Many beautiful plants hide a deadly secret: they are highly toxic. These plants can cause serious illness or even death, and some might be growing in your backyard. Here’s a closer look at ten of the most dangerous plants in the world.
1. Atropa Belladonna (Deadly Nightshade)
Deadly Nightshade grows in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It contains tropane alkaloids such as atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, which affect the nervous system. Its shiny berries look attractive, especially to children. Eating just five to ten berries can be fatal for an adult. Symptoms include dilated pupils, blurry vision, confusion, convulsions, and coma. Historically, it was used in beauty practices to dilate pupils.
2. Aconite (Wolfsbane)
Wolfsbane is found in mountain regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It contains pseudaconitine, a deadly poison that can enter the body through the skin or by ingestion. Symptoms include burning, numbness, vomiting, and death within hours. This plant was once used to poison arrows in warfare. It is also linked to werewolf legends in folklore.
3. Ageratina Altissima (White Snakeroot)
White Snakeroot is native to North America. It contains tremetol, a toxin that affects animals and humans. Cows that eat it pass the poison into their milk. Drinking this milk can cause “milk sickness,” a disease that killed thousands in the 1800s, including Abraham Lincoln’s mother. Symptoms include vomiting, shaking, and mental confusion.
4. Taxus Baccata (English Yew)
The English Yew grows in Europe, parts of Asia, and North Africa. Its red berries look harmless, but the seeds and leaves contain taxine, a toxin that targets the heart and nervous system. Consuming just 50 grams can cause nausea, dizziness, heart problems, and even sudden death. Despite its danger, it has been used carefully in medicine.
5. Cerbera Odollam (The Suicide Tree)
This tree is found in South Asia and produces small, green fruits that look like mangoes. Its seeds contain deadly poisons like strychnine and brucine. One seed, about 30 milligrams, can kill an adult. In Kerala, India, it has been linked to more than 530 poisonings, often in suicides or murders. People mix the seed with sugar to hide its bitter taste.
6. Brugmansia (Angel’s Trumpets)
Angel’s Trumpets are native to South America. They have large, trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, yellow, and white. All parts of the plant are toxic, containing scopolamine and atropine. Consuming the plant can lead to hallucinations, delirium, and dangerous behavior. Criminals have used its toxins to control victims and commit theft.
7. Nerium Oleander (Oleander)
Oleander is a common garden shrub with bright flowers. All parts of the plant—including leaves, flowers, stems, and nectar—are toxic. The toxin oleandrin affects the heart and digestive system. Even a small amount can cause vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and death. Even honey made from oleander flowers can be poisonous.
8. Hippomane Mancinella (Manchineel)
The Manchineel tree grows in Central and South America and parts of Florida. Its small, apple-like fruit is extremely toxic. The sap contains phorbol, which causes severe skin burns. Rain can carry the sap from the leaves to people below. Burning its wood releases smoke that can cause blindness. It is nicknamed the “Little Apple of Death.”
9. Cicuta (Water Hemlock)
Water Hemlock is one of the most poisonous plants in North America. It contains cicutoxin, mainly found in its roots. Eating it causes seizures, stomach pain, vomiting, and confusion. Death can happen quickly from heart or breathing failure. It is often mistaken for edible wild carrots, making it especially dangerous.
10. Abrus Precatorius (Rosary Pea)
The Rosary Pea is a climbing vine with red and black seeds. These seeds are used in jewelry but contain abrin, a toxin 75 times more deadly than ricin. Just one damaged seed can kill an adult by stopping protein production in the body. Even jewelers have died from accidental exposure to the seeds. This plant is beautiful but extremely dangerous.
Related topics:
