Going out into the street after watching the film "The Apparition", the audience cautiously looked askance at the trees rustling around. Those who were especially impressionable, returning home, got rid of their usual ficus cacti. Why would it suddenly?
Hitchcock himself would have envied the plot of the environmental thriller, released last summer. Plants in it are represented by almost intelligent creatures who are fed up with the master of nature - man. And they acquired the ability to release an interesting toxin into the air. Inhaling it, Homo sapiens immediately committed suicide, and often in a bizarre way. Well, after such a film, how can one not begin to suspect even an innocent chamomile of evil intentions?
We are used to thinking of plants as soulless and harmless. But how are things in reality? Are the flora really capable of inflicting a fatal blow on us?
They kill competitors
ONE acquaintance complained: "Something my flycatcher began to bend, the leaves turned black." Still, because water alone is not enough for this creature, give him more insects! The Venus flytrap, like the fatworm, sundew, nepentes, sarracenia, etc., belongs to carnivorous plants. When there is not enough nitrogen in the soil, it is necessary to extract it from flies and spiders, which are attracted by enzymes secreted by plants.
In general, the "population of the green world" is not as defenseless as it seems. Pine, walnuts, or sunflowers release compounds into the air that inhibit the growth of neighbors. As biologists from the University of Delaware (USA) have found out, one of the cane species behaves like an aggressor - it secretes extremely toxic acid with its roots. It decomposes the protein that makes up the roots of competing neighbors, and thus the reed conquers vast territories.
And what is the "botanical war" that the Sosnovsky hogweed declared to the environment (and to man too)! This plant, which looks like a huge dill, was once bred as a silage crop and even crossed with other species for greater productivity. But then it turned out that it easily runs wild and penetrates into nature, annually increasing the occupied area by 10%. In some European countries, they are already talking about an environmental disaster: the fact is that when in contact with a cow parsnip, severe burns appear, and not immediately, but only after these areas of the skin are exposed to sunlight. Ulcers do not heal for a long time and leave dark spots. The person develops a fever that can end in death.
It is difficult to fight the hogweed - it is very tenacious. Now this monster grows up to three meters in height, but this is not the limit. Increased radioactivity - both natural and artificial - can cause the plant to mutate, multiply faster, and grow in size. And then in 20 years instead of birch groves, giant thickets of "poisonous dill" will rustle around us.
However, and these are still flowers, forgive the pun. And here are the berries. Rumor has it that a tree grows in Africa, the name of which translates as "ominous". It exudes gas: from inhaling it, a severe headache begins, followed by fever, and a few hours later - death. Another legend says that in Malaysia there is a tree, landing on which birds fall dead. By the way, Pushkin dedicated one of his poems to him - "Anchar".
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… and build up a margin of safety
The signaling systems of plant cells have been studied at the Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics for many years. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the mechanism of action of these systems is similar to that used by animal cells. It is based on the transmission of information. “Receptors on the cell surface send a signaling molecule inside, and chemical reactions immediately occur,” explains the chief researcher of the institute, academician Igor Tarchevsky. - They run to genes with lightning and "report" about the situation outside - for example, about a worm bite or ozone burn during a thunderstorm. And the cell decides how to react, what substances to release. Moreover, the cell's genome adapts to new situations: some genes can be weakened, and those genes that “remember” an emergency situation from the past can be recalled from the “archive”.
This means that plants are able to change their behavior and even their genome, depending on the situation! If now they release toxins that are deadly for bugs and worms, where is the guarantee that as a result of genetic changes it will not reach humans? After all, it is known that you should not be near some southern trees and bushes for a long time. For example, with yew and boxwood. No, being in a boxwood grove for 5-10 minutes is good for your health. But with a long walk, vomiting and convulsions may begin. Boxwood contains about 70 alkaloids, and an overdose is fatal. It turns out that this tree contains a certain margin of safety and in which case it can simply increase the concentration of emitted substances!
“But what kind of situation could this be? So far, science is not aware of cases of active opposition of plants to humans and other mammals, concludes Tarchevsky. - But you can fantasize as much as you like. Let's say, remember that a person lives on the planet for a negligible time in comparison with plants. This means that he has not yet managed to become an enemy for them, against which the corresponding poisons have been developed."
Curiously, one of the Ignobel (comic) prizes this year was awarded for the legal recognition of the dignity of plants. And their right to worry about their fate. The laureates are members of the Swiss Ethics Committee. Seems like forward-thinking people.
RATINGUnsafe indoor plants
Ficus
Juice evaporates quickly, enters the respiratory tract and causes a cough in children with allergies.
Primrose
Contact with leaves may cause skin irritation and dermatitis.
Lily of the Valley
Contains substances that can cause stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea.
Dieffenbachia The
juice of the leaves contains a substance that leads to severe irritation of the mucous membranes.
Oleander
Juice is very poisonous, causes colic in humans and animals, vomiting, diarrhea.