79 Poisonous Plants Trivia Questions with Answers
79 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Poisonous Plants trivia explores the chemicals, symptoms, habitats, and historical uses of plants that can harm people or animals. Questions range from the diterpenoid alkaloids in larkspur to the toxic saponin wisterin found in wisteria seeds and pods. You may also identify famous poisonous species by their common names, such as Taxus baccata, the yew.
This category suits botany enthusiasts, science classrooms, nature groups, and pub-quiz teams. It also includes unusual hazards: Hura crepitans, known for explosive seed capsules; the neurotoxic amino acid in grass pea linked to neurolathyrism; and the cyanogenic compound in bitter almonds. Expect a mix of plant identification, toxicology, chemistry, and folklore.
What cyanogenic compound gives bitter almonds their poisoning risk?
Answer
Amygdalin
What is the common name of the poisonous plant Helleborus niger?
Answer
Christmas rose
Which poisonous weed is Xanthium strumarium, known for spiny burs?
Answer
Cocklebur
What class of liver-damaging plant toxins is found in ragworts and many other species?
Answer
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids
What toxin found in ginkgo seeds is also called 4'-O-methylpyridoxine?
Answer
Ginkgotoxin
What carcinogenic toxin is found in bracken fern?
Answer
Ptaquiloside
Which toxic tree species is commonly known as black locust?
Answer
Robinia pseudoacacia
What is the common name of Aethusa cynapium, a poisonous parsley relative?
Answer
Fool's parsley
What toxin gives hemlock water-dropwort its deadly poisonous effect?
Answer
Oenanthotoxin
What poisonous alkaloid group is found in yew trees?
Answer
Taxine
What poison, also called compound 1080, accumulates in many Gastrolobium species?
Answer
monofluoroacetate
What carcinogenic acid is found in birthworts of the genus Aristolochia?
Answer
aristolochic acid
What cardiac glycoside is found in lily of the valley?
Answer
convallatoxin
What common name is used for Arum maculatum, a poisonous plant also called cuckoo-pint?
Answer
lords-and-ladies
What poisonous vine, South Carolina's state flower, is Gelsemium sempervirens?
Answer
yellow jessamine
Which poisonous North American plant has white berries nicknamed doll's eyes?
Answer
white baneberry
What tree produces slightly poisonous seeds known in Britain and Ireland as conkers?
Answer
horse chestnut
What climbing lily's tubers contain colchicine and are highly toxic?
Answer
Glory lily
What shrub's berries contain cyanogenic compounds if pits are crushed?
Answer
Choke cherry
Poisonous Plants trivia — quick answers
What are good poisonous plants trivia questions?
Good questions connect a plant with its toxic compound, biological effect, or recognizable feature. Examples include identifying larkspur from its diterpenoid alkaloids, naming the toxic saponin in cyclamen, identifying Taxus baccata as the common yew, and recognizing the cyanogenic compound in bitter almonds.
How hard is poisonous plants trivia?
This trivia is usually intermediate to difficult because it combines common names, scientific names, chemistry, and toxicology. Some questions are approachable, such as identifying the yew from its red aril, while others require specialist knowledge of compounds such as atractyloside, wisterin, or lathyrogens.
Which part of the yew is not poisonous?
The fleshy red aril surrounding a yew seed is generally considered non-toxic, but the seed inside it is poisonous. Most other parts of Taxus baccata, including the leaves, bark, and seeds, contain taxine alkaloids that can affect the heart. The aril should not be treated as completely risk-free if the seed is chewed.
What makes bitter almonds poisonous?
Bitter almonds contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside. When plant tissue is damaged and digested, amygdalin can break down and release hydrogen cyanide. This compound interferes with cellular respiration, preventing cells from using oxygen efficiently. Sweet almonds contain far less amygdalin and are the variety commonly eaten as food.
What is lathyrism?
Lathyrism, or neurolathyrism, is a neurological disorder associated with prolonged consumption of certain grass pea varieties. The plant contains the neurotoxic amino acid beta-ODAP, also called BOAA. In sufficiently high dietary exposure, it can damage motor neurons and cause weakness or paralysis, particularly in populations relying heavily on grass pea during food shortages.