Is the strychnos nux vomica really poisonous?

Many people shudder at the sight of these four words: "Seeing blood and sealing the throat". It seems like a hidden weapon coated with poison in martial arts novels, which will poison you as soon as you touch it, making people afraid of it. But what you may not expect is that this name is associated with an ancient tree, and this plant can be found in many scenic spots and forests in Hainan.

Antiaris lesch., also known as the arrow poison tree , is a plant of the genus Antiaris lesch. of the Moraceae family. It is an evergreen large tree, mainly distributed in tropical areas such as Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan in China , and is one of the main tree species in the Asian tropical rain forest. The plant usually has plank-like roots, gray and slightly rough bark, oval to obovate leaves, and dark green surface. Its stems, branches, leaves, etc. all contain highly toxic milky white juice .

The milk of the strychnos nux vomica is highly toxic. Once it comes into contact with a wound, the milk enters the body through the wound and causes poisoning . The main symptoms are muscle relaxation, slowed heartbeat, and finally death due to cardiac arrest. The symptoms of animal poisoning are similar to those of humans, and death occurs within 20 minutes to 2 hours after poisoning.

There is a saying among the people of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan about the strychnos nux vomica: "Seven up, eight down, nine fall to the ground." It means that if you are poisoned by the strychnos nux vomica, you can only take seven steps up and eight steps down, but no matter what, you will fall to the ground and die at the ninth step.

According to the book "Hainan Tree Wonders", in the past, Hainan hunters smeared the sap of this tree on arrows to hunt birds and animals. It is said that if the birds and animals were hit by arrows, they would die within 3 minutes as long as their skin was scratched and a little bleeding occurred. The sap of the strychnos nux vomica tree is poisonous, and the α-strychnos nux vomica glycoside and β-strychnos nux vomica glycoside it contains are of research and utilization value in medicine. Therefore, this is a highly poisonous plant, but also a medicinal plant.

Kindly note that due to the high toxicity of the strychnos nux vomica, you should try to avoid cutting the branches during the cultivation process, and take appropriate precautions before pruning. When displaying in greenhouse cultivation, you should also use signs to explain this, and plant it in a place where it is not easy for visitors to touch.

Note: The pictures are from the Internet and are only used as popular science materials. If there is any infringement, please contact us.