Introduction:
Digitalis purpurea, commonly known as the foxglove is one of the deadliest but at the same time most medicinal plants in our world. This flowering plant is very widespread being found in much of temperate Europe and parts of North America. While, the leaves, flowers, and seeds are all poisonous to us and other animals, compounds have been extracted from the species and are used in heart medicines and other medicinal products that we still use today. The foxglove can grow in very little soil and can often be found in many cracks and crevices making it a very common and recognizable plant species (Royal Botanic Gardens, 2011).
Description:
Digitalis purpurea is a biennial plant meaning that it only lives for two years and after that it dies, and reproduces (Cornell, 2014). It has soft, pubescent, ovate to lanceolate shaped leaves forming a basal rosette. During the first year of growth the plant forms a basal-rosette and does not mature until the next years grow cycle (Cornell, 2014). During the second year of growth the foxglove begins to grow a flowering stem that can reach 3-6 feet high (Cornell, 2014). The flowers form a spike growing off of the stem and can bear up to 20 flowers on each stem. Each flower is about 2” and bilaterally symmetric coming in a wide variety of colors such as; purple, lavender, pink, yellow, and white (Brun, 2014). Each flower has five petals that are fused into a coronal tube. The flowers hang down in a droop-like fashion and only come off of one side of the stalk, and last about four weeks. The foxglove is extremely poisonous and is lethal if ingested; all parts of the plant are toxic including; roots, stems, flowers, leaves, and so on. While, every part of this plant is toxic it i...
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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
St. John's Wort scientifically known as Hypericum Perforatum, an herbal remedy generally used to treat depression, is making a rise throughout Europe and the United States. St. John's Wort is a perennial plant that produces abundant yellow flowers and grows naturally throughout much of the world, including specifically in northern California, southern Oregon, and Colorado. It usually flowers on “sunlight hills and forest edges” during the summer, between June and August. It was named after St. John the Baptist and is often harvested and in full bloom around St. John's Day, June 24.
the name of a poisonous plant. This is quite scary as the home of the
Sclauser Pessoa, I. B., Costa, D., Velloso, M., Mancuzo, E., Reis, M. S., & Parreira, V.F.
Rabbit tobacco is also known as lasting, everlasting, sweet balsam, white balsam, feather-weed, and sweet cudweed. Its scientific name is Gaphalium obtusifolium. These annual herbs reach a height of 1 to 3 feet and have erect stems with brown, shriveled leaves persisting into winter and stems covered with felt-like hairs in summer. The leaves are 1 to 3 inches long, and alternate. The flowers, minute in whitish heads, appear in late summer to fall. Fields, pastures, and disturbed areas are the sites of this common native plant of the eastern United States. The Cherokee named it rabbit tobacco because they believe it was the rabbit who took attended the plant.
Hooker, S.K., Fahlman, A., Moore, J., Aguilar de Soto, Y., Bernaldo de Quiros, A., Brubakk, O., Costa, D.P., Costidis, A.M., Dennison, S., Falke, K.J., Fernandez, A., Ferrigno, M., Fitz-Clarke, J.R., Garner, M.M., Houser, D.S., Jepson, P.D., Ketten, D.R.,Kvadsheim, P.H., Madsen, P.T., Pollock, N.W., Rotstein, D.S., Rowles, T.K., Simmons, S.E., Van Bonn, W., Weathersby , P.K., Weise, M.
Monarda fisctulosa had various uses for the Native Americans. This multipurpose plant may also be known as Bee Balm, horsemint, wild oregano, or many more. The most common name is bee balm due to the multitude of bees that are drawn in; some rest on the back side of flower petals, while others spread pollen between the plants. In total, there is approximately fifteen known species currently growing. The parts of the plant can be consumed in a variety of ways. The plant was, and still is, used to treat many issues and illnesses. This paper will describe the characteristics of Monarda, and the many uses for the leaves and flowers.
Cox-Foster, D. L., Conlan, S., Holmes, E. C., Palacios, G., Evans, J. D., Moran, N. A.,…
Denton, C. A., Vaughn, S., Tolar, T. D., Fletcher, J. M., Barth, A. E., & Francis, D. J. (3013).
Torres-Rivera, E., Wilbur, M. P., Phan, L. T., Maddux, C. D., & Roberts-Wilbur, J. (2004).
The Albizia Julibrissin also know as the Mimosa Tree or the Persian silk tree is originally grown in the southwest and eastern Asia. It grows through spring and summer and in at a fast rate. It can grow in between 10 to 15 ft tall. It also has the name of the ‘ night sleeper’ as its bipinnate leaves fold up at night and during rainstorms. Bipinnate leaves have leaflets that are further subdivided in a pinnate arrangement. The flowers are pale to deep pink and form silk-like clusters. This fast-growing plant has weak bark and branches, which will possibly fall on people who walk nearby this tree. Though it isn’t fatal, it is still a nuisance. The roots of this plant produce nitrogen. It also gives off an intoxicating
Wade, T. D., Tiggemann, M., Bulik, C. M., Fairburn, C. G., FMedSci, Wray, N. R., Martin, N.
Plant defences are those mechanisms employed by plants in response to herbivory and parasitism. According to Hanley et al. (2007), “the tissues of virtually all terrestrial, freshwater, and marine plants have qualities that to some degree reduce herbivory, including low nitrogen concentration, low moisture content, toxins or digestibility-reducing compounds”. The type of chemical defence may be species specific (Scott 2008). The defences that plants possess may be in the form of chemical production or in the form of physical defences such as thorns or spikes and even through reinforced, rigid leaves. “The compounds that are produced in response to herbivory can either have a direct effect on the attacker itself (e.g. toxins or digestibility reducers), or serve as indirect defenses by attracting the natural enemies of the herbivores” (Bezemer & van Dam 2005). This essay will focus on chemical plant defences and in particular the effects of terpenes, phenolics, nitrogen-based defences as well as allelopathy in plants.
Originally known as Crocus cartwrightianus, the saffron plant belongs to the family Iridaceae which contains many varieties of lilies (M. Camper, AGRI/IE 116 lecture, October 7, 2013). Over the course of history, Crocus sativus has been completely domesticated and therefore relies on human intervention to pollinate the plant so it can reproduce (M. Camper, AGRI/IE 116 lecture, October 7, 2013). It is a perennial bulb that flowers in the fall and contains two flowers per bulb (M. Camper, AGRI/IE 116 lecture, October 7, 2013). The stigma of the flowers is the part of the plant that is harvested to produce what we know as saffron (M. Camper, AGRI/IE 116 lecture, October 7, 2013). It was originally used in Egypt by healers in order to treat urinary infections, internal hemorrhaging and poisoning (M. Camper, AGRI/IE 116 lecture, October 7, 2013). It can also be poisonous in high doses, however the quantity found in most food won’t have these effects. The first documentation of i...
A considerable amount of literature has been published on cannabis specifically marijuana. These studies classify marijuana into three species: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and cannabis ruderalis. In fact, Cannabis sativa is the most widely used and recognized among the other species due to its ability to produce more fiber and oil. For many years, the plant has been used for making clothes as well as lighting and soap. Nevertheless, cannabis is widely used at the present time for intoxication and medical treatments. Marijuana is usually extracted from the flowers of the female plant (Grinspoon & Bakalar, 1993). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is well-defined as the “dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds. This plant material can also be concentrated in a resin called hashish” (NIDA, 2014).