NOTE. The black nightshade, American bittersweet or poison berry (Solarium nigrum-SOLANACEAE) closely resembles the European bittersweet, excepting the berries which are purple or black. It contains the same poisonous principles.
Poisonous Parts: Chiefly the leaves and unripe fruits. The red berries (black berries of the black nightshade) can be poisonous if several are eaten. The plant contains solanine, dulcamarin, and similar principles which are related to the alkaloids of the deadly nightshade. Poisoning is characterized by burning in the throat, nausea, dizziness, dilation of eye pupils, convulsions, and general muscular weakness.
Antidote: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit. Physicians treat for alkaloids, as in atropine poisoning.
BLOODROOT
Bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis—PAPAVERACEAE
Description: Perennial, low-growing herbs which appear early in spring in shady, moist wooded areas. The many-petaled, white flower frequently develops first on a stalk wrapped with a single large-lobed leaf. The large underground stem (rhizome) and smaller roots of the bloodroot contain an orange to red juice from which the plant gets its name. This is poisonous.
Poisonous Parts: The underground stems, roots, and their red contents. These contain several toxic alkaloids, chiefly sanguinarine, which irritate the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat, and stomach causing intense burning, nausea, and vomiting. If absorbed, the alkaloids can affect the nervous system, depress the heart, cause coma, and produce temporary paralysis.
Antidote: Call your doctor. Have patient vomit, and then give warm milk. Physicians perform gastric lavage and treat irritated gastro-intestinal tract. In the event that much of the root material has been ingested and absorbed, measures should be taken to prevent circulatory collapse.