It is a well said verse that do not judge a book by its cover as what looks good on the outside may or may not be always good inside. Doll’s eyes, English yew, angel’s trumpets, wolfsbane, belladonna, are all beautiful plants but do not let their vibrant and beautiful color fool you. If you happen to eat anyone of them it might make you sick or even kill you. Some of the killer plants tend to cause sickness like intestinal problems, skin irritation, nervous system problems, vomiting or cardiovascular problems. Never eat strange and unknown berries, flowers or leaves as it might bring the end of your life. Following are the list of seven plants that can kill you easily:
1. Castor Plants
Castor plants are widely grown as an ornamental plant which are found in the Mediterranean basin, eastern Africa and India. Throughout the plant, there is a toxin called ricin which is highly concentrated in the seeds of the plant. A single seed can kill a human being in 2 days and can give a painful death. The symptoms include abdominal pain, blood diarrhea, vomiting, and burning sensation. Finally, the ultimate cause of death will be due to dehydration.
Humans are the more sensitive to the toxin of this plants than any other animals. 1 to 4 seeds can kill an adult human whereas it takes 11 seeds to kill a dog and 80 seeds to kill a duck. The castor plant holds the title of the most poisonous plant in the Guinness World Record.
2. Belladonna
Belladonna is also known as death cherries or devil’s berries. It is mostly found in native Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. It is considered to be one of the worldâs most poisonous plants as it contains Tropane alkaloids. Symptoms of Belladonna includes drying of the mouth, headaches, voice loss, breathing problems and paroxysms. Though the entire plant is filled with poison, it is the berries which are of great risks as they tend to attract children by its sweetness. Only a single leaf can kill a grown up man as the poisons are much concentrated in them but 10 to 20 berries to kill an adult.
3. Rosary Pea
The Rosary Pea is also known as Crabâs eye or Jumbie bead. It twines around trees, shrubs and hedges and is a slender perennial climber. The plant grows in most part of the world and is native to Indonesia. The seeds of this plant are used as beads because of its bright red color with a black spot. The poison in the plant abrin is very much similar to the poison ricin which is found in some other poisonous plants. The main difference being abrin is 75 times much stronger than ricin. A dose as little as 3 micrograms can kill a grown human. It is a huge threat to the people wearing the seeds as beads as well.
4. Wolfsbane
Wolfsbane are perennial plants which belongs to the buttercup family. They are also widely known as leopards bane or devil’s helmet. These are native to mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere. The poison present in these plants are called alkaloid pseudaconitine, which was used for hunting by the Ainu people of Japan. The consumption of this poison can cause abdomen and limbs burning. A dose of 20ml could cause death within a period of 2 to 6 hours.
5. Angel’s Trumpets
Angelâs trumpets are flowering plants which can be found around the world but specially in the tropical regions of South America. The shape of the flowers inspired its name Angelâs trumpet as the shape of the flowers are like a trumpet. The flowers of this plant comes in a variety of colors, such as white, yellow, orange and pink. The toxin called tropane alkaloids scopolamine and atropine is present all over the plants. The plant is sometimes used as a hallucinogenic or recreational drug. Overdose of the toxins of this plants can be fatal.
6. Doll’s eyes
Dollâs eye is also known as White Baneberry. It is a flowering plant native to Eastern and Northern North America. The name Dollâs eyes came from the look of the fruit which resembles an eye. The entire plant is considered to be filled with toxic for human consumption but it is the fruit which contains the maximum toxic which has taken many children’s lives. The berries can cause a quick death as it contains the toxic named carcinogenic which sedates the cardiac muscles of humans.
7. White Snakeroot
White snake root is a highly poisonous plant which is native to North America. They are usually white in color and are also known as tall boneset or white sanicle. After the blooming of the flowers, their seeds blow away with the wind. This plant contains the toxin named tremetol which can kill humans directly as well indirectly.
If the plants are eaten by any cattle, the toxin gets absorbed into their milk or meat which in turn could kill humans. The toxic is declared to be highly fatal and which causes milk sickness or milk poisoning.
