PINK AND BUTTERCUP FAMILIES. 125 
most poisonous part, is large and dull yellow in colour. 
In old plants each branch of the root may be two or three 
inches thick. The leaves are large, smooth, petioled and 
pointed at both ends. The venation is pinnate, and each 
main vein forms a loop near the edge of the leaf, uniting 
it with its neighbour. Bright green in summer, the leaves 
turn red in autumn. The inconspicuous flowers are borne 
in terminal and lateral racemes. They have no petals, but 
the sepals are white. The green ovary soon becomes pro- 
minent. In autumn the calyx turns bright red and the 
berries become deep purple, with red juice. The seeds, 
arranged in a circle in the berry, are black and polished. 
PINK FAMILY—Caryophyllaceae. 
BOUNCING BET, Saponaria officinalis L., also known 
as Soapwort, is poisonous, the whole plant and espe- 
cially the root containing saponin, the effects of which 
are explained in the section dealing with Purple Cockle 
(p. 96). The plant is found in old gardens and has often 
escaped from them to roadsides and other waste places. 
It is a coarse perennial with showy bunches of white to 
pinkish flowers. 
BUTTERCUP FAMILY—Ranunculaceae. 
THE WHITE BANEBERRY, Actaea alba (L.) Mill. is 
known by various common names, Doll’s Eyes, Coral and 
Pearls, White Beads, Necklace-weed. This plant causes 
trouble chiefly to children who are attracted by the ber- 
ries. It is found in rich woods as far west as Ontario and 
Minnesota, and at fruiting time is known by its oval 
white berries in an oblong cluster, each berry being sup- 
