About Gelsemium elegans (Gardner & Champion) Benth.
Gelsemium elegans, commonly called heartbreak grass, is a poisonous species in the Gelsemiaceae plant family that grows in China and other Asian countries. This plant contains multiple toxic alkaloids: gelsemine, gelsenicine, gelsevirine, koumine, and 14-Hydroxygelsenicine. On December 23, 2011, its crumbled leaves were secretly added to food to poison Long Liyuan, a Chinese timber industry magnate. It has also been suggested that the plant was used in the November 10, 2012 poisoning of Alexander Perepilichny, a Russian financier who was cooperating with a fraud investigation in London, though the plant’s role in Perepilichny’s death remains disputed. The plant is also traditionally reputed to have caused the death of Shennong, the first Yan emperor, who is said to have eaten a wide range of plants while researching medicinal herbs.
