This is one of the deadliest plants in the world. Eat just a handful of their berries
and you’d be in real trouble. A favourite tool of kings, queens and witches, this toxic
plant lives up to its name. This is Deadly Nightshade.
Hey I’m tasha the Amazon and you’re watching Floralogic. Atropa Belladonna is a cute Eurasian
cherry-producing plant with a bit of a terrible reputation.
Just to give you an idea, in addition to its common name, the deadly nightshade, it’s
also been called the death cherry, the devil’s berry, and the beautiful death.
And to be fair, it’s fully deserved. The plant is insanely toxic.
It contains tropane alkaloids to defend itself from insects that try to eat it. But in vertebrates,
those alkaloids affect the smooth muscles of their body, including their urinary, GI
tracts, and sweat glands. In some cases it can cause an extremely dry
mouth, delirium, hallucinations, and death. And of course, people have weaponized it.
In 1030, Macbeth and Duncan I of Scotland used deadly nightshade tea to poison the invading
English troops of Harold Harefoot, killing many of them and forcing the rest to retreat.
Emperor Augustus of Rome is rumoured to have been poisoned by his wife Livia using this
plant. She wanted to make sure her kid inherited the throne. Spicy.
The plant is native to Eurasia, but has spread to Africa and North America, so there’s
a good chance there’s a few near you. Here’s how you can tell them apart so you can keep
away from them. They’re a little over a meter tall with
small bell-shaped flowers and long leaves which can be about 15 cm long. Their berries
are small and circular. Both the berries and the flowers start off green, but as they mature
and become more toxic, they turn purple. I’m being serious, stay away from this plant,
just two berries are enough to kill a child. The roots are the most toxic part of the deadly
nightshade, but a single leaf has enough poisonous alkaloids to kill an adult. The berries are
slightly sweet, but if you eat more than a handful, you’re in trouble.
Some animals such as rabbits, sheep, and cows seem to be resistant to its effects. Bees
readily consume their nectar too, and sometimes end up making slightly toxic honey.
Dogs unfortunately, aren’t that lucky, so make sure to keep your pooch away from these
killer plants. But of course, industrious people have learned
to use it in small doses for other reasons beside regicide. In the mediterranean for
example, it has been used as a cosmetic. Their scientific name, belladonna, means “beautiful
woman”. Up until the middle ages some women would make a sort of diluted tea and use it
as eye drops. The alkaloids would affect the normal functioning
of the smooth muscles of the eye and would cause pupils to dilate, giving them a unique
look. Cleopatra apparently used it regularly. Though
the product was known to cause long term damage to their vision.
People were really into dilated pupils in those days.
Deadly nightshade and some of its toxic relatives have been proposed as medicine for a number
of health issues, but there’s very little evidence that they work at all.
Chronic Pain, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, and hemorrhoids are just some of the ailments
it’s been used to treat. Unfortunately, as far as we know, most of the positive effects
have most likely been cases of the placebo effect.
But with the right dosage they have been shown to to improve mood, libido, and cause hallucinations.
In other words, it’s been used recreationally. In the middle ages the church used to carry
out witch-hunts, which are often targeted at drug addicts. Deadly nightshade was a relatively
common ingredient of witches’ brew, and caused its users to behave strangely, hallucinate,
and give them the feeling of being able to fly.
Of course, there were other compounds in their brews.
Medieval surgeons used it too as an anesthetic, but it often caused patients to behave erratically
and have vivid dreams. As religious persecution ramped up, its use was discontinued as surgeons
were afraid of being labeled as sorcerers. So that's the story of the plant that started
out making compounds to fight off bugs and ended up being a favourite tool of kings,
queens, and witches. You might be curious to see it out in the wild, just make sure
you don’t touch it!
Danielle: Yum! Andres: They are sweeter, less tart.
Danielle: They are so tasty. Yum.
Andres: I could eat a billion of these.
Danielle: A healthy mountain treat.
Andres: Six out hours later, we're both like Blugh!
Danielle: I'll probably have problems from both ends.
Andres: Laughs
Danielle: I mean, I hope they're blackberries. We're going to find out, because I just ate
about two handfuls.
Tasha: So what should I talk about next? Let me know in the comments
and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes of Floralogic, every other week.
I'm Tasha the Amazon, See you soon.