"Life, unfolding slowly, keeps its best secrets till the end.”
―
Elizabeth Goudge,
The White Witch
Always, when I've spend a day working with the vegetable garden, I am exhausted and weary. I read the things that help me escape.
When I've spent the day working or communing with the things that grow of their own volition and thrive on secret strengths that I did not till into their soil, I am inspired and energized. I read things that draw me deeper into that wild and uncultivated world which I do not control.
Today was a "things that grow of their own volition and thrive on secret strengths that I did not till into their soil" kind of day. So, now when I should be ready (more than ready) to sleep, I just want to read that book again, "The White Witch."
It wasn't so much because of the wildness or uncultivated splendor of the plants I found as I walked around our 2 heavily wooded acres. It was the nature of the new plants I found, and of the plants that had spread alarmingly into great armies that I can't conquer.
Put simply, I have enough deadly "killer" plants growing here, that sprang up without being planted or cultivated, to go into business. Really!
I'll list them, and note their spread.
Belladonna, or Deadly Nightshade
It is a vigorous, invasive and beautiful vine with elegant leaves,
delicate flowers
Red berries
That turn black.......
....and KILL you, if you eat them.
It completely carpets the old goat pen area, probably bigger than the size of a two car garage, and climbs the old goat fence to dangle the shiny black fruit like a grape arbor.
Atropa belladonna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, Western Asia ,and some parts of Canada and the United States. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which cause a bizarre delirium and hallucinations. The drug atropine is derived from the plant.
It has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. Before the Middle Ages, it was used as an anesthetic for surgery; the ancient Romans used it as a poison (the wife of Emperor Augustus and the wife of Claudius both were rumored to have used it for murder); and, predating this, it was used to make poison-tipped arrows. The genus name Atropa comes from Atropos, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology, and the name "bella donna" is derived from Italian and means "beautiful woman" because the herb was used in eye-drops by women to dilate the pupils of the eyes to make them appear seductive.
Belladonna is one of the most toxic plants found in the eastern hemisphere. All parts of the plant contain tropane alkaloids. The berries pose the greatest danger to children because they look attractive and have a somewhat sweet taste. The consumption of two to five berries by a human adult is probably lethal. The root of the plant is generally the most toxic part, though this can vary from one specimen to another. Ingestion of a single leaf of the plant can be fatal to an adult.
The symptoms of belladonna poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. In 2009, A. belladonna berries were mistaken for blueberries by an adult woman; the six berries she ate were documented to result in severe anticholinergic syndrome. The plant's deadly symptoms are caused by atropine's disruption of the nervous system's ability to regulate involuntary activities, such as sweating, breathing, and heart rate.
Atropa belladonna is also toxic to many domestic animals, causing narcosis and paralysis. In humans, its anticholinergic properties will cause the disruption of cognitive capacities, such as memory and learning.
In that same general area (the South side of the property) I have identified.....
Pokeweed, which presents the following symptoms of poisoning - a burning sensation in the mouth, salivation, gastrointestinal cramps, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Depending upon the amount consumed more severe symptoms can occur. These include: anemia, altered heart rate and respiration, convulsions and death from respiratory failure.
Along the driveway grows False Hellibore.
It causes severe poisoning in sheep. It also affects cattle and goats. If ewes,
nanny goats, and cows eat it during early pregnancy, false hellebore causes
deformities in the offspring. In humans, the plant is highly toxic, causing nausea and vomiting. If the poison is not evacuated, cold sweat and vertigo appears. Respiration slows, cardiac rhythm and blood pressure falls, eventually leading to death.
Enough? Well.
Today (September 3, 2014) I found a new plant I had never seen before, and researched on the internet, so I could identify it. It is called White Baneberry, or Doll's Eyes.
It's growing on the south side of our property, in a shady woods. I walk these woods nearly every week and have never seen this one before.
Its most striking feature is its fruit, a white berry, whose size, shape, and black scar give the species its other common name, "doll's eyes". The berries ripen over the summer, turning into a fruit that persists on the plant until frost. Both the berries and the entire plant are poisonous to humans. The berries contain cardiogenic toxins which can have an immediate sedative effect on human cardiac muscle tissue, and are the most poisonous part of the plant. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death.
I want to MOVE.
