The French have a way of interpreting certain words that is most delightful; hence, to them the moccasin flower is Sabot-de-LaNierge, or”our lady’s slipper.” In old English it was “our lady’s shoes” and was said to have “knobbie a root creeping in the ripper crust of the earth.” In both the European and American varieties the root is poisonous; it is both a nerve stimulant and a drug to relieve spasms.
Another woodland plant that we all know, Podophyllunt peltabna, is sometimes called frogs’ umbrellas, or May apple. It is truly American though it has cousins in Europe. The Indians used the roots of this plant for a purge and roots are employed in medicine today in making liver pills; the leaves are drastic in their poisonous effect. The little apples in the green state are very repulsive in their odor; but when the fruit turns to deep, orange-yellow and when fully ripe, it is quite fragrant, having somewhat the same aroma of the fruit of the Japanese quince when left in a warm room. hi this state it may be eaten, but as tastes differ so widely it might be truly a case of “what is one man’s meat is another man’s poison”; hence it wiser not to serve it as a novel fruit.
While the frogs have their umbrellas and May has the apple, the robin also lies his pet plant which wakes him at dawn to tell him that Spring is here. Along our woodland path are clusters of the little trillium or wake-robin which nestles down on the dark, rich earth between ferns. Though roots of the American wake-robin are not as poisonous as their English cousin, they have a medicinal value often used by the Indians. The taste is bitter, burning the throat and mouth painfully.
Along the path we find another childhood favorite, the jack-in-the-pulpit, in his brown and green gown. Again, we learn that the Indians called the plant “turnip,” and it is often referred to as Indian turnip. It was used by them as a drastic medicine. Although the green corm is poisonous, it was eaten by them, causing blistering of the tongue and mouth; but if the root is dried to powder or boiled, the aridity is less harmful and easier to take.
The wind-flower or anemone was named for Anemos, the god of the wind. It is also called pasque flower since it blooms about Easter time. The posset in its roots is supposed to be a charm against rattlesnake bites and it is said that the prairie dogs may burrow with the snakes if they eat the pasque flower roots for they are immune from the poisonous bite of the rattlers.
Before leaving the woods we must look at the toadstools at the edge of the old stumps, or perhaps they arc mushrooms? It is wiser not “to try one.” If they are the latter, you will live to tell how you found them, but if they are the former, I fear you may not be able to say a word. Perhaps the most deadly of the mushroom group and the most showy is the common one, A manita referred to as the death cup which, like many of the other fungi growths, should be shunned.
It is hard to realize that our common buttercups. as most of the crowfoot family, hold an acrid poison in their leaves and roots. The early blooming kinds seem to have less than the taller, later ones. The meadow variety, Ratunteuins aeris, is especially vicious, since the leaves cause the skin of both AMA and beast to blister when touched. Cattle may not eat the plant in this state but may do so if dried when the juice has entirely left the leaves, stems and roots.
Cowbane, the deadly poisonous hemlock, Conium mactrialum, also called stink-weed, a plant two to four feet high, is exceedingly poisonous in all its parts. The leaves in early Spring resemble Queen Anne’s Lace, fennel and parsley; the seeds have also caused the death not only of cattle, but children as well. The juice of this plant was used for the posset given to Socrates and is used in medicine for nervous diseases today. Spotted cowbane or water hemlock, Cicada maeulata, is even worse in its poisonous qualities, and is called children’s bane. The plant is four to six feet tail with thick, fleshy heavy roots, which are very dangerous as they grow near the surface and are pushed further up by rains or by frost. Cattle do not always distinguish them from other such roots as parsnips or fennel; they will kill cattle or a person in a very short time, even if only a small bite is taken.
Banes in Plant Life
There are so many “banes” in plant life as well as human life that one wonders how man or beast ever manages to roam at will for either pleasure or for necessity, without coming to harm every hour or not coming back alive at all. One of the banes which we may or should know is the dogbane, a species of apocynum. Our dogs are constantly with us in the garden or when we take walks through the woods and fields. Most (logs will pass the plant by unless they are looking for trouble, for they know well enough the bitter taste of the leaves and what the root will do to them if they should dig it up. The broad, oval leaves and the tiny rose flowers, not unlike those of foxgloves, are quite attractive, but it is the milky-white juice from the leaf and stem which causes the trouble. One more bane may be mentioned, the black henbane, Hyoseyamus niger, an annual of deadly poison, also known as hogsbane.
Another poisonous plant, looking very much like the henbane in its leaf, is the Jamestown or jimson weed, datum of the New England pastures, fields and roadsides. It is known as the Devil’s apple or trumpet and is a distant cousin of the henbane. The plant is heavy and harsh, the stems are rough and hairy growing to three feet or more. Deeply-cut, broad, green leaves, with white trumpet-like flowers four or more inches long are borne at the top of tile stems. The whole plant is ill-scented and dangerous to cattle and children who may eat the seeds. Cattle have been severely poisoned by the green Spring growth. The seeds of the datum came from Peru, being used there by the Indians for medicinal purposes. When brought to America, however, they unhappily fell into a rubbish heap at Jamestown, hence, the name of Jamestown weed.
In August, along sunny streams or pond edges, tall spikes of blue lobelia, Lobelia syphililica, stand blooming in all their glory. This beautiful plant is related to L. infiata, Indian tobacco. Although varieties are considered to be weeds, they have a medicinal value in their acrid milky juice, which, nevertheless, is very poisonous. Cattle wilt avoid this plant, especially the young shoots which cause them to be affected by a disease known as slobber’s, a very painful contraction of the throat followed by severe nausea. Children will be much affected by the plant in the same way, if they nibble a stem or leaf.
The common, or black, nightshade, 8olanum nigrum, is the deadly nightshade, also known as houndsberry. It rambles over bank and hedge-rows and the small, pointed, twisted leaves are often full of insect holes. Its white flowers appear in clusters on wide, branching stems followed by black, shiny fruits which are deadly poisonous. An old legend says that bittersweet berries were baneful to witches and, to attain their greatest effectiveness, they must be dried on a pewter plate. Senecio jacobea, the common ragwort, known as stinking Willie, is anything but a refined plant. This plant is very harmful to man and cattle causing a severe liver complaint, which is generally fatal. &neck, has not as yet made a decided inroad in our Eastern fields, but the effect of the plant is so serious that every means should be taken to watch out for it, before it becomes established. Ambrosia artemisiaefolia is the very common ragweed of tile fields and home grounds. It is also known as hog- or hay-and stammer-wort. Everyone should know this weed which causes hay-fever to many persons. Cattle also are affected by the weed, especially by the bitter juice in the foliage which gives their milk a disagreeable taste and bad odor. Normally they will pass it by unless other forage is scarce; then they will eat it with dire results.
Eradicating Sorrel
The common field sorrel, Rumex acetomita, looks much like the French sorrel, R. Beulah’s, which makes a delicious salad, but the stems of the field sorrel are filled with an acid juice. This is not unpleasant to taste, yet it is very unwholesome, for it is oxalic in its nature and poisonous to horses and sheep. The plants should he dug out, dried and burnt to prevent seeding.
The American poke weed, Phytolama americana, may grow to twelve feet, dying to the ground every fall. The pinkish flowers opening in Spring are attractive among the handsome, dark green leaves, on stems of purple-red. The roots and the seeds are the poisonous parts of the showy plant, growing in low, rather moist places. If the plant is well known, the new growth is eaten as by the Indians for asparagus.
A very handsome weed is the cow-parsnip, with the impressive name of Heracleum lanaJum, in memory of the mighty Hercules. Eight feet tali with handsome, broad, maple-like leaves, deeply cut, it exudes an extremely acid juice and causes blisters to appear on the skin. The white, flat flower turns purple at times, also the juice; the roots are very large and fleshy and difficult to dig.
One of the most satisfactory group of evergreens in the garden is the yew, or taxus, in all its varieties. Taxi’s baceata, the English yew, though not entirely hardy in the North, may he used to great effect in a sheltered location. The dark, rich green foliage adds greatly to the garden picture. The fruits, or seeds, are attractive, but hold a poisonous, milky juice in the tiny red cup nestled in the top of the acorn-like fruit at the tips of the branches. Since ancient times the yew has symbolized gloomy ideas and thoughts, wits considered a cursed tree,” feared by Mart and beast.
Boxwood and Holly
The much-beloved boxwood, which we all desire to grow in our gardens, particularly, litmus sempervirens, is slightly poisonous in its roots, leaves and stems.
Another Old World plant we all admire is the English holly, Ilex aquifolium; yet in those highly-polished leaves, brilliant berries and deep-set roots, poison is found. The name “holly” is said to come from the word “holy” and has reference to the berries which ripen during December.
Along field edges or fences, where the birds have dropped the seeds, wild black cherries spring up; hence, the name of bird cherry, Prunus sernlina. Even if the birds do eat the cherries, man had better leave them and the dark-brown bark alone, as both are very bitter. The birds, themselves, pass by the leaves after they become withered, because of the poison that is in them.
Not far away from the cherries stands a handsome group of plants, resembling the ash, at a distance; coming closer, however, we see that it is the poisonous sumac Klaus rernix, which may grow to twenty feet or less. The finely-divided, light-green leaflets of ten or twelve, are very showy as they turn brilliant red in the Fall, making the swamps blaze with a fire-like glow. The white flowers in long bunches are followed by whitish-green, flat seeds. “Handsome is as handsome does” could not be truly said of this plant, even though it is a fine sight, because the whole plant is extremely poisonous, even more so, possibly, than poison ivy. Destroy it with a weed killer.
Poison ivy is so prevalent it needs no description. Surely, all of us should be able by now to recognize the plant which is also called poisonous oak. If Left undisturbed, it will grow into a shrub or tree form in time, as it does in the Western section of our country. The leaves, in three parts, are very colorful in bright red and yellow shades in the Fall, while the gray berries remain on tine plant all Winter. Use every means possible to get rid of it.
Along road sides or field margins grows the lambkill, or sheep laurel, Kalmia angustrolia. It is a low plant with deep green, shiny leaves like those carried by the rest of its family, only smaller. The tiny cup-shaped flowers of deep pink cover the bush in Spring. The plant is poisonous to sheep; hence, one of its names. In spite of this, sheep like to eat it with dire results; thus it should never be allowed to grow near where sheep or cattle are put out to pasture.
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