Poisonous plants have caused human deaths throughout history, from Socrates' death from poison hemlock to children's unintentional use of deadly nightshade. With the help of this macabre list, you can learn about some of the most infamous plants and their poisons.
Water Hemlock
The plant known for killing Socrates, poison hemlock, is linked to water hemlock, which has been called "the most viciously deadly plant in North America." Water hemlock is a large wildflower in the carrot family that resembles Queen Anne's lace and is occasionally mistaken for edible celery or parsnips. Unfortunately, water hemlock is loaded with lethal cicutoxin, especially in the roots, and anyone unlucky enough to ingest it would quickly experience possibly fatal symptoms. Amnesia or persistent tremors are frequently experienced by persons who survive painful convulsions, stomach cramps, nausea, and death.
Deadly Nightshade
The Danes were allegedly poisoned by Macbeth's warriors using wine concocted from the delicious fruit of the poisonous nightshade. In fact, the berries' deliciousness is what frequently tempts kids and unaware adults to devour this deadly plant. Deadly nightshade is a plant that is indigenous to woodland or waste areas in central and southern Eurasia. It has dull green leaves and lustrous, black berries the size of cherries. Nightshade paralyses the body's involuntary muscles, including the heart, by containing atropine and scopolamine in its stems, leaves, berries, and roots. Even direct physical touch with the leaves might irritate the skin.
White Snakeroot
Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln, perished at the hands of a harmless herb called white snakeroot. The North American herb known as "white snakeroot" has flat-topped clusters of tiny white blooms and is poisonous because it contains trematol. Poor Nancy Hanks was poisoned by merely consuming the milk of a cow that had grazed on the plant, unlike those who have passed away by directly swallowing lethal plants. In fact, poisoned livestock can spread the toxin to humans through their flesh and milk. Loss of appetite, nausea, weakness, abdominal pain, a reddish tongue, abnormal blood acidity, and mortality are all signs of "milk poisoning." Fortunately, farmers are taking steps to remove the plant from animal pastures now that they are aware of this potentially fatal risk.
Castor Bean
The castor bean, an attractive plant indigenous to Africa, is widely cultivated as an ornamental. Castor oil is made from the processed seeds, which also happen to naturally contain the poison ricin, which is lethal in small doses. A youngster can be killed in as little as one or two seeds, and an adult in as many as eight. Ricin can result in severe vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions, and even death. It does this by preventing the creation of proteins inside of cells. Georgi Markov, a journalist who spoke out against the Bulgarian government, was killed with the poison in 1978. It has also been used to mail poison to various American politicians in foiled terrorist attacks. Accidental ingestion by children and animals causes the majority of fatalities.
Rosary Pea
These pompously named seeds, sometimes known as jequirity beans, contain abrin, a highly lethal ribosome-inhibiting protein. Native to tropical regions, rosary peas are frequently utilised in jewellery and prayer rosaries. While not being poisonous when whole, seeds that have been bitten, cracked, or scratched can be fatal. It is reported that many jewellery makers have become ill or passed away after unintentionally pricking their fingers while working with the seeds because it only takes 3 micrograms of abrin to kill an adult, which is less poison than is present in a single seed. Abrin, like ricin, stops cells from making proteins and can lead to organ failure in four days.
Oleander
These pompously named seeds, sometimes known as jequirity beans, contain abrin, a highly lethal ribosome-inhibiting protein. Native to tropical regions, rosary peas are frequently utilised in jewellery and prayer rosaries. While not being poisonous when whole, seeds that have been bitten, cracked, or scratched can be fatal. It is reported that many jewellery makers have become ill or passed away after unintentionally pricking their fingers while working with the seeds because it only takes 3 micrograms of abrin to kill an adult, which is less poison than is present in a single seed. Abrin, like ricin, stops cells from making proteins and can lead to organ failure in four days.
Tobacco
The most frequently used commercial non-food plant in the world is tobacco. Nicotine and anabasine, two poisonous alkaloids present in all parts of the plant but especially the leaves, can be lethal if consumed. Despite being classified as a heart poison, nicotine from tobacco is both psychotropic and addictive and is widely eaten worldwide. More than 5 million people die each year from tobacco usage, making it possibly the deadliest plant on earth.
