Poisonous plants: knowing the most dangerous is the first way to avoid them
Poisonous plants should be grown with a pinch of extra attention: no one forbids you to have them at home because they are beautiful and fascinating but sometimes a little dangerous for children and pets that could lick the leaves. Many poisonous plants are. completely unsuspected: better to know them all and maybe choose some type suitable for everyone and easy to manage like those that purify the air!
Poisonous plants in Italy
Sometimes picking a beautiful white flower can hide some pitfalls. In fact, even in our areas there are plants with a wonderful appearance which however leave a poison on your hands which in some cases can be very poisonous. If in doubt, it is always good to avoid touching the plant, both the flowers and its leaves. Another solution is to continue reading this article and find out which are the most poisonous flowering and non-Italian plants to know how to behave when you meet them. It is also essential to pay attention even if there are children or pets in the house that touching or eating the poisonous leaves could even get poisoned! Also try to know the symptoms of poisoning in order to understand any risk situations. In any case, if you come into contact with one of the toxic and poisonous plants, if you have a skin irritation or fear that you have ingested a leaf or a suspicious berry go to the emergency room immediately. Speed can save your life!
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Three poisonous, toxic and ... unsuspected plants
One of the most poisonous plants that can happen to meet almost everywhere in the parks and gardens of our country is the oleander. You will be amazed to discover that oleander is very toxic to humans and animals: the substances contained in its flowers and leaves cause tachycardia, cardiac disorders, vomiting, gastric disorders and damage to the nervous system. Even some of this poison is harmful but large quantities can be lethal to humans as well as animals. Even burnt oleander wood with its poisonous fumes can cause intoxication and fainting. Think that if a child ingested a leaf he could die: in short, maximum attention in front of the "oleander! Another" very poisonous and very beautiful plant is precisely the Belladonna, a spontaneous plant that grows in the mountains and often cheers the woods with its flowers. of beech trees. Beside the flowers, Belladonna produces fruits, they are very poisonous berries and could be mistaken for common blueberries. It is good to pay attention: in a short time ingesting 3 or 4 berries causes tremors, real hallucinations and also tremors, fever, dry mouth and spasms. The only thing to do is to rush to the hospital, because these berries act quickly and if they are swallowed they have very serious consequences. Don't mess with poisonous plants, they could even kill you! The name of this plant dates back to the Renaissance when women used it to extract from its leaves an ointment capable of dilating the pupils and making the eyes of women more fascinating. It is easy to confuse the fruits of the nightshade with other fruits of the forest so the advice is always to observe carefully and if in doubt do not ingest anything!
Another unsuspected and beautiful plant is the Ginestra. A spontaneous plant that has spread very widely in Italian gardens. The plant contains high doses of an alkaloid, present both in the seeds and in the leaves. In small doses it can cause diuretic and laxatives. But if taken in large quantities the symptoms become much more severe, in fact we will have nausea, vomiting, agitation, anxiety, even delirium and hallucination. There is also a particular variety of Broom, the so-called Ginestra dei Carbonai, which is not toxic and which it is used in herbal medicine to calm tachycardia. You may realize that accidental ingestion of these plants is very dangerous. Animals are certainly very exposed but usually thanks to their instincts they are able to stay away from the most poisonous plant species. It can be even more dangerous for children who touch everything they come into contact with and bring to their mouths during the first few years.
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More poisonous and toxic plants to stay away from!
Knowing how to recognize poisonous plants is the first way to be able to defend ourselves from these dangers and avoid unpleasant situations. For example, a plant not to be touched is the Stramonio, not surprisingly also known as the devil's herb. The seeds of the stramonium contain many alkaloids: this makes the plant very poisonous. Often in Italy it grows around urban streets and sidewalks. If ingested it has hallucinogenic properties. It causes severe abdominal cramps, nausea, pain and in some cases its ingestion can even have fatal consequences. A plant that we often bring into our homes, without knowing that it is poisonous, is the Christmas star. Yes, the plant with red flowers that we give away during the Christmas holidays! Maximum alert in the house if there are dogs, cats or children who could come into contact with this plant. Poinsettia is a beautiful ornamental plant that emits a dangerous white liquid. This liquid is white and resembles latex: if you touch it you will feel itching and burning. The poinsettia causes a kind of erythema on contact. If a leaf or sprig is inadvertently ingested, it causes irritation, vomiting and diarrhea. There is also another poisonous and very famous plant: it is the Cicuta! Surely you have heard of it, because with the poison extracted from the Cicuta also Socrates was poisoned. You may have heard of the hemlock but you probably don't know what shape it has and you wouldn't be able to recognize this plant that causes death! Cicuta is a herbaceous plant that produces beautiful white flowers! You can recognize it because it smells unpleasant, especially if you break a branch or leaf. The poison in hemlock is in the branches, in the flowers, in the leaves and above all in the green fruits that characterize this very dangerous plant!
A plant that can be useful but also poisonous: castor
Ricinus communis, also known as castor, is widely used. In fact, its oil has been used since ancient times in the medical field as a powerful laxative (with a terrible taste). The oil, however, has no toxicity because what contains poison are the seeds. Castor beans contain ricin, a toxic substance. So it is good to pay attention and avoid touching the seeds of this plant. It is enough to ingest less than eight seeds to be poisoned by ricin! He thinks that castor can cause death in no time after ingestion, and this has even made it enter the Guinness Book of Records as one of the most poisonous plants in the world. Red in color like castor, equally toxic and poisonous is the Taxus Baccata. An ornamental plant from the conifer family, also called yew. You can recognize it by its red berries, with a very inviting appearance: do not eat them! They are full of toxic alkaloids (especially taxin). If you ingest even a few badger berries you will have tremors, respiratory and heart problems and even death from caridache and respiratory crises. Badger has a real narcotic effect on humans but also on dogs, cats and other pets. In short, if the ancients called it the tree of death ... there is a reason!
