Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-02-25
Poisonous Plants.

] am not disposed TO provoke a tilt
with the popular physic-mongers who
recommend their compounds upon the
score of being purely vegetable" con-
seauently harmless, If not beneficial.
| Still, truth compels me to say that the
most virulent poisons are of vegetable
origin. The tabled Upas tree, of which
we all have read in our childhood days,
has, it is true, lost its terroTs through the
/ more familiar acquaintance in the con-
servatory; but there are poisonous
plants enough left to make one careful
| about introducing them too freely into
the greenhouse or garden.
Few will probably undertake to cult
vate plants of Srgchnos nur-pomica or
the Deadly Hemlock (Enaatte crocata);
but the Deadly Night-Shade, Aconite,
| and many other equally as dangerous
kinds are far too frequently seen in gar
dens or permitted to grow wild by the
roadsides.
The curious and snowy fruits of the
Stramonium (Ddturd) or the brightred
berries of Climbing Night-Shade $50
Ionum duLcdnldra) frequently tempt chill
dren's curiosity, and a taste results in a
more or less severe case of poisoning.
Children should also be instructed not to
| dig and eat the roots of plants, for there
are some, like the wild carrot, which are
| somewhat pleasant TO the taste, but at
the same time extremely poisonous
One might suppose that plants as COM
mon and wildly distributed as our two
poisonous species of Wild Sumac would
be well known to every person. but
they are not, and thousands of instances
of severe poisoning occur every season
through careless handling of these
plants. II is true that they are not
equally poisonous to every one and some
persons can handle them with impunity !;
still il is never safe experiment and at
all times, for have known those who
escaped from many "a venture OF this
kind but were poisoned at last. Be
sides, after person has once been in
oculated with the virus of these plants
they are ever afterward more susceptible
to the effects of sumac poison than be-
fore.
The most viruaent species Is the one
known as Poison Dogwood, or Poison
Sumac, or botanically Rtus penenata. II
Is common shrub in low, swampy
grounds, growing ten 10 fifteen feet
high. IL has pinnate leaves, somewhat
like the ailanthus tree, but the leaf
stalks or petioles are of reddish color.
The fruit Is about the size of a grain of
wheat and of dull, ycllowish color. II
is produced in long, rather loose, panicles
or clusters, and these may be seen hang.
ing upon the bushes long after the leaves
have fallen In autumn.
The other species Is known by several
common names; but the most general is
Poison Ivy, because it Is found creeping
over rocks or ascending the stems OF
trees by means of the minute rootlcts
which spring from every portion OF the
stalk. The botanical name of this plant
is RIMS Tiortcodendr0n. The vine Is FIRE.
qcently mistaken for the American
Creeper (AmpeIopsts qutnquefotin);; but
the leaves Of the latter are divided into
five leaflets, AS its specific name indi
Gates, while those Of the former have
only three. III this very marked differ
ence is only kept In mind no one need
make a mistake, at least while both
plants are In leaf A child large enough
to ramble about the field can easily he
made TO remember that the three-lcaved
vine is poisonous and the tive-leaved not.
But so long as thousands of parents will
not take the trouble to inform them
selves in regard TO such simple but use
full matters IL cannot be expected that
their children will escape the penalties
of ignorance or know good from evil
even among the plants OF field or gar
den.--H. s. r., in ". Y. Independent.