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10 Deadliest Plants In The World

10 Deadliest Plants In The World

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ThinkStockPhotos
ThinkStockPhotos

When you hear “deadliest plants,” you might think Venus flytraps and giant pitcher plants with their scary-looking teeth and animal-digesting enzymes. But it is the more innocuous ones you need to be on the lookout for. Some of the most dangerous and toxic plants in the world are quite beautiful, and lure you close enough to come in contact with their toxins. It’s not about that rash you got from poison oak while camping. These will do a lot more damage, and they may be hanging out in your garden.

You may notice similarities in some of these photos. Moral of the story: Stay away from tiny white flowers!

Poison Hemlock (Conium) HerbalFire.com
Poison Hemlock (Conium)
HerbalFire.com

Hemlock

There are several different types of hemlock, and all of them are bad news. All parts of conium hemlock contain an alkaloid, coniine, that begins poisining by causing severe stomach pains and vomiting as it works its way through the body and slowly paralyzes the central nervous system. Water hemlock is equally dangerous, as it disperses cicutoxin that leads to violent contractions of the muscles, eventual loss of consciousness and death. Ingesting even small quantities will induce nearly instantaneous symptoms – it is so powerful, in fact, that it was used as a form of execution in ancient Greece. Most famously, Socrates was forced to drink a fatal hemlock-based concoction after he was sentenced to death for “impiety.”

White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) TwoFrogs.com
White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)
TwoFrogs.com

White Snakeroot

Another celebrity killer, white snakeroot is responsible for the death of Abraham Lincoln’s mother, who developed milk sickness. The plant can be consumed by cattle, contaminating the beef and milk supply. Mrs. Lincoln unfortunately consumed snakeroot-contaminated milk, and was dealt a lethal dose of its toxin, tremetol. Tremetol leads to serious muscle tremors and intestinal troubles, and can kill the cattle that consume it or those that come in secondhand contact with it through byproducts. Although white snakeroot still grows wild and cattle may continue to chow down on it, this type of transmission happens less often now due to stricter practices of cattle maintenance.

 

Rosary Peas (Abrus precatorius) WildlifeofHawaii.com
Rosary Peas (Abrus precatorius)
WildlifeofHawaii.com

Rosary Pea

Rosary peas are often used ornamentally as beads for rosaries or for percussion instruments in their native Indonesia, but they’re packed abrin – one of the most fatal toxins on the planet. Abrin is similar to ricin in that it attacks the cells in your body by inactivating ribosomes needed to digest proteins. Just one seed contains enough poison to cause death. Jewelry and drum makers have died after pricking a finger while working with one of these deadly peas.

Oleander (Nerium oleander) KeepMyWords.com
Oleander (Nerium oleander)
KeepMyWords.com

Oleander

Oleander is one of the most commonly grown garden plants in the world – and ingesting any part of it can be fatal. The leaves, flowers, and fruit all contain cardiac glycosides that can induce cardiac arrest. Although the active ingredient is sometimes used in therapeutic remedies in processed forms, the raw plant is deadly. Many people overlook the dangers of oleander due its pretty appearance, but the number of deaths it causes each year is staggering. Children are particularly susceptible, and since they are known to put anything in their mouths, perhaps we should stop growing it in school yards?

Doll's Eye (Actaea pachypoda) VTNature.Blogspot.com
Doll’s Eye (Actaea pachypoda)
VTNature.Blogspot.com

Doll’s Eye

Although you probably wouldn’t want to eat anything named doll’s eye, or anything that looks like it, anybody who dismisses common sense and ingests the berry is in for a deadly surprise. While the whole plant is toxic, it is the berries that each contain the most concentrated amount of cardiogenic toxins. They can instantaneously affect cardiac muscle tissue and lead to cardiac arrest and death. Like the others on this list, doll’s eye (or white baneberry) has claimed the lives of mostly children, who are most likely to try and taste the berries that grow freely in Eastern North America.

Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia) BHG.com
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia)
BHG.com

Angel’s Trumpet

Angel’s trumpet, named for its elegant bell-like flowers that hang from woody-stemmed bushes, is often planted in gardens and other decorative areas. The entire plant contains a dangerous mix of scopolamine, atropine, and hyoscyamine which can cause death if ingested. Angel’s trumpet has sometimes been used as a recreational drug, but has an extremely high risk of overdose. Criminals have also been known to extract the scopolamine, which is easily absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes, for use as a potent weapon. Victims who absorb the extract may remain conscious but entirely unaware of what they’re doing, allowing the criminals to steal their things or attack them without resistance.

Monkshood (Aconitum) KeelSetter.Wordpress.com
Monkshood (Aconitum)
KeelSetter.Wordpress.com

Monkshood

Monkshood has a long and storied history – it was used by ancient warriors to poison the water of their enemies, to detect werewolves, or to create poison-tipped arrows (some of these were more scientifically successful than others). The plants contain large doses of aconitine neurotoxins and cardiotoxins, which lead to paralysis of the heart and lungs, muscle and motor weakness, and difficulties in the gastrointestinal tract. Death usually occurs as a result of asphyxiation. The plant is also a common sight in backyard gardens due to its rich purple color, but should be handled with gloves at all times.

Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia) PlantAnt.com
Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia)
PlantAnt.com

Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia)

Dumbcane contain calcium oxalate crystals called raphides that lead to severe irritation of the mouth, including excessive drooling and swelling that can eventually block the airway. The good news is that, though dumbcane is a common household plant due to its tolerance of shade, you have to chew the leaves to ingest the poison, and the effects are not usually fatal as they are easily treatable. The plant was likely named for anybody dumb enough to chew on some plant leaves without knowing what they were.

The Suicide Tree seeds (Cerbera odollam) FlickRiver.com
The Suicide Tree seeds (Cerbera odollam)
FlickRiver.com

The Suicide Tree

Hopefully the name “suicide tree” is enough to keep you away from this plant, as its seeds contain a toxin called cerberin that affects the heart muscle by disrupting calcium ion channels – it leads to an irregular heartbeat that can often be fatal. The seeds are often thought of as the perfect murder weapon, as they are mostly tasteless and can easily be overpowered by other spices when served in food. They often don’t show up in autopsies. If you’re invited to a dinner party by somebody bearing a grudge, it might not be a bad idea to eat beforehand.

Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis) Lemur.AMU.edu.pl
Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis)
Lemur.AMU.edu.pl

Castor Oil plant

Castor oil plants are perhaps the most dangerous out there, and like all the others, are absurdly common in gardens. The seeds contain ricin, and a lethal dose can be found in as little as four seeds. Beginning with a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, the symptoms progress into severe abdominal pain and gastrointestinal issues within the next 36 hours. Although it is difficult to extract the ricin to use as a weapon, it has been done time and again by individuals as well as governments. It is thought that the ricin from castor oil plants was used liberally by the KGB against its opposition.