130 OCCASIONALLY FATAL. 
BARBERRY FAMILY—Berberidaceae. 
THE MAY APPLE—Podophyllum peltatum L. 
Other Common Names: Mandrake, Umbrella-plant, 
Devil’s Apple, Vegetable Calomel, Wild or Ground Lemon. 
This plant contains podophyllin, a bitter resinous sub- 
stance used in medicine as a purgative, over-doses of 
which have proved fatal. It is very bitter when fresh and 
so produces few cases of poisoning, although it is very 
plentiful. The ripe fruit contains very little if any of the 
drug. It has a sweetish, slightly acid taste and makes a 
delicious preserve. 
A native of North America, the plant grows plentifully 
in parts of Quebec and Ontario and south to Florida and 
Texas, in open woods and the shaded parts of pastures. 
The underground rootstock is perennial and from it arises 
the erect stem, a foot or so in height. From the top are . 
given off two fleshy petioles, bearing large umbrella- 
shaped leaves, deeply lobed and notched. The pearly white 
flower grows from the fork. The ovoid fruit is from one 
to two inches long and turns yellow when ripe. 
POPPY FAMILY—Puapaveraceuae. 
THE BLOODROOT, Sanguinaria canadensis L., is another 
native drug plant, containing sanguinarin which in small 
doses is a tonic, but in larger quantities exerts a severe 
irritant effect, with nausea and burning sensations in 
the mucous membranes, followed by vertigo and insen- 
sibility. In the natural state it is not eaten, for the taste 
is exceedingly acrid, and the orange red juice is repulsive. 
