1853.] 



POISONOUS PLANTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TORONTO. 



205 



(and I fear a very imperfect) history of tlie poisonous plants 

 which are cither indigenous to, or wliieli liave become natui'al- 

 ized in the immediate neigiibourhood of Toronto. 



The district, whose poisonous vegetable productions I propose 

 to examine is very limited, being bounded by the river Don on 

 the east, the Humber on the west, and extends north about four 

 or fi\e miles, while on the south it is washed by the Lake. 



Contracted as the area is, it is remarkable for the variet}' of its 

 soil, from the most stubborn and tenacious clay, to the lightest 

 and most barren sand ; yet, it is not distinguished for any pecu- 

 liarity in its stratification. 



It is of importance to remark the geological relations of plants, 

 particularly in a new countr}', because it throws some light on 

 the laws of vegetable distribution. It suggests the questions 

 whether it be indigenous and coeval with the soil; or if intro- 

 duced, bj- what means has that been effected. 



Whether arts or commerce, agriculture or manufactures, super- 

 stition or medicine, has bi'ought it; oi-, which is frequently the 

 case, whether the altered state of the eai'th's surface has not 

 afl[brded to nature, by her ordinary laws, increased means of 

 diffusion. 



We are told that in the days of Gesner, the Fumaria Officina- 

 lis, or Fumatory was a very rare plant in the fields of southern 

 Europe, and was supposed to have come from the east; now, it 

 is the commonest weed in corn fields and gardens from Greece to 

 Lapland. 



When I first came to Canada in 1S34, many of the plants 

 which are now most common were then never seen, in proof of 

 which I may instance, the Agrostemma or Corn Cockle, the 

 Senecio Vulgaris or Groundsel, the pretty little Pimpernel, and 

 the Fumatory. It is remarkable that the Anthemis Cotula 

 (stinking May weedj which in this neighbourhood renders all 

 our road sides white with its blossoms during the greater part of 

 the summer, should not be found fifty miles to the north of 

 Toronto. 



Having made these preliniinary observations, I shall now 

 commence this grave subject by a description of the most poison- 

 ous plants, after which 1 shall speak of those which are simply 

 acid in their recent state, but, I greatly fear that I shall not be 

 able to relieve its technical dulness by any little excursions into 

 the by paths of literature, or by its useful application to science 

 — you must be prepared, therefore, Mj-. President, to find it as 

 dry and uninteresting as a spelling book, or as that engaging and 

 entertaining work Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. 



]st. The Datura Stramonium — Thorn Apple — also known 

 under the names of The Devil's Apple, Apple of Peru, and 

 Jamestown Weed. It belongs to the Linnrean class, 'and order 

 Pentandria — Monogynia, and Natural Family Solanacea. 



It is found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and America, 

 growing in gardens on rubbish heaps, and road sides. 



The Thorn Apple is an annual, growing to the height of from 

 three to five feet, according to the richness of the soil; it has a 

 leafy, branchy stem, of a purple colour, with green spots ; the 

 leaves are large, ovate, sinuous, and deeply cut ; the flowei-s, which 

 make their appearance in August and September, are axillary, 

 long, trumpet-shaped, white, pale purple, or blue, and are followed 

 by a capsule the size of a large walnut, covered with long sharp 

 prickles, four-celled, and filled with blackish, rough kidney-shaped 

 seeds. The whole plant when recent, has a strong nauseous and 

 disagreeable odour, which, when powerful, is stated by Beck to 

 be ' certainly noxious.' AU the domestic animals refuse it as 

 food. 



It is a powerful narcotic poison, and used as such in the East 

 for nefarious purposes, and in Russia for increasing the intoxica- 

 ting effects of beer. Medicinally, the Thorn Apple has been 

 found efficacious in asthma, and organic diseases of the heart, 

 when its fumes have been inhaled by smoking. 



It is not, however, for its medicinal, but for its poisonous pro- 

 perties, that I wish to direct your attention to it ; and, having 

 witnessed these effects in several instances, I can speak of them 

 from peisonal observation. 



Being an early plant, it is occasionally gathered when youno- 

 in mistake for Lamb's Quarter, (Epilobium ?j boiled, and eaten 

 as gi-eens — the effects in many instances being followed by serious 

 consequences. 



At first it produces dryness of the mouth and throat, speedily 

 followed by nausea, delirium, loss of sense, a sort of madness or 

 fury, loss of memory — sometimes transitory, and sometimes per- 

 manent — convulsions, paralysis of the limbs, excessi\e thiret, 

 dilatation of the pupils, tremblings, and death. 



The severity of the symptoms depend greatly upon the pecu- 

 liar constitution and age of the person ; children, two or three 

 years old, have died in two hours from eating some of the seeds, 

 whereas aduUs who have partaken freely of it, have recovered 

 after a time, and without any permanent ill effects being produced. 



A family whom I attended some years ago, were all attacked 

 in the manner above described ; the children vomited before I 

 reached the house, and speedily recovered ; but the father and 

 mother, who had partaken more freely of it, continued ill for 

 many days, ultimately recovering, but with permanent paralysis 

 of the extensor muscles of the feet. 



In Beveriey's History of Vii-ginia, we find the following curious 

 account of its effects: — 'The Jamestown Weed, which resembles 

 the Thorny Apple of Peru, is supposed to be one of the greatest 

 coolers in the worid. This being an eariy plant, was gathered 

 very young for a boiled sallad, by some of the f oldiers sent thither 

 to quell the rebellion of Bacon ; and some of them eat plentifully 

 of it, the effect of which was a very pleasing comedy, for they 

 turned natural fools upon it for se%-ei-al days. One would blow 

 up a feather in the air ; another would dart straws at it with 

 much fuiy ; another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like 

 a monkey, grinning and making mows at them ; a fourth would 

 fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with 

 a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll. In this 

 frantic condition they were confined, lest, in their folly, they 

 should destroy themselves. A thousand simple tricks they 

 played, and after eleven days returned to themfelves again, not 

 remembering anything that had passed.' 



Numerous cases in which death has taken place after eating 

 this pilant, might also be cited. 



2nd. Rhus Toxicodendron or Radicans — The Poison Ivy. This 

 plant is very common in Canada and the United States, growino- 

 on the borders of woods, in the angles of fences, and road sides • 

 flowering in June and July, and belongs to the Class Pentandria 

 Order Tiigynia, and to the Nat. Family Terebinthaceje of De- 

 candolle. 



The root is generally trailing along the ground, sending up 

 many stems, but when it meets with support, such as a tree or a 

 wall, it will climb like ivy to a considerable height. 



The leaves are altej-nate, supported on long petioles ; the leaf- 

 lets ternate, rhomboidal, acute, smooth and shining; the veins on 

 the under surface, slightly hairy. The flowei-s are small, green- 

 ish white, in panicles wljjcli are chiefly axillary. The ben-ies are 

 roundish, of a pale green color, approaching to white. 



