The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-25
POISONOUS PLANTS.
Those That Are the Most Deadly
Have a Very Pleasant Taste.


The recent death Of five sohoOlboys at Tarry
town, n. " from eating root which they
supposed TO be sweet flag, calls attention in ;
very tragic aud painful way 10 the presence o.
poisonous plants in our woods and fields JUS
what the root really was l have not definitely
learned. A medical journal. commenting OF
tue case, supposes thai it was the very common
plant known as the poison ivy or poison OAK
(rhus tOxicodendron). Ny own opinion would
be that IL was more probably either the water
hemlOek (clcuIa maculata) Or The American
hellebore (ver2tTum vlridel, both OF which are
poisonous plants that grow, ike the harmless
sweet lag IN moist localities. But perhaps II
IS not 20 impor ant TO learn what plant killed
1 the unfUr unate lads as 10 remember that the
fatal root W D. palaJable that The boys ate it
eagerly. That a 1901 or other vegetable prod
uct may be Uiedsdnt 10 the taste ana yet con
tain deadly pOl,O on IS very important thing
10 know.
Fortunately not many OF our native
plants posses IS THIS very dangerous combination
of Qualilie>, ano, according TO q writer for
II arper's Young People, Of those that-du per-
maps The most dangerous IS tile water hemlOck,
already mentioned. This Is rank weed, grow
| ing commonly in moist localities. lis fieshy
roots have a pleasant, aromatic taste. but are
Virulently poisonous. To add to the danger
there is a closely related plant called the sweet
cicely, that grows IN similar localities. and
much resembles the water hemlock, but which
| has root that Is both palataOle ana whole
some. Many persons have lost their lives
through mistaking one OF these plants for Inc
! other.
Another related plant that now grows COM
| monty here, having been introduced from
| Europe, is the poison hemlock (coDium macu-
| lata), The plant that furnished the poison with
when the ancient Greeks killed their capital
| criminals, and sometimes, as IN tue case OF
| Socrates aud PhOciOn, their philosophers
! These deadly heml0ckS belong TO the same
family with the parsnlp, carrot aud celery, all
| three OF which vegeta beS are poisonous IN their
native stale. and nave ONLY become wholesome
through cultivation. Il now tile parsnip
! develops poisonous prIncbr~ II allowed 10 be-
| come too ola b. lore being pulled.
The heiebOre is also common plant, grow
| lug In bOggy places. Ii Is a Aly Though no one
! but bOtanlst would suspect the relationship,
! with broad plated leaves mat clasp the STEM
| at their base. The poisonous no rites of
! thtS plant were well known 30 The lndi ans, who
! aie said TO have sometimes used il II sci citing
! their chieis-the man who could lake most of
| lue poison with IMMUNITY being regarded as
! strongest and best qualified 10 lead On ac-
| count OF this tradition the hellebOe Is often
| called Indian poke" IL l. also sometimes
/ called 'crow plant" because tile early settlers
! scattered corn STEPPED - detection Of helle-
/ pOIe over the fields 10 poison crows.
The aCOnites are another tribe Of common
! and very dangerous plants. A few weeks ago
| a family on Long Island suffered from eating
/ the roots OF one OF these plants. We nave sew
eal native species, bul none of these is as we'll
/ known as the monks head" which has cnine
| 10 Us from EurOpr.I This plan h - an historic d
! interest, as Its poison was used on arrow H-ad1
/ IN DiAMlklNc WaIldlE anu III tie execution tl
criminals IN more civilized communities. IN
/ some counties % was used 10 poison wolves
/ ard hence u * often called VOLTS bane."
Weare also indebted 10 Europe for several
/ other common plants that ar very poisonous
/ IN pIriicular, the lUXgiGye (diRtali> puIpurep
| the deadly nigutsEade "a rOpl beIladuunI), tAe
enOaur (byO>cyamuS n,Eer aud the s'TtmD-
/ MUM (daiOTa stTamOuiuaij- The idNt-namcd IS
very common roadside weed, having - iat ge
tabular white flower. i IS commonly card
james own We Il, often corrupted "i'msel
weed this name having It's ocigin o.. a IN
cident OF The ry history OF Virginia. SOM
soldiers who had been sent 10 janet WI Il
/ queil the rebellion OF Bacon were uOl>uHed bl
/ eating salad made OI young cots I thl
! sramouium. The deadly nightSh d { must no
| be conGOunded wi our charming ii,t,s called
drOOplnE Magistrates (trilii ums, Eh Gu ar
plants OF far better rtDute.
| have mentioned only Tie cOmmnuer plant
whose poisOus are most yiruent. A long !
/ might be added OF plants IN some degree FOL
SOuonS, but The effects II WHEN are seldom Ia
tai. Perhaps tile most common uf all aud cel
/ taiuly the most generally known, J. the uoiSOi
! ivy, already referred 10. which ally is not al
/ ivy al all, bur climbing sHmJc Ohusl. Tni
plant has the uneuyiab!e distinction OF be
ing poisonous 10 the touch. Fortunately
/ does not affect all persons, however some be
/ ing able 10 handle II with impuuity.