186 MALAY POISONS AND CHABM CUBES 



Kichuhong is widely distributed all dver south-eastern 

 Asia and the Malay Archipelago ; in Kedah it is known 

 as tirong pungah. stramonium, D, metel, and Atropa 

 belladonna, although found in India, do not appear to 

 occur in Malaya. Malays apply the word kechuhong to 

 other plants having tubular flowers : viz., Eandia 

 macrophylla, Br. — Rubiaceae, is Mchuhong rimha ; Gar- 

 denia tentaculata, Hook, fil.— RubiacesB, is kechubmg 

 paya, and, from the slight resemblance of the prickly 

 fruits, Byttneria Maingayi, Mast. — Sterculiacese, is 

 called akar keckubong (Ref . 1 9) . The word is also applied 

 to the amethyst {baiu kechuhong) y or the kichuhong stone. 



Botany, — The so-called ** black " datm-a is the 

 typical variety of the tropical datm*as. It is a quick- 

 growing herbaceous plant, about 4 to 6 feet high, 

 with widely-spreading branches, conspicuous trumpet- 

 shaped flowers (devil's trumpet flower of Ceylon), and 

 globose, thorny fruits about the size of a wlanut (the 

 mad-apple of Australia). Leaves : alternate, petiolate, 

 broadly ovate, often about 5 to 10 inches long and 

 4 inches broad at the widest part, margin repandly 

 toothed, petiole 4 J inches long, apex acute, base 

 unequal, glabrous or sparsely tomentose, upper surface 

 dark greyish-green, under surface paler, veins pellucid. 

 The fresh leaves exhale a somewhat offensive smell when 

 bruised, and have a shghtly bitter taste. Flowers : 

 axiUary, on peduncles about ^ inch long, single, erect. 

 Calyx : tubular, five-angled, five-toothed, teeth reach- 

 ing about half the length of the corolla tube. Corolla : 

 tube over 7 inches long, infundibuHform, purple, violet 

 or white without, white within. Limb : five-lobed, 

 twisted when in bud, lobes oblong-ovate, cuspidate. 

 Stamens : inserted near the base of the tube, included ; 

 anthers linear with parallel cells opening by introse 

 slits. Ovary : two-celled, falsely four-celled by false 



