Question: And also what is the most dangerous plant in the world and why is it dangerous?

Alison Tidy answered on 27 Mar 2023:

There are a lot of dangerous plants within the world, the majority of these are poisonous/toxic to eat and can lead to death for example the deadly nightshade, water hemlock, ricin and white snakeroot. Some of these plants are particularly dangerous because they look like an edible plant such as water hemlock and parsnips/celery, or they taste sweet to initial taste and therefore not linked to something poisonous and spat out – e.g. deadly nightshade. Some can also be passed down the food chain, for example white snakeroot is linked to poisonous cows milk/meat after they grazed on them.

There are other plants that are dangerous to the touch although generally don’t lead to death for example poisonous oak or poison hemlock which can cause painful rashes, and giant hogweed can cause blisters/burns and a sensitivity to UV radiation.

There is some belief that tobacco is the most dangerous plant in the world due to how we use it, all parts of it are toxic to humans if eaten and can cause death, despite nicotine being a poison it is consumed throughout the world by chewing or smoking and it is believed that despite it having long term effects rather than short term dangers, it is linked to 5 million deaths per year. Making it a lot more dangerous than all of the plants above.