# poison in illinois



## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

Ok guys I need to call on you for some help. I am working on a post-apocalyptic story, in it a group is killed by poisoned food. I need it to be a fast acting poison. I was thinking amanita but I can’t find how fast acting it is. Anyone have any ideas for poison plants/ animals located in Illinois that have a mild enough flavor that someone could put it in food, without giving away the fact it is there.


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## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

Death angels (mushroom)
Deadly Nightshade (purple berries)
Woody Nightshade (red berries) (more psychotropic)
Holly (red berries)(psychotropic in low doses, lethal in high doses)
Ergot (rye fungus, thought to be the cause of the Salem Witch Trials)(psychotropic in low doses, lethal in high doses)
Poison Hemlock (looks like Queen Anne's Lace {aka wild carrot}. Caused the death of Socrates).

A few to help you


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Castor bean


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## PrairieClover (Jun 19, 2015)

http://q985online.com/10-poisonous-plants-you-need-to-avoid-in-illinois-this-summer/

This link has a couple plants listed that might help your writing. 
They used to say datura (jimsonweed) was poisonous. True, the mushrooms can do a wide range of nasty things before ultimately killing the ingestor. Some are cumulative, over a period of time they will eventually kill the person eating them. 
11 pounds of rhubarb leaves.
Foxglove
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_absinthium The drink made from this plant has a very high alcohol content, higher than whiskey, so not necessarily a poison unless your subjects are all alcoholics.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

You are pretty limited to mushrooms. Most others mentioned are bitter, hard to sneak in the required quantities. "Death caps" wouldn't likely grow there. Destroying angel very possibly could. Said to be bland, not good by itself. Death would be days later, liver and kidney failure. By the time you realize something is wrong, it's too late.https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/11/22/i-survived-the-destroying-angel/

In your writing, for accuracy, consider time of year. Don't know if drying would effect potency and not sure if it is a spring or fall mushroom, but I believe it is present all spring summer and fall.


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## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

Stinging nettle (*Urtica dioica) *is not poisonous. It is edible, especially early spring. The first green out in the spring.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

"PrairieClover said:


> 11 pounds of rhubarb leaves.
> .


_As Skip started working on his 8th pound, his glazed over eyes revealed a growing suspicion that something was not right about this salad._​


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## PrairieClover (Jun 19, 2015)

Did you decide which plant to use? Michael Z's helpful sentence (as seen above) makes for a nice lead-in.


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

PrairieClover: i have not gotten to writing that part of the book =P


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