Wicked Plants Quiz 4

Question 1

stinging tree

Answer 1

• most feared tree in Australia
• produces fruit that resemble raspberries
• whole plant covered with hairs that contain a virulent neurotoxin
• causes unbearable pain that may last up to a year
• hairs are almost impossible to pull out
• passerby run the risk of inhaling them/getting them in their eyes

Question 2

strychnine tree

Answer 2

• used by serial killer Dr. Thomas Neill Cream
• strychnine is good for killing rodents & other pests
• takes control of the nervous system, causing full-body spasms
• victims die of respiratory failure/exhaustion

Question 3

suicide tree

Answer 3

• native to Kerala, India
• starry, white flowers with fruits that look like unripe mangos
• the seeds contain enough cardiac glycosides to stop the heart within 3-6 hrs
• suicide rate in Kerala is about 3x India’s average
• used as a murder weapon

Question 4

tobacco

Answer 4

• has taken the lives of 90 mill worldwide
• occupies 9.8 mill acres around the globe and continues to take 5 mill lives a yr
• cultivation began in the Americas, dates back to 5000 bc
• nicotine is a powerful neurotoxin, used in insecticides
• ingesting a leaf is much more harmful than smoking a cigarette
• nibbling a few leaves can bring on cramps, sweating, etc, and death
• prolonged skin contact can also be dangerous

Question 5

toxic blue-green algae

Answer 5

• actually classified as a bacterium
• can reproduce suddenly, releasing poisons into the water
• people who drink the water/eat contaminated fish have experienced seizures, vomiting, fevers, paralysis & death
• scientists haven’t figured out what causes it to bloom so suddenly
• algae releases hepatoxins (may cause liver failure), and neurotoxins (can cause paralysis)

Question 6

water hemlock

Answer 6

• contains cicutoxin
• disrupts the central nervous system, brings on nausea, vomiting & seizures
• one small bite of the rootcould kill a child
• sweet so animals are more tempted to graze on it
• a single root can kill a 1600-lb cow
• has purple splotches on the stem

Question 7

water hyacinth

Answer 7

• forms dense, sprawling mats on the water’s surface that even commercial boats can’t penetrate
• doubles its population every 2 weeks
• native to S America but is located in Asia, Australia, the Americas & Africa
• chokes waterways, clogs power plants, starves locals, steals water and nutrients, breeds nasty bugs/pests, provides cover for snakes and crocodiles

Question 8

whistling thorn acacia

Answer 8

• has painful, 3-in thorns to keep predators away
• hosts aggressive, stinging ants
• ants will attack animals and invasive plants

Question 9

white snakeroot

Answer 9

• causes milk sickness in cattle
• people who drink infected milk will suffer from weakness, vomiting, tremors & delirium before death
• killed Nancy Hanks Lincoln

Question 10

yew

Answer 10

• known in England as the graveyard tree
• every part of the yew is poisonous except for the flesh of the aril (berrylike fruit)
• even the aril contains a toxic seed
• eating a few seeds/handful of leaves will bring on gastrointestinal symptoms, a dangerous drop in pulse rate, possible heart failure
• extract contains antitumor properties, led to the development of Taxol