Although most plants are regarded to have medicinal substances and good for curing sickness, we can’t attest that to being all plants to be medicinal based but also there are plants that may also look harmless enough. These plants can store some of the most deadly poisons known. From the death of Socrates by poison hemlock to the accidental ingestion of deadly nightshade by children, poisonous plants have been responsible for human deaths throughout history.
This article puts together a few dangerous and poisonous plants that are harmful to humans and this will help get to know some of the most infamous plants and their poisons;
castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)
Castor oil plant is regarded as the world's most poisonous. After the laxative oil has been extracted the remaining residues of its mottled brown seeds contain a potent cocktail of toxins. Ricinis kills by interfering in cell metabolism, the basic chemical processes needed to sustain life.
Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata)
Water Hemlock is a highly poisonous plant of the parsley family that grows in ditches and marshy grounds. It is also called Cowbane. It is known as the plant that famously killed Socrates. The water hemlock is contains deadly cicutoxin, especially in its roots, and will rapidly generate potentially fatal symptoms in anyone unlucky enough to eat it. Painful convulsions, abdominal cramps, nausea, and death are common when this plant is eaten and for those who survive are often afflicted with amnesia or lasting tremors.
White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)
White Snakeroot is reputed to be an antidote for small poison. It is a poisonous perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. White snakeroot contains the toxin tremetol; when the plants are consumed by cattle, the meat and milk become contaminated with the toxin. When milk or meat containing the toxin is consumed, the poison is passed on to humans. If consumed in large enough quantities, it can cause tremetol poisoning in humans. The poisoning is also called milk sickness, as humans often ingested the toxin by drinking the milk of cows that had eaten snakeroot.
Rosary Pea (Abrus precatorius)
Rosary Pea is a tropical plant of the pea family that produces extremely poisonous, shiny, scarlet beans with a black eye. This plant is also poisonous to horses. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, convulsions, liver failure, and death, usually after several days.
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)
Lily of the valley is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. Due to its dense content of cardiac glycosides, it is highly poisonous if consumed by humans or domestic animals.
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