CHAPTER XX.. Specific Vegetable Irritants.

SPECIFIC VEGETABLE IRRITANTS.

LABURNUM (Cytisus laburnum).--Every portion of this plant is poisonous. The seeds are frequently eaten by children, and give rise to vomiting and purging, with dilatation of the pupils, rigors, rigid limbs, &c.

OEnanthe crocata, Phellandrinum aquaticum, AEthusa Cynapium, &c., strictly speaking, belong to this group.

BLACK HELLEBORE (Helleborus niger) or Christmas Rose, grows in shady woods, and bears a large flower in January. The leaves and root when eaten give rise to abdominal pain, vomiting and purging, vertigo, cold sweats, and collapse, resembling that of malignant cholera. An infusion of this plant is sometimes administered by quacks to destroy intestinal worms. It has proved fatal to children under these circumstances.

Several other substances variously grouped for the sake of convenience should come under this heading.