upper surface dark green, glabrous, epidermis 

 with distinct papillae; under surface grayish-green, slightly pubescent 

 on the veins, epidermis distinctly sinuate, midrib dark brown, the 

 veins of the first order diverging from it at angles of about 45 and 

 running nearly parallel to near the margin; petiole dark brown, 5 to 

 15 mm. in length and semicircular in cross-section; texture fragile. 

 Flowers solitary, pedicel 1.5 to 2 cm. in length; calyx deeply 5-cleft, 

 about 1 cm. in length, outer surface slightly pubescent; corolla 5- 

 parted, about 2 cm. in length, campanulate, yellowish purple; sta- 

 mens five, included; style somewhat exserted. Fruit, a superior 

 berry, globular, dark green, 7 to 10 mm. in diameter, 2-locular, many 



