"It's much too dangerous to keep that plant alive..."

Run for your lives!

Flowers deadly enough to kill humans were reportedly planted in a public park by a group of well-meaning girl guides.

It's the perfect B-movie scenario - the innocent youngsters unwittingly sowing the seeds of humanity's doom, the plant that attacks without mercy...

As well as death it can also cause stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, weakness and slow breathing.

...and, of curse, the plucky hero who tries to tell the world that the attractive flowers hide a terrible threat to mankind:

They were only discovered to be dangerous when curious photographer Mike McKee alerted authorities on August 14.

Be afraid! Be very afraid!

Or, alternatively, consider that this is the corn-cockle, agrostemma githago, a feature of the British countryside for centuries and, until modern farming methods changed the agricultural landscape, a common plant in the wheat-fields from which it derives its name.

The RHS even gives helpful advice on how to cultivate the corn-cockle, 'an upright annual to 75cm, with narrow grey-green leaves and open funnel-shaped magenta-purple flowers 5cm across in summer', and sells the seeds on its website.

So why the panic? Well, it appears we have our intrepid hero to thank for that:

‘I looked in my flower book and it said these were scant and very rare, so I did a bit more research on them. When I Googled them I found out they could be deadly.’

Deathly peril from an unlikely source? Internet stories spreading unnecessary panic? You've guessed it; step forward the Daily Mail:

The flower that can kill: Deadly British plant thought to be extinct is discovered by a lighthouse (16th July 2014)

How confusing English prepositions can be! The plant was actually found by a National Trust assistant ranger who clearly hadn't read the Mail's script:

'I have never seen one before. I am delighted. If it disperses, we might get a small population of them which would be great.'

The RHS spokesman wasn't exactly on message either:

'They are poisonous and harmful - but as long as you wash your hands thoroughly you should be okay.'

Still, why let the details get in the way of a good headline? Thus this once-commonplace plant becomes a threat and its presence in a public park a matter for reporting to 'the authorities'. Predictably enough,

...after being alerted by Mr McKee earlier this month, contractors quickly moved in to remove the plants before they could seed.

But Mr McKee and the Mail will surely not stop as long as our gardens contain such murderous predators as aconite, bluebell, celandine, daffodil, euphorbia, foxglove, hellebore, hyacinth, laburnum, laurel, lily-of-the-valley, lupin ....

Burn them! Burn them all!