Click on the plants or the links below to view information about these poisonous plants. Click on the boy to view more plants.
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Many plants, bacteria, and fungi produce chemicals that can harm humans and animals. Some of these poisons cause injury or death if swallowed or inhaled. For example, people may becfome ill after eating the attractive berries of wild plants. The purple berries of the pokeweed and the red berries of the European bittersweet, or nightshade, are common offenders. Some poisonous plants are Castor bean, Belladonna, Foxglove, Larkspur, Monkshood, Rosary pea, Jimsonweed, and Black nightshade. Some plant poisons act in highly specific ways. Poisons produced by the very common braken fern can destroy bone marrow in livestock. Animals that eat many leaves of the buckwheat plant develop symptoms of posioning. Some plants are poisonous only during certain stages of their development or at certain tmes of the year. Cocklebuur, for example, is poisonous as a seedling, but as a mature plant it is harmless. People have found a number of uses for poisonous plants. In many primitive hunting cultures, plant poisons such as curare are used on the tips of arrows and spears to kill large game. |
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