The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-24
COMMON POISONOUS PLANTS.
Deadly Roots That Are Pleasant to
the Taste.
Harper's Young People.

lStAtI - @00
The recent death Of five schoolboys at
T~arrytown, n. Y, from eating a root which
they supposed to be sweet flag, calls at
tention in a very tragic and painful way
to the presence of poisonous plants in our
woods and fields. Just what the root really
was L have not definitely learned A medi-
cal Journal, commenting on the case, sup
poses that IL was the very common plant
known as poison ivy or poison oak trhus
toxicodendron) My own opinion would be
that it was more probably either the water
hemlock (circuta maculata) or the Amer1-
can hellebore (veratrum viride). both of
which are poisonous plants that grow, like
ties. But perhaps il is not so important
TO learn what pant killed the unfortunate
lads as to remember that the fatal root
was so palatable that the boys ate IL eager
ly. That a root or other vegetable product
may be pleasant to the taste and yet coll
tain a deadly poison Is a very important
thing to know.
Fortunately, not many of our native
plants possess this very dangerous com
bination Of qualities. OF those that do.
perhaps the most dangerous is The water
hemlock. already mentioned. This Is a
localities. It's feshy roots have a pleas
ant, aromatic taste, but are yiruiently
poisonous. To add TO the danger there Is
a closely-related plant, called the sweet
cicely, that grows in simnar localities, and
much resembles the water hemlock, but
which has a root that Is both palataole
their lives through installing one or
these plants for the other. Another re-
, hars p nsysnr rn been hH introducec from En,
rope is the poison hemlock toonium ma
culata), the plant that furnished the
poison with which the ancient Greeks killed
their capital criminals, and sometimes. as
in the case of Socrates End Phocion. their
philosophers. These deadly hemlocks be-
long to the same family with the parsnip,
carrot and celery, all three OF which vege-
tables are poisonous in their native sSase,
and have only become wholesome through
cultivation. Even now the parsnip some
times develops the poisonous principles IL
allowed to become too old before being
pulled.
growing in DOGGY places. II is a lily
Though no one not a botanist would sus-
leaves that clasp the stem al their base.
The poisonous properties or THIS plant were
we'll known to the Indians, who were said
to haze sometimes used 1t in selecting
their chiefs-the man who could take most
of the poison with impunity being regarded
as strongest and best qualified TO lead.
On account of this tradition. the hellebore
is often called Indian poke" 1t is also
sometimes called .'crow plant" because the
early settlers scattered corn STEPPED In a
decoction of hellebore over the fields to
The a~conites are another tribe Of COM
mon and very dangerous plants: A few
weeks ago a family on Long Island suffered
from eating the roots OF one OF these
plants. We have several native species, but
none of these is as well known as the
monks hood" which has come to us from
Europe. This plant has a historical interest.
as it's poison was used on arrowheads
in primitive warfare, and in the execution
of criminals in more civilized communities.
In some countries ii was used TO poison
wolves, and hence 1t is often called "wolfs
bane."
We are also indebted to Europe for sew
eral other common plants that are very
poisonous; in particular, the foxglove digi-
tails pupurea), the deadly nightshade
(atrepa belladonna), the henbane (hyoscya-
mus niger, and the stramonium tdatura
stramonium.) The last named is a very
common roadside weed, having a large
tubular white flower. 1t is commonly called
jamestown weed, often corrupted into Jim
sen weed" this lame having its origin in
an incident of the early history OF Virginia.
Some soldiers who had been sent to James
town TO quell the rebellion OF Bacon were
poisoned by eating a salad made OF young
shades must not be COMPOUNDED with our
charming lilies called dropping magistrates
(trilliums), which are plants of far better
repute
l have mentioned only the
plants whose poisons are most virulent- A
long list might be added Of plants i'm some
degree poisonous, but the effects OF
which are seldom fatal. Perhaps the most
common of all, and certainly the most gen.
orally known, is the poison ivy, already re-
ferred to. which really is not an ivy at all.
but a climbing sumac (rhus.) This plant has
the unenviable distinction Of being poison
Gus TO the touch. Fortunately. It does not
affect all persons, however, some being able
to handle il with impunity.