Thursday, October 7, 2010

Pretty Poison























A few weeks ago, I had to go to court about something, and I was not feeling too well and having a bad day. But I didn't know what was in store for me. A beautiful jungle of delights. Right in front of the courthouse on a busy street were these stunning red veined and red branched plants, amazing to look at. My eyes nearly popped out of my head while my camera popped out of my purse. Inside the court I found Nicole, a wonderful lady who has helped us so much through more than one hard time, she is one of God's angels. And she knew what this plant was, but did not know it's danger. It is a Castor Bean plant, the source of Ricin, which in 2007 was ranked as the most poisonous plant in the world. The lethal dose is only four to six seeds, or beans. Seven will kill a pig, eleven a dog, but eighty a duck, go figure. In 1978, Georgi Markov, a communist defector working for the BBC, was jabbed in the thigh with an umbrella that had only two tenths of a milligram of Ricin in the tip. Four days later he was dead, and his assassin was never caught. The Ricin from Castor plant seeds is one of the most feared substances that could be used for a bio-terror agent or weapon of mass destruction, because it is widely available and takes only a tiny amount to kill someone. But we already have something very small in our body that has the same potential to be poison, and the book of James tells us about it.


"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts...the tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body...it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
James 3

32 comments:

asadisae said...

plants that are very dangerous because of poisonous, does this plant grow more?

Dawning Inspiration said...

Yes - our tongues can be lethal, can't they. Hope the court situation went well. Interesting plants!!

LOVE your header with those gorgeous three leaves!! Heavenly!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Oh my gosh...But one thing is clear..poisonous things alway look beautiful....

BTW..THanks for the comment in my blog...even i am too sad for not sharing any clicks...during my student life i just enjoyed the day not even the thought came in mind to store them in the album...but now I am just on the opposite side of the world too far from the place....If in future I get any snaps I will surely share those with you....

Kilauea Poetry said...

My tongue gets restless sometimes how did you know (ha ha) wow, thanks to Ginny for distributing this information!! (lol)..I've heard of it, but what amazing facts!! I'm like, stunned! Love the post Ginny! What potential huh?!! It's harder to see the damage of our words too..

Fred Alton said...

James 3:2 "For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." Strange - but about a year ago it seems that the above verse (taken from the context of your verse in James) is one that jumped off the page at me. I've quoted it several times in my S.School class. I've prayed that I would NOT offend with my words as much as in the past. This was a very interesting blog for me.

SquirrelQueen said...

Great photos Ginny, the Castor plant is very beautiful. But while the Ricin in the seeds is deadly another product of the plant, castor oil, has many medicinal uses.

Was Private Secretary the one with Ann Southern? My mom loved that show and I sort of remember watching it with her. I loved Twilight Zone.

pam said...

What a gorgeous plant...wouldn't want it in my yard but it is stunning.

RoeH said...

They are beautiful. Wish we had them here.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

I did not know that it was THIS poisnous.We used to have them in the garden when I was a child.
Blessings,Ruth

Jane said...

Love the pictures of this plant. It looks too pretty to be poisonous, doesn't it? Hope that your weekend is a good one,

Jane

From the Kitchen said...

I've seen that plant many times and never realized exactly what it was. I'm surprised they would have it growing around a public place--you know how fast little ones can grab something like that.

Best,
Bonnie

Nikki (Sarah) said...

it's true that poison things can look good and in life...sometimes what seems good is evil. I found that out. Hope your court case went well

srp said...

We are in the Isaiah study in Bible Study Fellowship this year and are up to chapter 6. One question was about the connection of our mouths and our hearts....

Matthew 15:18 (NIV) - But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'

I am going to borrow your verse as part of the answer. It is always amazing how wonderfully the different parts of the OT and NT fit together to instruct and teach us.

DawnTreader said...

I wonder if they knew what they were doing, planting it in front of a court house!

Velvet Over Steel said...

The is so very true about the tongue! Wish more people would realize that, before using it!

That plant scares me!! Although the pictures are Beautiful!!!

Have a wonderful weekend, Ginny!
Hugs,
Coreen

Stephanie V said...

Beautiful photos...beautiful tree.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Ginny, What a gorgeous plant --to be so poisonous. Yipes ---funny that it is in front of the Court House.... Wonder if that means there is some 'poison' in our court system??? ha ha ha

Lots of gorgeous pictures on your blog today.... Love the header... Fall is such a wonderful season.
Hugs,
Betsy

Remington said...

Great pics, scary plant....

George said...

I didn't know what a Castor Bean plant looks like. Now I have a question for you: If the seeds from this plant are so poisonous, why is it allowed to grow and mature on a busy street in town?

D said...

Wow Ginny. I have always liked looking at this plant and have never had one in our garden, and now would not consider it. Thanks for the information.

Together We Save said...

My tounge has gotten the best of me a time or two.... thanks for the reminder just how bad it can be.

Unknown said...

This was such a good reminder. Our tongues are dangerous aren't they? I often forget. I learned a lot in this post today.

Karin said...

It's also called the palm of Christ I believe because of it's many healing properties! In more tropical areas it can grow the size of a small tree. Very interesting and educational post! Thanks Ginny!

Doris Sturm said...

That is interesting. I never knew that. What a beautiful plant and the leaves are just gorgeous!

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for the lesson :-)

Best Wishes,
Doris

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny, I thought I recognized that plant! Castor grows wild all over Southern California where I used to live. Beautiful plant but poisonous and a very invasive weed.

Chatty Crone said...

Oh I liked that and how true it is - that is a beautiful plant isn't it and yet so deadly and the tongue - the same way, words hurt!

Love,
sandie

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

I just read in our local plant magazine about these poisonous castor oil plants. There is one near me, and I didn't know what it was.

Yourse is very beautiully pink, the ones here are burgunday red.

Hope you are ok in court. My little niece likes to tell us what happened in court and this week, she is defending a bikie.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

Callistemon citrinus - Crimson Bottlebrush founf both in Australia ans New Zealand.

There are many species of bottlebrush. I also have seen a flax bottle brush.

I read once a preacher stood in the pulpit saying the most naughty organ in the body, then he said, I show it to you. He poked out his tongue.

Unknown said...

wow! It is beautiful but it sounds like perhaps the court building might not be the best place for it. LOL!

Anonymous said...

These plants grow wild here but i never realized they were that poisonous! One learns everyday. thanks for such an interesting post and your photos are wonderful!

ruthi said...

Wow... really? Seriously? But it is so beautiful. Come to think of it, if we can compare it to people... there are some people who are so beautiful but are capable of committing heinous crimes too.

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