| Neutral | saya | On Jun 22, 2005, saya from Heerlen
Netherlands (Zone 8b) wrote:Native of Turkey abounding in the Archipelago; also found in Africa (Nubia especially), Asia, Smyrna and Trieste. It is an annual plant resembling the common watermelon at the size of an orange, yellow and smooth. Special if dried it is a powerful drastic hydragogue cathartic producing, when given in large doses, violent griping with, sometimes, bloody discharges and dangerous inflammation of the bowels. Death has resulted from a dose of 1 1/2 teaspoonsful of the powder. It is of such irritant nature that severe pain is caused if the powdered drug be applied to the nostrils; it has a nauseous, bitter taste. Colocynth fruits broken small are useful for keeping moth away from furs, woollens, etc.
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