664 MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



the plant is wet with dew. In Australia, according to Maiden, the Daucus 

 brachiatus is injurious to sheep, the hooks sometimes entering the skin. 



CORNACEAE Link. Dogwood Family. 



Shrubs or trees, with opposite or alternate leaves; calyx tube adnate to the 

 ovary, lobes small; petals as many as the stamens, 4-5, inserted on the disk; sta- 

 mens as many as the petals or more numerous; ovary inferior, 1-2 celled; style 1, 

 ovules 1, in each cavity; fruit a 1-2 seeded drupe. 



A small family of 16 genera and about 85 species, containing several plants 

 cultivated for ornamental purposes, such as the red osier (Cornus stolonifera}, 

 native from Nova Scotia south to Virginia, Kentucky, northeastern Iowa, 

 Nebraska, the Rocky Mountains, California and Alaska. 



The Aucuba japonica, with handsome red berries, is cultivated in green- 

 houses; it contains the glucoside aucubin C 13 H l:l OH-}-H 2 O. 



Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small tree or large shrub, cul- 

 tivated for its large corolla-like bracts. It is native in dry woods from southern 

 New England to Ontario, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas. . The western dogwood 

 (Cornus Nuttallii} of the Pacific, is a beautiful tree from 20-75 feet high and 

 1-2 feet in diameter. It produces a close grained wood that is capable of re- 

 ceiving a high polish and is used for furniture, cabinet work, and water wheels. 

 Tupelos (Nyssa aquatica) and (N. sylvatica) produce wood of some importance. 



The dogwoods, especially the flowering dogwood and the round-leaved dog- 

 wood (Cornus circinata) are used in medicine; the bark contains the bitter 

 principle cornin. Some species, like panicled dogwood (C. paniculata) are oc- 

 casionally troublesome in newly cultivated fields. 



Poisonous properties. At various times, members of this family have been 

 suspected of being poisonous. Two species, Cornus Amomum Mill, and C. 

 paniculata L'Her. (= C. candidissima Mill.) are thus listed in Part I of this 

 Manual. Actual poisoning from species of Cornus has not, so far as is known 

 to the present author, been observed. Greshoff, however, lists as poisonous 

 C. Amomum Mill., Alangium Lamarckii Thwait., and Garrya Fremontii Torr. 



METACHLAMYDEAE 



Petals partly or wholly united, rarely separate or wanting; tubular or 

 funnel-form. This includes the important plants classed as Gamopetalae. 



Ericales 



Flowers complete, regular with lobed or distinct calyx; corolla cleft; sta- 

 mens free from corolla; ovary compound. This order includes such families as 

 Pirolaceae and Ericales. 



ERICACEAE. Heath Family. 



Shrubs, trees or occasionally herbs, with simple leaves; flowers regular, or 

 nearly so, generally perfect; calyx usually free from the ovary, 4-5 lobed, gen- 

 erally persistent; corolla of 4-5 petals or 4-5 lobed; anthers 2-celled, commonly 

 appendaged or opening by pores ; ovary 3-10 celled ; style 1 ; pollen consisting 

 usually of 4 united grains; embryo small. 



A large family of wide distribution. About 1400 species. Several species 

 of the family are frequently cultivated for ornamental purposes notably the 

 rhododendron and the wild laurels (Rhododendron catawbiense , R. maximum), 

 which are hardy out of doors in the south and east. The azalea (Rhododendron 

 indicum} is frequently cultivated in greenhouses, flowering in late winter and 

 early spring; the garden azalea (Rhododendron sinense) is cultivated in gardens. 



