1.
poisonous plant; toxic weed
A plant that contains substances harmful or fatal to humans or animals if ingested or touched. Japan has several well-known poisonous plants including トリカブト (monkshood) and ドクゼリ (water hemlock).
毒草に気をつける。
To be careful of poisonous plants.
山菜採りでは毒草と間違えないよう注意が必要だ。
When picking wild vegetables, you need to be careful not to confuse them with poisonous plants.
毒草を食用の植物と誤って食べてしまい、病院に搬送された。
Someone mistakenly ate a poisonous plant thinking it was edible and was transported to the hospital.
USAGE:
Often appears in news about accidental poisoning from misidentified wild plants, which is a recurring problem in Japan, particularly with mountain vegetables (山菜).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 毒草を見分ける (to distinguish poisonous plants)
- 毒草と間違える (to mistake for a poisonous plant)
- 毒草図鑑 (poisonous plant field guide)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 薬草: medicinal herb — the opposite, a plant with healing properties
- 毒キノコ: poisonous mushroom — the fungal equivalent