Interestingly, the most dangerous plants in the world are not necessarily some exotic tropical killer plants that we expect to see in a movie about the Amazon jungle or lost worlds V Papua New Guinea. On the contrary, the plant that kills the most people in the world can be found in every second large flower garden, and it is grown on thousands of plantations around the world. Similarly, the most poisonous plant in the world, included in the Guinness Book of Records, grows throughout the southern part of Russia and Ukraine, and is often cultivated specifically as ornamental plant, and poison is also obtained from its fruits (with which, by the way, some famous people), and even medicinal raw materials.
And let us remind you once again that dangerous plants are not necessarily poisonous. They can injure and even kill not only with poisons. Look...
1. Stinging tree (Dendrocnide moroidea)
The stinging tree is not really a tree at all. This is a large shrub from the nettle family.
The tropical relative of our nettle, the stinging tree, is much more stinging and dangerous.
This plant grows in Australia, the Moluccas and Indonesia and is known to the aborigines for its leaves that are dangerous to humans. If the skin comes into contact with this plant, the victim receives a severe burn. Extensive blisters appear at the site of the burn.
Burns received from a stinging tree take a very long time to heal and can bother the victim from several days to several months. There is even one known case of a person dying after contact with a stinging tree.
In addition to humans, various animals periodically suffer from burns of this plant. There are quite a few cases where dogs and even horses received burns.
Interestingly, some animals, including insects and birds, are not sensitive to the sting of wood. This allows them to feed on its leaves and fruits.
2. Castor bean
Castor bean is a medicinal and ornamental plant, common in the warm climates of both hemispheres. Often this plant can be found here, planted in flower beds in big cities or near fences in rural areas.
Castor oil in the private sector in Donetsk
It is from castor beans that a well-known remedy for constipation, castor oil, is made. And it is this plant that is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most poisonous plant in the world. Its seeds contain ricin, a toxin that is six times more poisonous than the well-known potassium cyanide.
On a note
Georgy Markov, a journalist and writer, was killed in 1978 by ricin, which was revealed during the autopsy. A stranger on the street, using a special umbrella, injected a journalist in the calf muscle a capsule with ricin, from which Georgiy died the next day, despite doctors’ attempts to save his life.
In addition to ricin, castor beans also contain another poison - ricinin.
The toxicity of this plant is so great that just ten castor bean seeds will be enough to fatally poison an adult. If ricin itself is extracted from the seeds, a lethal dose of it will fit on the head of a pin. Given that this toxin is relatively easy to obtain, it is often used by terrorists. For example, at a destroyed al-Qaeda base, a whole production site was discovered.
This amount of seeds is enough to kill an adult.
It is not surprising that castor bean confidently ranks first in many rankings of the TOP 10 most dangerous plants in the world.
3. Manzinella
Manchinella or manchinella tree is one of the most poisonous plants on Earth.
Being a representative of the Euphorbia family, this plant in all its parts contains poisonous, burning milky juice. At the same time, its fruits look and smell very appetizing to everyone, and a burning sensation in the mouth does not appear immediately, which has repeatedly led to poisoning of people.
Thus, there are several known cases when sailors who escaped death on the water encountered this plant on land and, mistaking it for edible, consumed it as food. Poisoning was not always fatal (the burning juice did not allow one to eat much), but there were also cases of death.
Manchinella fruits look quite appetizing and it is not surprising that for the first time in tropical forest people are willing to taste them.
The juice of this plant is dangerous not only when taken orally: if it gets on the skin, it causes severe burns, and if it gets into the eyes, it causes severe pain and sometimes blindness.
Where manchinella grows, they try not to graze livestock. It is difficult to destroy the plant with axes and saws without protecting the skin and eyes due to its milky sap. Even burning wood can cause illness if the smoke gets into your eyes.
4. Belladonna
Belladonna is a poisonous herbaceous plant from the Solanaceae family. By the way, many representatives of this family are known for their toxicity.
The atropine contained in belladonna, even in small doses, can cause severe agitation in a person, turning into attacks of insanity and violence.
Most often, people are poisoned by the berries of this plant, which, despite their toxicity, taste very good.
This is interesting
Only recently a sad story about vegan Igor, who ate belladonna berries on the way to Ai-Petri, thundered on the Internet. Igor liked the taste of the berries, and therefore he considered them safe (one of the common misconceptions is to consider all tasty plants edible) and ate them in large quantities. The doctors were unable to save Igor.
Belladonna can be found almost everywhere temperate zone, and having tasted the berries, you won’t immediately deny yourself the pleasure of eating more...
When poisoning occurs, dryness and burning in the mouth occurs, and the heartbeat increases. Sometimes poisoning is accompanied by delusions and hallucinations. In case of severe poisoning, paralysis of the respiratory center is possible, leading to death.
5. Crow's eye
This plant from the melanthium family is one of the most poisonous in the world.
And if in some plants only individual parts of them are poisonous, then the raven's eye is completely poisonous: the rhizome causes nausea and vomiting, the leaves act on the central nervous system, the fruits have negative impact on the heart.
Most often, children are poisoned by this plant by eating its fruits - small black shiny berries up to 1 cm in diameter. Actually, this plant got its name for the characteristic appearance of the berry, “sitting” independently on a grassy shoot.
Crow's eye is a well-recognized plant, so its berries are eaten mainly by children who know nothing about its toxicity.
In case of poisoning, vomiting and diarrhea, dizziness and convulsions are observed, but the biggest danger is cardiac arrest.
Crow's eye is prohibited from being used for medicinal purposes, which is another evidence of its toxicity.
6. Hogweed Sosnovsky
This is perhaps one of the most famous plants in the vast former USSR. The sad glory of Sosnovsky's hogweed is associated with the burns that remain on the human body after contact with it.
It is noteworthy that hogweed juice itself does not leave burns. But it also significantly increases the skin's sensitivity to the ultraviolet and visible spectrum of solar radiation. Thus, even a short stay in the sun after contact with the plant leads to terrible burns that do not heal for a long time, the scars from which can remain on the body for more than a year.
In addition to the danger to humans, Sosnovsky's hogweed is also a malicious weed, which is very difficult to fight.
Severe burns covering more than 80% of the skin can be fatal.
Among other things, the juice of Sosnovsky's hogweed contains substances that cause a mutagenic effect. It is not surprising that in the TOP 5 dangerous plants in Russia, hogweed always occupies one of the first positions.
7. Spotted hemlock
Many species of the umbrella family, which includes hemlock, pose a danger to humans due to their toxicity. Thus, relatives of hemlock include hemlock, which was most widely used for death penalty V Ancient Greece. Spotted hemlock is not only one of the most dangerous in this family: this plant is one of the most poisonous in the world.
The composition of hemlock tissue includes a number of alkaloids. The most poisonous among them is horse meat, which has a nerve-paralytic effect.
When hemlock poisoning occurs, the victim will experience increased salivation, blurred vision, and may experience dizziness, vomiting, and diarrhea. However, the so-called ascending paralysis poses a danger to life: the feet are taken away and lose sensitivity, then the paralysis gradually “rises” upward until it reaches the diaphragm and causes suffocation.
On a note
According to the latest data, it was the spotted hemlock that poisoned the famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. There is constant debate among researchers about this issue. for a long time It was believed that Socrates took hemlock poison. Today, more and more evidence is emerging that the “official” poison in Ancient Greece was hemlock, and it was with its help that the philosopher was executed.
In places where there is a lot of hemlock, prolonged stay near its thickets can cause headaches only from the pollen of the flowers.
There are cases when people were poisoned by hemlock, confusing it with other plants. For example, some ate hemlock root, believing that it was horseradish root, others confused hemlock leaves with parsley leaves. There are also cases where hemlock seeds were mistaken for anise seeds. This, by the way, is also notable for hemlock and other dangerous plants from the umbrella family - they do not give the impression of being unusual at all and people do not expect that such a simple-looking “grass” can pose a threat to life. This is the insidiousness of hemlock and its relatives.
8. Fluffy toxicodendron, also known as staghorn sumac
This small shrub, slightly taller than a person, is not a poisonous plant as such. Its main trump card is urushiol, an oily toxin found in this plant that causes severe allergies. Even a light touch of toxicodendron can be enough to cause a severe allergic reaction.
Due to its beautiful foliage, sumac is often grown as an ornamental plant and if no parts of it are eaten, it does not pose a danger.
However, dermatitis is not the main danger: in some cases, the allergic reaction develops so violently that anaphylactic shock may occur, followed by loss of consciousness and suffocation. Moreover, if you don’t provide medical care, death can occur within minutes.
9. Strychnos poisonous
Strychnos - liana from South America. It gained fame thanks to the poison (curare) contained in the roots and stems of the plant. It is this poison that the local Indians smear on their arrowheads when going hunting, and the vine itself in this regard was a competitor to the famous poison dart frogs, whose glands secrete an even stronger toxin - batrachotoxin.
Curare contains two toxic alkaloids - strychnine and brucine. Each of these poisons causes different symptoms, but ultimately leads to the same result - death.
It is believed that death from the poisons contained in strychnos is one of the most terrible and painful.
Strychnine belongs to the first class of danger (very toxic substances) and is almost twice as toxic as potassium cyanide. When ingested, it causes severe convulsions of the entire body and respiratory paralysis, leading to death.
Brucine is slightly less toxic than strychnine. Once in the victim's body, it causes muscle cramps, which intensify when exposed to sound and light. This alkaloid also increases the heart rate with subsequent cardiac arrest.
10. Tobacco
Agree, it would be unfair not to mention him. Yes, he doesn't kill right away. Yes, its leaves, along with nicotine, contain the alkaloid anabasine, which can lead to poisoning when eating the leaves, but it is not as toxic as the components of the plants listed above. But according to statistics, tobacco smoking leads to the death of more than 5 million people around the world. No other plant, even the most poisonous and deadly, can compare with it in its “damaging” ability. Perhaps even everyone else poisonous plants, taken together, will not catch up with tobacco in terms of the number of people killed. And at the same time, tobacco is the record holder for cultivation area among all others. cultivated plants, not used for food. There is a large dose of absurdity in this: people spend enormous resources on cultivating a plant that kills them...
Interestingly, tobacco is often grown as an ornamental plant. In this form, it is completely safe as long as you do not eat or smoke it.
Tobacco plantations where people grow a killer plant...
It is important to remember that most plants are dangerous only when people, out of ignorance or stupidity, themselves are poisoned or injured by them - they eat unfamiliar berries and fruits, push apart the wide leaves of hogweed with their hands, tear hemlock leaves instead of parsley. Therefore, always before you find yourself in nature, even in an area familiar to you, find out what dangerous plants can be found here, why they are dangerous and what you absolutely cannot do with them. Perhaps this will save your life or the lives of your children...
Ecology
It would seem that what could be frightening in nature? However, some of her creations can only be seen in a nightmare.
There are hundreds and thousands poisonous and predatory plants, which sometimes pose mortal danger.
These plants are Once again remind us to be careful with what you touch and taste.
Despite their harmless appearance, meeting some of them can be unpleasant, if not fatal.
1. Cape sundew is a carnivorous plant
Cape sundew ( Drosera Capensis) looks pretty cute with pink flowers and a pleasant smell. However, in fact it refers to carnivorous plants that feed on flesh, namely insects.
Unlike other carnivorous plants such as the Venus flytrap, sundew eats its victim outdoors , wrapping it in its sticky trap and slowly dissolving it.
2. Manchinella is the most dangerous tree
Manzinella ( Hippomane Mancinella) is the most dangerous tree on the planet that can kill a person.
If you just stand under this tree when it rains, you will start to get blisters. The milky sap of manchinella contains strong toxins, including phorbol, which leads to severe allergic dermatitis. If you try to burn a tree, if the smoke gets into your eyes, it can cause blindness.
In addition, the fruit of this plant can be deadly and cause symptoms nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures. It’s not for nothing that its name translates as “little apple of death.”
3. Fig tree
Although the fig tree does not pose any danger to humans, it is capable of viciously taking revenge on the wasps with which it is associated. symbiotic relationship. Wasps lay their eggs on a tree and to do this they must pollinate it.
If the wasp does not comply with the unspoken agreement and lays eggs in the fruit without pollinating the tree, the fig tree applies “sanctions” throwing away the fruit and killing the young wasps.
4. Puya Chilean - Sheep Eater
Tree Puya Chilensis often call " sheep eater". Although the plant itself is not eaten by the poor animal, it is able to trap it with its thorns. When the sheep dies and begins to decompose, it becomes food for the plant.
5. Cactus Euphorbia resiniferous
Euphorbia resiniferous ( Euphorbia resinifera) is a small Moroccan cactus that looks quite harmless.
His real danger lies within. The fact is that the plant contains a large number of chemical substance resinferatoxin, which has a very pungent taste.
For comparison, on the Scoville heat scale, pepper spray has a heat index of 1.5 million units, the highest hot peppers in the world "Scorpio Trinidad - 2 million units, and resiniferatoxin - 16 billion units.
If a drop of this plant gets on your tongue, you won't be able to get by with just ice.
6. Prayer arus - a poisonous plant
It is unlikely that you have heard of such a plant as prayer arus ( Abrus Precatorius), as its most notable part is the tiny, bright red seeds, often used in jewelry and tool making.
But you should know that these seeds are extremely dangerous, as they contain a toxin that is many times stronger than ricin.
One seed contains only one milligram of the toxic substance abrin, which is lethal dose for a person. However, if you swallow an abrus seed, it is unlikely that anything will happen to you, since it is covered with a very dense shell and therefore leaves our digestive tract practically intact.
7. Cerberus odollamensis - poisonous “suicide tree”
Cerberus adullamensis ( Cerbera Odollam), or as it is also called “suicide tree”, it received this name not by chance. It grows in India and southeast Asia, and is most often used for suicide due to the unique properties of its fruits. Although the fruit has a bitter taste, it can be masked by mixing with spices.
Pathologists cannot always determine Cerbera poisoning unless there is evidence that the victim ate the plant. In some Indian families, the fruit is used as an ideal murder weapon, targeting women.
8. Ongaonga - very stinging nettle
Ongaonga ( Urtica Ferox) refers to a species of nettle that is native to New Zealand. The plant grows up to 3 meters in height, forming huge impenetrable thickets.
The leaves, as well as the branches and flowers of the ongaonga are covered with many burning hairs, which reach 6 mm in length. At the slightest touch the hairs come out toxic substance, causing an unbearable burning sensation that can last up to two days.
With widespread exposure, it can lead to a rash and multiple blisters. There were cases when people died getting stuck in dense bushes this plant.
9. Darlingtonia Californian – Cobra Lily
This plant ( Darlingtonia californica) is compared to a cobra, an animal known for its bloodthirstiness. Its tubular leaves resemble a rising cobra, and its leaves resemble the poisonous teeth or tongue of a snake. It grows in Oregon and Northern California and is classified as carnivorous plants.
The plant contains juice that attracts insects that subsequently end up inside its water lily. Once the insect is inside, the steep and slippery walls prevent it from getting out, and the plant begins to produce digestive enzymes to digest the victim.
10. Exploding Khura - dynamite tree
Hura exploding ( Hura Crepitans) has a rather menacing appearance with many dark thorns covering the tree trunk. It was so named because its ripe fruits are literally explode, releasing seeds at a speed of 67 meters per second and scattering them over a distance of up to 90 meters in all directions.
If you try just one seed of this fruit, it will lead to strong stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, blurred vision and increased heart rate. If you try more, it can cause delirium, convulsions and even death. Its yellow sap causes inflammation when it comes into contact with the skin and can cause temporary blindness if it gets into the eyes.
The words “killer” and “plant”, it would seem, do not fit together at all. However, there are representatives of the world of flora that are truly worthy of nightmares:
10. Cape sundew
One of the few carnivorous plants is the Cape sundew. However, compared to the same Venus flytrap, in which the trap slams shut with the victim inside, the Cape sundew kills, allowing the victim to fully enjoy the elusive freedom. Cute pink flowers with a wonderful aroma attract the prey and catch it like an octopus with its tentacles. Having caught an insect, the edge of the leaf begins to slowly curl up, and the victim begins to digest, remaining in the open air. Quite bloodthirsty for a plant, isn't it?
9. Manchinella tree or Manchinella
Manchinella is one of the most dangerous plants on Earth and is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. This tree is one of the most terrible killers of the plant world. Of course, it is very difficult to believe that a tree can kill. “How is this possible, I wonder? - you ask. “Even if you sit and read a book under it?” We wouldn't even recommend hiding from the rain under a manchinella tree. Drops from the tree will fall on you with the poisonous milky sap with which it is soaked through and through. Standing under it risks being covered in blisters from head to toe. The fruits are also poisonous.
8. Ficus or Fig tree
It would seem what danger an ordinary ficus can pose - unless the pot falls from the balcony directly onto your head. But it's not that simple. For wasps, a fig tree is a real nightmare. The fact is that wasps are one of the pollinating insects, and if the insect stops pollinating the ficus, then very soon it will be seized by the “ficus” wrath. I wonder, you ask, how can a ficus take revenge on a wasp? We answer: the wrath will fall on her offspring. If the wasp that has built a nest on the wall of the fruit stops pollinating the ficus, the tree will throw off the fruit, thereby destroying the offspring.
7. Puya Chilean or Sheep Eater
In fact, Puya Chilean has another name - “sheep eater”. The plant itself, of course, does not eat sheep, but lures them into a trap, sending its thorns into the wool of a passing sheep, as a result of which the immobilized poor sheep dies of starvation. The plant's feast occurs when the corpse begins to decompose. Now ask yourself: “What is worse: a predator that kills and immediately eats the victim, or a plant?
6. Euphorbia resiniferous
At first glance, it is not clear why this tiny Moroccan cactus can be dangerous. Needles? No, the danger lurks not outside, but inside. If even a drop of cactus juice hits a person’s tongue, the last and only thought in his head will be “quickly, give me some water.”
And all because cactus juice contains resiniferatoxin. It's what causes that crazy burning feeling in your mouth. It should be noted that it is cooler than any pepper on earth. Don't believe me? For comparison, a standard pepper spray contains about 1.5 million units on the Scoville heat scale, the most hot pepper on earth Trinidad Moruga scorpion - 2 million units. But resiniferatoxin... 16 billion. In other words, this tiny cactus is as dangerous as 10,000 cans of pepper spray.
5. Prayer Abrus
Most likely, you have never heard of a prayer abrus in your life. This plant with small bright red berries is often used in jewelry or instrument making. However, it is these cute berries that are fraught with danger. The berries contain a toxin hundreds of times more powerful than ricin. Eating just one berry could be your death warrant. But things are much better: the berries, swallowed whole, do not pose a danger, since they are enclosed in a very hard peel that our body is not able to digest.
4. Cerberus or the suicide tree
Cerberus is not called the suicide tree for nothing. It is not difficult to guess that the tree was liked by people who decided to commit suicide. Unique property The advantage of Cerberus fruits is that their aroma can be easily masked with ordinary spices. Having prepared, for example, curry - an Indian tree - you can easily pass into another world. By the way, no one alive, for obvious reasons, knows what this wonderful fruit tastes like. But the fact is that it was chosen not only by suicides, but also by spouses who were disgusted with each other.
3. Ongaonga
In terms of its damaging effect, the ongaonga plant resembles a cross between nettle and a stun gun, but the “charge” of the plant is many times more powerful. They say that a person who touches it lightly will lie paralyzed in a minute and dream of death. Ongaonga grows up to 3 meters in height and forms completely impenetrable thickets. Mother Nature, apparently, did not find enough sharks and tigers, and she created Ongaonga.
2. Darlingtonia Californian or Cobra Lily
If you naively believe that a person is the last link in the food chain, then you are wrong. Let us remind ourselves that the dominant in the chain is a creature that can feed itself, as well as reproduce its own kind, with a minimum of effort. This is why man invented fast food and Viagra. And no matter how much we would like to think that homo sapiens- the best hunter on earth, unfortunately, this is not so.
Darlingtonia is the best hunter. In addition, in order to satisfy hunger, a person must do everything himself: cook, chew, etc. While to Darlingtonia food flies by itself, of its own accord. It is often called the Cobra Lily. It has earned comparison with a cobra because of its trap petal, which is reminiscent of a snake’s hood in shape and color. Agree, the compliment is more than flattering, considering that some consider a cobra bite to be more dangerous than a bullet.
1. Gura Crepitans or sandbox tree
And the first place is rightfully occupied by a tropical plant with Latin name"gura crepitans" or sandbox tree. Although it would be more appropriate to call it a tree - a grenade. Its fruits burst with such force that the seeds are shot out at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour - much faster than the city speed limit. Yes Yes. The seeds of this tree are found hundreds of meters from the tree itself.
: https://marya-iskysnica.livejournal.com/?skip=20
Natural, beautiful, and often even useful, plants are an integral and necessary part of our Everyday life. From the taste of noble drinks aged in oak barrels to the pleasant aromas of perfumes inspired by flowers, plants bring only a sense of pleasure to most people. But not all representatives of the flora exist to make people happy. These seemingly peaceful creatures sometimes have a darker side. Poisonous juices, toxic leaves, thorny stems - all this is designed to harm and cause pain. It is better to avoid meeting some plants, and this selection will tell you which flowers and trees pose a particular danger to humans.
10. Manzinella
The manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella) is a fruit-bearing tree native to coastal areas of the Caribbean, including the West Indies and Central America. Locals in Spanish-speaking countries call manchinella "arbol de la muerte" or the tree of death. This ominous name was given for a reason, and it suits manchinella very well.
The fact is that this plant is extremely poisonous. The tree produces toxic sap that slowly oozes from the bark, leaves and fruit. The plant liquid contains the extremely toxic substance phorbol, and contact with this juice causes blisters on the skin that look like real burns. And if this phorbol-rich fluid gets into an open wound, it can spread throughout circulatory system, and for a person everything will end in death.
Burning macinella is no less dangerous, because even so it releases toxins directly into the air. If combustion products get into the mucous membrane of the eye, it can cause either severe burning and irritation, or even blindness.
The fruits of the tree are of particular concern, and this is because these fruits are distinguished by their small shape and appetizing looking. The manchineel fruit looks like a small apple and looks quite edible. It may even taste pleasant and sweet. But in the end, the taste of this treat is accompanied by less pleasant effects - throat swelling and the threat of death.
Due to its extreme toxicity, local residents Manchineel tree sap was once used to lubricate arrows for hunting. This plant is proof that sometimes the sweetest things can have the sourest consequences.
9. Prayer rosary
Prayer bead (Abrus precatorious) is a wild Indonesian legume plant that is often compared to the “eye of a crab.” Because of their attractive red and black coloring, abrus peas are often used by Indonesians in jewelry making, especially to create decorative rosaries. Initially, this amber grew only in Indonesia, but later it was brought to the USA, where it is cultivated as an ornamental plant. Especially large plantations are found in the southern states of America - Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Liana vine blooms attractive pink flowers, but the beauty of this plant hides its sinister secret– Rosacea peas are extremely toxic. If the skin of the fruit is damaged, the plant only needs to release less than 0.00015% of its toxin to kill a person. However, if the integrity of the pea peel is not broken, it is absolutely harmless, and can even pass without consequences through the entire digestive tract of a person who had the temerity to swallow a red-black bead.
Abrin, a toxin from the apricot plant, comes into active contact with the cells of the human body, interferes with the synthesis of proteins necessary for our body, and sticks blood red blood cells together. The Prayer Rosary fruits have two ways to get into human body: through Airways or while eating. If you inhale the toxin of this abrus, you will experience attacks of nausea, fever and pulmonary edema. Eating food poisoned with abrin can be much more dangerous for a person. If you eat a pea with a damaged skin, prepare for severe nausea and vomiting, as well as dehydration, accompanied by dysfunction of the kidneys, liver and spleen, which ultimately leads to a painful death.
At present, no antidote to the toxins of the rosary beetle has yet been created, and too late medical care can only relieve pain and relieve some of the symptoms of poisoning. There is no way to stop the processes that kill a person from the inside unless you wash the body immediately after poisoning.
They have learned to use the toxic properties of abrus in hair products against lice, and the roots of the rosary contain glycyrrhesin, which Indian healers add to painkillers. In modern pharmacology, this plant has not gained much popularity.
8. White snakeroot or ageratina highest
White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) is a North American flowering herb growing primarily in wooded areas of the Midwest. The top of the highest ageratina is decorated with umbrellas with small white flowers, and in appearance this green plant may seem completely harmless, but its modest beauty is insidious and hides a deadly secret.
White snakeroot contains the powerful toxin tremotol, and it usually affects a person already suffering from breast disease. The process of secondary infection occurs due to the consumption of contaminated milk produced by a cow that accidentally ate ageratina and became ill. An animal that has ingested a toxic plant can be recognized by a syndrome that causes severe tremors and convulsions. If you drink the milk of a sick cow, you will also be poisoned by tremotol and suffer from milk sickness.
Breastfeeding has many symptoms, including loss of appetite, weakness, muscle stiffness (hypertonicity), intestinal upset, vomiting and constipation. In the worst cases, white snakeroot toxin poisoning results in coma and death.
The best thing that can be done to relieve the symptoms and pain due to milk sickness, as well as to partially remove the poison from the body, is to take sodium lactate with glucose. But these measures can only mitigate the destructive effect of tremotol, without saving from inevitable death.
Ageratina the highest is guilty of a huge number deaths and in the past caused the premature death of Abraham Lincoln's mother. Today, thanks to increased safety measures in the livestock sector, the risk of milk disease has been reduced to almost zero.
7. Oleander
Oleander (lat. Nerium) is an ornamental shrub popular because of its beautiful flowers and enviable unpretentiousness. Initially the plant grew in northern Africa and on the Mediterranean coast, but today oleander adorns gardens and park alleys around the world, mainly in warm and hot latitudes. Ornamental shrub decorates both private gardens and public places, however, few understand how dangerous this natural beauty is.
Oleander contains a range of deadly toxins, including cardiac glycosides, oleandrin, oleondroside, neroside and many others. toxic substances. This powerful chemical mixture is so poisonous that just one leaf is enough to kill an adult. The toxins in oleander are numerous and cause a range of potentially fatal effects, the most notable being blurred vision, gastrointestinal tract, bradycardia and arrhythmia (slow and irregular heartbeat), heart block, and a variety of systemic disorders that affect brain function. Almost all vital organs are affected.
If medical assistance is provided in a timely manner, the chances of survival and full recovery are the highest, although much depends on the amount of poison that has entered the human body. In the hospital, doctors rinse the patient's stomach activated carbon to remove the deadly toxin from the digestive tract as quickly as possible.
The main problem is that patients often do not realize the cause of their illness and end up dying a painful death without seeking help from qualified doctors.
6. Jimson's weed or stinking weed
Datura stramonium is known by its more common name, Devil's Trap. Many people remember this plant from the fairy tale episode in which Harry, Hermione and Ron encountered an insidious flower while searching for the wizard's stone.
However, the real devil's trap is an even more dangerous and sinister plant than that discovered by Potter's friends at Hogwarts. Jimson's weed - tall, herbaceous plant the nightshade family with a funnel-folded corolla (the totality of a flower petal) and spiny seed pods. This toxic plant is native to Asia, but Datura has now made its way to the West Indies, Canada and the United States.
The devil's trap seems simple and modest in appearance, but in fact it is capable of knocking down even an adult healthy person. Datura contains a mixture of dangerous tropane alkaloids that can harm almost the entire human body, but are most dangerous to our brain.
Some people use Jimson's weed as a hallucinogen. Its toxic properties can cause unusual pupil dilation, blurred vision, frightening hallucinations, euphoria, delirium, aggressive behavior, as well as tachycardia and dry mouth.
The devil's trap does not need to be treated in any special way, and to kill it with toxins, juice squeezed directly from the stem or flower of Datura is enough, and the seeds of the plant can be swallowed raw. Death is not the most likely outcome of poisoning, but intoxication with stinking dope can make you experience not the most pleasant sensations.
5. Castor bean
The fruits of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) look quite innocent and harmless, but in fact they contain one of the most powerful natural toxins on Earth - ricin. For the same reason, the plant was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Ricinus communis is a medium-sized herbaceous plant originally native to Ethiopia. Today, castor beans are widespread throughout the world, especially in temperate and tropical latitudes, where this plant can be found in ordinary gardens and vegetable gardens, as well as in parks and other places. in public places.
For centuries our ancestors valued beneficial features castor oil, which is extracted from castor beans. So why is this plant considered so deadly? It's all about the spotted brown fruit. Beans are the vessels that contain that same ricin. The pulp of the slander fruit is used to produce dried powder, which is a real killer, and represents great danger, if inhaled or mixed with liquids. Intoxication occurs with a different set of symptoms, depending on how the ricin entered the human body.
If swallowed, it causes severe gastrointestinal upset, abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea, which lead to critical dehydration, decreased blood pressure and renal failure. Inhalation of ricin leads to a bloody cough, followed by rapid pulmonary edema. If ricin enters the bloodstream through an injection, you will first experience vomiting and flu-like symptoms, the injection site will swell, and eventually develop acute failure all organs of the body.
The worst thing is that all these symptoms are detected only a few days after the initial contact with ricin. It only takes 2 milligrams to kill an adult, and there is no antidote for this toxin in the world. Well? Now will you think twice the next time your grandma suggests you use castor oil?
4. Sleepy grass
This one has dangerous plant many names: belladonna, belladonna, belladonna, belladonna, sleeping stupor, mad cherry, European belladonna, deadly nightshade and belladonna. Belladonna is translated from Italian as beautiful woman. Yes, this lady is beautiful, but at the same time she is extremely dangerous.
Sleepy grass grows in Europe, northern Africa and western Asia, and over time it came to the United States. Belladonna is a tall plant with dark green leaves, beautiful purple bell-shaped flowers and black and red berries.
Belladonna deserves its name, but its appearance is deceiving - the toxins contained in the plant can easily kill you. Belladonna contains three tropane alkaloids and other toxic components that cause severe intoxication. Among the symptoms of mad cherry poisoning, the most common are severe dehydration and thirst, difficulty swallowing and breathing, blurred vision, vomiting, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), slurred speech, hallucinations and delirium. The most severe signs of intoxication are convulsions and coma, which ultimately lead to death.
Belladonna contains toxins in all parts of the plant, but most of the poison is concentrated in its roots. Nevertheless, most often it is the berries of the sleepy grass that cause trouble. The shiny dark red fruits are very similar to ripe cherries, which, contrary to all expectations, turn out to be sweet. But the consequences of such confusion are unlikely to please anyone...
3. Cerberus adoullamensis or “suicide tree”
Cerbera odollam is a beautiful ornamental plant growing in the swamps of India and in south asia. Due to its distinctive smell, locals call it "pong-pong" ("stinky"), and this tree has its own cunning tactics to seduce and fool you, luring you to your death. The suicide tree attracts attention with its beautiful white flowers and small mango-like fruits. But don't be fooled visual appeal this plant, because its fruits are extremely toxic.
Cerberus odollamensis seed contains the glycoside cerberin, which acts as a steroid that blocks calcium ion circulation channels in human body. But it is free calcium that is involved in blood clotting processes, regulates muscle contraction cells and hormone secretion. Cerberine toxicity causes severe gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, irregular heart rhythms, heart failure, and vomiting. These symptoms appear several hours after poisoning, and just one seed contains enough poison to kill an adult.
The suicide tree got its ominous name for a reason. Every year, thousands of people die with the help of this plant, thus choosing not the fastest and most painless method of suicide. By the way, the scientific version of the name of this plant also hints at a connection with the kingdom of the dead - Cerberus comes from the nickname of the three-headed hellhound from Greek mythology.
2. Water hemlock or waterweed
Water hemlock (Cicuta douglasii) is a weed native to the wetlands of the American West and is also known as cat parsley, omega, water hemlock, water hemlock, water hemlock, dog angelica, angelica, and pig louse.
In appearance, this is an ordinary herbaceous plant a meter high, the top of which is decorated with umbrellas of small white flowers. The rhizome and smell of hemlock are reminiscent of carrots, but it is not a plant that should be added to salads.
Water rabies contains a powerful toxin - hemlock - a dangerous unsaturated alkaloid with a pleasant odor. Hemlock is found in all parts of the plant, but its highest concentration is present in the rhizome of the weed.
Most often, people are poisoned by hemlock by accident, ingesting the toxic plant by mistake, confusing it with parsnips. The poison manifests itself in a number of unpleasant symptoms, including nervousness, muscle tics, dilated pupils, rapid pulse and breathing, tremors, convulsions, seizures, renal failure, coma and rapid death.
To kill an adult, all it takes is one small handful of weed that can be chewed at a time. Water hemlock poisoning happens so quickly that this green villain gives you almost no time to get to the hospital.
1. Aconite
Wolfsbane (Aconitum napellus) is a herbaceous plant of the buttercup family that has many popular nicknames, including wolfroot, king grass, goat death, iron helmet, hood, horse, king potion, wolfsbane and wrestler root. Aconite grows in western and central Europe, and is an ornamental flowering plant, which is easily recognized by its dark purple flowers, reminiscent of a monk's hood.
And although aconite flowers are compared to a monk’s cape, this plant is far from holy innocence. Tsar grass contains an alkaloid called aconitine. Aconitine disrupts sodium circulation channels, a substance directly related to cardiac performance. Symptoms of wolfsbane poisoning include tingling, numbness of the mouth and tongue, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, weak or irregular heartbeat, pain, convulsions and paralysis, which ultimately leads to death.
Most often, intoxication occurs due to aconite getting into food, although the taste of this plant is rather unpleasant. Dose of poison for sad consequences a very small amount is needed due to the high efficiency of this substance.
