a highly poisonous, colorless, crystalline alkaloid, CHNO, obtained from nux vomica and other similar plants
See strychnine in American Heritage Dictionary 4
strych·nine
noun
An extremely poisonous white crystalline alkaloid, C21H22O2N2, derived from nux vomica and related plants, used as a poison for rodents and other pests and topically in medicine as a stimulant for the central nervous system.
Origin: French, from New Latin Strychnos, genus name, from Latin strychnon, a kind of nightshade, from Greek strukhnon.