Interesting real world plants for Green Thumb powers

The character is a wizard who focuses on accelerated plant growth powers. His backstory is that he was a medicine man and so he has a pretty good knowledge about poisons and medicines. I'm looking for some plants with interesting effects (beyond the standard deadly toxic sap). So far, I have the Giant Hogsweed (whose sap can cause blindness if it contacts your eye and causes blistering when applied anywhere else and exposed to light) and eucalyptus (I've heard the Australian variety produces sap that's a kind of napalm). Do you have any other ideas? And what about some plants with positive effects?

Stinging nettles hurt like hell if they're raw. I was at the organic grocery and one of the workers accidentally stuck her hand in a nettle bunch, at which she went "owwwwww. Hey guys, looks like I found the nettles." Amplifying the effect would be pretty debilitating, even if it's not usually lethal.

Herbal/traditional/folk healing is the obvious choice. Maybe his poultices/medicines can heal people hours or minutes after administering, and with significantly less scarring?

edited 9th Aug '14 9:51:57 AM by Sharysa

Hallucinogenic plants (take your pick) for confusing/disorienting the opponent if used in small doses, making them hallucinate if in large doses.

This isn't really a chemical weapon, but if he has accelerated plant growth powers, he could use an unripe rubber fruit like an explosive by throwing it and making it ripen. It'll explode loudly into three seeds that fly, which can cause some disorientation like a flashbang minus the flash.

Oh yes this too.

edited 9th Aug '14 10:51:15 AM by ironcommando

Sandbox Tree.

It is the tree with the exploding fruits.

One word: Capsicum.

Blackberries. They're an ass and a half to fully get rid of (hack them away, and they'll come back in the spring...), and having your back 40 turn into blackberry bushes is a well and proper nightmare. "Do as I say or your town's new name will be Blackberry Valley."

Tobacco. Grow a bunch above a town's main source of water, wait for a good rain, and then watch as Green Tobacco Sickness takes hold.

Though, being able to quickly grow any commercial crop regardless of irrigation would make this character a god during a drought.

You're going to have to be a bit more specific. Eucalypts are not a single single species but an entire genera containing over seven hundred species, the vast, vast majority of which are Australian. Only fifteen of the seven hundred plus occur natively outside Australia and of those only nine don't grow in Australia as well.

And despite encompassing a single genus, there is truly huge variety within that group in their properties.

Also I suspect that the exploding gum is a bit of myth. On hot days some versions exude a thick, sticky sap (hence gum trees) and given that eucalyptus oil is flammable its possible that some could ignite. More likely is that because the oil is volatile and floats in the air on a hot day and this can ignite from the radiant heat of a bush fire.

@ironcommando: Well, he can't accelerate growth unless he's directly in contact with the plant, so I don't think I can have him throw the fruit in Counter Strike style. Though I can have him surround enemies with fruiting trees and ripen the fruits after.

@Knightof Lsama: From what I can see, the one I (along with cracked.com) meant was Eucalyptus globulus (the one they use for commercial oil extraction). However, it was never my intention to make the trees explode, but merely to set up ambush points with them. The sap-coated leaves and vapor catch fire easily, so it could be used at choke points to trap enemy soldiers within.

Thsnk you all for your quick responses.

edited 10th Aug '14 6:26:36 AM by Elfhunter