. CLASSIFICATION OF AXGIOSPERMS. 539 



cious flowers. The fruit is a drupe and contains a characteristic 

 crescent-shaped seed. 



Menispermum canadcnse or Canada moonseed yiehls tlie druj^ 

 menispermum which was formerly official. It grows in tlie Xorth- 

 ern United States and Canada and is a high-chmbing vine with 

 broadly ovate, cordate and 3- to 7-lobed leaves (Fig. 180). The 

 flowers are in panicles giving rise to a characteristic cluster of 

 bluish-black berries. 



The rhizome occurs in pieces which are 5 to 7 dm. long and 

 2 to 5 mm. in diameter ; externally it is longitudinally wrinkled, 

 of a yellowish-brown color and somewhat resembles Sarsaparilla. 

 In transverse section, however, it is very distinct (Fig. 194). The 

 drug has a bitter taste and contains a bitter alkaloid menispine, 

 berberine and starch. In addition it contains the alkaloid oxyacan- 

 thine which is also found in Bcrbcns vulgaris of Europe and the 

 West Indies. 



Jateorhiza palmata yields the official drug calumba ( columbo). 

 The plant is a herbaceous climber somewhat resembling Meni- 

 spermum, the leaves being more decidedly lobed. The flowers 

 form long racemes. 



Chondrodendron tofucntosuin, the source of the unofficial drug 

 pareira, is a high woody twiner. The leaves are large, petiolate, 

 broadly ovate or rounded, slightly cordate, and densely tomentose 

 on the lower surface. 



Anarnirta paiiiculata is a woody climber of the East Indies. 

 The fruits, known as fishberries or Cocculus, are used as a fish 

 poison by the natives and contain the neutral i^rinciple picrotoxin. 



A'ery many other plants of the Alenispermaccce contain power- 

 ful toxic principles and are used as fish poisons and as antidotes 

 to snake poison. Several species of Abuta are used in the prepara- 

 tion of curare poison. 



e. MAGNOLIACE^ OR MAGNOLIA FAMILY.— The 

 plants are mostly trees or shrubs and are represented in the 

 L^nited States by the magnolias and tulip tree {Liriodcndron 

 Tulipifera). The latter is a magnificent tree with characteristic 

 leaves (Fig. 204) and large, fragrant, orange-colored, tulip-like 

 flowers. 



The plants of this family contain a variety of constituents. 



