* 
502  Rhus  Michmtxii.  {^SErfiS?" 
not  appear  12  that  he  had  visited  the  Carolinas  or  was  familiar  with 
the  flora  of  that  region. 
"  Fruit  clothed  with  a  red,  silky  pubescence.  Said  to  be  very 
poisonous."  13 
"  It  is  rather  rare  but  occurs  in  the  lower  and  middle  districts, 
especially  in  Mecklenburg  where  it  was  discovered  by  the  elder 
Michaux.  Pursh  has  represented  it  as  being  very  poisonous,  but 
it  is  perfectly  harmless.    .    .    ."  14 
The  opinions  of  later  writers  concerning  the  question  are  not 
less  contradictory  than  are  those  of  the  earlier  ones.  Millspaugh 
mentions  that  there  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  concerning  its 
toxic  or  non-toxic  effects. 
".  .  .  some  writers  claiming  it  to  be  entirely  innocuous,  others 
judge  it  to  be  the  most  poisonous  of  the  North  American  species, 
claiming  that  it  will  show  its  effects  upon  those  who  are  not  sus- 
ceptible to  the  influence  of  R.  toxicodendron."  15 
The  revival  of  the  theory  that  the  species  is  poisonous  appears 
to  be  due  to  Sargent  who  reports  : 
"  The  juices  of  R.  Michauxii  turn  black  in  drying,  like  those  of 
several  of  the  species  of  Rhus.  .  .  .  From  my  limited  experi- 
ence with  a  partly  dried  specimen  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is 
the  most  poisonous  of  the  North  American  species."  16 
Almost  simultaneous  with  Sargent's  publication  another  authority, 
Dr.  W.  W.  Ashe,  declares  with  equal  emphasis  that  the  plant  is 
innocuous : 
"  Lyon  avers  17  that  he  was  severely  poisoned  by  handling  the 
plant,  but  it  must  have  been  another  plant  or  he  was  hypersensitive 
to  Rhus  poisons.  Negro  children,  where  R.  pumila  grows,  eat  its 
berries  with  the  same  avidity  as  those  of  R.  Glabra  or  R.  copalina 
and  experience  no  symptoms  of  poisoning."  18 
la  Rafinesque,  C.  S.  :  Life  and  Travels  (1836). 
13  Darby,  ].:  Bot.  S.  States,  Pt.  2,  254-5  (1857). 
"Curtis,  M.  A.:  Geolog.  &  Nat.  Hist.  Surv.  N.  Car.,  3,  15  (1867). 
15  Millspaugh,  C.  F. :  Med.  Plants,  1,36-2  (1892). 
16  Sargent,  C.  S. :  Gard.  &  For.,  8,  404  (1895). 
"Ashe,  W.  W. :  Geolog.  Surv.  N.  Car.,  Bot.  Gaz.,  20,  549  (1895). 
18  This  in  itself  would  not  be  presumptive  evidence  that  the  species  were 
not  poisonous,  since  the  ripe  fruit  of  R.  vernix  and  R.  toxicodendron  are 
known  to  be  non-poisonous.  That  the  fruit  is  red  and  agreeably  acid  strongly 
indicates,  however,  that  the  plant  bearing  it.  is  most  probably  non-toxic,  for 
none  of  the  other  red-fruited  species  is  venomous  while  all  of  the  well-known 
poisonous  species  bear  white  or  cream-colored  fruits  rich  in  fats  but  free 
from  acid. 
