Learning about all those toxic and deadly plants while researching for this blog was quite interesting. Reading about various plants and their nefarious ways made me realize that maybe I needed to check my backyard just one more time for the possibility of their existence. Having pets makes things even more troubling as these furry friends do love to bite and chew on anything abnormally colorful. Let me walk you through some of the toxic plants you might find in your garden.
Atropa belladonna also is known as deadly nightshade. An extremely poisonous plant that native to Eastern hemisphere. This plant contains different chemicals that have the power to block functions of nervous systems of the body. So it is used as an anticholinergic agent, used to treat diseases like asthma, muscular spasms, and excessive sweating. At the same time, both berries of leaves of this plant contain highly poisonous tropane alkaloid toxin.
Ingestion of two or more berries of leaves of this plant can cause the death of a human adult. There is also the chance for kids to mistake these deadly berries for blueberries. The poisoning of belladonna makes various signs such as blurred vision, loss of balance, headache, hallucinations and urinary retention.
Castor bean plant
Everyone is aware of castor oil. It is used to treat different skin conditions, to reduce pain and even as an anti-viral. The castor bean plant, the flowering plant from which castor oil comes from is really poisonous. Castor oil is made from seeds of castor bean plant but this seed contains ricin. Ricin from the Breaking Bad fame is an extremely dangerous toxin. This deadly toxin is also present in other parts of castor bean plants but in low concentration.
Did you know that ricin is 6000 times more poisonous than cyanide? It’s one of the most poisonous things ever known to mankind. Caston bean poisoning depends upon the number of seeds consumed by the victim. The effect of castor beans in animals is different for different species. In humans, it can cause a burning sensation in the mouth, intense pain, diarrhea and even a drop in blood pressure. Without quick and precise treatment, this can lead to death within 24 hours.
Oleander plant is also known as Nerium, evergreen shrub native to Southeast Asia. It is found as a garden plant and all of its parts are toxic. The primary poisonous ingredients are Digitoxigenin, Neriin, Oleandrin, and Olendroside. These toxins are mainly concentrated within leaves and stem of the plant. The plant also blooms sweet-smelling flowers in a cluster. The color varies in white, pink and red. These beautiful flowers of oleander also contain toxic elements.
Did you know that these toxic elements within oleander plant are insensitive to bird?. But the ingestion of oleander will affect the heart and central nervous system of humans. The toxins in it can lead to irregular heart rate, vomiting, salivation and diarrhea. You could be poisoned from oleander even by chewing it’s leaves or tasting the nectar of the flower.