Maldives is an archipelago of more than 1192 islands and the varieties of plants which grow in the Maldives sometimes don’t reach far away islands. It is also interesting to know that certain species of shrubs and plants have grown from lands reclaimed or rebuilt for human settlement such as Hulhumale’ in Male’ Atoll and Vilufushi in Thaa.Atoll .Many poisonous plants grow in the Maldives and some plants grow only in certain islands though many species of plants grow in all parts of the Maldives as most islands have almost the same composition of soil.
Before introduction of commonly accessible modern medicine to the Maldivians, during the rule of Ibrahim Nasir, Maldivians highly depended on the traditional remedies provided by traditional medical practitioners. These people depended mostly on the plant species available in the Maldives. Though a lot of plants which grew, grow and are extinct from Maldives now served as good remedies for certain medical treatments, some of them contain poison at different levels. Most shockingly some are fatal.
Moreover, several plants grown for beauty and decoration the Maldives are also very poisonous, though many people are unaware of the level of poisoning those plants and trees may cause.
After ignoring or being unaware as well, several poisonous plants have now been imported and are in use in the Maldives.
Thus when we explore the abundance of plants and trees with medicinal qualities in the Maldives it is also essential to know the poison they carry and how such poisoning can be avoided.
