POISONS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN 187 



septa ; style iiliform, stigma bi-lamellate. Fruit : 

 an oblong, globular capsule, 1^ inches in diameter, 

 covered with numerous short, scattered, sharp, straight 

 spines, dehiscing by valves. Fruit stalk recurving with 

 maturity until the ripe fruit becomes pendant. Seeds : 

 very numerous, closely packed. 



Datura alba, the "white" datura, is the common 

 datura of the Federated Malay States, but in certain 

 districts the " black " datura is said to be the more 

 common of the two plants ; soil and chcumstance, 

 however, may so modify the f olour of the flower, or even 

 double or treble the corolla, that no botanical distinction 

 can be made merely by reference to colour. Datura 

 alba is a rather taller plant than D. fastuosa, with 

 trumpet-shaped flowers, either pure white in colour or 

 yellowish-white tipped with violet. The flower is 

 smaller and more tubular, the teeth of the calyx being 

 less than half the size and lanceolate-acuminate. The 

 differences between the two plants, however, are so 

 slight that they can scarcely be classed as specifically 

 distinct. Both grow wild in any Malay village, and 

 thrive especially on manured ground, so that it is not 

 difficult for criminals to collect the seeds. 



The Seeds. — The poisonous properties of the 

 kichuhong plants reside chiefly in the seeds. The 

 Datura fastuosa seed is oblong, kidney-shaped, about 

 4 inch long, one end smaller than the ot^ier — 

 indefinite embryo with characteristic curvation ; for 

 practical piirposes, similar to the seeds of D. alba, but 

 flatter, smoother, and rather darker in colour. About 

 eight D. fastuosa seeds weigh 1 grain in the dried 

 state. The D. alba seed is also reniform in shape, 

 having one end smaller than the other. It has been 

 compared, not altogether fancifully, to the shape of the 

 human ear ; but the margm, although thick, rounded 



