PINK AND BUTTERCUP FAMILIES. 125 



most poisonous part, is large and dull yellow in colour. 

 In old plants each branch of the root may be two or three 

 inches thick. The leaves are large, smooth, petioled and 

 pointed at both ends. The venation is pinnate, and each 

 main vein forms a loop near the edge of the leaf, uniting 

 it with its neighbour. Bright green in summer, the leaves 

 turn red in autumn. The inconspicuous flowers are borne 

 in terminal and lateral racemes. They have no petals, but 

 the sepals are white. The green ovary soon becomes pro- 

 minent. In autumn the calyx turns bright red and the 

 berries become deep purple, with red juice. The seeds, 

 arranged in a circle in the berry, are black and polished. 



PINK FAMILY Caryophylktceae. 



BOUNCING BET, Saponaria officinalis L., also known 

 as Soapwort, is poisonous, the whole plant and espe- 

 cially the root containing saponin, the effects of which 

 are explained in the section dealing with Purple Cockle 

 (p. 96) . The plant is found in old gardens and has often 

 escaped from them to roadsides and other waste places. 

 It is a coarse perennial with showy bunches of white to 

 pinkish flowers. 



BUTTERCUP FAMILY Ranunculaceae. 



THE WHITE BANEBERRY, Actaea alba (L.) Mill., is 

 known by various common names, Doll's Eyes, Coral and 

 Pearls, White Beads, Necklace-weed. This plant causes 

 trouble chiefly to children who are attracted by the ber- 

 ries. It is found in rich woods as far west as Ontario and 

 Minnesota, and at fruiting time is known by its oval 

 white berries in an oblong cluster, each berry being sup- 



