Among the hundreds of thousands of plants known on Earth, about ten thousand species are considered poisonous to humans. Even in the most familiar corner of nature you can find plants that can pose a danger. Of course, you shouldn’t be afraid of them, but you need to know and treat them with respect. Any person should be able to distinguish common poisonous plants from ordinary ones, so that unknown grass or bright fruits do not cause irreparable disaster.
Poisonous plants are plants that contain substances that pose a potential danger to humans and domestic animals.
The study of poisonous plants is important not only from the point of view of preventing and treating poisoning or preventing harm to the human body, but also for understanding the evolution of living nature and determining the possibility of medical use of biologically active substances contained in such plants.
Hornbeam ArtsPoisonous plants affect humans in different ways. This may result from poisoning if ingested or skin burns from contact with the leaves. Poisoning can cause weakness, dizziness, pain in the various parts body, visual and hearing disorders, and especially severe cases- paralysis and even death. The time after which the symptoms of poisoning appear also varies - in some cases it is minutes, in others the effect of poisonous plants on the body becomes noticeable only after a few days.
Poisonous plants:
Poisonous plants are not necessarily guests from exotic countries, many of them grow in middle lane Russia, they are inconspicuous and rarely paid attention to. Leaves spotted hemlock (Conium maculatum) are very similar to parsley, it has red spots on the stem, it grows in wastelands and is considered a weed. And here cicuta(poisonous milestone) lives in wetlands, along the banks of lakes and rivers, often in water. Hemlock has dissected leaves with narrow lanceolate lobes and umbels of whitish small flowers.
Andrea Moro Veh poisonous (Cicuta virosa) or hemlock is one of the most dangerous plants, all parts of which, especially the rhizome, contain cicutotoxin and other potent alkaloids. The poisonous alkaloid in hemlock is horsemeat, which produces the same effect as the poison curare. Signs of poisoning by these plants are convulsions, unconsciousness, paralysis, ending in respiratory arrest.
Home use can also end in tragedy. yew berry (Taxus baccata) as a medicinal plant. Even animals can be poisoned by young yew needles, which contain the alkaloid taxane. This alkaloid affects the central nervous system.
Since the 1990s, yew tree alkaloids have been used to produce antitumor agents in official medicine.
naturgucker Kleshchevina (Ricinus) is often grown as an ornamental annual. Its large seeds are shaped like a tick. They are not only a source castor oil, but also contain a poisonous protein enzyme - ricin, which causes paralysis of the nervous system.
F. D. Richards The smell and appearance of poisonous plants sometimes suggests, and sometimes hides, the danger that threatens us upon contact with them. Pink periwinkle and purple colchicum can kill humans. In bulbs autumn colchicum (Colchicum autumnale) colchicine accumulates, which has the same effect as arsenic. Pink periwinkle, or Catharanthus pink (Catharanthus roseus), or Pink periwinkle is also poisonous, but its potent alkaloids are used in modern medicine as an antitumor agent.
Carl Lewis IN wolf berries (Daphne mezereum), which temptingly turn red on the trunk of the plant, contains the glycoside daphnin and the poisonous resin meserine, which at the initial stage causes an unbearable burning sensation in the throat, severe bitterness in the mouth, dizziness and swelling of the tongue. When you admire the lilac flowers of the wolfberry in the spring, do not pick or bite off a twig with your teeth, this is very dangerous.
kras3
Bright orange berries lily of the valley (Convallaria) are also dangerous. Glycosides lily of the valley, foxgloves, bought affect the rhythm of the heartbeat, the nervous system and the stomach. Even the water in the vase where these flowers stand is dangerous.
Irina Durnova At the end of summer in a coniferous forest you can find raven eye (Paris) - black-blue berry between large leaves. Make sure that when walking through the forest, your children do not mistake a raven's eye for a blueberry or blueberry.
Be careful with plants with bright and juicy fruits unless you know exactly what kind of plants they are!
Ruud de Block Henbane juice contains the alkaloids hyoscyamine, scopolamine and atropine, which causes hallucinations, delirium, rapid heartbeat and confusion. A small amount of these substances was used in ancient times for pain relief during surgical operations.
Henbane black (Hyoscyamus niger), like potatoes, belongs to the nightshade family. It grows on the outskirts of fields and wastelands. The height of this poisonous plant is about 1 meter; burgundy veining appears on the yellowish flowers. After flowering, pitcher-shaped white boxes with round-shaped seeds appear on henbane. People who chew these seeds to calm down toothache, they feel dry mouth, their speech is impaired, and their pupils dilate, mental agitation can turn into madness. The same symptoms appear from red berries black nightshade And bittersweet nightshade.
Rolf Muller It grows in landfills and wastelands stinking dope, it is better not to breathe its smell, and touching its flowers is very dangerous. The fruits of the “dope-herbs” contain the alkaloid daturin, which also contains henbane.
Other plants from the nightshade family are also dangerous: belladonna, magic mandrake, tobacco from South America and Peruvian coca.
NYSIPM Dangerous for humans and hogweed, from its poisonous stems you cannot make either pipes or sprinklers. Hogweed leaves release essential oils that burn in the sun. They also act on human skin and Caucasian ashberry And angustifolia ash.
Many buttercups are also poisonous; they produce dangerous glycosides and essential oils that irritate the nose, larynx and eyes. And buttercup juice leads to sharp pain in the stomach. Among the buttercups there are many poisonous herbs: Adonis, hellebore, catchment area, lumbago, black crow and other plants.
Adam Gor But poisonous plants can not only cause harm; many of them are useful. About 160 species of poisonous plants were used in folk medicine in Rus'.
Tanja Niggendijker It's hard to imagine that a very tasty Indian cashew nut the peel contains poisonous cardol, which can cause abscesses on human skin. In India, this substance is used to protect building materials from ants.
tropical fruit mango It is healthy and pleasant to taste, but the smell of its flowers can cause allergies in a person. The unripe peel, branches and trunk of the mango tree contain a poisonous gum that leaves blisters and swelling on the skin.
You can also get poisoned poppy sleeping pills. Unripe poppy pods and ovaries are poisoned by poisonous milky juice.
Celandine also contains milky juice, which can cause burns on the skin. Celandine juice will cause big trouble if it gets into the stomach. Currently, celandine alkaloids are being studied for medical use as a inhibitor of the growth of malignant tumors.
fifeflora It should be understood that most poisonous plants do not pose a serious danger if accidentally contacted with them. A lot depends on the dose of their use. As a rule, you can be poisoned by poisonous plants if you use them for self-medication, without consulting a doctor, relying on the advice of “knowledgeable people.”
What amazing powers
The earth has invested in stones and flowers!
There is no such fiber in the world,
Which she wouldn't be proud of
How can you not find such a basis,
Where there would be nothing bad.
Everything is useful, by the way, and not on time -
All blessings turn into vice.
For example, the vessels of this flower:
One thing about them is good, the other is bad.
Its flowers have a healing aroma,
And in the leaves and roots there is a strong poison.
So they split our soul in two
The spirit of kindness and evil self-will.
However, in those where evil triumphs,
The black hollow of death gapes
"Romeo and Juliet", William Shakespeare.
Translation by Boris Pasternak.
“Fairy tale killers” are ordinary flowers, albeit beautiful ones. Many people get carried away traditional medicine, and they know that medicine is made from plants. But what in small doses is medicine, in large doses it is poison.
Delphinium, aka larkspur.
All flower organs are very poisonous. There are especially many alkaloids in fruits and root systems. Their concentration depends not only on the type of plant. Even the place where the flower grew and the season matters. The poison contained in delphinum is similar in type to the poison of aconites. Scientists classify these substances as one type, since their mechanism of action is the same. Larkspur, thanks to alkaids, has a complex Negative influence.
Work is disrupted digestive system, the heart and other circulatory organs suffer, and the central nerves are paralyzed. With strong concentration, breathing stops, as paralysis occurs due to damage to the nervous system. And since other organs also suffer, the outcome is fatal.
Cicuta
Very beautiful flower. It just begs to be included in a wedding dress. Delicate, snow-white umbrellas on a red stem. And it smells nice, like dried fruit. It tastes sweet. It would seem not a plant, but a treasure. In fact, it is a terrible poison. 15 minutes after penetration, the toxic substances begin to work. Symptoms are unbearable pain in the abdominal area, severe salivation, diarrhea and nausea to the point of vomiting. Afterwards - convulsions. If measures are not taken, then the heart and respiratory organs stop working, and then death.
Hemlock
Most scientists are inclined to think that the executioner of the philosopher Socrates was the speckled hemlock. This plant grew everywhere in Greece, and the symptoms that arise from hemlock poisoning are very reminiscent of what Socrates felt before his death. Once in the human stomach, hemlock juice (or decoction) causes nausea, often vomiting and diarrhea. There is a loss of sensation and gradual paralysis, starting from the legs. Then respiratory arrest occurs, leading to death.
It takes hemlock only two hours to kill its victim. No wonder he performed in Ancient Greece the role of the official executioner.
Foxglove purpurea
Foxglove is the queen of flower beds and... detective novels. Perhaps, most often the name of this plant appears in the works of the most widely read mystery author, Agatha Christie. In her story “Dead Grass,” foxglove causes the death of a young girl and the illness of other characters. Plucked together with sage, this plant was mixed with onions, and the resulting mixture was stuffed into a duck.
Belladonna
Belladonna, or sleeping stupor, has been known to the medical world for about 1500 BC. The Venetians called this plant “herba bella donna” because ladies consumed it in distilled water as a cosmetic. The plant, especially the leaves, contains the well-known atropine, as well as asparagine, then lime and other alkaline substances. The root also contains atropine, although in varying proportions. Belladonna is highly poisonous to humans, although herbivores eat it with impunity.
Aconite
This tall plant, decorated with clusters of dark blue flowers, resembles royalty with its majesty. However, in terms of its toxicity, aconite can also be considered the king of plants. The ancient Germans, who compared its flowers to Thor's helmet, soaked weapons in aconite juice before going hunting or engaging in battle with an enemy.
The plant contains a deadly poison - aconitine. All parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the tubers, which are often mistaken for celery.
Autumn colchicum
This flower is an ideal candidate for decorating any garden plot. But every barrel of honey has its own fly in the ointment. Unfortunately, Colchicum is extremely poisonous. Moreover, all parts of the plant are poisonous, both external and underground. Therefore, even when picking up a flower, you should wear mittens - without them you can get burns.
Henbane black
The whole plant is poisonous, but more often they are poisoned by the seeds, which (like all other parts of the plant) contain potent alkaloids - hyoscyamine, scopolamine and atropine. In case of poisoning, dry mouth, redness of the skin first occurs, then rash, thirst, nausea and vomiting, cardiac dysfunction, convulsions and, finally, mental disorder. Symptoms appear very quickly: from 10 minutes. until 15:00. At the first signs of poisoning, you must call a doctor.
Dream-grass
The herb in its raw, freshly picked form is poison, and when dried it is medicine. This property is due to the content of a toxin called protoanemonin in the lumbago. During the drying process, the toxin is destroyed and the toxic properties disappear. Fresh, not dried plants cannot be used for oral administration, as this can lead to severe poisoning and even death. And its juice, if it gets on the skin, can cause severe burns.
Tamariscifolia
Many summer residents want to decorate their plots with decorative conifers. This always creates coziness in the area. Just be careful when buying juniper Tamariscifolia, unlike its thorny counterparts, it is poisonous. Tasting the berry can result in serious poisoning, but that’s not all the trouble. When planting or processing a plant, it is difficult not to get injured by needle-like branches. After such close contact, especially if you did not prudently wear gloves, irritation appears on your hands caused by poisonous juice getting into the wound.
Rhododendron
An unpretentious and beautiful flower. In shady areas it will delight you with a wide variety of shades of its flowers. And he knows how to protect his beauty. If someone, out of ignorance or out of curiosity, tastes any part, sad consequences will follow. The first symptoms will be drooling and tearing, then all this will turn into vomiting, a slow pulse and a drop in blood pressure. If the dose of poison received by the body is large, then convulsions, coma and death are possible.
Hydrangea
This beautiful flower, which can so often be seen in park flower beds and flower beds, makes you want to plant it in your dacha or garden plot. And if you are seduced by its beauty and allow it to grow near your house, then you will place a potential killer near you, who will be nearby from early summer until late autumn. The plant is dangerous from the roots to the tips of the leaves, but the most dangerous part is the bud. The consequences of ingesting even a piece of this plant will be the same as those of consuming potassium cyanide! Choking, loss of consciousness, convulsions, rapid pulse, falling blood pressure and even death is the price of careless handling of this cute flower. So try to isolate yourself and your loved ones from potential danger.
Narcissus
A delicate flower, a symbol of the coming spring. Well, why not buy a bouquet to take home and enjoy the first sunny and warm days, looking at the beautiful flowers! When bringing such a bouquet into your home, know that even without eating parts of this flower, you can harm your health. Just by being nearby, you can feel headache. Allergy manifestations are possible. But if you taste it, the consequences will be much more widespread: nausea and vomiting, convulsions and loss of consciousness, paralysis and death. So, even just holding them in your hands, make sure that the juice does not get on open wounds, it is best to protect yourself with gloves.
Oleander
When decorating your garden with this flower, remember, this flower is dangerous! Even one leaf is poisonous enough to kill small child. And even if death does not occur, then serious consequences will remain forever, in the form of problems with the activity of the heart and central nervous system.
Mountain laurel or kalmia
This flower is a relative of the rhododendron, and therefore no less dangerous! Even its pollen is dangerous, so under no circumstances should you even think about picking and smelling this flower! Ingestion of any part of the flower will result in watery eyes, runny nose, drooling, choking, kidney failure, paralysis, convulsions or death.
Be interesting with
Immense physical strength, powerful fangs and razor-sharp teeth are not the only weapons used in the animal kingdom. Thousands of animals use highly toxic poisons for attack or defense.
We present to your attention the ten most poisonous creatures in the world.
(Total 14 photos)
1. Box jellyfish
The main prize of our top goes to the Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), which received this name because of its cubic shape. Over the past 60 years, this handsome man has claimed about 6 thousand lives. Its venom is considered the deadliest in the world, with toxins affecting the heart, nervous system and skin cells.
And, even worse, all this is accompanied by such hellish pain that the victims go into a state of shock and either drown or die from cardiac arrest. If you immediately treat the wound with vinegar or a solution of acetic acid, the victim has a chance, but, as a rule, vinegar cannot be found in water 😉
Box jellyfish can be found in sea waters Asia and Australia.
2. King Cobra(Ophiophagus hannah)
The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the longest poisonous snake in the world, reaching 5.6 meters in length. Ophiophagus literally translates to "snake eater" because it eats other snakes. A single bite from this deadly snake can easily kill a person. It can kill even an adult Asian elephant within 3 hours if the animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk.
Among the representatives of snakes there are also more poisonous ones than the King Cobra, but it is capable of releasing much more poison than others. For example, 5 times more than the Black Mamba.
The king cobra is widespread in the dense mountain forests of South and Southeast Asia.
3. Scorpio Leius quincestriatus
Contrary to popular belief, most scorpions are relatively safe for humans, since the stings only cause local effects (pain, anemia, swelling). However, Leiruses are very dangerous look scorpions because their venom is a powerful cocktail of neurotoxins that causes intense and unbearable pain, then fever followed by coma, convulsions, paralysis and death.
Leiruses are common in North Africa and the Middle East.
4. Taipan or Fierce snake(Oxyuranus microlepidotus)
Just one taipan bite contains enough venom to kill 100 adult humans or an army of 250,000 mice. Its extremely neurotoxic venom is at least 200-400 times more poisonous than that of a common cobra. In just 45 minutes after a bite, an adult can die. But fortunately, there is an antidote, and besides, this snake is very timid and immediately crawls away at the slightest danger.
Lives in Australia.
5. Darter frogs or poisonous frogs
If you ever visit the rainforests of Central and South America, never touch the beautiful little frogs - they can be extremely poisonous. For example, the size of the Golden Dart frog is only 5 cm, and the poison in it is enough to kill 10 adults.
In the old days, local tribes used the poison of these frogs to lubricate the tips of their arrows.
6. Blue Ringed Octopus (Australian Octopus)
The Blue Ringed Octopus is a small, golf ball-sized, but extremely venomous creature found in the coastal waters around Australia and slightly further north towards Japan. The blue-ringed octopus is usually light in color, with dark brown bands along its eight legs and body, with blue circles added on top of these dark brown bands. When an octopus is disturbed or taken out of the water, it darkens and the rings become shiny and electric blue, and it is this color change that gives the animal its name.
Its poison is strong enough to kill a person. In fact, the octopus carries enough venom to kill 26 adults within a couple of minutes, and there is no antidote. If measures are not taken and treatment is not started, the person begins to feel numbness, difficulty speaking, seeing, breathing problems arise, then complete paralysis and death occurs due to cardiac arrest and lack of oxygen.
7. Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria) or Banana Spider
This abomination was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2007 for being responsible for the largest number of human deaths caused by spider bites. What is important is that these spiders are dangerous not only for their poison, but also for their behavior: they do not sit still and do not weave webs, they wander the earth, hiding in buildings, clothes, shoes, cars, anywhere; which significantly increases the risk of unexpectedly meeting them and being bitten.
8. Ball Fish or Puffer
Ball fish is the second most poisonous vertebrate animal on earth (the first is the Golden Dart frog from point 5). The meat of some subspecies, for example Fugu, is a delicacy in Japan and Korea, but the problem is that the surface of the fish and certain of its organs are very poisonous. The venom of fugu causes paralysis, resulting in suffocation and death from lack of oxygen.
Therefore, only licensed chefs are allowed to cook such fish in Japan.
9. Marbled Cone Snail
The marbled cone snail looks beautiful and very cute, but it can be just as deadly as any other animal on this list. A drop of its poison can kill 20 people. Signs of a bite: severe pain, swelling, numbness, and in serious cases, paralysis and respiratory failure. There is no antidote.
However, over the entire period, about 30 cases of human deaths from the poison of this snail have been recorded, which is not very much compared to other representatives of our list.
10. Stone fish
The stonefish may never win a beauty contest, but it will definitely win the Most Poisonous Fish award. The poison causes such unbearable pain that, in search of salvation from suffering, victims wish to amputate the affected area. It is believed that the bite of a stone fish provokes extreme pain known to man. The pain is accompanied by shock, paralysis, and tissue death.
If you don't get an ambulance medical care, the outcome can be fatal.
Stonefish store their toxins in hideous dorsal ridges, which are designed to protect them from predators.
It is widespread in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from the Red Sea to the Great Barrier Reef.
Incredible facts
Flowers were invented by nature in order to deceive insects and help plants reproduce.
Besides this, we humans love them very much because they serve beautiful decoration our houses and gardens.
There are over 350,000 species of flowering plants, and most of them are innocent souls. However, there is also brutal killers, which we will introduce you to below.
Poisonous flowers
This plant is also known as mountain laurel, and it begins to bloom with soft pink or white flowers in late spring. This flower is gorgeous, but underneath the graceful exterior the heart of a killer beats.
© seven75/Getty Images
The flower produces two toxins - andromedotoxin and arbutin. The first is much more dangerous because it simultaneously provokes one part of the heart to beat faster and the other slower. U healthy person the heart has a natural “gate” that block half of the electrical impulses entering the organ.
Andromedotoxin causes the development of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which destroys this gate, allowing all impulses to enter the heart. Result? Sudden cardiac death.
But this only happens when you receive too large a dose of this toxin. If you receive a smaller dose, you will also die, but this will not happen so quickly. Vomiting appears first. After about an hour, your breathing will slow, you will lose the ability to control your muscles, then you will fall into a coma and die.
The whole problem is that you can’t even eat honey from a bee that lands on this flower, because All the toxic properties of the flower are transferred to honey. The Greeks called this kind of honey crazy, and used it to defeat Xenophon in 400 BC.
Ragwort is a very common wildflower and an important part of the local ecosystem. Almost 80 species of insects feed on this plant, and for 30 species it is the only source of food. Therefore, conservation of this plant is important.
© Tom Boss/Getty Images
This good news for insects, but bad for everyone else. The World Health Organization has confirmed that ragwort contains at least 8 toxic alkaloids, and possibly as many as 10.
The problem is that unlike most poisons, which leave the body quickly, godson alkaloids accumulate in the liver over a long period of time. The accumulation of toxins leads to cirrhosis of the liver, a condition in which healthy cells begin to slowly degenerate into uncontrollable masses of scar tissue.
The liver is a very strong organ and will continue to function normally as long as 75 percent of it will not be destroyed. But by the time symptoms begin to appear, the damage is usually irreversible.
The main symptoms include loss of coordination, blindness, stabbing pain in the abdomen, and yellow eyes due to bile pigment that fills the surface membrane of the organ of vision.
Unfortunately, this is another toxin that may end up in honey, it is also sometimes present in the milk of goats, which love to eat godsons. Moreover, during attempts to remove this plant from the fields, toxins can enter the farmer's body through the skin of the hands.
Poisonous flowers: photos and names
It can be found in almost every mountain range of the northern hemisphere. Hellebore blooms with beautiful heart-shaped flowers. The plant is usually grown for ornamental purposes, but is often confused with garlic.
© Billy_Fam/Getty Images
However, despite its beauty, every part of this plant, from roots to pistils, is poisonous. The first symptom of hellebore poisoning is an unexpected stomach cramp, which appears approximately after 30 minutes after eating.
Once toxins enter the bloodstream, they immediately release sodium ions into the bloodstream. Sodium ion channels serve as gates that allow sodium to pass through nerves.
For example, the opening of sodium ion channels in muscle cells triggers a process that leads to involuntary muscle contraction. The body doesn't understand what to do with it, so the heart begins to speed up and slow down.
During this period, the muscles of the whole body are in convulsions. Eventually, the toxin leads to either a heart attack or coma. The poison contained in this plant is believed to have killed Alexander the Great.
The magnificent perennial Calla lily can be found on every continent and is usually one of the main decorations ornamental gardens. It is often called calla lily, although it does not even remotely look like a lily, and is in no way related to it.
© scrisman
Light, tubular flowers come in a variety of colors. Some types of these plants contain calcium oxalate, a chemical that forms needle-like crystals in internal organs.
Calcium oxalate is found in approximately 1,000 plant species on the planet, but Calla lilies are one of the most dangerous due to their ubiquity.
Even a small dose of this substance is enough for a person’s throat to swell and cause an intense burning sensation. The higher the concentration of the toxin in the body, the stronger it will be. throat to swell
Sometimes the tumor in the throat reaches a size that blocks the airways. One day, an incident occurred in a Chinese restaurant. The cook prepared the dish by adding a toxic plant to it. Everyone who ate it ended up in the hospital.
Poisonous flowers and plants
The birthplace of this plant is Great Britain, but today it can be found in most European countries, as well as in New Zealand. One of its simple names is "naked lady" which is very tempting for such a cold-blooded killer.
© User10095428_393 / Getty Images
After contacting him, a slow painful death. The most dangerous chemical contained in this plant is colchicine. a poison that kills like arsenic, gradually turning off the work of all vital functions of your body.
Failure of major organs, blood clots throughout the body, nervous breakdowns are just some of the terrible symptoms of colchicine poisoning. Every few days new symptoms appear with the failure of another body system.
The "dying" process can take from several days to several weeks. When the concentration of colchicine in the blood is high, the case always ends in death.
In this case, you will die, being fully conscious until the very end, living every painful moment. People compare death from colchicine to death from cholera.
Dangerous flowers
The brain of each of us is designed to perceive nicotine through receptors that have the same shape as nicotine molecules. Despite the name, nicotinic receptors can also form bonds with other chemicals. One of them is cytisine.
© fivelakes-photos/Getty Images
In small doses, cytisine does not cause harm. It is often used as a means to help people quit smoking, and all because of its ability "bind" with nicotinic receptors.
However, in large doses, its use will definitely lead to death.
Cases of laburnum poisoning have been recorded for many centuries. In most cases, these were children who ate flowers or seed shells that looked like pea pods.
Cytisine, which is present in every part of the plant, begins to act within minutes after entering the human body. It all starts with intense vomiting followed by a stream of foam from the mouth. After about an hour, cramps appear.
As a rule, convulsions occur periodically, affecting a person from time to time. However, with cytisine poisoning, convulsions occur so frequently that your muscles constantly contract voluntarily. This process is called tetanic contraction.
All suffering ends in deep coma and death. Fortunately, today almost no one dies from poisoning from this flower. The main thing is to get to the hospital on time.
The most poisonous flowers
Cerberus probably has the most accurate name in the entire plant kingdom: Indian locals nicknamed it "suicide tree" However, everything is much more complicated.
© karimitsu/Getty Images
According to data obtained by a team of researchers who studied a number of deaths in the southwestern region of India, Cerberus is an ideal murder weapon.
For 10 years, at least 500 deaths. It kills thanks to a powerful glycoside called "cerberine".
Once in the body, cerberin manifests itself within an hour. After some mild abdominal pain, you slowly fall into a coma and your heart stops. The whole process takes no more than three hours.
This chemical is quite difficult to detect in the body, so it is often used as a hidden murder weapon. A research team working in India believes that this plant actually killed twice more people than they discovered, because in many cases the cause of death could not be determined.
Types of poisonous flowers
More commonly known as bloodroot, this plant grows wild in the eastern part of North America. Native Americans used its blood red roots as a decorative dye, but they were also used in abortions.
© bkkm/Getty Images
A large amount of it will cause a coma in a person. Men in Lately They began to often use it to fight skin cancer at home. The results are terrible. Cinquefoil contains a substance called sanguarin, which, in addition to being a dangerous toxin, is also very caustic substance.
This substance kills tissues, turning them into a kind of creamy mass. At the site of the "destruction" a black scar remains, known as a scab. In other words, under the influence of cinquefoil skin cells begin to kill themselves.
The same thing happens inside. Chemical substance disrupts the functioning of the Na+/K+-ATPase enzyme, which does a very important job, “sucking” sodium from cells and supplying potassium to it. When this does not happen, all body functions gradually stop working.
Native to Africa, Adenium obesum has been used for centuries as a poison applied to spear tips. The poison produced was called desert rose, and was obtained by boiling the plant for 12 hours.
© quangpraha/Getty Images
After this, the boiled mixture was removed, and the liquid was left to evaporate. The resulting substance was a highly concentrated poison.
During summer travel to distant countries and even walks out of town, you can come across plants that can cause irreparable harm to health, despite their attractive appearance. We provide a list of the most dangerous plants.
- a well-known plant that we have been accustomed to calling “night blindness” since childhood. Despite its completely harmless appearance, this plant is deadly poisonous to animals and humans if accidentally ingested. And the juice of this plant, when flowers are picked, causes temporary severe skin irritation, so it is necessary to closely monitor children in places where caustic ranunculus grows.
Hogweed Sosnovsky and, widely spread throughout Europe - real monster plants. Simply getting the juice of these large, attractive-looking umbrella plants on the skin is enough to cause long-term, non-healing burns to form on the skin under the influence of the process of photosensitization (increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight). If the juice gets into the eyes, complete blindness can occur! It is especially dangerous to approach umbrellas in sunny weather.
- another famous plant, which is also called “wolf’s bast”. Common wolfberry grows in forests, and laurel wolfberry is used for decorative purposes. All parts of this pretty plant are very poisonous. And the red oval berries (which often attract children), if eaten just a few of them, lead to death within a few hours.
Poisonous wekh, or hemlock (from Latin) is another very poisonous plant of the Umbelliferae family. Modern researchers are inclined to believe that it was hemlock that poisoned Socrates, who was sentenced to death by the court. Vekh is somewhat similar to edible angelica. Also, children often mistake it for a carrot; they are misled by the carrot smell of the plant and the similar sweet-tasting rhizome, which is the most poisonous part of the plant.
- a deadly plant common in China and Kyrgyzstan. Beautiful blue-violet flowers on a tall stem up to 70 centimeters attract the attention of uninformed travelers. But just two milligrams of the acotinine alkaloid contained in the juice of the plant shoots is enough to cause death if ingested. Therefore, it is better not to take risks and keep a distance from aconite.
Which grows in, is a close relative of Datura common. This vine looks unusually impressive, so it is sometimes bred in Europe for decorative purposes. But you need to be extremely careful with this plant - all its parts contain toxic and hallucinogenic substances - atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine. It is not for nothing that popular rumor ascribes to this plant the ability to turn people into zombies, which is used by all sorts of magicians, sorcerers and healers.
It grows in New Zealand and is some kind of monstrous version of our quite cute nettle. It grows up to four and a half meters in height, and is equipped with very long needles, upon contact with which a very dangerous neurotoxin is injected under the skin, which in any case causes a severe burn, but can also lead to more tragic consequences. There were cases where a person who merely touched this “nettle” with his hand died. Therefore, when walking, you need to remember the possibility of meeting with Ongaonga.
Sumac (lacquer tree) native to Japan and China, a close relative of the mango tree. Despite this relationship, it is one of the most poisonous plants on Earth. Tree resin, even just getting on the skin, causes severe, deep, non-healing burns. The tree is cultivated for its beautiful yellow wood and for its resin, which is used to make a very durable varnish.
Growing in the Amazon forests, everyone knows it because of its second name curare. The sap from the bark of this tree is traditionally used by Indians for hunting - if it enters the bloodstream, the victim stops breathing and inevitably ends up dying. At the same time, the poison does not affect the quality of meat.
Can be found in Florida and the Caribbean. The fruits of this plant and its juice are deadly to humans. And simply touching the bark of a tree causes a severe allergy, which in itself can be very dangerous.
