Transcript Deadly plants - conservation2009

Deadly plants
By Adam Schneider
Castor Bean/Season

Castor oil - for anyone unlucky
enough to have been force spoon-fed
this healthy yet disgusting fluid as a
child, you may be surprised to learn
that an ingredient in the castor bean
just happens to be the deadliest plant
poison on earth. Literally. Just one
tiny castor bean is enough to kill an
adult within a few minutes. Castor oil
is made safe (but not palatable) with
the removable of the lethal compound
known as ricin. Castor bean plant
grows as an annual that can get 8-15
ft (2.4-4.6 m) tall in a single growing
season. They tend to grow straight up
at first, developing branches only
later in the season (and in subsequent
years for plants that live that long).
Castor Bean
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Location
Castor bean was originally native to
northeastern Africa and the Middle East. It has
escaped cultivation and become naturalized as a
weed almost everywhere in the world that has a
tropical or subtropical climate. Castor bean
grows wild on rocky hillsides, and in waste
places, fallow fields, along road shoulders and
at the edges of cultivated lands.
Rosary Pea

As if a deadly legume weren’t bad enough,
the pulses aren’t so benign, either. The pea
may sound sweet and rosary downright
pious, but it’s actually one of the most
dangerous plants on earth. Its seeds
contain a particular lectin known as
abrin; if chewed and swallowed, death will
follow shortly. The seeds are easily
identified with their distinctive bright red
jacket and single black dot (like a lady
bug). Abrin, which does its damage by
inactivating ribosomes, is one of the most
fatal toxins on earth. After the vomiting,
fever, nausea, drooling and G.I.
dysfunction but before the bizarre
hyperexcitability, edema and fatally
convulsive seizures, renal tubular
degeneration, bladder and retinal
hemorrhage and widespread internal
lesions typically develop.
Rosary Pea

Location
Rosary pea has been widely used in
Florida as an ornamental plant for many
years. The native range of rosary pea is
India and parts of Asia, where this plant is
used for various purposes.
Monkshood

Another unassuming plant - until you learn that
the nickname for monkshood is actually
“WOLFSBANE”. That’s owing to its once
common use by farmers as a very effective wolf
extermination tool. (Not to be left out, fowl are
also fatally affected by the related hensbane.)
The monkshood has the distinction of evidently
being the bane of many creatures: its nicknames
include womensbane and leopard’s bane, though
it is also known as blue rocket and devil’s
helmet. It is technically part of the aconitum
genus, of which there are more than 250 species.
The wolfsbane used to be a popular werewolf
detection tool, by the way. (Status was
determined by holding the flower near the
alleged’s chin; a yellow-tinged shadow on the
skin was thought to be confirmation.) This is
also what some people take who have
lycanthropy, which in medical terms that means
people who think there “werewolves”
Monkshood
Location
This plant typically grows in colder regions of the
northern hemisphere and has been seen all
within a few meters of the open north Atlantic.
Bushmans Poison

The aptly-named Bushman’s
poison has famously been used
by the Khoisan of South Africa
to poison the tips of their
arrows. Though the plant
produces pleasantly scented
flowers and a tasty plum-like
berry, the milky sap can be
fatal. The leaves, however, have
medicinal properties.
Bushman’s poison is also
known as the wintersweet.
Angels Trumpet

What could be sweeter than the sound of an
angel’s trumpet? Perhaps the moaning agony
of a trip that won’t end. Related to petunias,
tomatoes and potatoes, the angel’s trumpet
(datura stramonium) is a highly effective
hallucinogen, but should not be consumed for
recreational purposes as it can also be lethal.
According to Wikipedia: “The active
ingredients are atropine, hyoscyamine and
scopolamine which are classified as deliriants,
or anticholinergics. Due to the elevated risk of
overdose in uninformed users, many
hospitalizations, and some deaths, are
reported from recreational use.” This
common plant also goes by many other
names, including jimson weed, stink weed,
loco weed, and devil’s snare. One 18-year-old
who was house-sitting alone for his uncle
recounts how he decided to prepare some angel’s
trumpet tea in curiosity and almost died (a friend
burst in on him convulsing on the bathroom floor
and the authorities assumed he was on an acid
trip). This plant is native to south America.
Water Hemlock

The poison hemlock famously
drunk by Socrates is deadly,
but the water hemlock is just as
fatal. According to the USDA,
water hemlock or poison
parsnip is “the most violently
toxic plant in North America”.
The flowers and stems are safe,
but the stalky roots contain
chambers that are full of a
deadly sap containing the
convulsant cicutoxin. Grand
mal seizures are followed by a
quick death if even a tiny
amount is consumed. This plant
is native to North America.
English Yew

The English Yew, or taxus baccata
(”taxus” meaning toxin), is one of the
deadliest trees on the planet. The
evergreen has a majestic and lush
appearance and is fairly common in
forests of Europe. The yew is
considered by scientists to be an odd
and primitive conifer along with the
monkey puzzle tree of Chile and
Gingko biloba tree of Asia. The yew has
a rather sad history. All parts - save for
the flesh of the berries - are extremely
poisonous. Because the toxin causes
convulsions and paralysis, it was once
used as an abortifacient. Apothecaries
would dry and powder the leaves and
stems and give desperate women
minute amounts in the days before
birth control was available.
Unfortunately, death would often
result.
Snakeroot

Snakeroot is most dangerous for
livestock such as cattle and sheep.
When cows consume the
attractive fluffy white blooms and
stems of the snakeroot, their milk
and bones become saturated with
the toxin tremetol and humans
who consume these contaminated
animal products will develop
milk sickness (tremetol
poisoning). In fact, milk sickness
is what killed Abraham Lincoln’s
mother, Nancy Hanks.
Strychnine tree

Queen Cleopatra famously
forced servants to commit
suicide by means of a
strychnine tree’s fruit seeds,
which contain lethal levels of
strychnine and brucine, in
order to determine if it would
be the best means for her own
suicide. Upon seeing their
agony (which included painful
vomiting, facial contortions
and convulsions) she opted for
the apparently less horrific
choice of the asp. This plant is
native to southeast Asia.
Moonseed

A otherworldly name and
a plant with often fatal
effects. The seeds of this
Eastern North American
drupe (stone fruit) are
extremely toxic to
humans, although birds
can eat them. Moonseeds
first cause paralysis but
are fatal in larger doses
and/or if treatment is not
sought immediately
Daphne

This plant, also called the
spurge laurel, is a favorite
ornamental shrub in
Europe. This drupeproducing evergreen with
waxy, attractive foliage
and gorgeously fragrant
blooms is also highly
toxic. Consumption of the
leaves or red or yellow
fruits will first cause
nausea and violent
vomiting, followed by
internal bleeding, coma
and death. The Daphne
plant is rich in the toxin
mezerein. This plant is
native to Britain.
Equipment and Clothing

Just make sure you have gloves and a
protective container to store these plants in.
Sources
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http://www.floridata.com/ref/R/rici_com.cfm
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/top
10_poisonous_plants-1.html
http://webecoist.com/2008/09/16/16-mostunassuming-yet-lethal-killer-plants/
http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/node/23
License

No license is needed for these plants that I
now of.
Pros

You get to learn about all the deadly plants.
Cons

Your might some how get these poisons in
your body.
The HUNT!


Check online for areas that are most
populated with these plants.
When you get there just look around there
not going to run away.
Habitat

Anywhere that the plant exists.