The 5 most poisonous plants in the UK

Normally on lists of poisonous plants, people always seem to add things that can’t kill you unless you eat an amount that you simply wouldn’t eat. Take Foxglove for example, this pretty purple flower is indeed poisonous and appears on many lists of “the most poisonous plants in the UK” but in reality, it will make you start to vomit before you have the chance to eat a lethal dose.

Even though it can kill you if you eat enough, it’s far from being one of the most poisonous out there, so without further hesitation, here’s a list of “The” 5 most poisonous plants in the UK.

1) Deathcap – Amanita Phalliodes

This is by far the most poisonous mushroom in the world and contains a toxin of which there is no known cure. The problem with the poison in this mushroom is how it acts within the body, clinging to blood cells and passing throughout the system. The toxins actually do little harm to the majority of organs with the exception of the kidneys, which it destroys at a rapid rate.

Each time the Death Cap poison passes through the kidney, it rapidly breaks down and kills the cells, but since the poison has no known cure and it is impossible to get someone a double kidney transplant and a full body blood swap within a few hours, the victim is guaranteed death.

This mushroom is especially cruel as for the first few hours (depending on the victim’s constitution) they won’t feel a thing, and apparently it has quite a pleasant taste, then the pain starts. It begins with stomach cramps and abdominal pains before moving onto intense vomiting and diarrhea, which is the body’s way of trying to remove the poison, but since it’s in the blood this is just another side effect.

After a while, the pain becomes so bad the victim can’t walk, and then all of a sudden the pain goes and the victim feels fine. Shortly after the pain has gone the victim will suddenly pass out and die. The pain always starts within 6 hours of ingestion, but it can take anywhere from 24 hours up to a week for someone to die, depending on how much they ate and the strength of that particular mushroom.

2) Aconitum – Aconitum napellus

More commonly known as monkshood or wolfs bane, this is the most poisonous flower in the UK, depending on how you class the phrase “the most poisonous”. There are many plants that can kill you in the UK, but the end result is the same leaving the “how long and how painful” factors as the only considerations.

The reason I consider this to be the most poisonous flower in the UK is because its poison works faster than any other, and in a strong enough form can kill you in seconds. The poison is so strong in this plant that dipping an arrowhead in it will guarantee death to anything it hits, and quickly, this is where it got its nickname of “wolfs bane” as it was used on arrowheads to hunt wolves to ensure they died.

The plant can cause irritation on contact and falling into a patch of these flowers could cause someone to get a huge headache and start vomiting. If ingested the plant’s toxins are deadly to most areas of the body, and can shut down organs upon contact with them. It’s probably a bad idea for me to tell you how hunters concentrated this plant into a poison for their arrows, but when done so it can kill a person as quickly as they can swallow it.

3) Destroying angel – Amanita virosa

This pure white mushroom along with the deathcap is responsible for over 95% of all mushroom-related deaths in the UK and is the second most poisonous mushroom in the country. The poison in this one is called amatoxin, which binds itself to proteins in the body and causes massive damage to both the kidneys and liver.

The unlucky forager who ate it won’t feel anything for up to a whole day after consumption, but then stomach pains and body cramps start, accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, and delirium. The cause of death is ultimately the combined shutdown of the kidneys and liver, but there is a cure if treated soon enough after eating.

If you’re lucky enough to get to a hospital fast enough and someone manages to work out what it is you’ve eaten, the process to stop the poison is extensive, to say the least.

The special diet starts straight away, along with treatment for the replacement of fluids and electrolytes, a charcoal stomach wash, hemodialysis, and hemoperfusion in two 8-hour sessions. All of this will be done while you’re attached to a penicillin IV drip and possibly a thioctic acid or silibinin IV at the same time.

4) Hemlock

This plant comes in two forms, regular Hemlock and water Hemlock which has a stronger version of the poison. One of the worst things about this plant is that it’s very common throughout the entire country and grows in almost any kind of area.

The poison in Hemlock is called cicutoxin, and when introduced into the body causes extreme stomach upsets and if taken in large amounts, paralysis of the lungs. The famous Greek philosopher Socrates was killed by being poisoned with Hemlock, apparently in the form of a tea made from its flowers.

There is a cure to the poison but since it is so fast-acting most people won’t be able to wait for it, suffocating as soon as the toxin reaches the lungs through blood flow. If taken in small amounts it will cause sickness and vomiting, but the poison can leave the body on its own over time if a small enough amount is consumed, but it’s always a good idea to go to a hospital just in case, even from eating a single flower.

5) Deadly Nightshade – Atropa belladonna

Everyone heard of deadly nightshade, haven’t they? with it probably being the most famous poisonous flower in the world, and when a plant has the name deadly in it, you know it can’t be good for you.

Simply touching the leaves of this one can cause irritating rashes and even sickness, but it won’t be deadly just from contact unless you get naked and roll around in a big patch of it, which I know sounds fun but is unlikely to happen.

The reason so many people have died from this plant in comparison to others is due to how tasty the berries look. They can grow to the size of cherries and are a shiny deep purple color, like a juicy-looking round blackberry. Unfortunately, the berries are the most poisonous part and always the part that’s eaten causing death.

Deadly nightshade contains the toxins atropine and scopolamine throughout the entire plant. These toxins can cause paralysis to organs in the body and stop them from functioning, such as the heart. People who eat too many berries will die from at least one of their vital organs simply switching off, and unless the victim gets to a hospital quickly the poison will probably shut off something vital and cause death.

There is a cure to this poison but people often don’t last long enough to receive it. During the 1600s in colonial America, this plant was used to make a medicine to slow the heart and help people rest, as someone worked out it stops the heart, and taking it in smaller watered-down doses will simply cause it to slow, but then again they also thought tomatoes were poisonous.