ON THE MALAYAN FISH POISON CALLED 

 "AKER TUBA," (DBBBIS ELLIPTIGA.)* 



The fisli-poison known by the Malayan name of " aker titba " 

 is the root of a papihonaceous woody cHmber called derris ellip- 

 tica, Benth. This }>lant liears bunches of pretty, fragrant, white 

 flowers, tinted with jiink and pale buff, which are followed by 

 thin, flat, blunt-ended pods, 2^ inches long by 1 inch broad, 

 containing one or two seeds. The leaves are pinnate, with seven 

 to thirteen leaflets, and are whitish beneath. It flowers in Perak 

 in February and March, and the fruit ripens in May or June. 



The following is the botanical description taken from the 

 Forest Flora of British Burma, by S. Kurz : — 



" Derris Ellipiica, Benth. — A large scandent shrub, the 

 younger parts all rusty pubescent ; leaflets, in four to five pairs, 

 with an odd one, on a pubescent petiolule 2 lin. long, oblong to 

 obovate-lanceolate, shortly and rather abrujitly acuminate, 3 to (3 

 inches long, chartaceous, entire, glabrous above, more or less 

 glabrescent beneath ; flowers rather large, pinkish, on 2 to 3 lin. 

 long, rusty villous at apex, bracteoled pedicels, peduncled-cymu- 

 lose and forming an elongate, rusty, pubescent, narrow panicle in 

 the axils of the leaves or above the scars of the fallen ones ; corolla 

 I inch long, appressed, tawny silk-hairy ; ovary, tawny villous ; 

 pods elliptic, compressed, rather acute, about 2 inches long by 

 1 inch broad, 1 to 2 seeded, puberulous and glabrescent, narrowly 

 winged along the vexillar suturo. Habitat, Tenasseriin. Flowers, 

 March ; fruits, August." 



LoTii'eiro's genus Derris includes several other poisonous 

 plants, of which D. JJliginosa, Benth., and D. Forsteniana, Bl.,t 

 are also used as fish poisons in Malaya. Other nearly allied 

 genera of the papilionaceous leguniinosse contain species employed 

 for the same purpose, of which Pongamia, Millettia and Tephrosia 

 may be mentioned. 



* Repi-inted from the Pharmaceutical Journal of July 2.S, 1892. 



f This should probably be D. Forsteniana, Miq., which is now roti-arded 

 as the same as D. Uliginosa, Benth. See Journal Li^mean iSuciety, Vol. IV., 

 Supplement. [Ed. Pharm. Journal.'] 



