POISONOUS PLANTS 235 



On post-mortem there was found serous effusion in the 

 abdominal cavity, and the intestines were empty, save for a 

 little fluid and gas. The stomach was full of green food 

 containing convolvulus. There were a few petechial patches 

 on the villous membrane of the stomach ; the other viscera 

 were healthy, but the brain was highly congested. 



Cuscuta. 



The genus Cuscuta includes C. europaa, the greater dodder, 

 which has been held responsible for poisoning. 



Botanical Characters. — ^The dodder is a greenish-yellow, 

 tending to red, leafless, parasitic herb. The flowers form 

 clusters, are small, sessile, and have broad and rounded 

 sepals. It is not very common in England, and is con- 

 fined to the South. A variety, Cuscuta trifolii, is found in 

 clover-fields. 



Symptoms. — Dodder is stated to cause enteritis, and to 

 evolve also nervous symptoms in jiigs. 



Holterbachj* observed illness of cows caused by a clover 

 containing 50 per cent, of the Cuscuta trifolii. He noted 

 trembling movements of the hind quarters and swelling 

 over the hock-joints. The back was arched, head out- 

 stretched, anxious appearance, and quick breathing. There 

 was violent shaking, in which the hind feet alternately took 

 part, increasing until the animal was in a frenzy. The 

 attack declined, leaving the patient exhausted and covered 

 with sweat. Other attacks followed, but all the animals 

 recovered quickly, and remained healthy. 



SOLANACEiE. 



The four British genera of this family — viz., Atropa, 

 Hyoscyamus, Datura, and Solanum — each contain poisonous 

 plants, and to them we may add the exotic tobacco, or 

 Nicotiana tabacum, which is cultivated to a limited extent, 

 and is likely to be more widely grown for the sake of the 

 * Vet. Jl, 1908, p. 632. 



