Perhaps the most famously lethal on our list is
Deadly Nightshade
The flowers of this plant are small, reddish purple and tubular shaped, but it is the berries that are the most deadly part of the plant. The atropine found in belladonna disrupts the nervous system and can destroy the body's ability to regulate breathing and heart rate, leading to death.
Gympie Gympie
Even the lightest touch can leave victims suffering for weeks, if not months at a time. Infamously known as the most venomous plant in Australia, contact with Gympie Gympie will cause immediate and severe burning that intensifies in just 20 to 30 minutes.
One of the most toxic plants that can be found in the UK, the toxins in Wolfsbane can cause a slowing of heart rate which could be fatal, and even eating a very small amount can lead to an upset stomach.
Watch for symptoms of the plant dying within three to 10 days of application. This is indicated by a noticeable yellowing and wilting of the plant. It often takes repeat applications of herbicides, every 10 to 14 days, to kill deadly nightshade completely.
Perhaps the most famously lethal on our list is Atropa belladonna, the aptly named Deadly Nightshade. This toxic plant belongs to the same family as tomatoes, potatoes and aubergines, and can be found across Europe, including in Britain, as well as North Africa, Western Asia and some parts of the USA and Canada.
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant (aubergine).
Aconitum are commonly known as 'Monkshood' or 'Wolf's Bane'. They are found in cool temperate zones in both Europe and North America, so are wide spread. A number of varieties are available for sale in Australia, both as seedling plants and as seeds.
Grecian foxglove contains toxic chemicals that can kill humans and animals if eaten. Dried Grecian foxglove in hay is also toxic.
Foxglove plants contain toxic cardiac glycosides. Ingestion of any parts of the plant (and often the leaves usually as a result of misidentification for comfrey, Symphytum officinale) can result in severe poisoning. Symptoms include nausea, headache, skin irritation and diarrhoea.
Strychnine tree (Strychnos nux-vomica)
Native to South East Asia and Australia. This tree bears small, orange-coloured fruits with highly poisonous seeds that are neurotoxic - they harm the body's nervous system, causing convulsions, paralysis, and even death.
Dendrocnide moroides, commonly known as the stinging tree, stinging bush, Queensland Stinger or the gympie-gympie, is notorious for an extremely painful sting that can leave victims suffering for weeks, or even months.
Known as Gympie-gympie in Australia and salat in Papua New Guinea, contact with this leaf can result in human death, more often extreme pain that can last for months. Stinging hairs deliver a potent neurotoxin when touched. Leaf has medicinal purposes in some PNG tribes. Scientific name is Dendrocnide moroides.
Botulinum toxin, the nerve agent commonly called botox, is best known for its miraculous effect on wrinkles. The toxin paralyses muscles in the skin so they relax.
Thallium is tasteless and odorless and has been used by murderers as a difficult to detect poison.
Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna)
Nightshade contains atropine and scopolamine in its stems, leaves, berries, and roots, and causes paralysis in the involuntary muscles of the body, including the heart. Even physical contact with the leaves may cause skin irritation.
"It is certainly not dangerous to anybody or animals to touch," he explains. Still, if foxgloves grow in your midst be sure to keep an eye on young children or pets who tend to put things in their mouths, just in case.
Foxglove poisoning most often occurs from sucking the flowers or eating the seeds, stems, or leaves of the foxglove plant. Poisoning may also occur from taking more than the recommended amounts of medicines made from foxglove.
napellus, also known as monkshood or wolfsbane) is a perennial herb often grown as an ornamental plant due to its attractive blue to dark purple flowers. All parts of the plant, especially the roots, contain toxins. Aconitine is the most dangerous of these toxins.
The neurotoxins, aconitine and mesaconitine can be absorbed through the skin and cause severe respiratory and cardiac problems. So do not pick or handle this plant without gloves, especially by the root.
While wolfsbane looks like lavender, there are a few key things to remember, so you can always tell the difference. Firstly, wolfsbane and lavender prefer to grow in different environments and soil types.
What Are the Effects of Wolfsbane Poisoning? The NCPC explains the severity of the poisoning is down to a "rapid onset of life-threatening heart rhythm changes." An abnormal heart rhythm and respiratory paralysis can lead to death.
Nightshade vegetables include potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant. These vegetables are rich in nutrients and often recommended as staples of a healthy diet. Nightshades contain the alkaloid solanine, which is toxic in high concentrations. Potatoes that have turned green are most likely to induce solanine toxicity.
Nightlock is a fictional wild plant that grows poisonous berries, similar to the real-life Nightshade plant.
Nightshade plants contain different types of alkaloid compounds, food factors that cause physiological changes in the body. The origin of the name “nightshade” is not clear, but some suggest the name describes how these plants prefer to grow and flower in the night and shade.