Deadly Plants

Deadly herbs

Plants can be great allies in every sense especially to a practitioner. They can also be quite lethal, and the presence of social media has brought forth so many risks when in comes to herbalism. So many put up content without giving proper warnings, doing research on a plant or simply throw out the information without second thought. I have put together a starter list of plants that have the capacity to do harm, some are fatal, and others can cause severe harm so without further ado, here we go!

Giant Hogweed – Heracleum Mantegazzianum

Giant hogweed is as its name’s sake suggests, giant. It can reach 6ft tall or more, has a white canopy type umbrella that resembles cow parsley. The stems are hollow and can be around 4 inches thick. Purple blotches can be located at the leaf base with a furry appearance. The leaves are lobed which can grow as tall as the plant itself. The leaves grow from the stalk with a pair if leaves at the lower end branching out into a three-pronged leaf at the top of the leaf arms. Giant hogweed is not native to the UK and arrived here from Asia in 1828. It is classed as an invasive species. Giant hogweed must be disposed of at a licenced disposal site due to its toxic nature and its ability to spread further. If you see it some council areas require you to report it, look up your local council and contact environmental health. Giant hogweed can also be mistaken for cow parsley, Hemlock, Common Hogweed, Ground Elder.

Hogweed sap can cause phytophotodermatitis, due to furocoumarin. This makes your skin extremely sensitive to light and can severely irritate anywhere it contacts causing blisters. These blisters can recur over many months, even years and is known as phytotoxicity. If you do happen to meet its sap do not wipe the area, dab it with a tissue. This stops the sap being further spread around your skin, rinse it off thoroughly and cover it up, try not to expose the area to sunlight. It would also benefit if you used a sunscreen on any affected area when safe to do so.

Hemlock – Conium Maculatum

Poison hemlock can look quite spindly with white canopy type umbrellas like hogweed. It has purple spots all over the stalks and stems with delicate looking leaves that are finely spread from the main stalk. Hemlock also has a distinct smell; it smells of damp and must giving a repellent effect. This is likely due to the preferred environment being damp murky area such as riverbanks, bogs, lake sides but has been known to be widespread on roadside verges. This could also be down to the amount of moisture coming from the farm fields.

The reason the entire hemlock plant is poisonous is owing to the alkaloid’s coniine and gamma – coniceine. Ingesting this can cause the respiratory system to fail due to muscle paralysis which in turn is fatal to people and animals. The alkaloids can slowly poison neuromuscular junctions which are responsible for your nerves talking to your muscle fibres. All parts of the plant are toxic even after being dead for up to 3 years. There is no current antidote for hemlock poisoning and treatment will rely on symptomatic presentation. Symptoms of hemlock poisoning can show as early as 15 minutes and can enter your blood stream through open cuts and broken skin. Some of the symptoms of hemlock poisoning are rapid or slow heartbeat, sweating, vomiting, muscle weakness, seizures, tremors, kidney failure, central nervous system depression, dry mouth and dilated pupils. It has also been known to have gastrointestinal symptoms as well.

St. John’s Wort – Hypericum Perforatum

This lovely little flower has vibrant yellow five petaled heads with fine yellow stamens. The leaves have a matt like appearance with a red hued edge and a defining crease in the centre. The leaf itself is quite sleek and narrow attached to red leaf stems. It can grow to about one meter tall and wide with many bushy looking flower branches. St. Johns is native to North Africa and Eurasia and then introduced to other parts of the world like New Zealand, America and Australia.

St. Johns wort has many medicinal uses thanks to hyperforin. Giving a mental health boost and generally being uplifting what makes this medicine a potential poison? Its usage with other commonly prescribed medicines such as antidepressants in the SSRI classification, migraine medication and those affecting serotonin levels. The interactions can cause altered mental states, motor function side effects and serotonin syndrome. Immunosuppressant interactions include reduced blood levels with transplant rejection. Warfarin can also have reduced efficiency when combined with St. Johns. There are also a very limited number of reports that suggest contraceptive pills may result in its failure. What put this plant on the list is its capacity to interact with many commonly prescribed medications that covers a broad range of ailments.

This is only a small number of potentially hazardous plants when mistreated and not given the respect they deserve. Stay tuned for some more in depth information regarding plants including there use, history, origins and more!

DISCLAIMER

If you have any concerns about coming into contact with a poisonous plant for example you experience symptoms after swallowing or touching a plant, seek medical help from a doctor or go to A and E.