Welcome !

 

Hello and welcome to my blog! Let me share with you my personal journey in collecting and understanding some of the most poisonous living-beings known to humans. Most are them are plants, and to a lesser extent animals of the tropical rainforest. Here in Malaysia (zone 13+), Mother Nature has given us the biggest and oldest laboratory to explore.

Gloriosa superba. A glorious and superb start to our journey!

Spigelia anthelmia

I have a background in academia working on phytochemistry and drug discovery. It has a lot to do with my hobby of studying things most people would shun or run away from. Here from a safe distance, let me show you a new perspective to the plants and animals that can kill you in mind-blowing ways. There is great beauty here, and great potential too because what can kill can often cure. Humans have always been fascinated by nature’s ability to kill. In our quest to hunt for more and more poisons, we have inadvertently created the chemical and pharmaceutical era. As you will appreciate, I grow things that represent hundreds if not thousands of years of human knowledge, right in my own backyard. My journey as a poison hunter and collector spans a decade long, believe me, it is absolutely satisfying!

Cascabela thevetia

Hippobroma longiflora

Poisonous plants and animals are feared and revered, and misunderstood for good reasons. Nature has bestowed them the power over life and death to survive and carry-on surviving. Understanding these organisms will not just benefit our human curiosity. It helps to conserve the reservoir of life that is Mother Nature herself. I hope you enjoy the awesome and dangerous diversity of tropical forest, we share this world together. Have fun exploring!

Ricinus communis

Disclaimer: All content in this blog is for educational purposes only. How you use the information contained herein is your responsibility. I will not be held accountable for any illegal activities or any harm or damage done henceforth. In case you are here to find inspirations or methods to kill people or yourself, please consider this. There are countless ways to die, but you only have a single chance to be alive, to contemplate the fragility of life.  Something will kill you and me in the end, and there is nothing much we can do about it except to cherish what we have every day. If you are all determined to cause harm to others, you are bound to harm yourself in the process. It makes no construct, and nothing much useful would be left of you as a human to be remembered.

Crotalaria spectabilis

The purpose of this blog is to promote understanding and conservation of poisonous plants and animals to the lay public. I will try my best to simplify scientific concepts and avoid the use of jargon. I have arranged the contents into six separate categories, namely, [Poison Garden], [Science], [Stories], [Field Trips], [Experiments] and [Trade & Exchange].  Let me explain.

Datura innoxia

In the [Poison Garden], I feature all poisonous plants in my collection, which are grouped according to individual plant families. Plants of the same family often share similar physical and chemical characteristics such as leaf and flower structure, or chemical toxins, because they are genetically related to one another. Within a plant family, even more related species are grouped into a genus (plural genera). It is the unique physical and genetic detail that make up a species. All plant species are properly identified, but in cases of ambiguity, I refer to the genus, followed by abbreviation ‘sp.' (unknown/uncertain species). When I refer to several species of a same genus,  ‘spp.’ (several species) is used instead. With that in mind, there will be an introduction to every plant family, followed by individual genera and species that are known to be very poisonous. I will explain their general characteristics, group of toxins, as well as poisonous or medicinal effects on the human body. Where appropriate, I will outline the historical or scientific significance of these plants.

In the [Science] section, I will discuss the chemistry and pharmacology of selected toxins in detail, which include their chemical structure, reactivity, biosynthesis pathway and/or mechanism of action. However daunting it may sound, this section is still meant for lay audiences, but apply that you have at least a high school chemistry background. On the other hand, if you are someone with professional knowledge, please understand the purpose of this blog, as I am not here to write a research paper, or give undergraduate tutorials. Nonetheless, I am more than willing to discuss technical detail, drop me a message if you wish. I will provide some important references for you to do your own research. If you find anything erroneous, please by all means let me know. This is a good way for me to learn, and we learn from each other.

Antiaris toxicaria

In the section [Stories], I will share with you interesting myths and legends, or historical accounts of poisonous plants and animals. You may find the stories funny or scary at times, but they are life experiences told to create a lesson. Poisonous organisms often inspire great legends, even to the point of becoming supernatural, like the Upas tree above. It is said that Upas lives on a bare mountain scattered with human skeletons. No birds fly near, no tigers creep, alone the whirlwind wild and black, assails the Upas tree of death! We will find out its secrets here.

Apart from stories, I also share with you my personal adventure in search of poisonous species under the section [Field Trips]. I am based in Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country that is a center of biodiversity. Most of my field trips are located in the rainforest, mangrove, montane (highland) forests, or botanic gardens of Peninsular Malaysia. Please be reminded that I am experienced, so don’t replicate what I do. Some plants and animals are not forgiving when it comes to human mistakes.

Cerbera odollam

In the [Experiments] section, I share with you behind the scenes action of a chemistry laboratory. You’ll witness how phytochemists like me extract, isolate, and identify different plant toxins (animal toxins are not my area of expertise). I will explore kitchen chemistry methods of plant extraction to be used as bio-pesticides. We may exploit different plant hormones to induce plant growth, stress resistance, toxin yield, and reproduction. I also plan to carry out chemical mutagenesis on selected plants to produce new genetic variations. Please be aware that I am experienced and qualified to do science experiments that would otherwise be very dangerous to lay people. If I warn that a procedure is dangerous, please DO NOT replicate it ever! Nonetheless, I wish to engage more people here, so I will detail experiments involving relatively harmless plants or phytochemicals. The joy of doing an experiment is that no one knows what will happen! In fact, this section is an experiment itself, we will see how well it goes. 

Strophanthus preussii

Finally, in the [Trade & Exchange] section, I plan to offer adoption or exchange of certain plants I featured here. This section is still under-construction, it depends on the popularity and general perception of my blog. I certainly do not want to be accused of supplying poison for suicide and murder.

All the pictures of this blog belong to me, and I hereby allow you to use and share them as you like. I do NOT plan to copyright them, and it’s up to you to acknowledge me or not. After all, if my pictures can get someone to be inspired and care about plants and animals, it’s more than worth the purpose of my blog.