186 VBTEKINAEY TOXICOLOGY 



ture, slowed respiration, convulsive movements, and death 

 in asphyxia, are to be anticipated. The lesions are as in 

 opium poisoning, with more pronounced alimentary dis- 

 order. 



P. dvbium, the long-headed poppy, is distinguished from 

 P. Rhoeas chiefly by the capsule, which is oblong, about 

 twice as long as broad, and narrow at the base, whilst that 

 of common poppy is globular or slightly top-shaped.* 



It is less common than P. Rhoeas in England and Ireland, 

 but more frequent in Scotland. Poisoning by it is even 

 less likely than with P. Rhoeas. 



The exotic species, Roemeria hybrida, violet-horned poppy, 

 of the genus roemeria, having purple flowers, red at the 

 base, has established itself very locally in cornfields in the 

 eastern counties. It also contains rhoeadine. 



Chelidonium. 



Botanical Description. — Chelidonium majus (Fig. 24), 

 the greater celandine. Rootstock perennial. Stems erect, 

 slender, branching, 1 or 2 feet high, full of a yellow foetid 

 juice, and generally bearing a few spreading leaves. Leaves 

 thin, glaucous underneath, once or twice pinnate, the 

 segments ovate, coarsely toothed or lobed, the stalks often 

 dilated into a kind of false stipules. Flowers small and 

 yellow, three or six together, in a loose umbel, on a long 

 peduncle. Pod nearly cylindrical, glabrous, 1^ inches long. 



Common on roadsides, near houses, more in England and 

 Ireland than in Scotland. 



Active Principles.— Celandine contains two chief alka- 

 loids, chelidonine and sanguinarine, produced probably 

 chiefly on fruition.t Chelidonine resembles morphine, 

 acting on the central nervous system with less stimulant 

 effect, and sanguinarine promotes peristalsis and salivation, 

 and causes tetanus and excitement. X 



* Bentham and Hooker. 



t H. Caulton Eeeks, Jl. Comp. Path., igoei 



i Cushny, Pharmacology, 1905, p. 229. 



