Strychnos ignatia is a tree in the Loganiaceae

Loganiaceae

Loganiaceae are a family of flowering plants classified in order Gentianales. The family includes 13 genera, distributed around the world's tropics.Earlier treatments of the family have included up to 29 genera...

 family, native to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and parts of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is named for Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...

, the founder of the Jesuit missionary order.

Fruit

The fruit of Strychnos ignatii

Strychnos

Strychnos is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to family Loganiaceae . The genus includes about 190 species of trees and lianas, distributed around the world's tropics....

is the size and shape of a pear, and has almond-like seeds known as Saint Ignatius' beans.

Strychnine

The beans of the plant contain the alkaloids strychnine

Strychnine

Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...

 and brucine

Brucine

Brucine is a bitter alkaloid closely related to strychnine. It occurs in several plant species, the most well known being the Strychnos nux-vomica tree, found in South-East Asia.While brucine is related to strychnine, it is not as poisonous...

. Strychnine is highly toxic,
with an LD50 of 1-2 milligrams per kilogram

Kilogram

The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...

, and was formerly used in rat poison

Rat poison

Rodenticides are a category of pest control chemicals intended to kill rodents.Single feed baits are chemicals sufficiently dangerous that the first dose is sufficient to kill....

s. Brucine is also toxic, but less so.

Homeopathy

The plant is the source of a homeopathic remedy known as ignatia, ignatia amara, or as iamara, which is used to treat grief, depression and other conditions.