During the period of 1970- 1978, the relevant research units in China conducted a general survey of poisonous plants in China, and compiled the Poisonous Plants in China, which recorded 943 species of poisonous plants10/family. There are many poisonous plants in China, such as Ranunculaceae, Ericaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Solanaceae, Dianthus, Leguminosae, followed by Araceae, Araceae, Compositae, Papaver, Rutaceae, Apocynaceae, Umbelliferae, Menispermaceae, Loganiaceae, Daphne, Magnoliaceae, Urticaceae, Urticaceae, etc. There are fewer kinds of poisonous plants, but the families that occupy an important position in poisonous plants are Coriaceae and Phytolacca. In China, the plants that often cause human and animal poisoning are Aconitum, Erythrina fordii, Coriaria, Begonia Kunming, Veratrum, Stemona Stemona, Araceae, Euphorbia Euphorbia, Euonymus japonicus, Brucea javanica, Datura stramonium, Daphne Daphne, Gelsemium Uncaria, oleander, butter, almonds and so on.
The roots, stems, flowers, fruits or seeds of plants and even the whole plant may contain toxic substances. The toxic substances of poisonous plants are: cardiac hormone of oleander, solanine (aglycone) in potato bud, bitter toxin of melon stalk, bitter melittin of Melia azedarach, hydrocyanic acid in the seeds of ebony, loquat and nandina domestica, toxic protein in the seeds of castor and croton, nicotine (plant alkaloid) in tobacco, saponin in the roots of platycodon grandiflorum, sumac, cashew nut and mango.
Castor, commonly known as hemp seed, is a panicum miliaceum of Euphorbiaceae, which can grow into small trees in tropical areas. The branches and leaves of castor contain hydrocyanic acid, and the whole plant is highly toxic. In addition to fatty oil, seeds also contain toxic protein and ricinine, which are highly toxic substances, and 7 mg of toxic protein can kill people.
Croton is an evergreen tree or shrub of Euphorbiaceae, and its height can reach 4 meters. Location: south of the Yangtze River. Croton is poisonous, and the seeds contain a poisonous protein called Croton, which is very toxic.
Illicium verum is a highly toxic plant, and its fruit contains the poison of Illicium verum, so people's lives are in danger if they eat dozens of grams. "Shan Hai Jing" records: "There is grass on the mountain of Chao Ge, called weeds, which can poison fish." It and the spice plant Illicium verum are both Illicium plants, and their appearance is very similar. But octagonal is a tall tree, about 20 meters high; Weeds are shrubs or small trees with a height of 3 ~ 10 m. The main difference is that the tip of the former is long and curved, while the tip of the latter is blunt.
Poisonous celery is a perennial herb in Umbelliferae, with compound umbels, small white flowers and wide oval and angular fruits. Because of its celery flavor, it is easy to be mistaken for wild celery. Hemlock contains toxic alkali, especially in leaves and immature fruits. Eating it by mistake will lead to death. It is distributed in Hebei, Inner Mongolia, northwest and northeast, and likes ponds, swamps, wetlands or shallow water.
Coriaria is a plant of Coriaceae, and its height can reach 2 meters. Berry-like fruit is red or turns from red to purple-black, like grapes, and it is sweet and most easily eaten by people. It mainly contains coriaria toxin, and its stems and leaves are also toxic. The symptoms of poisoning are nausea, vomiting, dyspnea, convulsions and even death. Distributed in Shanxi, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places.
Arisaema arisaematis and Pinellia ternata are Araceae plants, and their whole grass, especially underground tubers, contain toxins similar to choline, which can be poisoned or even died if eaten by mistake. But its tuber can be used as medicine after special processing, soaking and detoxification.
In addition, there is a kind of plants belonging to fungi, such as toadstools and polyporus, which are very toxic.