UK's Most Deadly Plant by the River Teme - Ludlow, Shropshire

A Nice Relaxing Afternoon

While we were staying in the farm house which I previously posted about, we decided to have lunch at a little place right along the river Teme. It's a very relaxing place to have cream tea and then wander down to the little mini beach and let the kids play.

There are some nice trails that go along the edge of the water and under the bridges. We sat on some benches and watched people go back and forth, but we didn't actually walk any of the trails. It didn't look like you could really get a stroller down some of them. @little-ricky is perfectly fine walking on his own, but when he is ready to stop walking, he just plops down on the ground and completely gives up. Normally I could just carry him, but honestly my leg is still not 100% after the accident in Florida.

We tend to come here every time we come to Ludlow. At least we've come 5 out of 6 times that we've traveled here over the last 15 years or so. I could swear that the last time we were here the water was several feet deeper! I imagine that the levels are always going up or down based on the rain levels.

While we were down there, I noticed the above plant growing quite literally everywhere along the river in mass quantities. I thought to myself that it looked quite tasty, and I wondered what it was. I picked a leaf, and rubbed it between my fingers to smell it. The smell was quite pleasant and appetizing.

Lucky for me I didn't get a taste of it. I used my plant.net app on it to see what it was. It turns out to be Hemlock Water Dropwort, which is quite literally the most poisonous plant in the UK.

It is kind of terrifying when you just just how much of it there is, and how deadly it is.

I saw a little kid pick a huge handful of it and make a bouquet for a little girl. I quickly went up to him and warned him that it was poisonous and he threw it on the ground. It's a wonder that kids don't get poisoned all the time around here! I used to put weeds in my mouth all the time as a child.

Apparently, all parts of the plant are poisonous and you can die within a few hours of ingesting it. The plant actually has a horrifying history. In Phoenician Sardinia, they apparently used it to kill off criminals and elderly people who were no longer able to contribute to society. When you consume the plant, it supposedly tastes delicious so it's easy to get a senile person to eat it. Then it makes all the muscles in your face to contract, which makes you look like your doing an extreme grin.

From what I was reading, people would sit around the old people and laugh at them for the extreme face that they would make until they asphyxiated and died. This is called the Sardonic Grin, which may be the inspiration for the Joker's insane smile. Don't quote me on that though, I've seen it written in a couple of different articles, but without references.

Other than getting a bit freaked out by deadly plants, we had a great afternoon relaxing by the riverside. I believe the restaurant/pub is called "The Mill" but I am not exactly sure. It is located at 46 Linney in Ludlow. I think the next time we go little Ricky will be big enough to walk around more on his own without going nuts, so we might take a little hike down the trails. Hopefully by then he won't be putting everything in his mouth, so I won't have to worry about deadly plants so much!