Poisonous Weeds
From the book Common Poisonous Plants and Mushroom of North America by Nancy J. Turner and Adam F. Szczawinski comes a very interesting story. “In April 1980, a five-year-old child was fatally poisoned in Victoria, British Columbia from eating Poison Hemlock while at play with her sisters. Her babysitter was not even aware that she had eaten the plant. The little girl felt sick and would not eat. She laid down, and within an hour fell into a deep coma. It was only at this point that her sisters recalled that earlier she had eaten a plant. She was rushed to the hospital, but despite all efforts to save her life, she died six days later” (Szczawinski, Turner, xi). Poison Hemlock is just one of the thousands of plants that are poisonous to humans as well as animals. In addition, the plants Jimsonweed and Deadly Nightshade can also have extremely harmful effects on humans. All three of these poisonous plants can turn up anywhere from hiking trails to backyards to fields, so therefore it is important to be able to identify them and understand how deadly they potentially can be.
In order to prevent what happened in the story at the beginning, let’s look more closely at Poison Hemlock (Conium Maculatum). When mature, this carrot-like plant can get up to six feet or greater in height with triangular, fern-like leaves (Szczawinski, Turner, 129). The plant possesses white flowers, which are grouped in numerous umbrella-like clusters. Small, grayish brown, and flat with five curvy ridges running lengthwise describe the fruit of Poison Hemlock. However, beware of ever crushing or even touching this plant because a strong mouse odor will be emitted.
Originally from Europe, Poison Hemlock is now an obnoxiou...
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...ipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_Nightshade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Hemlock
Natural Resources Conservation Service-http://plants.usda.gov
Research and Extension Center: Virtual Herbarium-http://uvalde.tamu.edu/herbarium/dain.htm
National Capital Poison Center- http://www.poison.org/prevent/plants.asp
Ophthalmic Kew Garden- http://www.mrcophth.com/plants/minipicturesofplantsforeyes.html
Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University-Bozeman and MSU Extension Services Noxious Weed Specialist, respectively- http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt200013.html
Poison Hemlock Site- http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/hemlock.htm
They would not keep the parsley inside because it would bring death in the home. They did feed it to their horses though. Aethusa Cynapium, also known as Fool’s Parsley, is very poisonous and should never be consumed by humans. Although it is Apiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northwest Africa, much like Knotted Hedge Parsley, except they have a triangular, white flower look and has a very unpleasant smell to them. They are often confused with regular parsley, except they actually cause death. Poisoning from fool's parsley results in symptoms of heat in the mouth and throat and a post-mortem examination has shown redness of the lining membrane of the gullet and windpipe and slight congestion of the duodenum and stomach. In Europe, only the pregnant women and witches knew how to properly plant parsley and it was only planted on Good Friday for best results. In the medical sense, Parsley is loaded with Vitamins A,C, and K. Vitamins A and C will combat the substances in the body that will kill the cells before they cause
The plants growing among Montana’s peaks and valleys range from tall evergreen trees to grasses. The mountainous areas are covered with forests. However, at each level, from the mountaintops to the valleys, there are different, distinct collections of plant life. The mountainsides are largely covered with towering spruce, pine, cedar, and Douglas fir trees (Av2
Timmons, J. B., Alldredge, B., Rogers, W. E., & Cathey, J. C. (2012). Feral hogs negatively affect native plant communities. Informally published manuscript, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M , College Station, TX, Retrieved from http://feralhogs.tamu.edu/files/2010/04/feral-hogs-native-plants.pdf
The location of secretory structures and the presence of essential oils and alkaloids were investigated (Corsi and Biasci, 1998).The consumption of varying parts of the plants (leaves, fruits) can cause different degrees of clinical effects and there appears to be different susceptibility to toxicity between species. The primary time of year for poison hemlock is spring; often when there is insufficient forage available. At this time the plant may also be more palatable. The toxicity increases throughout the growing season and the roots become toxic only later in the year. Once dried, the toxicity is considered to be reduced but not eliminated. The plant causes different signs and lesions in different species of animals (Dougall and Maureen,
It can be an unwelcome invader in lawns as well as cultivated fields. The leaves are typically hairy at the base. Seed heads resemble a bristly foxtail and change from green to yellow upon reaching maturity.
Bracken fern (Pteridium aquiline var. pubescens) is poisonous to cattle, sheep and horses; sheep, however, are more resistant. Bracken contains thiaminase inhibitors that lead to the development of thiamine deficiency in horses that can be remedied by giving thiamine. Milk from cows that graze bracken fern may be hazardous to humans. All portions of the fern
Invasive species often desecrate ecosystems, wreaking havoc in crucial, distinctive ecosystems such as the Mojave Desert, known for its exclusive wildlife. Not much is done about the many types of invasive plants that plague the Mojave Desert and the number of known invasive species of plants that affect the Mojave Desert is over one hundred (“Invasive Plants”). Invasive species of plants create many diverse issues in the ecosystem of the Mojave Desert such as being incompatible with local animal species, outcompeting local vegetation, and providing fuel for fires, increasing their frequency, that rage across the landscape, damaging the fragile desert ecosystem.
Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) and Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) are the main two species that are invading Southern California. Both of these plants were brought to the United States via jump dispersal by early settlers. They now disperse through out the west using their adhesive seeds that stick to animal fur and vehicle tires. Mustard thrives in disturbed areas where fire or other disturbance has cleared an area of its native vegetation. The mustard is part of the primary succession after the disturbance has happened. The seeds from these plants can lie dormant in the soil for up to 40 years waiting for a disturbance to allow them to germinate. Many efforts are underway to control the invasive plant, but at least 64% of it needs to be extracted each year to make head way for its eradication. From this essay I have learned how large of a problem the mustard invasion really is. I have also realized that for progress to be made with this problem, more needs to be done then is being done
What details about the flowers, weeds, and the oriole nest in the opening paragraph symbolize death?
Humans are responsible for almost all of the invasive plant and animal problems. Many of our problem invasives were (and often still are) planted as landscape plants in New Jersey. These include: Norway Maple, Japanese Barberry, Asian Bittersweet, English Ivy, Mimosa, Wisteria, Japanese Honeysuckle, Bugleweed, Bamboo, Day Lily, Purple Loosestrife, Tansy, and Dame's
cathartica, however many of these efforts have failed to mitigate growth and ultimately eradicate the species. In New England, a method that was implemented involved the introduction of sheep to consume R. cathartica (Milleken 2004). It was discovered that the sheep would readily browse on foliage, but avoid the stems, the trunk, and the roots in the ground (Mascaro and Schnitzer 2007). In Saskatchewan, an alternate method involving the spraying of the chemical, Garlon 4, onto the shrub, was used. This extremely costly solution did not eliminate R. cathartica, nor did it prevent seed production. Additionally, Garlon 4 weakened the native species surroundings the shrub and altered soil properties (River and Leach
Man has used hallucinogenic plants for thousands of years, probably since he began gathering plants for food. The hallucinogens have continued to receive the attention of civilized man through the ages. Recently, we have gone through a period during which sophisticated Western society has "discovered" hallucinogens, and some sectors of the society have taken up, for some reason or another, the use of such plants. This trend may be destined to continue.
The opium poppy has been used as a medicinal plant for centuries all over the world. The opium poppy plant belongs to the Papaveraceae family. The scientific name of the opium poppy is Papaver somniferum L., and it is native to Turkey. The plant has lobed leaves, milky sap and four to six petaled flowers with several stamens surrounding the ovary. The two sepals drop off when the petals unfold. The ovary then develops into a short, many seeded capsule that opens in dry weather. The small seeds of the opium poppy plant are dispersed by wind. The plant has five inch purple or white flowers on plants three to sixteen feet tall. It is and annual plant which needs to be planted only once for several years of harvest. There are many varieties of poppy plants grown other then the opium poppy, mostly for seasonings, oil, birdseed and attractive flowers.
The third largest agricultural good in the nation and a ten billion-dollar industry has nothing to do with the agriculture we are use to. This good is Marijuana, an illegal drug. It is "the most widely used illicit drug in America" n(Gold v). In Florida alone, marijuana sales are greater than all businesses except tourism (Gold v). What is marijuana? Marijuana, a plant, known as Cannabis Sativa, labeled that by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753 (Grinspoon 1), is "one of nature's hardiest specimens" (Abel ix). It can survive in any climatic condition possible, and flourishes like weeds do. Marijuana acts like a weed, stealing all the sunlight and nutrients around it. The soil needed for growing marijuana for its intoxicant, is dry thin soil, along with horse or cow manure (Grinspoon 40). It can grow to be from three to twenty feet at maturity (Abel ix), and grows at a rapid speed. Germination of the plants occurs simultaneously. Life shows six days after planting, and after two weeks, strong healthy leaves should have grown (Grinspoon 40). The marijuana plant is dioecious, which means that it grows separate male and female plants. The male plant is usually taller than the female plant, and dies after its flowering cycle (Abel 4). The female plant is bushier and "secretes a resin that covers the flowering tops and nearby leaves" (Abel 5). This resin is secreted by glandular hairs that are found on the leaves and is used to protect the marijuana plant from water loss (Gol...
"What that poor cat in there is suffering from, and the terrible smell is a toxic weed. Animals, cats mainly can't stay away from the stuff and become addicted like a human drug addict. It has a botanical name a metre long, which is no comfort to our friend in there, who in short has toxic poisoning. He has consumed an amount of a potentially lethal plant, similar in its action to what North American Indians call Locoweed."