A friend recently posed the following query:

The explorer, Benjamin Hawkins, in his account of his journey through the
Creek Indian country (Tallapoosa River Valley in east central Alabama) on
December 23, 1796, noted that, in March, the honey is poisonous due to a
plant he calls "wolf's tongue" or "fire leaves" and said that the Indians
called it "Hochkau".  He described it this way, relating from information
provided by the Indians: "it has a long stem with yellow blossoms, and
bears around the stem, green berries, which although poisonous, are eaten
by the Indians in years of scarcity.  They boil them in 2 or 3 waters,
shifting them, and extract the poison from them.  They are then pleasant to
taste, somewhat like the garden pea."

(The specific relavant text of his journal can be viewed at this link:
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cmamcrk4/crkhw2.html   Scroll down to 12-23-
1798, but is also 0copied below)

The honey in this country is poisonous in the mouth of March, some negros
and Indians have been killed at that season. At that season on the small
branches, there is a plant in bloom called by the whites wolfs tongue, or
fire leaves, by the Indians Hochkau, it has a long stem with yellow
blossoms, and bears around the stem, green berries, which altho' poisonous
are eaten in years of scarcity by the Indians, they boil them in 2 or 3
waters, shifting them, and thus extract the poison from them, they are then
pleasant to the taste, somewhat like the garden pea. The Indians are the
authors of the discovery. Milk has been the only afficacious remedy
discovered here for this poison. The last season a bee tree was taken in
this neighborhood and all who eat of the honey sickened instantaneously,
they retired to the house, except a black boy, and took some milk which
restored them, the boy was unable to get to the house, and altho' aid was
sent him, in 2 hours he was dead.

Those who eat of the honey are first taken with a giddiness, then blindness
accompanied with great pain and uneasiness, and thurst.

The questions, then, are
1)What is/was the plant or plants?
2)What authoritative sources for verification of plant names or
characteristics are available ?