There's a real sting in this tale

THE BRITISH WILDLIFE YOU'LL WANT TO GIVE A WIDE BERTH

- MIKE LOCKLEY Sunday Mercury Writer

FIRST a lesson... There is a difference between the terms “poisonous” and “venom-ous” which is lost on most folk.

Venomous organisms bite or sting to inject their toxins into a victim. The toxins of poisonous creatures and plants are generally ingested by eating the said creatures or plants, although they can enter the body through open wounds.

Using that biological rule, there are pretty much no poisonous snakes, although the garter snake, which has a harmless bite, is a deadly dish.

We're lucky enough to live on an island clear of anything venomous that harbours deadly toxins, with the few deaths each year usually caused by allergic reactions.

Poison is another matter, however. There are things in our mild country-side that pack a poisonous punch big enough to cause real harm, even death.

OK, you're not going to open your windows and discover a king cobra on the lawn or find a funnel-web spider under the toilet rim.

But here are some of the home-grown species that carry serious chemical weaponry...

PLANT

The clue is in its rural nickname - dead man’s finger - it’s officially this country’s most poisonous plant. If eaten, hemlock water dropwort has the toxic potency to be the last meal you digest.

It’s actually a member of the carrot family and, according to Wild Food UK, the “root tastes like parsnip before poisoning the consumer” Someone who inadvertently dines on the plant can die within hours.

The problem is, it’s a dead ringer for harmless and edible varieties flat-leaved parsley and water celery.

And a string of dry summers has aided the hemlock water dropwart's spread. Rivers and pools have receded, providing the plant with the damp waterside habitat it loves.