Wicked Plants

Cassava, Ackee and other common Jamaican plants

I recently read the book “Wicked Plants” by Amy Stewart (Algonquin Book of Chapel Hill, 2009) and was fascinated by what the author had to say about common Jamaican plants.

Among the local Jamaican products mentioned are:
1. Cashew shells. The stain (urushiol) will cause a nasty rash. Biting on the shell to open it will produce a rash on your lips.
2. Peas (red kidney beans) when eaten raw can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea from phytohaemagglutinin.
3. Prematurely harvested Ackee can cause vomiting.
4. Cassava contains a substance call linamarin that converts to cyanide in the body. The risk of cyanide poisoning can be eliminated through careful preparation that involves soaking, squeezing, drying, baking or cooking of the root. If not prepared properly, it can cause weakness, tremors, lack of coordination, vision problems and partial paralysis. When I was a child, my grandmother harvested the cassava, wash, grater and squeeze the juice out of it. She left the juice to settle into starch and poison water that was used as rat poison or to kill stray dogs. The remaining flour was dreid and made into bammy or boiled like a dumpling.
5. Oleander contains oleandrin, a cardiac glycoside that brings on nausea and vomiting, severe weakness, irregular pulse and a decreased heart rate when digested.
6. Castor Bean from which castor oil is derived can cause death by ingesting as few as four seeds because it contains ricin which is removed in manufacturing when sold as a laxitive.

Consider yourself warned.