If you plant flowers and plants just to look good, then you don't have to worry too much about this article-plants that are poisoned at a glance are still rare. But if you are the kind of person who wants to taste everything, then there is only one answer to "how can ornamental plants be good?" Never eat plants that are not sure!
Plants' mobility is basically zero, and they can't avoid being eaten by fleeing predators like many animals. However, in the long evolution process of millions of years, plants have gained many defensive measures, one of which is to accumulate some substances that can cause harm to animals in tissues. One of the choices of human domesticated plants is to reduce the toxicity of crops, such as potatoes, tomatoes, bitter gourd and other vegetables. Although their plants contain toxins, it is not dangerous to eat edible parts correctly. Horticultural ornamental plants are domesticated only for viewing, and the main breeding goal is not to reduce toxicity during domestication. Therefore, many ornamental plants are as toxic as their wild ancestors, but fortunately, these toxins generally stay in the cells honestly and will not be poisoned without eating plant tissues or touching juice.
There are quite a few groups of ornamental plants that are quite toxic. If you see them, don't be greedy-don't be short of hands.
Don't eat succulents indiscriminately.
Colorful and different shapes of succulents are the new favorites in the flower market in recent years. In the past few years, it was reported that some imported succulents were poisonous, which caused quite a stir among gardening lovers.
Succulents are not a taxonomic group, but a general term for many kinds of plants with succulent stems and leaves and rich water storage tissues, including many groups of plants such as Amaranthaceae, Sedum, Cactaceae, Compositae, Euphorbiaceae, Aloe, Portulaceae and Apocynaceae.
Among the common succulents, the main toxic group is Euphorbiaceae plants, such as all kinds of "Kirin" of Euphorbia. Many of their stems and leaves contain white milk, which is strongly irritating, and the consequences will be more serious if eaten. This milk contains diterpenoids, toxic proteins, alkaloids and other toxic substances, diterpenoids are the main source of irritation, and ricin, one of the most toxic substances in the world, belongs to a toxic protein [1]. Be careful not to let the skin and mucous membrane touch the juice when planting, and certainly don't eat it.
Inflorescences and leaves of Euphorbia milii.
Not many succulents other than Euphorbiaceae are poisonous. In Sedum, Tylecodon and Cotyledon are common poisonous species [2], and some species in Orostachys contain toxic substances [3]. The toxic components of these plants are mainly cardiac glycosides, which will cause arrhythmia-such substances are behind us. Some species of Asclepiaceae, including all kinds of horns and bulbs, are poisonous [1], but in APGIII, Asclepiaceae has become Asclepianae under Apocynaceae, and this pot is naturally thrown to Apocynaceae.
Araceae plants are not easy to mess with
Araceae plants mostly live in the forest in the original environment, are relatively tolerant to shade, and can grow normally for a long time even in a poorly lit room, so they are good indoor green plants. However, there are many poisonous species in Araceae plants, such as Alocasia macrorrhizos, Dieffenbachia picta, Monstera deliciosa, Zantedeschia aethiopica and Caladium humboldtii. The specific mechanism of toxicity of Araceae plants is very complicated, and the relationship between various components and toxic effects is still not very clear. The juice of many Araceae ornamental plants contains a lot of calcium oxalate needle crystals and toxic protein [4], which is strongly irritating. Not only can it not be eaten, but the skin and mucosa will swell and ache as long as it is contacted. If swallowed directly, it may suffocate due to respiratory tract irritation, and contact with eyes may cause serious conjunctivitis [1].
Although the common name is Alocasia in many places, the calla lily in the picture and the real Alocasia are not a plant.
Take the common taro as an example. It has a characteristic-when the humidity of the substrate and air is high, small droplets will be ejected from the edge of the blade and gathered at the tip of the blade. This phenomenon is called "spitting water", hence the name "dripping Guanyin". However, it is not the manna in Guanyin's clean bottle that drips from Alocasia alopecuroides, but the poisonous water containing needle crystals of calcium oxalate, cyanosides, aloin and other toxic substances. Cases of poisoning caused by eating plant tissues and spitting water from leaves have occurred from time to time, and there have even been news reports that organ failure needs dialysis because of wiping wounds with alocasia leaves [5].
There is no specific antidote to taro poisoning. After skin contact, it can be washed with plenty of water, and the irritation will disappear after the needle crystal disappears. If it is poisoned by oral administration, it is necessary to rely on equipment to keep the respiratory tract unobstructed, and then use catharsis, gastric lavage and even dialysis to deal with it [6]. When viewing and building alocasia esculenta, never let its juice enter the mouth or touch the skin.
Don't let its juice enter the mouth or touch the skin when watching and building taro!
There are many poisons in Amaryllidaceae plants.
A few years ago, there was a story in Weibo that British students bought daffodils (Narcissus pseudo-narcissus) as young garlic shoots. At that time, professionals had made detailed explanations [7]. In the Amaryllidaceae to which daffodils belong, there are no fewer poisonous plants than Araceae. The main sources of toxicity of Amaryllidaceae plants are all kinds of alkaloids stored in vacuoles. The total alkaloid content in the bulbs of Narcissus tazetta is about 1%, mainly including polydactyline, lycorine, pseudolycorine, etc. It has been reported that 14 people were poisoned by eating 8~ 10 narcissus leaves together [8].
Unlike Chinese daffodils, the whole flower of daffodils is yellow.
In addition to the daffodils and daffodils mentioned above, common ornamental plants of Amaryllidaceae, such as Lycoris radiata, Zhu Dinghong, Leucojum vernum and Crinum asiaticum, also contain a large number of alkaloids mainly composed of lycorine.
Be careful with colchicine when eating "vegetables"
There are also many poisons in the "Old Liliaceae" that kicked Allium around with Amaryllidaceae. They must have disliked the fact that Allium now belongs to Amaryllidaceae. Good and evil will eventually be rewarded. In the APGIII classification system based on molecular evidence, Liliaceae was finally torn apart. However, some "lily veterans" contain the same toxic toxin-colchicine.
The genus Colchicum, where Colchicum is located, is now independent from Liliaceae, and together with some other genera, it forms Colchicaceae. This plant has been planted in many European gardens, and now many ornamental varieties have been bred by hybridization, which has gradually entered the sight of domestic lovers over the years. The whole plant of colchicine contains colchicine, and the lethal dose of colchicine is 6. 1 mg/kg in rats, 0. 1.6 mg/kg in dogs and 0.125mg/kg in dogs. The average content of colchicine in dried bulbs of colchicine is about 0.03%[9]. Based on this calculation, adults weighing 60 kg may die if they eat 25 grams of dried bulbs or 150 grams of fresh bulbs. It has been reported that eating 10 to 15 grams of fresh bulbs of colchicine will cause dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea and unconsciousness [10], and a bulb weighs about 100 grams, which means that a bite is enough to send it to first aid. At present, there is no specific antidote to colchicine poisoning, and the treatment can only rely on gastric lavage and atropine injection. In addition to acute toxicity, long-term intake of colchicine will lead to abnormal hematopoietic function of bone marrow, and aplastic anemia will occur in severe cases [1].
Different stages of colchicine mosaic. Every spring, colchicines grow leaves and accumulate nutrients in underground bulbs. Every autumn, after the leaves wither for a period of time, they pull out pedicels to produce beautiful pink flowers.
Among the common ornamental plants of Liliaceae, Gloriosa superba also defected to Colchicaceae with Colchicine, so it is inevitable to contain Colchicine. However, Hemerocallis fulva, Hemerocallis citrina and other plants originally belonging to the genus Hemerocallis in Liliaceae also contain this toxin. HEMEROCALLIS is now in a state of separation and combination, which can be separated into Hemerocallidaceae and combined into Xeronemataceae. Cases of fresh food poisoning of artificially cultivated day lilies are still frequently reported. In the cells of various day lilies commonly used in gardening, the colchicine content is higher than that of day lilies, so you must not go to the flower bed to pick "day lilies" to eat.
Lily "Old General" has other ways to kill.
With the dismantling of Liliaceae, many genera were classified as Asparagaceae. The taxonomic position of these plants has changed, but their toxicity has not diminished at all-Convallaria majalis, which has fresh and lovely flowers, is one of them. Lily of the valley is the national flower of Finland, and the flower language in France is "to have happiness". Several varieties of lily of the valley are widely planted in gardens and are very popular. The white Kobanawa brilliant red berries of Lily of the Valley cover up a variety of cardiac glycoside toxins, including convallatoxin, cucurbitacin, cucurbitacin, etc., which will cause anorexia after eating (let you eat! ), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and arrhythmia, heart failure, etc.
Lily of the valley will give off a sweet fragrance when it is in full bloom, but don't eat it just because it smells delicious.
Other ornamental plants of Asparagaceae, such as hyacinthus orientalis, contain a variety of alkaloids, which can cause some people's allergies besides being toxic. The bulbs of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. contain toxic glycosides such as allicin, which has cardiotonic effect as the toxin of Lily of the Valley. The lethal dose of tissue extract for intravenous injection in mice is equivalent to 4g leaves per kilogram [1 1].
In this way, the Liliaceae in APG III seems to have been "washed white" (but Tulipa is still slightly poisonous), but are you really sure that you can tell who is a member of this Liliaceae?
Digitalis armed with cardiac glycoside
Besides lily of the valley and Ziziphus jujuba, there is actually a more common ornamental plant-digitalis. Digitalis belongs to Scrophulariaceae in traditional taxonomy, and is classified as a car record in APGIII. Digitalis will produce very high racemes in spring and summer, up to one or two meters high, which is a very eye-catching flower with high inflorescence in the garden. Because they can add layers to the flower border, many species of digitalis are widely cultivated as horticultural flowers. More than 60 kinds of cardiac glycosides have been extracted from digitalis, which can directly act on myocardium and improve myocardial contractility, and play a great role in treating heart diseases such as heart failure. The active ingredients in commonly used drugs cedilanid and digoxin are all cardiac glycosides contained in digitalis.
Digitalis is officially called "foxglove" in Chinese. Although it is called this, its hair is actually not much at all, which is simply weak compared with the hairy Rehmannia glutinosa. Photo: shutterstock.com.
Although the curative effect is good, digitalis cardiac glycosides have a major disadvantage, that is, their therapeutic dose is very close to the toxic dose, and when the general therapeutic dose appears, the poisoning rate can reach 70%[ 12]. Even if the drug is used under accurate calculation, the possibility of poisoning caused by eating fresh digitalis directly is higher, and it can be poisoned by taking dried digitalis leaves 1 g orally, and it may be fatal when it is 2 to 3 grams [1]. There are many symptoms of digitalis poisoning, arrhythmia is the most important, and visual symptoms such as decreased vision, yellow vision and green vision are the precursors of poisoning. One thing that can reassure people a little is that digitalis poisoning can be treated with antiarrhythmic drugs and specific antibodies [13], provided that the doctor is sent in time and the medical conditions are good enough.
Apocynaceae ... Needless to say.
As mentioned earlier, the Asclepiaceae threw the pot to Apocynaceae, but there are many kinds of plants in Apocynaceae that are highly toxic anyway, so they don't care about carrying more pots. The toxic substances contained in Apocynaceae plants are mainly cardiac glycosides and indole alkaloids [1]. The toxicity and mechanism of cardiac glycosides are similar to those of digitalis. Indole alkaloids can inhibit the nervous system and hematopoietic cell activities of animals, such as vinblastine contained in Catharanthus roseus. The lethal dose of mice orally is15mg/kg, even if they are not eaten for a long time.
Nerium oleander, the chief of oleander family, is highly toxic, which I believe everyone knows.
Rhododendron: You'd better not try a bite.
China is one of the countries with the largest rhododendron resources in the world, and more than half of the nearly 1,000 species of Rhododendron in the world are distributed in China [14]. Since the British began to cultivate it in the19th century, there are about 600 kinds of rhododendrons in the world, which are very popular whether planted in gardens or as indoor potted flowers.
Rhododendrons are colorful, and there are delicious fruits such as blueberries and cranberries in the same family, so there will always be people who want to taste the azaleas. However, in Ericaceae, there are very few non-toxic and delicious fruits like blueberry, and most of them are poisonous killers. Rhododendron is one of the most poisonous and common genera. The most representative toxins in rhododendron are veratroxins, among which veratroxin I(34-7) is the main acute toxic source, which can affect the heart and nervous system of animals. The lethal dose of mice orally is only 5. 1 mg/kg. After eating it, they will have symptoms such as vomiting, convulsions, muscle relaxation and so on, and finally die of respiratory failure [1].
There are many kinds of rhododendrons, which are difficult to identify, and the hybrid varieties are more complicated in pedigree.
There are about 60 species of poisonous plants in the genus Rhododendron in China. At present, the horticultural rhododendron we see is the product of many interspecific hybridization for more than 100 years, and the toxicity of different varieties is different. Yunnan has a tradition of eating flowers, and there have been cases of poisoning after eating100g of fresh rhododendron [15]. Some rhododendron species have not been found to be harmful to people and animals, but they have shown toxicity in animal experiments, so the best response is: don't eat a bite.
Don't learn from comics to eat Ajisai.
In the comic "San Hua Li Mi", the frequency of Ajisai's appearance can be said to be quite high. From the beginning of the story, you need to use it to prepare resurrection medicine. Zombie Niang Li Mi also needs to eat its leaves frequently to prevent herself from rotting. In fact, Ajisai really can't be used as human food. Ajisai is a Japanese name, referring to Hydrangea macrophylla of Saxifragaceae. Most of the hydrangea spherical cymes are sterile flowers, and each flower. Hydrangea has many horticultural varieties, and its flowering period is from early summer to autumn. It is an indispensable classic plant in Japanese gardens.
Hydrangea has a wide variety of horticulture and a variety of colors.
The toxicity of hydrangea mainly comes from hydrangea glycoside in cells, as well as organic acids and coumarins, which are relatively not particularly toxic. Dogs will vomit when taking 200 mg of hydrangea ethanol extract per kilogram orally [1]. Although adults will not be life-threatening or become undead zombies after eating it, they will need medical treatment because of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
There are far more poisonous plants in the garden than those listed above, but there is no need for lovers to be scared. Most poisonous plants will be poisoned only after eating, and a few will be poisoned after contacting with juice. If poisonous plants are planted at home, there will be no danger of poisoning as long as they do not eat, touch and wash their hands as soon as possible after contacting with juice.
However, if you have children or pets at home, you need to pay special attention, because children are light in weight, their organs are not fully developed, and the dose and severity of poisoning are far higher than those of adults, while the physiology of pets such as cats and dogs is different from that of humans, and many plants that will not cause serious consequences to humans are powerful poisons to pets.