IV] Solanacese 53 



siderable quantities without ill effects, while in other cases it will 

 undoubtedly prove poisonous. 



Children have been poisoned by the berries, but may on occasion 

 eat them with no other ill effect than a stomach ache, or, if eaten in 

 excess, sickness and purging. The berries "have even been used instead 

 of raisins for plum puddings with no effects out of the ordinary" (Ewart). 

 The plant has also been used in Queensland and elsewhere as a substitute 

 for spinach. In several cases the plant has proved fatal. Gohier gave 

 3 kilogrammes (6| lb.) of the green plant to a horse and observed no 

 serious symptoms. Cases of poisoning are recorded for calves, sheep, 

 goats and pigs (Chesnut and Wilcox). According to Lehmaim, Schraber 

 and Haller, the berries are poisonous to ducks and chickens. Over 

 thirty years ago the death of a number of cattle in Victoria was recorded 

 as being due to poisoning by this weed. 



Though cases of poisoning of stock are rare, partly perhaps because 

 the plant is a weed of arable land and partly because animals are hkely 

 to avoid it unless starved, Solanum nigrum must be regarded as a poison- 

 ous plant, any examples of which may prove toxic. The downy and 

 more prostrate form has been considered the most poisonous. 



The " Wonderberry," said to be a hybrid between Solanum guineense 

 and S. viUosum, which are probably varieties of S. nigrum, cannot in 

 England be distinguished from the last named, the fruits of which appear 

 to be edible in some countries and poisonous in others. Greshoff found 

 that fruits of the "Wonderberry" contained more Solanine than the 

 wild English S. nigrum or the Canadian form known as the "Huckle- 

 berry," and hence they should not be eaten. 



Toxic Principle. The Garden Nightshade, in particular the berries, 

 contains the alkaloidal glucoside Solanine, of which the formula is 

 considered doubtful. Solanine is readily converted into sugar and the 

 poisonous Solanidine. It was isolated from the berries in 1821, and 

 though decidedly active in sufficient quantity is not a violent poison. 

 A small quantity of Solanine is present in the stem and berries, but 

 these are probably less poisonous than green potatoes (p. 54). 



Symptoms. The symptoms of poisoning are apparently much the 

 same in man and animals : "Stupefaction; staggering; loss of speech, 

 feeling, and consciousness; cramps and sometimes convulsions. The 

 pupil is generally dilated." 



REFERENCES. 



4, 10, 11, 16, 17, 52, 53, 57, 73, 81, 82, 128, 

 141, 161, 203, 235, 240. 



