212 
black in colour, and possessing an unpleasant soapy taste. It is 
about an inch long, and contains a single seed. 
The plant is common in open woods and jungle borders all 
over the Peninsula as far north as Kedah. 
This is mentioned by Newbold as forming part of the most po- 
tent of the three poisons described by him. It is used according 
to him with Tuba, Perachi ( T aberncemontana malaccensis), Ivo- 
pah ( Coscinium fenestralum) and the “Chey.” Mr. Skeat sent me 
also a piece of the plant as used by the Besisi under the name 
Balai or Malai. 
About its properties nothing is known, though the leaves are 
used by the natives in cases of rheumatism. 
Strychnos Tieute, Bl.— This, the Ipoh Akar or Blay Hitarn 
of the Sakais, is a strong woody creeper attaining the length of a 
hundred feet or less, and a diameter of three inches. The bark 
is smooth and black. The branches usually fairly stout, climb- 
by means of rather large woody hooks. Leaves, polished 
daik gieen, oblong acuminate, with the characteristic three 
paiallel nerves as in other species, three inches long and about 
one and a half wide. The flowers are small and tubular, with 
foui lobes to the corolla, greenish white ; they are arranged in 
short axillary panicles about an inch long, in pairs. The fruit 
is a globular beriy about two inches through, of a greenish grey 
colour. The rind about inch thick, is woody but brittle, and 
encloses a soft whitish pulp, in which are imbedded numerous 
oblong flattened seeds about half to one inch long, and half or 
more wide, brown with a silky coat. Every portion of the plant 
has an intensely bitter taste due, as has been shown b}? H. & G. 
Santesson (Archiv. de Pharmacie, 1893, 591) to Brucine. In- 
tensely bitter as is the fruit and especially the pulp enclosing 
the seeds, both monkeys and civet cats eat it, the latter appear- 
ing especially fond of it. 
The Ipoh Akar is abundant over the greater part of the Penin- 
sula, occurring in Singapore, Malacca, Perak. It is also found 
Java. 
The Sakias make a decoction of the scraped rind of the climber 
which they add to the Antiaris milk. 
I have little doubt as to the correctness of the identification of 
this plant with Blume’s S. Tieute, though he both describes and 
figures the fruit as red when ripe, which it never is here. 
The Ipoh Aker (sic) and Aker Lampong, specimens of which 
were sent to Ivew by Mr. Wray, are stated to be possibly 5 . 
Maingayi, Clarke, but this plant, at least the “var ? furctaosa ,” 
does not appear to be clearly distinguishable from S. Tieute, Bl. 
which is omitted from the Flora of British India, though our com- 
monest species. The specimens were chemically examined by 
Mr. Stockman, who found that they produced effects like that 
of Digitalis and not at all like Strychnine (Pharmaceutical 
journal 1893, p. 045). Santesson, in several experiments on 
frogs and mammals with the Ipoh Akar of Vaughan Stevens ( Str . 
