10 Deadliest Plants on the Planet 2

Plants are one of the main sources of human foods and raw materials and medicine as well. Many can be useful but some can be harmful and could be very fatal to humans.

Here's an additional list of the deadliest plants that had been the caused of death of hundreds of people including animals.

1. Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana Glauca)

   

   The tree tobacco is primarily a plant of the southwest. It has been responsible for a number of deaths, usually from eating the leaves prepared in a salad.

2. Golden Chain or Laburnum (Laburnum Anagyroides)

   

   All parts of the plant especially the seeds in the pods are poisonous. This plant is native of Europe. Laburnum can be lethal if consumed in excess. Symptoms of Laburnum poisoning may include intense sleepiness, vomiting, convulsive movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils

3. Manchineel (Hippomane Mancinella)

   

   Manzanilla is one of the most poisonous trees in the world. This species of flowering plant is native to Central America and the Caribbean. The name mancinella is derived from Spanish manzanilla which means “little apple” because its leaves and fruits look like an apple. All parts of this tree including the fruit contain strong toxins. It will secrete a white milky substance during rainfall. It is said that standing beneath the tree during rain may cause blistering of the skin from mere contact with this liquid. Burning the tree may cause blindness if the smoke reaches the eyes. The fruit can also be fatal if eaten.

   The Caribs used the sap of this tree to poison their blowgun darts and were known to poison the water supply of their enemies with the leaves. As a form of torture they would tie victims to this tree and leave them exposed to the elements.

4. Apple (Malus Domestica)

   

   Would you believe that part of an apple, one of the worlds most abundant and favorite fruits in the world, is poisonous? The seeds of apple contain cyanogenic glycosides; although the amount found in most apples won't kill a person, with enough seeds, one could die from it.

5. Daffodil or Narcissus

   

   Mistaking the bulb of this plant for an onion is the cause of most poisoning. This plant is a native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. All Narcissus varieties contain the alkaloid poison lycorine, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves

6. Jequirity (Abrus Precatorius)

   

   The seed of jequirity which is valued in native jewelry is highly poisonous. The seeds are often used as beads and in percussion instruments. The seed is highly poisonous but is unlikely to harm if swallowed raw and unbroken, as they have a hard seed coat. The toxin of this plant is a close relative to ricin called abrin. One molecule of abrin will inactivate up to 1,500 ribosomes per second. Symptoms are identical to those of ricin, except that the fatal dose of ricin is approximately 75 times greater than the fatal dose of abrin. Abrin can kill with a circulating amount of less than 3 microgramss.

   Jewelry-making with jequirity seeds is dangerous, and there have been cases of death by a finger-prick while boring the seeds for beadwork.

7. Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron Vernix)

   

   It is considered a “noxious weed” and regarded as one of the “U.S. invasive weeds”. Poison sumac is far more virulent than its two relatives, poison ivy and poison oak. According to some botanists, this plant is the most toxic plant species in the United States. The poison shows itself in painful and long continued swellings and eruptions. Poison sumac is a woody shrub or small tree growing to 7 m (20 ft) tall. All parts of the plant contain a resin called urushiol that causes skin and mucous membrane irritation to humans. When burned, inhalation of the smoke causes diarrhea and other internal irritations.

8. Stinger, Moonlighter or Gympie (Dendrocnide Moroides)

   

   The Ilocanos of the Philippines call this plant “Lupa.” Stinger is a large shrub native to rainforest areas in the Philippines, North Eastern Australia, the Mollucas and Indonesia. It is best known for stinging hairs which cover the whole plant and deliver a potent toxin when touched. It is the most virulent species of stinging tree. Contact with the leaves or twigs cause the hollow silica-tipped hairs to penetrate the skin. The sting causes a painful stinging sensation which can last for days or even months and the injured area becomes covered with small red spots joining together to form a red, swollen mass. The sting is known to have killed one human, and it can also kill dogs and horses.

9. Autumn crocus (Colchicum Autumnale)

   

   This lovely-looking plant with pretty flowers is called autumn crocus, also commonly known as meadow saffron or naked lady. It is a flower which resembles the true crocuses, but flowering in autumn. The name “naked lady” comes from the fact that the flowers emerge from the ground long after the leaves have died back. The plant contains a deadly poison called colchicine, a useful drug with a narrow therapeutic index. The symptoms of colchicines poisoning resemble those of arsenic and there is no antidote.

10. Poison Arrow Tree (Antiaris Toxicaria) - The Most Poisonous Tree in the World

    

    The Poison Arrow Tree is the most poisonous tree in the world. The white liquid on the bark of the tree when touched by animals or humans will cause fatality by paralyzing the respiratory system. They have been used by hunters of South America, Africa and Asia. The ripe fruits are edible. They are sweet with a slightly bitter taste, but should only be eaten when ripe. Otherwise the whole plant is poisonous. Birds have been known to drop dead on sucking nectar from the flowers. It is the plant used to make arrow poison.

11. *The Death Cap - The Deadliest Mushroom in the World * Fungus



The deadliest mushroom in the world is Amanita phalloides commonly known as the death cap. This poisonous mushroom is widely distributed across Europe. They appear in summer and autumn; the caps are generally greenish in color, with a white stripe and gills. Fifty percent of mushroom poisoning is attributed to death cap. The death cap damages the liver and kidneys, often fatally. No antidote is known. It is estimated that 30 grams (1 oz), or half a cap, of this mushroom is enough to kill a human. In 2006, a family of three in Poland was poisoned, resulting in one death and the two survivors requiring liver transplants. Toxicity is not reduced by cooking, freezing, or drying.

Notable victims of death cap poisoning include Roman Emperor Claudius, Pope Clement VII, Tsaritsa Natalia Naryshkina, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.

These plants have been proven to be very dangerous to human. I have added “The Death Cap” as a bonus even though it isn't a plant to warn people of its toxicity. So, whether you're in the forest or in the city, always take a lot of care.