Hi! I am definitely pumped for my first real passion blog!  As promised, I have gone onto the great information base that is the internet to find interesting wildlife.  Up this week is… DEADLY PLANTS.  This is just a small grouping of either carnivorous or poisonous plants.  I left out the Venus Fly Trap and any sort of Pitcher plant this week, as hopefully everyone reading will have already heard about those.

First up is the carnivorous plant of Drosera regia, or the King Sundew:

The King Sundew is fairly rare, only naturally growing in a few places down in South Africa.  This carnivorous plant has stiff, sword-shaped leaves that can grow to be over two feet long!  The leaves are covered in little spines that secrete a sticky mucus.  If the mucus wasn’t enough to trap insect victims, younger Drosera can drastically move their leaves, often tying knots around insects as well.  Once the prey is trapped, the insect is slowly digested alive.

Next up is Hippomane mancinella, the Manchineel, or somtimes the Poison Guava:

This tree is native to sandy beaches on the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.  Although pleasant looking, this tree is very poisonous.  The fruits of the tree are attractive looking, yellow to red, and are very sweet scented, almost like apples.  Many Spanish conquistadors, sailors, and tourists have died from ingesting these fruits.  However, it is not only the fruit that is poisonous.  Even breathing the air around the tree can cause your throat to close up so that you are unable to breathe.  The smoke of burning Poison Guava or even rain off of the tree can cause skin irritation and rash.

Third on the list of deadly plants is Brugmansia candida, or White Angel’s Trumpet:

This plant, while very pretty, is extremely poisonous.  It is native to the forests of South America, around Peru, but can be bought online as a garden plant.  Ingesting any part of this poison plant is definitely not a good idea.  It contains a dangerous trio of toxins – atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine.  All three of these are poisonous, but scopolamine is arguably the worst of the three.  This toxin alters a person’s mind, causing hallucinations and almost zombie-like consciousness.  When ingested, the person may stay awake, but will not be aware of their actions.  While in this psychotic state, anything can happen.  Experimenters have seriously injured themselves while on it.  Of course, these side affects can only happen if you even manage to stay alive…

Finally, I am bringing it back close to home with Cicuta douglasii, or the Western Water Hemlock:

This is a common plant around North America, but it has been deemed the most violently toxic plant in North America by the United States Department of Agriculture.  It contains the poison cicutoxin, which just destroys your central nervous system, causing grand mal seizures.  There will be violent muscle convulsions and loss of consciousness, followed by almost certain death.  Surprisingly, the Water Hemlock is related to the carrot.  Makes you wonder if the carrots are just biding their time…

So, those were four different and dangerous plants from different parts of the world.  I want to hear what you think!  Tell me which one you would be most scared of!  If you’ve heard of these plants before, and know another fact about them, let me know as well!  Be careful, try not to eat random plants you find out there, and thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Sam