Toxic Plants Thread?

[Halfhourdays]

How about info/resources on plants? Is there an online guide to using these plants? I think you can buy Oleander at the Home Depot... these are easy to find, free or inexpensive, legal...

How about a toxic plants guide?

Like, what do you do with Oleander? Make a tea?

Common Toxic Plants:
Oleander: All parts of this plant are poisonous, and ingestion can cause severe symptoms like vomiting, abdominal pain, and even death.
Deadly Nightshade: This plant contains potent tropane alkaloids, making it extremely dangerous if ingested.
Foxglove: Ingesting any part of this plant can result in severe poisoning.
Poison Hemlock: This plant is considered highly toxic, and all parts are poisonous if ingested.
Castor Bean: The beans of this plant contain ricin, a highly toxic component.
Lily of the Valley: All parts of this plant are highly poisonous.
Rhododendron: All parts of this plant are toxic, with the leaves being the most potent.
Yew: Two species of yew, Japanese and European, are particularly toxic and contain alkaloid taxines.
Ivy: All parts of ivy can be irritant if eaten, and the leaves and berries are particularly toxic.
Daffodil: While all parts of the plant are toxic, the bulbs are the most toxic and contain lycorine.
Giant Hogweed: The sap of this plant contains toxic chemicals that can cause severe burns and blistering when it comes into contact with human skin.
Hydrangea: The leaves and flowers of this plant are toxic if ingested.
Sago Palm: All parts of this plant are toxic, with the seeds having the highest concentration of toxin.
Autumn Crocus: This plant contains toxic compounds that, if consumed, can be fatal to humans and animals.
Jimsonweed: All parts of this plant are toxic, including the leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds.

 

[davidtorez]

Interesting topic. Socrates was said to have used hemlock to kill himself, no idea how true or painless it would be though

 

[Rymrgand]

and even death.

I don't like how this sounds. It seems to imply that you will probably not die. The same applies for most plants, probably. They are probably really unreliable.

There are not resources about plants as a method because methods need to be reliable (and as peaceful as possible), and most plants are not, I think. If you want more information about a specific plant, maybe you can use the search bar to look for mentions in the forum.

 

[Unspoken7612]

Interesting topic. Socrates was said to have used hemlock to kill himself, no idea how true or painless it would be though

That was an execution rather than a suicide, and it's one of the few things about Socrates in which the primary sources (particularly Plato and Xenophon) agree.
Socrates would have held the bowl as he was made to drink it, but it wasn't a free choice.

I'll do some research into some of these poisoning methods. Certainly hemlock, deadly nightshade, and foxglove have been used in poisonings, but I think they're generally avoided as suicide methods due to the pain involved.
OK, I have examined hemlock, foxglove, and deadly nightshade and come to some conclusions. I won't advocate for any of them, but will set out downsides. All three can kill and shouldn't be deliberately infested by anyone who wants to remain alive.

Foxglove is the easiest to get hold of, but the least reliable suicide method. Different species have different levels of toxins and it might be difficult for you to identify the levels in your plants. The poisoning is slow and painful, with symptoms including vomiting, delirium, seizures, and damaged vision. Might work 18th century wives wanting to kill their abusive husbands, but doesn't sound like something you'd deliberately inflict upon yourself.

Deadly nightshade caused delirium, loss of balance, confusion, severe headaches, and convulsions.

Hemlock is a relatively painless death (unconsciousness in about 30 minutes), but it's hard to get hold of - it's not grown commercially in nurseries or anything like that as it's an invasive, deadly weed. Farmers and nature reserves often have problems with it. There is also an issue that the gap between unconsciousness and death is quite long, and if you are discovered and put on a ventilator then you are likely to survive.

 

[RadiantNumber]

I am not an expert but I think dead by this could be painful

 

[davidtorez]

That was an execution rather than a suicide, and it's one of the few things about Socrates in which the primary sources (particularly Plato and Xenophon) agree.
Socrates would have held the bowl as he was made to drink it, but it wasn't a free choice.

I'll do some research into some of these poisoning methods. Certainly hemlock, deadly nightshade, and foxglove have been used in poisonings, but I think they're generally avoided as suicide methods due to the pain involved.
OK, I have examined hemlock, foxglove, and deadly nightshade and come to some conclusions. I won't advocate for any of them, but will set out downsides. All three can kill and shouldn't be deliberately infested by anyone who wants to remain alive.

Foxglove is the easiest to get hold of, but the least reliable suicide method. Different species have different levels of toxins and it might be difficult for you to identify the levels in your plants. The poisoning is slow and painful, with symptoms including vomiting, delirium, seizures, and damaged vision. Might work 18th century wives wanting to kill their abusive husbands, but doesn't sound like something you'd deliberately inflict upon yourself.

Deadly nightshade caused delirium, loss of balance, confusion, severe headaches, and convulsions.

Hemlock is a relatively painless death (unconsciousness in about 30 minutes), but it's hard to get hold of - it's not grown commercially in nurseries or anything like that as it's an invasive, deadly weed. Farmers and nature reserves often have problems with it. There is also an issue that the gap between unconsciousness and death is quite long, and if you are discovered and put on a ventilator then you are likely to survive.

Yes it was ordered that he should kill himself , and wasn't a free choice, that's why i used the words " killed himself" instead, even though some may argue suicide only means someone who kills themselves, regardless if it's a free choice or not

 

[Kali_Yuga13]

Hemlock is a relatively painless death

Hemlock is a little confusing. There's poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) which Socrates took for a relatively quick and painless death, Then there's spotted water hemlock from North America (Cicuta maculata or Cicuta douglasii) which is also poisonous and lethal but takes longer and causes terrible pain and convulsions. And then there's the hemlock tree which is an unrelated evergreen.

In the US water hemlock is prevalent and easy to find. I'm pretty sure there some on the trails I walk. The European poison hemlock and the American water hemlock look indistinguishable to me in online pics. To further confuse things, in lay speak people refer to both of them as 'poison hemlock'. If foraging in North America one should assume it's the spotted water hemlock and will not offer a peaceful death.

Here's another description of the effects(of water hemlock, from a member of the Seneca American Indian community, written in a book on Iroquois suicide rites from 1941:

There is nothing good about the plant. Those who eat it will die in two hours. It must be a painful death. It twists the arms and ankles and turns the head back. Finally they die in a last wretching convulsion. They say it turns the eyes back.