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MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



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A small family of about 85 species, mostly tropical. The juice of the berries 

 of the Umbra tree (Phytolacca dioica) of South America, now naturalized in 

 Europe and other warm countries, is used to color wines. Other plants of the 

 family, like bloodberry are frequently cultivated. The latter produces small 

 spikes of white flowers, followed by red berries. Strong drastic substances 

 occur in P. littoralis and Anisomeria drastica, natives of Chili. P. abyssinica, 

 Villamilla peruviana and our native pokeberry contain saponin and red color- 

 ing matter. 



Phytolacca (Tourn.) L. Pokeweed 



Tall, stout, perennial herbs with large petioled leaves; flowers borne in 

 racemes ; calyx of 5 petal-like sepals ; stamens 5-30, ovary of 5-12 carpels united 

 to form a ring, 5-12 celled, with a single seed in each cell; embryo around the 

 endosperm. 



Phytolacca decandra L. Pokeweed, Garget 



A tall, glabrous, perennial herb, 6-9 feet tall, with strong odor ; large poison- 

 ous root; leaves oblong-lanceolate, acute, or acuminate; flowers perfect; calyx 

 white; stamens 10, shorter than the sepals; ovary green, 10-celled; berry dark 

 purple, filled with crimson juice. 



Poisonous properties. The young shoots of this plant may be boiled and 

 eaten, the acrid property being dissipated in boiling. The leaves are eaten by 

 the natives of the island of Guam. A tincture of the plant is used for rheu- 

 matism. The root is alterative, emetic, cathartic, and narcotic. Prof. Ches- 

 nut, in speaking of its poisonous nature, says: 



Fig. 211. Pokeweed (Phytolacca decandra). The 

 root of the plant is very poisonous. (C. M. King.) 



Most instances of poisoning arise from an overdose when the plant has been used as 

 a medicine, but there are also accidental cases due to eating of the root, which has been 

 variously mistaken for that of the parsnip, artichoke and horseradish. A few fatal cases 

 of poisonoing of children have been attributed to the fruit, but whether death was really 

 due to the seed or the pulp is somewhat uncertain. The evidence is chiefly against the 



