Eugene & Glen Moll (Authors)
This book is in excellent condition, and no other copies can be found for sale on the internet, and of course we cannot find a scanned copy!
This is an interesting companion to The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants volume you will find in the catalogue.
When you buy the book, you will receive the password to open the PDF scan of the book and the Text Word document.
With the scans you will be able to easily translate the book if you wish.
Inleiding (Translation after Afrikaans text)
Oor miljoene jare het lede van die diere- en planteryk chemiese
stowwe ontwikkel wat lewensbelangrike middels tot hul voortbestaan is aangesien dit hulle in staat stel om mededinging deur ander lewensvorme af te weer, hulself te beskerm en om voedsel te bekom. Plante het 'n menigte toksiese chemikalieë ontwikkel om hulle teen aanvalle deur ander organismes te beskerm. Soms word giftige stowwe in die blare of bolle van plante gevorm as beskerming teen diere wat hulle wil vreet. Sulke plante kan 'n gevaar wees vir wild en vee wat daarop wei en kan veeboere jaarliks miljoene rande se skade berokken. Sommige plante vervaardig chemikalieë met die werking van insekdoders terwyl ander groei-inhibeerders in die grond vrystel ten einde ruimte vir hulself te verseker deur hierdie 'chemiese
oorlogvoering'. Hierdie meganismes wat die plante ontwikkel het, word al eeue lank deur die mens benut, lank voor die chemiese samestelling en biologiese werking van die gifstowwe begryp is. Giftige produkte is al as insekmiddels en rotgif gebruik en om roofdiere soos hiënas
en jakkalse te vergewe. Sekere plantgiwwe is algemeen in Afrika gebruik om die punte van gifpyle te smeer en om vis te vergewe. Minder gewone gebruike sluit die gebruik van die bas van Mundulea sericea (kyk p. 18) in wat om die bene van vee gebind word om glo die diere teen krokodille te beskerm wanneer hulle by die rivier gaan suip, terwyl die blare van Cassia didymobotrya (kyk p. 16) gebrand word om byneste uit te rook sodat heuning uitgehaal kan word. Afgesien van hul belangrike gebruike, kan giftige plante ook skadelik wees vir die mens deur pyn, siekte of die dood te veroorsaak of indirek deur sy plante en diere te benadeel. Daarenteen word talle gifstowwe as medisyne gebruik en kan klein hoeveelhede heilsaam wees, hoewel dit lank reeds bekend is dat dieselfde stowwe skadelik of selfs dodelik kan wees as groot hoeveelhede ingeneem word. 'Alles is giftig en niks is sonder gif nie. Dit hang net af van die dosis.' So het die Switserse geneesheer, Paracelsus, in die 16de eeu geskryf en moderne navorsing het dit bevestig. Vandag weet ons dat alledaagse voedselplante soos tee, koffie en kakao stowwe bevat wat kanker kan veroorsaak (kyk p. 60) en dat ander plantprodukte wat ons drink, rook of kou skadelik kan wees in groot hoeveelhede of as dit gereeld oor 'n lang tydperk gebruik word, hoewel klein hoeveelhede betreklik onskadelik is.
Selfs stowwe soos tafelsout wat normaalweg as onskadelik beskou word, kan dodelik wees as massiewe dosisse geneem word.
Baie van die giftige plantfamilies en -spesies wat in hierdie boek beskryf word, word reeds eeue lank deur die tradisionele kruiedokters van Afrika en ander volksgenesers gebruik om 'n groot verskeidenheid kwale soos koorssiektes, sere, artritis en brongitis te behandel. Meer onlangs is die genesende werking van toksiese chemikalieë ontwikkel vir Westerse geneesmiddels, maar wetenskaplikes het eers tydens die afgelope paar dekades die eienskappe van Suider-Afrika se inheemse plante begin ondersoek. Onder dié wat van geneeskundige waarde is, is die Strophanthus-spesies (kyk p. 36) wat 'n stof met die naam strofantien produseer wat nuttig is vir die behandeling van hartkwale en as 'n bron van kortisoon. 'n Ander voorbeeld is Rauvolfia caffra (kyk p. 36) wat 'n toksiese stof, reserpien, produseer wat gebruik word om die bloeddruk te verlaag.
Die flora van Suider-Afrika is bekend vir sy ryke verskeidenheid. Talle van die 22 000 inheemse spesies bevat toksiese chemikalieë, waaronder party van ons mooiste en bekendste tuinplante. Baie ander spesies is uit verskillende dele van die wêreld ingevoer en sommige van hulle is ook giftig. Dit is die doel van hierdie boek om sommige van die vernaamste families gifplante in Suider-Afrika sowel as party individuele spesies, in- sowel as uitheems, wat baie giftig is en algemeen voorkom, aan die leser bekend te stel. Die plante is in kleur geïllustreer en volgens botaniese klassifikasie gerangskik. Die verskillende plantgiwwe word in breë groepe ingedeel volgens die soort vergiftiging wat hulle veroorsaak en die liggaamsdeel wat hulle aantas (kyk p. 49-60). Die gifstowwe en hul uitwerking kan egter slegs in algemene terme bespreek word aangesien baie navorsing nog gedoen moet word om die chemiese samestelling van baie plantprodukte te bepaal. Verder kan die simptome van plantvergiftiging van 'n bepaalde spesie heelwat varieer aangesien die konsentrasie van plantchemikalieë volgens die seisoene of tyd van die dag kan wissel en soms selfs afhanklik is van weersomstandighede, grondtipe en klimaat. 'n Ander belangrike faktor wat die giftigheid beïnvloed, is of die plant verlep is en swaar kry. Gevolglik kan plante soms baie giftig en by ander geleenthede onskadelik wees. Hoewel gifsentrums elke jaar baie navrae ontvang, kom verbasend min gevalle van ernstige plantvergiftiging voor. Hopelik sal hierdie boek die leser help om die algemeenste giftige plante wat in Suider-Afrika voorkom, te herken en hom 'n insae bied in hierdie boeiende en ingewikkelde onderwerp.
Introduction (Translation)
Over millions of years, members of the animal and plant kingdoms have developed substances that are vital agents for their survival as they enable them to ward off competition from other life forms, protect themselves and obtain food. Plants have developed a multitude of toxic chemicals to protect them from attack by other organisms. Sometimes toxic substances are formed in the leaves or bulbs of plants as protection against animals they want to eat. Such plants can be a danger to game and livestock grazing on them and can cause livestock farmers millions of rands in damage every year. Some plants produce chemicals with the action of insecticides while others release growth inhibitors into the soil in order to ensure space for themselves through this 'chemical warfare'. These mechanisms that the plants developed have been used by humans for centuries, long before the chemical composition and biological action of the toxins were understood. Toxic products have been used as insecticides and rat poisons and to kill predators such as hyenas and forgive foxes. Certain plant poisons have been widely used in Africa to lubricate the tips of poison darts and to forgive fish. Less common uses include the use of the bark of Mundulea sericea (see p. 18) which is tied around the legs of livestock to apparently protect the animals from crocodiles when they go drinking at the river, while the leaves of Cassia didymobotrya (see p. 16) be burned to smoke beehives so that honey can be extracted. Apart from their important uses, poisonous plants can also be harmful to humans by causing pain, illness or death or indirectly harming its plants and animals. In contrast, numerous toxins are used as medicines and small amounts can be beneficial, although it has long been known that the same substances can be harmful or even deadly if ingested in large quantities. "Everything is poisonous and nothing is without poison. It just depends on the dose. ' So wrote the Swiss physician Paracelsus in the 16th century and modern research has confirmed this. Today we know that everyday food plants such as tea, coffee and cocoa contain substances that can cause cancer (see p. 60) and that other plant products we drink, smoke or chew can be harmful in large quantities or if consumed regularly over a long period of time. used, although small amounts are relatively harmless.
Even substances such as table salt that are normally considered harmless can be fatal if taken in massive doses.
Many of the poisonous plant families and species described in this book have been used for centuries by traditional herbalists of Africa and other folk healers to treat a wide variety of ailments such as fever, ulcers, arthritis and bronchitis. More recently, the curative action of toxic chemicals has been developed for Western medicines, but scientists have only begun to investigate the properties of Southern Africa's native plants in the last few decades. Among those of medical value are the Strophanthus species (see p. 36) which produce a substance called strophanthin which is useful for the treatment of heart disease and as a source of cortisone. Another example is Rauvolfia caffra (see p. 36) which produces a toxic substance, reserpine, which is used to lower blood pressure.
The flora of Southern Africa is known for its rich variety. Many of the 22 000 native species contain toxic chemicals, including some of our most beautiful and well-known garden plants. Many other species have been imported from different parts of the world and some of them are also poisonous. The aim of this book is to introduce the reader to some of the major families of poisonous plants in Southern Africa as well as some individual species, both indigenous and alien, which are very poisonous and common. The plants are illustrated in color and arranged according to botanical classification.
The different plant poisons are divided into broad groups according to the type of poisoning they cause and the body part that affects them (see pp. 49-60). However, the toxins and their effects can only be discussed in general terms as much research has yet to be done to determine the chemical composition of many plant products. Furthermore, the symptoms of plant poisoning of a particular species can vary considerably as the concentration of plant chemicals can vary according to the seasons or time of day and sometimes even depends on weather conditions, soil type and climate. Another important factor that affects the toxicity is whether the plant is wilted and gets heavy. As a result, plants can sometimes be very poisonous and on other occasions harmless. Although poison centers receive many inquiries each year, surprisingly few cases of severe plant poisoning occur. Hopefully, this book will help the reader to recognize the most common poisonous plants found in Southern Africa and give him an insight into this fascinating and complex topic.