The Top 5 Deadliest Plants in the World   

There are many benefits we can get from plants. They provide us with food, medicines and fresh air. They also give a pleasant and lovely appearance to our surroundings with their colorful flowers. But some plants are not beneficial as there are certain plant species that have been established to be dangerous to humans or animals. Read on to find out the most lethal and deadliest plants in the world.

1. The Rosary Pea

The Rosary Pea might sound innocent and completely religious but it is one of the deadliest plants in our planet. Its seeds are beautiful and people in several countries utilize its leaves as a medicine for scurvy. The seeds can be made out easily with their bright red color and a lone black dot. The seeds contain abrin that causes death to anyone who happens to swallow it. Abrin is a natural and lethal poison. It gets into the cells in the body and stops these cells from producing the needed proteins. The cells in turn will die without the proteins, and death will soon follow.

2. Monkshood

Monkshood is another plant that sounds religious until you find out that one of its nicknames is "Wolfsbane". It was used as wolf poison by early generation of farmers, thus it was branded that name. The Monkshood, as its nickname implies is the bane or curse of various living creatures including humans. Some of its noted nicknames comprises of leopard's bane, women's bane, devil's helmet and blue rocket. These purple plants are usually found on the mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere. It is full of alkaloid aconite, a very lethal toxin that can be absorbed through the skin. Death is nearly instant when large doses of the Monkshood are taken in.

3. Nerium Oleander

The Nerium Oleander is a typical evergreen shrub that is indeed very deadly. Its leaves, fruits and flowers contains lethal amount of cardiac glycosides, which can cause cardiac arrest to anyone who happen to ingest it. This evergreen shrub can be found in some parts of Asia, Arabian Peninsula, and even in some parts of the United States. Its frequent victims are cattle, horses and other livestock. The Nerium Oleander also attacks the nerves, digestive tract, and the cardiovascular system once a part of it was ingested.

4. The Water Hemlock

The water hemlock is a pretty wildflower with a vertical growth outline, petite white flowers and purple-striped leaves. It has white roots which are sometimes mistakenly identified for a parsnip. The toxin present in the entire plant is cicutoxin, a potent poison that disrupts the central nervous system. For those unfortunate enough to ingest the water hemlock, especially its roots, may face a violent death starting with painful spasms, nausea, abdominal pain and seizures.

5. Angel's Trumpet

The attractive Angel's Trumpet is a flowering plant that is native to subtropical parts of South America. Its name refers to the huge, trumpet-shaped flowers that can reach 20 inches long. Its flower has a pleasant scent of lemon overtone that is most evident during early evenings. There are various species of this plant as evidence by the different colors of its flowers which include white, orange, red, pink or yellow. All parts of the Angel's Trumpet are poisonous and can be fatal to animals or humans when swallowed. This plant packs several varieties of poison including scopolamine, atropine and hyoscyamine.

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