Sad fatality: death awaits us even in the most idyllic places! The most precious flowers, the most seductive fruits often contain poisonous substances secreted by plants to protect themselves from animal attacks. Scares assured reading this breviary that Agatha Christie would surely have adopted as a bedside book.
Poisonings and hallucinations
Human beings, in turn, have used the toxic properties of plants for their own purposes – most often destructive, but also ritual or therapeutic. Mandrake or strychnine poisoning, ayahuasca or peyote hallucinations, “suicide trees” (such as Cerberawhose fruit reaps many victims, sometimes consenting, in India), arrows impregnated with curare: the choice is vast depending on the desired effect.
Wild picking suddenly seems very risky, and the next time you’re treated to blueberry pie, we bet you’ll check that these juicy black berries aren’t nightshade!
Elizabeth Dauncey, Sonny Larsson, “Plants that kill. The most poisonous plants in the world and their defense strategies”Ulmer, 2019
Credit: Ulmer
