The upas tree is ripe with legends and myths, going so far as to say no one can get within 10 miles of it without dying. Explore the legends and science of the famed upas tree, here. Continue reading
Tag Archives: poison
The Poisonous ABCs: From Aconitine to Zetekitoxin
The 100th post on Nature’s Poisons! The Poisonous ABCs: From Aconitine to Zetekitoxin. Continue reading
Satan’s Shroom
You all know my penchant for things to be descriptively named, like Death Camas. With a name like that, you know to leave it alone and definitely not eat it. I’m also not a fan of foraging, there are too many poisonous look-alikes out there. I’m not an expert in identifying wild edibles, and likely … Continue reading
Colchicine: The Pretty and Poisonous Flame Lily
My mother warned me about the pretty ones. I’m fairly certain she was talking about girls, and I’m positive I didn’t listen to her, seeing how I married a pretty one. If I were to pass along the same advice to my three girls I’d be talking about plants instead of girls. Not like they … Continue reading
Tutin: Tutu Poisoning in Humans…and Elephants?
I like things to be self-explanatory, like Death Camas – with a name like that, you’re fairly certain what you’re going to get. But a plant named Tutu? I don’t blame you if the first thing you think of is a troupe of ballet dancers, but if you’re interested in poisons, know that it’s a … Continue reading
The Trouble with Thistles
People learn in different ways. Some learn by reading, others by observation, and then there are people like me that just need to pee on the electric fence themselves.* * I don’t know who said this. It’s been attributed to Will Rogers, but his estate and museum say it’s not from him. Where am I … Continue reading
Tetrodotoxin: The Paralytic Pufferfish Poison
Take a look at this photo. Who couldn’t love this face? Really, who? Such a cute little fella. And I’m talking about the pufferfish, not the dude with the pipe. But I am thinking about taking up pipe smoking, solely because of this photo. Relax, I won’t, that nicotine will kill you. But I’ll definitely pick up one of … Continue reading
Thallium: The Perfect Pigeon Poison?
Inheritance powder, the poisoner’s poison, these are just a few of the names given to thallium because of its history as a criminal poison. Some have even gone so far as to dub it the “perfect poison,” but more on that later. Thallium was an accidental discovery. In 1861, using flame spectroscopy to investigate the … Continue reading
Toxic Larvae: Arrow Poison from the Bushmen of the Kalahari
Three feet. Three feet of red sand and clay the hunter-gatherer Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert dig through to find the poison which they use to fall their prey. Do they search for the venom of snakes, spiders, or scorpions? No, they dig for the larvae of a lowly leaf beetle. Beetles of the genus Diamphidia lay … Continue reading
Don’t Eat the Death Camas…or ‘Death’ Anything
Plant poisonings are a funny thing. Most people aren’t actively seeking out poisonous plants in which to eat, that would be dumb. Rather they mistake them for something else through an honest mistake, willful ignorance, or just plain foraging hubris. I hate foraging hubris. But I digress. Take the “Death Camas.” I’d like to believe … Continue reading
The Death Cap Mushroom . . . It’s as Bad as it Sounds
A lot of things in life don’t make sense, and it seems I spend half my time trying to explain and rationalize these to my three young girls. They ask a lot of questions. A lot. Why do we park on a driveway? Why is something called a “free gift”, aren’t gifts always free? What’s … Continue reading
How to Treat a Broken Heart, or Poison Your Lover, with Foxglove
“The use of foxglove is getting abroad, and it is better the world should derive some instruction, however imperfect, from my experience, than that the lives of men should be hazarded by unguarded exhibition, or that a medicine of so much efficacy should be condemned and rejected as dangerous and unmanageable” This is from the … Continue reading
Homicidal Poisonings: Not Common, but Watch Out for the Chocolate Cremes
Homicidal poisonings are not nearly as common as people think or prime-time TV dramas would have you believe. The fact is, successfully poisoning someone takes work. One must first acquire the means to carry it out, which entails researching the poison and procuring it. Then a plan must be constructed so that the death appears … Continue reading
The JFK Assassination: A Book Depository, a Sniper . . . and a Poison Arrow?
Conspiracy theories abound in today’s society. They captivate people’s imaginations in all forms of art, whether it be books, movies or music. We voraciously read Tom Clancy novels and immerse ourselves in the spy world of Jack Ryan, we watch the Jason Bourne trilogy (also a superb set of novels, by Robert Ludlum), and pour through Tupac … Continue reading
Kratom: Legal High and Lethal Poison
Kratom is one of my favorite plants and poisons. It ranks right up there with scopolamine and the Solanaceae plants it comes from. I talk about kratom in nearly every death investigation or drug talk I give – about two a year. But unlike scopolamine, it’s not the evilness of kratom that is alluring to me, rather I am … Continue reading
That’s a Venomous Snake That Just Bit You, Not a Poisonous One
Take a look at this sign. I saw it at a rest stop off of northbound I-75, just south of Gainesville, Florida. Notice anything wrong with it? I did, and I’m sure a lot of you do, too. The problem, besides snakes loitering around rest stops, lies with the word “poisonous.” Snakes aren’t poisonous, they’re venomous. Semantics … Continue reading
The Manchineel Tree, Proof That Mother Nature Hates Us
You know humans have done something genuinely bad when Mother Nature creates a tree that wants to hurt you. And I’m not talking about hurting your feelings, I’m talking Rocko and Vinny with baseball bats like you owe them money. They won’t kill you, because they need you to pay up and to tell your … Continue reading
Strychnine: Last of the Romantic Poisons
Just about everyone has heard of strychnine. It’s what I would call one of the “Classical Poisons”, in the same company as arsenic, cyanide, aconitine (Wolfsbane), coniine (Hemlock), and a few others. But if I had to choose a word to describe strychnine, I would call it “romantic.” I’m sure you’re scratching your head on … Continue reading
The Poisoning of King Joffrey
So the vile and young King Joffrey Baratheon finally met his demise. And for most fans of the exceedingly popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” it was a joyous event. I think he’s just misunderstood . . . the poor lad. So how did he die? By poison of course, probably in his wine or food. … Continue reading
Physostigmine: From Ordeal Poison to Valuable Medicine
I find it cool when a poison has a literal killer history, yet finds use in hospitals around the world as a valuable medicine. That’s the story of physostigmine, an alkaloid found in Physostigma venenosum, the Calabar bean, and where we will start this tale. The Calabar bean is no doubt named for the area in which it was … Continue reading
Nature's Poisons 