PLANTS. 875 



petioles, large, yellowish-white, somewhat downy ; fruit, 

 a large, yellow, fleshy berry, ovoid, and filled with num- 

 erous kidney-shaped, dark brown seeds ; grows in woods ; 

 fruit ripens in July, slightly acid and maukish, eaten by 

 pigs and boys. The mandrake is found abundantly in 

 southern Europe, and in the days of early superstition, 

 the forked root, supposed to possess magical power, was 

 used in sorcery or divination. Belongs to the class of 

 acrid narcotic poisons the root and leaves only, for the 

 fruit is innocuous ; its effect and operation much resem- 

 ble that of Belladonna. 



Black Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), plate 30, fig. 5. 

 Stem erect, branching ; a clammy, pubescent plant, fetid 

 and narcotic ; leaves oblong, angled, lobate, and toothed. 

 Flowers (corolla) pale yellow, strongly veined with dark 

 purple, increasingly dark towards the bottom. Very poison- 

 ous, grows in rubbish heaps, in hedges, and by road-sides; 

 blooms in May and August. Every part of this plant 

 is pervaded with an acrid narcotic principle, which is 

 equally strong in leaf, flower, stem, etc. If eaten, its 

 operation is very severe, producing headache, stupor, 

 nausea, deafness, insensibility, and, at last, convulsions. 

 Simple emetics are given, often successfully, doses of 

 vinegar and lemon juice are common remedies used 

 against its poisonous influence, and acidulated drinks, it 

 is said, seldom fail to counteract it <3 . 



Herb Christopher (Actaea spicata). called Cohos/i or 

 Baneberry in United States. Root annulate and many- 

 headed. But diametrically, the wood presents a star- 

 like circle with obtuse rays. Stem naked, smooth, about 

 two feet in height ; leaves one foot long, large, three- 

 lobed, compound, glossy green leaflets long, sharply 

 cleft, downy on under surface ; flowers white, hang five 



