Cerbera odollam (The Suicide Tree)

The Cerbera odollam tree, nicknamed the “suicide tree,” bears striking green and orange fruits resembling mangoes. Don’t be fooled by their appetizing look, as the seeds inside hold a deadly secret.

• Deadly Duo: These seeds contain potent toxins, strychnine and brucine, capable of killing an adult with just 30 milligrams – about the size of a few grains of sand.
• Agonizing End: Ingestion triggers violent convulsions due to the toxins attacking the nervous system. It’s a painful and terrifying way to die.
• Tragic Reality: Over 530 poisonings in Kerala, India, have been linked to this tree, many sadly self-inflicted. Its accessibility and notoriety for lethality make it a readily available tool for despair.
• A Lethal Meal: In some cases, victims separate the seed kernel from its tough husk and mix it with sugar, creating a deceptively sweet but fatal final meal.

Since ancient times, people have used plants as a source of food and a remedy for illnesses. Besides those some plants can be lethal to consume. Like other living things, plants also have natural defences that assist protect them from all the harmful predators that might try to eat them. Some plants contain the deadliest compounds that, when consumed, can cause us to get severely unwell or even die, in addition to stinging spikes and thorns.

Deadliest plants have caused human deaths throughout history, including in 399 BCE, Socrates‘ death from a poison hemlock and babies’ unintentional use of lethal nightshade. Plants have evolved a variety of cunning defenses against their enemies. Unfortunately, a few of these chemical defenses can hurt people by irritating their skin. Some of the variety of plants may appear to be dangerous, but some of them contain some of the worst toxins ever discovered and they also have deadly flowers.