126 



ESSENTIALS OF BOTANY 



Buckeye, horse-chestnut, and buckthorn leaves are so 

 bitter that browsing animals and most insects let them 

 alone. Tansy, ragweed, boneset, southernwood, and worm- 

 wood are safe for the same reason. The nauseous taste of 



Pig. 92. Stinging Hairs and Cutting Leaves. (All much magniiied. ) 



a, stinging liairs on leaf of nettle ; h, bristle of the bugloss ; e, barbed margin, 

 of a leaf of sedge ; d, barbed margin of a leaf of grass. 



many kinds of leaves and stems, such as those of the potato, 

 and the fiery taste of horse-radish, make these substances 

 uneatable for most animals. 



Poisonous plants are usually shunned by grown-up 

 animals, though the young ones will sometimes eat such 

 plants and may be killed by them. 



