POISONS

Also known as Acontium, Wolf's Bane, and Blue Rocket. It has a fleshy, spindle-shaped root, pale-colored when young, but subsequently acquiring a dark brown skin. The stem is about 3 feet high, with dark green, glossy leaves, deeply divided in palmate manner and flowers in clusters of a dark blue color. The leaves, stem, flowering tops, and root are all extremely toxic if ingested, the root being the most poisonous part. Aconite contains a strong, fast-acting poison that causes severe side effects such as nausea, vomiting, weakness, breathing problems, heart problems, and eventually, death.

The Astragalus is a beautiful plant, and it seems to hold no secrets. It has a bulbous head that varies in colors, and it has a slender stem like a massive blade of grass. But underneath the soil it hides the ugly thing that is the cause of death. The bulb is about three inches across, and is a perfect dirty sphere. The root is low in the ground, and is hard to extract. It causes fever which can lead to a temporary failure of the immune system.

The nightshade plant has dark green leaves and takes the form of a shrub. The root is thick, fleshy and whitish, about 6 inches long or more, and branching. The fresh plant, when crushed, exhales a disagreeable odor, almost disappearing on drying, and the leaves have a bitter taste when both fresh and dry. Ingesting too much of this plant can result in death without Shaman treatment right away. If they manage to get it out of their system by vomiting, even then they will be very sick for the next few days.

Poison Hemlock can grow to be about 6 to 10 ft. tall. It has leaves and white flower-heads resembling those of parsnips, carrots, and water hemlock. It has a fleshy, white taproot, a main stem with characteristic light red spots and a disagreeable smell. All plant parts are poisonous, the seeds containing the highest concentration of poison.