2023-07-12 02:35:17
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The hemlock plant, which can kill a person if ingested, is found on the usual path of a children’s school in the British town of Suffolk.
Article informationAuthor, Lawrence Cowley. Role, BBC
2 hours ago
Some children did not know that their lives were “in danger” in the British town of Suffolk due to the presence of hemlock on their usual way to school, a poisonous plant that can kill a person if ingested.
However, hemlock is not the only plant that poses a threat to human life.
The hemlock’s days are numbered in the Bucklesham area following the head of the parish council, David Brinkley, first reported it to Suffolk County Council last June, and the authorities pledged to close the road and remove the dangerous plant.
In his communication, Brinkley said the delay in removing the plant “endangers children’s lives.”
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The alkaloids in hemlock cause severe vomiting and paralysis of the nervous system, usually the cause of death is respiratory failure.
The school’s principal, Rachel Rudge, also voiced similar concerns.
“It’s not safe to walk on the road because of the hemlock and the vegetation,” she says. “It’s really hard and unsafe to be there.”
However, Professor Ian Parr, of the University of East Anglia, says removing the hemlock does not eliminate the problem, given that there are 28,000 plants spread across the UK.
Barr, a professor of field ecology, told the BBC regarding a number of other dangerous plants in plain sight, and why some of them pose a threat to human life.
giant hercules plant
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The toxins in the giant hercules plant can cause burns, blisters, and scars to those who come into contact with it
Professor Barr says that the giant plant Hercules should not be underestimated at all.
It is among more than 100 poisonous plants found in the UK and has been included by the Royal Horticultural Society on its list of potentially harmful plants.
“If you touch it and your body reacts to it, it can cause a reaction that makes you more susceptible to sunburn,” Barr says.
He adds, “It should not come into contact with any part of the plant.”
The poisonous sap of the plant, which grows near canals and rivers, can cause burns, blisters and scars to the person who comes into contact with it.
And the plant, which is close to the wild parsley plant, has white flowers and thick, rough stems, and it may reach a height of more than five meters.
The plant is native to Central Asia and was brought to Britain in 1893 as an ornamental plant, but has now “gone out of control”.
Toxic elements in the leaves, stems, roots, flowers and seeds can be transferred to the skin by touch.
It is often confused with its close relative, the common Hercules plant.
“It’s also toxic, but to a lesser extent,” Barr says.
foxglove plant
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“People have to admire a plant from afar,” says Professor Barr.
The foxglove plant is a beautiful flowering plant, but its beauty in the garden is not without its dark side.
The plant, whose scientific name is Digitalis, is a source of digitoxin, known as a glycoside, which has been used as a heart stimulant since 1785.
It is also known to be toxic to all parts of the plant.
Eating the leaves can cause pain in the mouth and abdomen, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
In severe cases, symptoms may include visual disturbances, as well as heart and kidney problems.
“People have to admire the plant from afar,” Barr says.
Plant “Sitt El Hassan” or “killer eggplant”
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Killer nightshade is one of the most poisonous plants in the UK
“Don’t eat it,” says Professor Barr.
One of the most poisonous plants in the UK is the Solanaceae family, which contains enough tropane alkaloids (alkaline-like compounds) to kill a person.
“These plants are found in forests, although they are not as common as they used to be,” Barr says.
Solanaceae, whose scientific name is Solanaceae, is a broad family of more than 2,500 plants including tomatoes, potatoes, hot peppers, eggplant, peppers, tobacco and killer nightshade.
Despite its lethal potential, atropine sulfate, a nerve agent antidote, can be extracted from it.
Water hemlock
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The water hemlock plant is toxic to humans and animals if ingested
“Water hemlock is very common around[Norfolk and Suffolk],” Barr says. “It’s also very toxic.”
The water hemlock plant, whose scientific name is Oenanthe crocata, is also known as the “poison parsnip”, and is one of the most poisonous plants growing in the UK.
Both hemlock and water hemlock belong to the island family, but they live in different habitats and differ in toxicity.
The tubers, stems and leaves all contain a convulsive and potent toxin known as oenanthotoxin, which attacks the central nervous system.
Hemlock also contains five alkaloids (alkaline-like compounds): conine, conhydrin, pseudoconhydrin, methylconine, and ethyl piperidine, which cause severe vomiting and paralysis of the nervous system.
“Chemistry and Evolution”
image copyrightProf Iain Barr
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Professor Barr says that plant toxins evolved as a protective mechanism
Although deaths related to poisonous plants are very rare in the UK, they do happen.
In 2016, the National Statistics Office recorded the death of six people due to the “toxic effect of ingested plants.”
But how do plants become so toxic that they can kill a person?
“It’s all regarding chemistry and evolution,” Barr says. “Plants have evolved toxins to keep themselves from being eaten.”
“So a plant that is more toxic, even in a small percentage, has a slight advantage over a neighboring plant over an animal in the pasture,” he added.
“Over time, this process leads to the point where certain plants become highly toxic to certain types of organisms,” he said.
He added that most of the poisonous plants indigenous to the United Kingdom developed their poisons with the aim of protecting themselves from large animals such as the woolly mammoth or the two-meter-tall aurochs, rather than protecting themselves from humans.
“The plant’s alkaloids make the animal, when consumed in excess, unwell,” Barr said.
“The aim was not to kill the animals, but rather to make them unwell and stop eating,” he added.
Certainly, he says, plant toxins have not evolved to the point of preventing children from taking a path, such as the way to school.
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