Nux-Vomica

Strychnos nux-vomica, the strychnine tree, also called nux vomica, poison fruit and quaker buttons, is a deciduous tree of the Loganiaceae family, native to India and South-East Asia. It grows up to 20 metres, with a short thick trunk, dense hard white wood and smooth ashen bark. The seeds are flattened discs covered in radiating hairs that give a sheen, very hard, odourless and intensely bitter. The page says the seeds and the bark are poisonous: the seeds hold about 1.5 per cent strychnine and the dried blossoms about 1.0 per cent. The seeds have been used in arrow poison, and strychnine is highly regulated and mostly used in baits for feral mammals. Most accidental poisoning comes from breathing in the powder or absorbing it through the skin. Herbal medicine promotes it for many illnesses, but the page says there is no evidence it is useful. In Unani medicine the seeds are steeped in water and milk before use.