Plants generally poison by:
Ingestion When a person eats a part of a poisonous plant.
Contact When a person makes contact with a poisonous plant that causes any type of skin irritation or dermatitis.
Absorption or inhalation. When a person either absorbs the poison through the skin or inhales it into the respiratory system.
Plant poisoning ranges from minor irritation to death. A common question asked is, "How poisonous is this plant?" It is difficult to say how poisonous plants are because:
Some plants require contact with a large amount of the plant before noticing any adverse reaction while others will cause death with only a small amount. Every plant will vary in the amount of toxins it contains due to different growing conditions and slight variations in subspecies. Every person has a different level of resistance to toxic substances. Some persons may be more sensitive to a particular plant.
Some common misconceptions about poisonous plants are:
Watch the animals and eat what they eat. Most of the time this statement is true, but some animals can eat plants that are poisonous to humans. Boil the plant in water and any poisons will be removed. Boiling removes many poisons, but not all. Plants with a red color are poisonous. Some plants that are red are poisonous, but not all.
The point is there is no one rule to aid in identifying poisonous plants. You must make an effort to learn as much about them as possible.
Symptoms may take from a few hours to several days to appear. Signs and symptoms can include burning, reddening, itching, swelling, and blisters.
The following plants can cause ingestion poisoning if eaten:
Castor bean. Chinaberry. Death camas. Lantana. Manchineel. Oleander. Pangi. Physic nut. Poison and water hemlocks. Rosary pea. Strychnine tree.
Poisonous plants that cause contact dermatitis are:
Cowhage. Poison ivy. Poison oak. Poison sumac. Rengas tree.
Trumpet vine.
YOU ARE READING
Designing Your Character & Other Handy Things
RandomCharacters are hard to create. So consider this book a giant cheat sheet of all your writing needs. This book not only helps writers create their characters, but is a menagerie of descriptions for your stories: Smells. Sounds Instead of Said Describ...
