474 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



grandiflom) which has evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers and is exten- 

 sively planted in the South; the sweet bay (Af. virginiana) a shrub or small 

 tree with fragrant flowers ; the cucumber tree (Af. acuminata) ; the umbrella 

 tree (M. tripetala) ; the Yulan tree (M. Yulan) of China and Japan ; the 

 purple magnolia (M. obovata) ; the tulip tree {Liriodendron Tulipifera) fre- 

 quently planted as an ornamental tree and producing the most valuable timber 

 of the family; the star anise (Illicium floridanum) of the south has aromatic 

 bark and pods. The fruit of /. anisatum of Japan, found growing around 

 Buddist temples, furnishes the poisonous sikimin; from the same species in 

 China is made the liquor anisette; Anise is furnished by I. anisatum. 





Fig. 245. Great-flowered Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) . An ornamental tree of 

 the southern United States. (After Faguet). The odor of the flowers said to be injurious 

 to some people. 



Poisonous properties. The crystalline substance magnolin, a glucoside, and 

 a volatile oil occur in the large leaved Magnolia (M. macrophylla) of the south. 

 The tulip tree contains the bitter principle liriodendrin, also an alkaloid, and a 

 glucoside. The Talauma macrocarpa of Mexico contains a haemolytic substance 

 capable of dissolving the red corpuscles of the blood. The flowers of Michelia 

 nilagirica are used in perfume. The winter's bark {Drimys Winteri) is used 

 in medicine. 



Illicium anisatum of Japan is said to contain a poison belonging to the 

 picrotoxin class, says Blyth.' In 1880 five children in Japan were poisoned by 

 eating the seeds of this plant; three died. After considerable experimentation 



