102  The  Apocynacece  in  Materia  Medica. 
FRUITS  WITH  A  FLESHY  PERICARP. 
These  are  classified  as  Toxics  and  as  Comestibles. 
A.  Toxics — The  Seeds  of  Thevetia  neriifolia.  The  Theveiia 
neriifolia  Juss.  (Ahouai  neriifolia  Plum.,  Nerio  affinis  angnstifoha 
Pluk.,  Cerbera  foliis  linearibus  Plum.,  C.  Thevetia  L.,  C.  peruviana 
Pers.),  is  indigenous  to  the  West  Indies,  but  has  been  introduced 
into  India  and  the  warmer  parts  of  Asia,  where  it  is  frequently  cul- 
tivated as  an  ornamental  garden  shrub  and  is  employed  here  as  in 
the  country  of  its  origin.  In  America  the  common  names  em- 
ployed are:  Ahouai,  Yoire,  Alelia  de  Matto,  Jaca,  Serpents  nut,  etc. 
in  India:  China  Korobee,  Kolkaphul,  Exile  or  Yellow  Oleander.  It 
is  an  elegant  small  tree,  with  hard,  white  wood,  with  very  fine  grain; 
the  leaves  are  linear,  close  together,  alternate,  nearly  sessile,  entire, 
shining,  with  a  prominent  mid-vein,  very  straight  for  their  length 
(12  cm.  by  I  cm.);  the  flower  is  large,  yellow,  fragrant;  the  bud 
resembles  that  of  the  Nerium. 
The  fruit  is  very  characteristic,  it  is  trigonal,  3^  cm.  by  4,  and 
about  2y2  cm.  thick,  with  the  angles  and  borders  blunt.  Atone  of 
the  angles  is  inserted  the  long  peduncle  and  about  this  the  five  caly- 
cinal  pieces  ;  a  circular  line  extends  around  the  circumference  of  the 
fruit,  and  upon  the  broad  upper  margin  is  a  small  papilla.  The 
fruit  is  at  first  green,  then  becomes  black,  shining  ;  at  maturity  the 
surface  is  somewhat  folded,  the  consistence  is  quite  soft,  the  brown- 
ish pulp  adhering  to  the  stone.  The  endocarp  is  extremely  hard, 
ligneous,  yellow  to  brown  in  color.  The  kernel  is  very  oily,  bitter, 
and  produces  in  a  few  moments  a  slight  sensation  of  numbness  on 
the  tongue. 
The  active  principle  is  Thevetine,  isolated  by  DeVrij  and  studied 
by  Bias  and  by  Warden.  It  is  a  glucoside,  crystallizable,  splitting 
up  by  diluted  acids  into  glucose  and  Theveretine,  and  which  the 
experiments  of  Dumoutier  show  to  be  a  tetanic  ;  it  is  extremely 
bitter,  possesses  a  metallic  taste  followed  by  a  tingling  of  the 
tongue. 
Warden  has  obtained  from  the  mother-liquor,  after  the  preparation 
of  Thevetine,  a  yellow,  amorphous,  bitter  substance,  soluble  in 
water,  which  appears  much  more  active  than  Thevetine,  and  explains 
the  extreme  toxicity  of  the  kernels. 
Warden  has  discovered  in  the  seeds  and  in  the  bark  also  a  mate- 
rial, pseudo-iiidican,  which  was  isolated  as  a  yellow  amorphous  sub- 
