632 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



Fig. 366. Pansy Violet (Viola 

 tricolor). Possesses emetic quali- 

 ties. (After Fitch.) 



Fig. 356a. 1-2, Yellow violet (Viola pubescent). 2, Spurred 

 petals. 3-4, Pansy, c, Caylx. p, Pistil, a, Another spur. 



derived from Hybanthus Ipecacuanha. The sweet pulp of the fruit of the 

 Leonia glycycarpa of Peru is eaten by the natives ; the fruit being about the size 

 of a peach. We shall describe only a single species characteristic of the order, 

 viz., the common pansy, which is a common weed in the South. 



Viola L. 



Acaulescent or leafy-stemmed herbs; annual or perennial; flowers solitary 

 or rarely 2, smaller than the cultivated pansy; sepals 5; petals 5; unequal, the 

 lower spreading at the base; stamens 5; anthers erect, united; in many of the 

 species early blossoms are conspicuous, the later being cleistogamous. 



Viola tricolor L- Heart's-ease. 



Plant usually smooth; stem angled, branched; leaves roundish, or the lower 

 oval, often heart-shaped; petals variable in color or variegated, yellow, whitish, 

 violet-blue, and purple. 



Distribution. Common in dry or sandy soil from New England to Kansas, 

 especially southward. Also common on the Pacific Coast. 



Poisonous properties. The substance violin, an acrid, bitter principle, has 

 been extracted from the above species, and also is found in some of our native 

 varieties. It is a pale yellow, bitter powder. The substance violaquercitrin 

 C 42 H 42 O 24 , is a coloring matter which is found in the pansy. The emetic ef- 

 fect of violets is well known and is supposed to be due to the presence of violin. 

 Dr. Millspaugh states: 



The most characteristic symptom of its action is an offensive odor of the urine, like that 

 of the cat. The pains caused by this drug are of a stitching character, while its action seems 

 spent almost entirely upon the skin, and the male sexual organs. On the skin it causes burn- 

 ing, stinging, and itching, followed by breaking down of the tissues into either squamous 

 spots, or any grade of incrusted eruptions; the eruption pours out a thin yellow fluid. 



Dr. Schaffner states that the sweet violet is somewhat poisonous, the under- 

 ground parts being emetic and cathartic. 



