Plants With Killer Instinct For Both Animals and Humans

I wrote a post previously where I looked at different types of plants that might look attractive, not harmful but can pose a lot of threat to us. From plants with explosive fruits, to ones that can lead us to addiction, then to poisonous and spiky plants. It just shows us how plants do their best to stay alive even when they have beautiful looking leaves and flowers, and on the topic of flowers and plants, let's discuss a few plants that can be dangerous to either humans or animals or can be dangerous to both.

The first I will like to touch on in this post is a plant that its flower is covered in long sticky tentacles and even as a plant, it is a predator. This plant is known as the Sundew and it is very attractive with its cute leaves and bright red stocks which is very good at calling the attention of insects that are in the search for nectar. When these insect perch on the flowers, there is a high chance that it would be their last. Of the genus Drosera, with over 200 species of plant across every continent of the world except Antarctica, and they are Carnivores.

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The plant caught the attention of Charles Darwin and he wrote about it with specific saying that he cares more about the genus than any other specie in the world, and he took his time to observe the plant and he was able to learn that it took the plant 15 on an average to kill its prey. That is such a deadly carnivore without hands, legs, or teeth to tear its prey apart but its not like the plant just enjoys eating flesh, it does so because its root is poor at absorbing nutrients from the soil and requires the nutrients from these insect not for energy but to survive. It breaks down the proteins from the plant into nitrogen which it uses to survive since its roots are good water absorbers but poor nutrient absorbers.

With the tentacles that they have, they are able to secrete sweet nectar that is sticky which sneers the insect and keep them to the tentacles after which they release digestive juices to break down the soft tissue of the prey and their tentacles fold in the direction of the prey so as to be able to maximize its contact and while the insect struggles, it becomes tired and drawn in the nectar.

The Psilocybin mushroom has existed for years and it refers to about 200 species of mushrooms that are found everywhere in the world and they are known to cause a psychedelic effect when eaten which includes altered thinking, euphoria, hallucination, and change in mood and perception and the mushroom is able to do this thanks to psilocybin in it and once it is ingested, it is converted in the liver into Psilocin which are almost the same with serotonin in shape.

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This naturally occurring plant was classified as a substance with high potential for abuse with no medicinal use. The more mushroom you take to feel its psychedelic effect, the more you would need to take next time to experience the effect you felt previously and with the increase in use comes an increase in overdose and why its psychedelic effect is what people take it for, a problem can arise when a poisonous specie is consumed as they can lead to gastrointestinal issues or worse off kidney failure.

Asides the poisonous species, mushrooms are now being used for its medicinal and psychological help with patients who suffer from cancer, and they are becoming legalized in some states in the United States of America. Although it is still banned in a lot of countries, some countries do not have rules against it.

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If you think poisonous mushroom is a big deal, then deadly nightshade will give you a shiver. Also known as the death cherry, the devil's berry, and the beautiful death, it is a very toxic plant which contains tropane alkaloid which the plant uses as a defense against insect is dangerous to humans as it can affect the smooth muscles of the body such as the gastrointestinal tract, the urinaty tract, and sweat glands. it's symptom can continue and not limited to dry mouth, delirium, hallucination, and it can lead to death. Two berries are enough to kill a child and while the berries are poisonous, the root are the most toxic part of the plant and its leaf is also toxic as a single leaf has enough alkaloids to kill an adult.

There are still a whole lot of plants that are likely to send a person to their grave if they decide to mess with them or they get really attracted to touching or swallowing them. The majority of plants have this toxins and abilities to prevent insects from their flowers, fruits, or leaf but they could be toxic to humans.

Plants With Killer Instinct For Both Animals and Humans

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