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Long before our modern industries developed the cleaning products, industrial solvents, and drugs that can kill when misused, people used simple plants to murder each other. Some plants were especially effective.
1. Nightshade
Atropa Belladonna is also known as deadly nightshade. The flowering plant is native to Europe and can grow up to ten feet tall if left to grow for years. Although all parts of the plant are poisonous, the shiny black berries are most poisonous. The words bella donna mean pretty woman in English. This name may have come from the use of belladonna to dilate the eyes in order to make a woman more attractive to men. Image by Flickr user peganum.
The alkaloid Atropine is one of the the active ingredient in nightshade. Atropine is used during surgery to regulate the heartbeat, decrease salivation, and paralyze muscles. In eye surgery, it relaxes the muscles and dilates the eye. Another drug found in nightshade is scopolamine, which has some of the same properties as atropine, and (in very dilute quantities) is also used for motion sickness and to combat drug addiction. Famous users of nightshade are not confirmed, but legend has it that when Agrippina the Younger hired the serial killer Locusta to kill the Roman emperor Claudius, she used nightshade. Before he became king in 1040, Macbeth supposedly used nightshade to poison an army of Danes who invaded Scotland.
2. Hemlock
Poison hemlock (conium maculatum) is a flowering plant with fleshly, carrotlike roots that can grow up to ten feet tall. This hemlock is no relation to the coniferous eastern hemlock tree in North America. All parts of the poison hemlock plant contain poison alkaloids. If ingested, conium will cause paralysis of various body systems. Paralysis of the respiratory system is the usual cause of death. Meanwhile, a victim can’t move but is aware of what is happening as the mind is unaffected until death is imminent.
The most famous case of hemlock poisoning was that of Greek philosopher Socrates in 339 BC. The 70-year-old was found guilty of heresy in a trial in Athens. His sentence was death by hemlock, and he had to drink the poison by his own hand. Socrates drank up, then walked around until he noticed his legs were heavy. As shown in this 1787 painting by Jacques-Louis David, Socrates was surrounded by students and adherents as he died.
3. Strychnine
Strychnine is made from seeds of the plant Strychnos nux vomica, found in Asia and Australia. The poison was first isolated from the plant in 1818 by two French chemists. Pierre-Joseph Pelletier and Joseph-Bienaimé Caventou, who also isolated quinine (used to treat malaria) from its source. Strychnine has been used as a homeopathic remedy (in very diluted form), a performance-enhacing drug for athletes, a slight hallucinogenic used to cut street drugs, and most commonly as rat poison.
Strychnine is an alkaloid (like hemlock or atropine) that paralyzes the victim and causes death by respiratory failure. There is no antidote for strychnine. Dr. Thomas Neil Cream killed at least seven women and one man, possibly many more, between 1878 and 1892 by giving them strychnine as medicine, both in the US and England. After serving ten years of a life sentence in America, he returned to London to continue poisoning his patients. Cream was convicted of murder in England and executed in 1892. Some have speculated that Cream might even be Jack the Ripper, but records indicate that Cream was in prison in the US when the Whitechapel murders occurred.
4. Curare
Curare is a mixture of various South American natural resources used for poison arrows and blowgun darts. One of the main ingredients is an extract of the plant Chondrodendron tomentosum. Curare is used for medicinal purposes in a highly diluted form. The main poison is an alkaloid, which causes paralysis and death much in the same way as strychnine and hemlock. However, after the respiratory system becomes paralyzed, the heart may continue beating for quite some time.
Death by curare is relatively slow and horrific, as the victim is awake and aware but cannot move or even speak. However, if artificial respiration is performed until the poison subsides, the victim will survive. Indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin used curare-laden arrows to hunt game for food. Curare does not affect those who eat the animals who were killed by it. A slightly different recipe for curare is used when the intended target is human, such as that used during tribal war. Curare has also been adapted for use as a muscle relaxant during surgery.
5. Arsenic
Arsenic is a metalloid element, atomic weight 33. It occurs in small amounts in air, water, and soil, and in greater amounts in volcanic ash and in copper and gold mines. Because it kills insects, a compound called chromated copper arsenate, or CCA was used from the 1950s to 2003 to preserve pressure-treated wood. Arsenic has been used in medicines (it was once the indicated treatment for syphilis), chemical warfare, and as a pesticide. Various arsenic compounds are used to color paint and fireworks and as a semiconductor in integrated circuits. It is also used to harden metal for ammunition and the process of bronzing. Image by Flickr user James Laing.
Arsenic kills by inhibiting the production of necessary enzymes. Small amounts of arsenic ingested over time (possibly through drinking water) can raise the probability of cancer. Acute poisoning causes stomach cramps, diarrhea, confusion, convulsions, vomiting, and death. Murder by arsenic was popular in the Middle Ages as the substance was easy to procure and the symptoms of poisoning resembled those of cholera. Now, evidence of arsenic poisoning is easier to find. Chronic arsenic ingestion can be found months, even years later in the victim’s hair and fingernails. The most famous arsenic poisoners were the Borgia family in the Middle Ages. It was said that a little arsenic improved the taste of wine, and the gracious Borgias made sure their guests had the best-tasting wine possible.
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Comments (27)
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Thanks Miss Cellania!
Have you ever heard of Pokeweed? It’s toxic to mammals yet can be ingested only if you do all sorts of crazy stuff first. I have one growing next to my garage.
posted by Christina on 11-3-2009 at 8:28 am
Are you kidding? My family grazes the yards for poke salad, and when I was a kid, we used the berries for homemade ink!
It’s all over my backyard before I mow.
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-3-2009 at 8:32 am
Apologies in advance, but bella donna means ‘pretty woman’ in Italian, or Latin maybe, but not English
posted by Mark on 11-3-2009 at 8:54 am
I had a poke plant sprout up in my backyard and I took it in to the nursery to get identified. The guy there told me that it was fine to eat the leaves before before the berries sprouted if prepared properly (poke salad), but it was too poisonous after. He then gave me a long list of instructions on how to remove it safely.
posted by Michelle on 11-3-2009 at 9:00 am
I think you mean that bella donna translates to pretty woman in english.
Great article.
posted by kate on 11-3-2009 at 11:28 am
If you investigate the 1857 trial of Madeleine Smith, a young woman from Glasgow charged with poisoning her French lover using Arsenic, which she was accused of putting into his hot cocoa. When the fact of her having purchased arsenic grains from the apothecary was brought before the court, her lawyers stated that Smith intended to use it in a facial wash. Evidently, arsenic washes were considered beneficial for the complexion. Though it’s generally agreed that she committed the murder, the verdict was “Not Proven,” which indicates neither guilt nor innocence.
posted by Kikadee on 11-3-2009 at 11:33 am
Kikadee, I read that women used arsenic as a face wash in order to make their skin paler. The things women will go through! I love a good crime story, so I will check out Madeleine Smith. Thanks!
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-3-2009 at 11:40 am
What does bella donna mean, in English? I thought it meant pretty woman.
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-3-2009 at 11:44 am
Deadly nightshade is in the same family as the potato. Potatos are all fine and dandy if they’re grown well under the soil. If they’re exposed to light at all and are green, they can be quite poisonous. Also in the same family, tomato and tobacco.
posted by PJMoore on 11-3-2009 at 11:47 am
Very interesting. I read an article (or perhaps saw a show?) arguing that Napoleon was killed by arsenic (or perhaps it was mercury? my memory is failing me) poisoning while exiled on Alba. Apparently, researchers came across a paint chip from his bedroom there, and when they analyzed, it they found high amounts of poison (completely blanking now on whether it was arsenic, mercury, or even cyanide… can you tell it’s been a long day?)
Can anyone prove or dispute this? Might make for an interesting article either way.
posted by Molly W. on 11-3-2009 at 12:11 pm
And by Alba, I mean Elba. Wow.
posted by Molly W. on 11-3-2009 at 12:12 pm
A derivitive of strychnine is also used by the Azande tribe to facilitate prophecy. The strychnine, called ‘benge’ is given to young chicks and then the chicks are asked questions. The answers depend on whether or not the chicks live.
posted by Adam on 11-3-2009 at 12:16 pm
Why did we stop using arsenic in 2003?
posted by taylor on 11-3-2009 at 12:31 pm
Molly W – There was a green pigment (sometimes called Paris green, hah) very popular for interior decorating in Regency times which contained a lot of arsenic. And the English did decorate his exile digs on St. Helena (not Elba, that was the first time in exile) in fairly fashionable style.
Wasn’t there some central Europeans (in Styria, maybe) that made a habit of ingesting arsenic in small doses? Or at least according to murder mysteries “of a certain age”? I seem to recall a few plots that turned on the idea that such people had acquired a tolerance to low doses and that you could identify them by their really glossy hair and clear complexion.
posted by VM on 11-3-2009 at 12:36 pm
Taylor-
I think we quit using arsenic in 2003 as a component of pressure treated wood for two reasons. First, pressure treated wood is commonly used to build playground equipment, and anyone with kids knows they’ll put anything in their mouths, including bits of wood. Don’t want to poison the kids. Second, I believe there was some concern regarding ingestion of the sawdust from pressure treated wood while cutting it.
posted by Anthony on 11-3-2009 at 12:39 pm
To add to what Anthony said, there is a problem with pressure-treated wood similar to asbestos building materials. They are usually OK if you seal them and leave them alone, but eventually you have to dispose of them. You can’t burn pressure-treated wood without releasing the arsenic, and in landfills the poison leeches out. Better to just not use it anymore.
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-3-2009 at 12:44 pm
VM- Thanks for that info! I forgot about St. Helena (guess Napoleon didn’t though).
It’s interesting to think about the poisons found in oil paints as well; I remember hearing once about a painter who was dying of cancer and had lost his fingers due to a nasty penchant for finger-painting with oils.
posted by Molly W. on 11-3-2009 at 1:46 pm
Hemlock was also the poison used at the end of Wild Things to kill off Matt Dillon’s character. As he’s becoming incapcitated by the poison, Neve Campbell tells him the story of Socrates death by hemlock.
posted by Jonny on 11-3-2009 at 2:18 pm
Makes me think of the Cary Grant classic: “Arsenic and Old Lace”.
posted by Nerak on 11-3-2009 at 4:44 pm
Nerak, this post was inspired by an airing of the movie yesterday!
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-3-2009 at 7:51 pm
Miss Cellania,
I watched it yesterday too! Gotta love TCM!!
posted by bzzyb on 11-3-2009 at 8:34 pm
A very VERY close friend of mine is directly descended from the Borgias. Thank goodness he likes me lol.
posted by Amanda on 11-4-2009 at 1:52 am
Agrippina the Younger poisoned Claudius no Agrippa. Such an obvious historical error calls the whole article into question.
posted by BB on 11-4-2009 at 5:06 am
BB, I’m glad you pointed that out and I will fix it. I have so little familiarity with Roman names that I didn’t realize Agrippa and Agrippina were two different people! The highlighted links have more information (and an easy way for me to check my errors).
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-4-2009 at 8:06 am
My sister once was looking for pictures and info on deadly nightshade for a project at her work and she knew it was also called Bella Donna. What she didn’t know was that Bella Donna is also the name of a famous porn actress. Her googling, especially the image search, ended up being shockingly not safe for work.
posted by Melissa on 11-4-2009 at 2:50 pm
Wow…this is kinda weird..I knew that some plants and foods can be deadly to cats and dogs…but i’m very uninformed about plants..could any of them kill by brushing up against them . It would be nice to know if i go in the woods or if someone went hiking.?Weird i say . Huh
posted by janey on 11-4-2009 at 4:02 pm
great read, miss celania… this makes me wonder who of the famous people we know died due to poisoning? you mentioned napoleon and of course, socrates.. who else? thanks..
posted by gnosis on 11-8-2009 at 10:59 pm