Albertus Magnus [ca. 1200-1280 CE] (De animalibus, Book 25, 36): Illicinus, according to Semerion, is a snake that lives in the great scarlet oak trees. The victim of its bite suffers excoriation of the skin; likewise, anyone who touches the bite in an effort to treat it develops excoriation of his skin. The bite exudes an overpowering malignant odor that has a lethal effect on anyone who approaches the dead victim. The symptomatic effects of the bite are like those of viper's bites. - [Scanlan]