130 OCCASIONALLY FATAL. 



BARBERRY FAMILY Berberidaceae. 



THE MAY APPLE Podophyllum peltatum L. 



Other Common Names: Mandrake, Umbrella-plant, 

 Devil's Apple, Vegetable Calomel, Wild or Ground Lemon. 



This plant contains podophyllin, a bitter resinous sub- 

 stance used in medicine as a purgative, over-doses of 

 which have proved fatal. It is very bitter when fresh and 

 so produces few cases of poisoning, although it is very 

 plentiful. The ripe fruit contains very little if any of the 

 drug. It has a sweetish, slightly acid taste and makes a 

 delicious preserve. 



A native of North America, the plant grows plentifully 

 in parts of Quebec and Ontario and south to Florida and 

 Texas, in open woods and the shaded parts of pastures. 

 The underground rootstock is perennial and from it arises 

 the erect stem, a foot or so in height. From the top are 

 given off two fleshy petioles, bearing large umbrella- 

 shaped leaves, deeply lobed and notched. The pearly white 

 flower grows from the fork. The ovoid fruit is from one 

 to two inches long and turns yellow when ripe. 



POPPY FAMILY Papaveraceae. 



THE BLOODROOT, Sanguinaria canadensis L., is another 

 native drug plant, containing sanguinarin which in small 

 doses is a tonic, but in larger quantities exerts a severe 

 irritant effect, with nausea and burning sensations in 

 the mucous membranes, followed by vertigo and insen- 

 sibility. In the natural state it is not eaten, for the taste 

 is exceedingly acrid, and the orange red juice is repulsive. 



