Botanists Describe Scariest Plants In The World

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mattstaff
Dec 18, 2021 12:00 PM EST

Not all plants are adorable and make you feel warm and bubbly inside. Some plants are actually formidable beasts that have all kinds of dangerous sorcery boiling beneath the surface of their otherwise calm exterior. If this AskReddit thread of botanists describing some of the world's creepiest plants got you going, check out some famished trees that engulfed stuff over here. 

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  • 01
    Font - TheBassMeister • 18h 1 Award Manchineels ("Beach Apples") look like small apples but eating them will give you a terrible time. Even worse the sap is really toxic and if you stand near a machineel during rain just a small drop of the sap can immediately cause burnlike blisters on the skin. Some people say that the sap is so toxic that it even destroys car paint. If you get sap on the hand and then in a moment of temporary dumbness touch your eyes, you could get blind. The Spanish call the
    via r/AskReddit
  • 02
    Font - MizElaneous • 16h Water hemlock (Cicuta) is fairly common in North America and very toxic. It can be fatal when even small amounts are ingested and resembles other non-toxic plants that are edible. Even just touching your lips or skin to the plant has been fatal for children. It causes swelling in the brain, blood coagulation problems, tremors, seizures, kidney failure among other issues. Death is usually caused by respiratory arrest and/or ventricular fibrillation. G Reply 4 674 3 ...
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  • 03
    Rectangle - CR123CR • 14h Not a botanist but Devils Club (Oplopanax horridus) really suck. Its a big spiky stick that grows in clumps and hurts like a SOB if they prick you. Also they grow fast and are hard to get rid of when they get established. 6 Reply 4 110 3 ...
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  • 04
    Rectangle - MJSchooley • 16h Not a botanist, but the manchineel tree is a tree that almost literally exists to kill you. Every single part of it can kill you. Even touching it or standing under it during rain can hurt you. G Reply 144 3 ...
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  • 05
    Font - LAbedandbreakfast · 20h Pitcher plant because you can literally see what is trying to crawl its way out before its eaten alive. G Reply 1 65 3 ...
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  • 06
    Font - mackey-ziibiins · 20h 3 4 Awards Enjoy - 1. Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant Hogweed) - sap can cause severe burns as it essentially removes all protection of your skin to UV. Here's a nice quote "I started rubbing my face, I thought it was just a little bit of skin at first, but then big chunks of my face were falling off." 2. Dendrocnide moroides (Gympie-gympie) - merely brushing the leaves or stalk can inflict pain. Another lovely quote "A casual split-second touch on an arm by a leaf o
    via r/AskReddit
  • 07
    Rectangle - Flaky_Tip · 16h Kudzu vines. G Reply 4 53 3 ... +3
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  • 08
    Organism - Seraphina_Nightwing · 11h I'm a little surprised nobody mentioned this one, but Hura crepitans, or the sandbox tree. It's covered in poisonous spikes and has exploding fruit. When its fruits are fully matured, they drop to the ground and explode like a grenade. This explosion can send its seeds flying up to 150mph/241kph. G Reply 1 315 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 09
    Font - hiirnoivl • 15h Monkshood. I grew it in the garden to keep the squirrels away. It kills them on contact By stopping their hearts. It can also kill humans in about 3-4 hours if ingested so I kept it out of the way. Great Bee plant. G Reply 1 37 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 10
    Rectangle - JohnOliverismysexgod · 14h I don't react to poison ivy and neither does my brother. But oh, my God, poison oak!!! After weeks of steroids it finally healed, but the calomine lotion didn't really help much. G Reply 4 365 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit
  • 11
    Facial expression - Pigs100 · 14h Giant hogweed. Sap on your skin allows it to be severely burned by the sun. Do not touch under any circumstances. G Reply 4 68 3 ...
    via r/AskReddit

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