Whether you’re saying thank you, I love you or I’m sorry – a beautiful bouquet of flowers has the ability to convey your thoughts and feelings when words fail you.
However, appearances can be deceptive and not all flowers are fit for this purpose as some exotic blooms have a much darker side to them.
To make sure that you don’t pick the wrong ones, here are the 10 most exotic but deadly flowers in the world.
1. Lily of the valley
These delicate little flowers may look innocent, however; they are in fact extremely poisonous. Eating large quantities of this flower can leave you with stomach aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
2. Daphne
Famous for its wonderful scented flowers – this shrub has the power to kill. Its berries can induce a coma or sudden death, whilst consuming any other part of the plant can cause very painful headaches and convulsions.
3. Opium
It’s hard to believe that such a beautiful flower can produce such a deadly and addictive drug but that’s exactly what opium does, when it’s processed to make heroin. Opium has been a drug used in Britain since ancient times.
4. Aconitum
Also known as Wolfsbane and monkshood, throughout history this member of the buttercup family, with its vibrant blue flowers has been used as a deadly addition to the tips and edges of arrows.
5. Nerium Oleander
The exotic blooms of the oleander are a wonderful sight to see. However, despite being an everyday sight in the Mediterranean, this flower has the poisonous ability to cause diarrhea, convulsion , and vomiting.
6. Conium
Containing the poisonous alkaloid coniine, these rustic white flowers have the power to deprive both the heart and the brain of oxygen when consumed in large amounts. Respiratory system paralysis can be very deadly indeed.
7. A Trope Bella Dona
The tempting berries of this flower have a sweet but lethal aftertaste. Known by many as Deadly Nightshade, when eaten it can severely disrupt our ability to regulate both our breathing and heart rate.
8. Angel’s Trumpet
With its huge pink trumpet-shaped flowers, this plant is not as innocent as it sounds. The tropane alkaloids that this plant has can be fatal for both humans and animals.
9. Autumn Crocus
This dainty pretty flower is one of the world’s most endangered and poisonous. The toxic colchicine that it contains can cause an immediate cardiac arrest.
10. Datura
The lethal hallucinogens and poisons of Datura mean that it is illegal in many countries around the world. It might look beautiful however; its deadly alkaloids have been used for murderous purposes.