Strychnine
Strychnine, derived from the small Hawaiian tree Strychnos nux-vomica. Symptoms of strychnine poisoning begin with feelings of restlessness and anxiety, proceeding to muscle twitching and exaggerated reflexes. In severe poisoning, a loud sound can cause severe muscle spasms throughout the entire body. These spasms may make breathing impossible and result in death.
In the early part of the twentieth century, strychnine was widely used as a rat poison. In recent decades, however, slower-acting poisons have been used for rodent control; since rats can remember which foods have made them sick, one that receives a non-fatal dose of a fast-acting poison such as strychnine will never again take that type of poisonous bait.
Uses : Strychnos nux vomica is recommended for upset stomach, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, intestinal irritation, hangovers, heartburn, insomnia, certain heart diseases, circulatory problems, eye diseases, depression, migraine headaches, nervous conditions, problems related to menopause, and respiratory diseases in the elderly. In folk medicine, it is used as a healing tonic and appetite stimulant. Nux vomica is a common homeopathic medicine prescribed for digestive problems, sensitivity to cold, and irritability. The senses of smell, touch, hearing and vision are rendered more acute, it improves the pulse and raises blood pressure and is of great value as a tonic to the circulatory system in cardiac failure. It is used in pruritis and as a local anodyne in inflammations of the external ear. The powdered seeds are employed in atonic dyspepsia. The leaves are applied as a poultice on sloughing wounds and ulcers. They are also used in the preparation of medicated product for the hair and scalp.
With pointy leaves and spiky fruit, jimsonweed ( Datura stramonium ) definitely looks the part of a poisonous plant. Its toothed foliage emits an unpleasant odor and branches from reddish-purple stalks, which grow to a height of 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters). The plant's fruit is particularly wicked-looking. The green spheres, measuring about 2 inches (5 centimeters) across, are covered with long, sharp spines. Even the nectar and petals of its beautiful white or lavender trumpetshaped flowers are dangerous. They, like the rest of the plant, are tainted with the toxins atropine and scopolamine.

European settlers in the New World quickly discovered the potency of jimsonweed, which grows throughout Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. The plant was plentiful at Jamestown, where some colonists made the mistake of having it for dinner as early as 1607. They would have experienced horrific symptoms, including dilated pupils, racing heartbeat, hallucination, delirium, aggressive behavior and possibly coma or seizures.
The plant has been linked to darker arts, like witchcraft and voodoo , because of its deliriuminducing and hallucinogenic properties. For most people, though, jimsonweed is a dangerously poisonous plant that's best avoided completely.
Aconite ( Aconitum napellus ) is commonly referred to as monkshood because the top of the flower resembles the monastic head covering. But there's nothing holy about this plant. A perennial, it stands 2 to 6 feet (0.6 to 1.8 meters) tall and produces blue, white or flesh-colored bunches of flowers at the tops of its stalks. Every part of the aconite plant is laced with the toxin aconitine, making it dangerous to consume or even touch.
Poisonings from aconite are rare but typically occur when gardeners or backpackers mistake its white carrot-like root for horseradish or some other edible herb. Consuming the plant causes burning in the mouth followed by increased salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, a tingling sensation in the skin, blood pressure and heart irregularities, coma and sometimes death. Just touching aconite can cause tingling, numbness, and in severe cases, heart problems.
People have used aconite in the past to intentionally harm people or animals. Nazi scientists used the plant's toxin to poison bullets, while shepherds in ancient Greece laced bait and arrows with aconite to kill wolves that preyed on their stock. From this latter use came another common name, "wolfsbane." Fans of the Harry Potter series will recognize this as the plant Professor
Snape brews to help Remus Lupin turn into a werewolf.

Most people know that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln , but did you know that a plant killed the president's mother? The culprit: white snakeroot ( Eupatorium rugosum ), a shade-loving weed native to the forests of the eastern and southern United States. This shrubby plant grows to a height of 18 to 60 inches (46 to 152 centimeters) and boasts leaves that are serrated around the edges. Its flowers, which emerge from the ends of the branches in late summer, are small and grow in white clusters. Don't let these beautiful blooms fool you, though; the plant contains high levels of tremetol, a powerful toxin.
White snakeroot causes "milk sickness," a condition that afflicts people who consume milk or meat from a cow that has grazed on the highly poisonous plant. (Snakeroot is also poisonous to the cow.) Those affected can experience a variety of symptoms, including bad breath, loss of appetite, listlessness, weakness, vague pains, muscle stiffness, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, severe constipation, coma and possibly death . Milk sickness was common until the 1920s when farmers widely recognized white snakeroot as the cause, eradicating the weed from their pastures and fencing them to prevent cows from wandering into the woods to graze. Unfortunately, this discovery came much too late for Lincoln's mother, Nancy, who fought milk sickness for two weeks before passing away on Oct. 5, 1818.

Given the English yew's highly toxic nature, it's fitting that the tree is commonly found growing in church graveyards across Great Britain. Some scholars believe that this tradition started when early Christians incorporated the trees -- which already had spiritual value to the pagans -- into their new religion. Today they stand not as symbols of death , but of the immortality of the soul.
The English yew ( Taxus baccata ) is an evergreen tree with needlelike leaves and red arils, or fleshy seed-coverings. It grows to a height of 60 to 70 feet (18.3 to 21.3 meters) and is found throughout Great Britain, but is also cultivated in the southern United States. Every part of the tree is toxic due to taxine alkaloids, except for the aril flesh. Consumption of the leaves, and to a lesser extent the seeds, can lead to increasingly serious symptoms, including dizziness, dry mouth, dilation of the pupils, weakness, irregular heart rhythm and possibly death.
Despite its harmful qualities, English yew has been used for a variety of productive purposes. Its wood was valued across Europe for bow making as early as the Neolithic period, which lasted from approximately 7000 B.C. to 2500 B.C. Later, the Anglo-Saxons explored the tree's medicinal qualities, including yew berries in a 10th-century formula for the treatment of "waterelf disease" (probably measles or chicken pox). More recently, researchers have studied the
English yew for its potent antitumor qualities. Today, yew extract is used to formulate the drug paclitaxol, or Taxol, which slows the growth of ovarian, breast and lung cancers.

Lately, the extremely toxic components of Castor Beans (including the protein ricin and the alkaloid ricinine) have been the subject of much interest. The most notorious is ricin, a deadly poison found in abundance in the seed and in smaller amounts throughout the rest of the plant. Ricin is a water-soluble protein that inhibits protein synthesis in animal cells, leading to their death. Poisoning occurs when animals ingest broken seeds or chew the seeds. Intact seeds may pass through the digestive tract without releasing ricin.
Ricin is incredibly toxic. As little as 0.5 mg (the amount contained in several seeds) can kill an adult. One seed can kill a child. We are not the only sensitive animals. Four seeds will kill a rabbit, 5 a sheep, 6 an ox or horse, 7 a pig, 11 a dog, but it takes 80 to kill a duck. Ricin has been investigated for its potential use as an insecticide.
Symptoms of ricin poisoning begin within hours after exposure by ingestion or inhalation. They include stomach irritation, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, profuse sweating, collapse, convulsions, and death within a few days. Victims that do not die in 3 to 5 days usually recover. There is no antidote for ricin poisoning. The only remedy is to give supportive medical care to minimize symptoms, and hope for the best. There are some potential medicinal uses for ricin, since it is so cytotoxic. It might be useful in bone marrow transplant procedures, and as an anti-tumor agent.
The castor bean plant, or Ricinus communis , is widely cultivated for its castor oil and is also used as an ornamental plant. Neither of these uses would clue you into the fact that this plant has deadly contents: ricin .
Castor oil is a mild-tasting vegetable oil that is used in many food additives, flavorings and in candy production. It's also available to the consumer as a laxative and to induce labor (though no scientific evidence shows it's successful in inducing labor). Castor oil comes from the plant's seeds, which are 40 to 60 percent oil.
The castor bean plant probably originated in Africa , but is now found throughout the world. This large, shrubby plant is popularly used in gardens because of its hardy nature. It grows well in

barren areas and doesn't require special care. It's fast-growing and can reach 36 feet (11 meters) in a season. The flowers of the plant are yellowish green, and the centers of the flowers are red.
The leaves are large with toothed edges.
Ricin is present in low levels throughout the plant, but it's largely concentrated in the seed coating. Seed poisonings are rare and usually involve children and pets , but they can be deadly.
As few as three seeds, which are green with brown markings, could kill a child who swallows them.
Symptoms of castor bean poisoning include nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, internal bleeding , and kidney and circulation failure. Many people suffer from an allergic reaction to the dust from the seeds and may experience coughing, muscle aches and difficulty breathing.
Exposure to the dust is most common in areas where the beans are processed for commercial use.
In ancient times, the castor bean was used in ointments, and allegedly, Cleopatra applied the oil to the whites of her eyes to brighten them.
The name says it all.
Deadly nightshade, or Atropa belladonna , contains poisonous atropine and scopolamine in its stems, leaves, berries and roots.
Deadly nightshade is a perennial plant that grows between 2 and 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) tall.
You'll recognize it by its dull, dark green leaves and bell-shaped purple, scented flowers, which bloom from mid-summer through early fall.
Deadly nightshade berries are green when they form and turn to a shiny black as they ripen.
They're sweet and juicy, which makes them tempting to children. The plant requires rich, moist soil to thrive, and it grows wild in some areas of the world, but in the United States is limited to cultivation. Not all animals are affected by deadly nightshade. While it's deadly to humans and some animals, horses , rabbits and sheep can eat the leaves without harm, and birds feed on the berries.

The poisons contained in deadly nightshade affect the nervous system. Taken in sufficient doses, the deadly poison paralyzes nerve endings in the involuntary muscles of the body, such as the blood vessels, heart and gastrointestinal muscles.
Symptoms of deadly nightshade poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, headaches, confusion and convulsions. As few as two ingested berries can kill a child, and 10 to 20 berries would kill an adult. Even handling the plant can cause irritation.
The water hemlock, or cicuta maculata , is a very attractive wildflower with an upright growth pattern, purple-striped leaves and small white blooms. But the water hemlock's white roots are sometimes mistaken for a parsnip plant -- a potentially fatal error. The poison contained in the water hemlock, cicutoxin, is present in the entire plant, but is most concentrated in the roots.
Anyone who confuses the plant with parsnips and decides to take a bite faces a violent death.
The water hemlock, which is native to North America , is considered by many to be the most deadly plant on the continent. The wildflower, which grows to 6 feet (1.8 meters), thrives along stream banks, in marshy areas, and in low-lying, damp meadows.
For those unlucky enough to taste the water hemlock, the onset of illness is rapid. The cicutoxin contained in the plant causes violent and painful convulsions, nausea, vomiting, cramps and muscle tremors . Those who survive the poisoning experience long-term health conditions, such as amnesia . No amount of water hemlock root is considered safe to ingest.

The oleander, or Nerium oleander , is considered by many to be the most poisonous plant in the world. All parts of the beautiful oleander contain poison -- several types of poison. Two of the most potent are oleandrin and neriine, known for their powerful effect on the heart. An oleander's poison is so strong, in fact, that it can poison a person who simply eats the honey made by bees that have digested oleander nectar.
The oleander is an attractive plant, and despite its deadly reputation is often planted for decorative purposes. Although native to the Far East and the Mediterranean areas, oleander has been introduced in the United States , where it grows easily. It's tolerant of poor quality soil and dry weather. The plant grows as a dense shrub, and is typically 6 to 18 feet (1.8 to 5.4 meters) tall at maturity. It has thick, dark green leaves, and the flowers, which grow in clusters, can be yellow, red, pink or white.
Even in barren areas, the oleander produces lovely flowers and fragrance. Animals instinctively avoid the plant, and it grows rapidly, so it's often used for highway barriers and other areas that require screening from noise and pollution. Its rapid growth also makes it a popular choice around new construction zones, as it prevents erosion.
Unlike some toxic plants, the oleander is poisonous to most animals as well as humans. A single ingested oleander leaf can kill a child. Ingestion of oleander results in diarrhea, vomiting, intense stomach pain, drowsiness, dizziness, an irregular heartbeat, and often, death . If the victim survives the initial 24 hours after ingestion, his or her odds of surviving increase dramatically.
For successful treatment, the patient is induced to vomit, his or her stomach may be pumped, or he or she may be fed activated charcoal to absorb as much of the poison as possible.