Plants and their produce form a major part of the diet of animals and humans alike. People often become vegetarian and only thrive on vegetables and fruits. An average nonvegetarian diet consists of over 80% of foods which have to be grown. Animals which are an important part of our diet like cows and chickens are herbivirous and are totally dependent on plants for their nutrition. There are, however, some plants which carry toxins which can be compared to spiders and snakes! People unknowingly or mistakenly eat them without realizing the consequences. After all, how dangerous can a plant be? If you do not know the answer to that,the following list is for you. Here is the list of the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants which you should definitely stay away from!
As known as Precatory bean and Indian Licorice, the Rosary Pea starts off the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants list at number 10. It is an aggressive climber and mostly found in Thailand and Indonesia. Although its colorful beans have been in use for centuries as jewellery beads and other things, the toxin present in Rosary Pea, called dimer, is so poisonous that even 3 micrograms are enough to kill a man.
Why the White Baneberry or Doll’s eyes is named so it not difficult to find out. It looks something right out of the Resident Evil series or from some zombie movie! Growing up to about 24 inches, the berries which grow on the plant are quite poisonous and lead to heart failure if consumed. The toxin found in Doll’s eyesslow down the heart muscles so much that the heart stops!
The English Yew is abundantly found in Europe and stays green all year found. Its leaves, friuts and all other surfaces are very poisonous and can send a person into voilent convulsions! The toxic found in the English Yewis called taxine and directly attacks the heart muscles causing heart failure. There is no known antidote for this poison. Taxine was used in medicines in very small amounts but later was left out because of the saftey concers.
Strychnine tree is native to south Asia and mainlyIndia. It has a moderatly thick bark and bears fruit which is the main bearer of its poison. Although Strychnine treefruit has a lot of chemicals which are very important in medical terms, its fruit induces voilent convulsions when eaten. Its fruit looks like a normal orange and many people have mistakenly taken it resulting in serious medical situations. Is placed 7th in the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants list.
Nerium oleander or Oleander flowers all year round and has beautiful flowers. The alarming thing about this fragrant plant is that is commonly grown in houses all around the world because it is very hardy. The toxin is present in all parts of the Oleanderand is not concentrated in one place. The good thing is that it dose not have a history of being fatal to people and those who accidently do ingest it usually get over it with the help of medicines.
Monkshood is also known as Women’s bane or Devil’s helmet. The Monkshoodhas beautiful purple flowers and looks quite stunning and ranks 5th in the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants list. Its extracts were used to kill wolves and other wild animals and hence were called Wolvesbane. Even touching it can cause the toxin to transffer to your skin which causes sevear skin allergey and gloves should be used. Accidently eating Monkshood even in small amounts it can be fatal.
Angel’s trumpets is also known as the Zombie maker and very rightly so. An extract form the Angel’s trumpets, when given to a human, induce a zombie like state in which the person does not know what he is doing! The amount of poison present in this plant varies with season and age which makes it even more dangerous. It has also been used for many decades as a hallucination producing substance.
Famous for being the cause of death of Abraham Lincoln’s mother, the white Snakeroot ranks 3rd in the list of top 10 most dangerous plants found on earth. It often poisons humans by milk sickness in which a cow eats this plant and the milk is then consumed by humans. On a lighter note, a movie called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is coming out in 2012 called wrongly attributes vampires instead of White Snakeroot.
The Western Water Hemlock is a very innocent looking plant. It has a very poisonous and toxic substance called Cicutoxin which can lead to death even in the smallest of amount. Animals that accidently eat it lose control over the nervous system and die due to stopping of heart of collapse of respiratory system within 10 minutes. The Western Water Hemlockhas a very nice fragrance which attracts animals and unsuspecting humans towards it.
Castor oil plant produces the Castor oil and most of us would be shocked to see it at the top spot in the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants. Although castor oil is good for health, the seed from which it is extracted contains the toxin Ricin. The seeds of Castor Bean plant are quite deadly and can kill a fully grown human within 48 hours in a very painful way. Some animals are partially immune to this toxin and larger number of seeds is required to kill them.
10. Rosary Pea
As known as Precatory bean and Indian Licorice, the Rosary Pea starts off the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants list at number 10. It is an aggressive climber and mostly found in Thailand and Indonesia. Although its colorful beans have been in use for centuries as jewellery beads and other things, the toxin present in Rosary Pea, called dimer, is so poisonous that even 3 micrograms are enough to kill a man.
9. Doll’s eyes
Why the White Baneberry or Doll’s eyes is named so it not difficult to find out. It looks something right out of the Resident Evil series or from some zombie movie! Growing up to about 24 inches, the berries which grow on the plant are quite poisonous and lead to heart failure if consumed. The toxin found in Doll’s eyesslow down the heart muscles so much that the heart stops!
8. English Yew
The English Yew is abundantly found in Europe and stays green all year found. Its leaves, friuts and all other surfaces are very poisonous and can send a person into voilent convulsions! The toxic found in the English Yewis called taxine and directly attacks the heart muscles causing heart failure. There is no known antidote for this poison. Taxine was used in medicines in very small amounts but later was left out because of the saftey concers.
7. Strychnine tree
Strychnine tree is native to south Asia and mainlyIndia. It has a moderatly thick bark and bears fruit which is the main bearer of its poison. Although Strychnine treefruit has a lot of chemicals which are very important in medical terms, its fruit induces voilent convulsions when eaten. Its fruit looks like a normal orange and many people have mistakenly taken it resulting in serious medical situations. Is placed 7th in the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants list.
6. Oleander
Nerium oleander or Oleander flowers all year round and has beautiful flowers. The alarming thing about this fragrant plant is that is commonly grown in houses all around the world because it is very hardy. The toxin is present in all parts of the Oleanderand is not concentrated in one place. The good thing is that it dose not have a history of being fatal to people and those who accidently do ingest it usually get over it with the help of medicines.
5. Monkshood
Monkshood is also known as Women’s bane or Devil’s helmet. The Monkshoodhas beautiful purple flowers and looks quite stunning and ranks 5th in the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants list. Its extracts were used to kill wolves and other wild animals and hence were called Wolvesbane. Even touching it can cause the toxin to transffer to your skin which causes sevear skin allergey and gloves should be used. Accidently eating Monkshood even in small amounts it can be fatal.
4. Angel’s trumpets
Angel’s trumpets is also known as the Zombie maker and very rightly so. An extract form the Angel’s trumpets, when given to a human, induce a zombie like state in which the person does not know what he is doing! The amount of poison present in this plant varies with season and age which makes it even more dangerous. It has also been used for many decades as a hallucination producing substance.
3. White Snakeroot
Famous for being the cause of death of Abraham Lincoln’s mother, the white Snakeroot ranks 3rd in the list of top 10 most dangerous plants found on earth. It often poisons humans by milk sickness in which a cow eats this plant and the milk is then consumed by humans. On a lighter note, a movie called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is coming out in 2012 called wrongly attributes vampires instead of White Snakeroot.
2. Western Water Hemlock
The Western Water Hemlock is a very innocent looking plant. It has a very poisonous and toxic substance called Cicutoxin which can lead to death even in the smallest of amount. Animals that accidently eat it lose control over the nervous system and die due to stopping of heart of collapse of respiratory system within 10 minutes. The Western Water Hemlockhas a very nice fragrance which attracts animals and unsuspecting humans towards it.
1. Castor oil plant
Castor oil plant produces the Castor oil and most of us would be shocked to see it at the top spot in the Top 10 Most Poisonous Plants. Although castor oil is good for health, the seed from which it is extracted contains the toxin Ricin. The seeds of Castor Bean plant are quite deadly and can kill a fully grown human within 48 hours in a very painful way. Some animals are partially immune to this toxin and larger number of seeds is required to kill them.
