''Gelsemium elegans'', commonly known as heartbreak grass, is a

poisonous plant Plants that produce toxins are referred to as poisonous plants. Plants that cause irritation on contact are also described as "poisonous". The toxins in poisonous plants affect herbivores, and deter them from consuming the plants. Plants cannot ...

of the family

Gelsemiaceae Gelsemiaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the order Gentianales. The family contains only three genera: ''Gelsemium'', ''Mostuea'' and ''Pteleocarpa''. ''Gelsemium'' has three species, one native to Southeast Asia and southern C ...

found in China and other Asian countries. It contains toxic

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s such as

gelsemine Gelsemine (C20H22N2O2) is an indole alkaloid isolated from flowering plants of the genus ''Gelsemium sempervirens, Gelsemium'', a plant native to the subtropical and tropical Americas, and southeast Asia, and is a highly toxic compound that act ...

, gelsenicine, gelsevirine and koumine. Crumbled leaves of this plant, surreptitiously added to food, were used in the 23rd of December 2011 poisoning of Long Liyuan, a magnate of the Chinese timber industry, and perhaps in the 10th of November 2012 poisoning of

Alexander Perepilichny Alexander Yurevich Perepilichny (russian: Алекса́ндр Ю́рьевич Перепеличный; 15 July 1968 – 10 November 2012) was a Russian businessman and whistleblower who died, while jogging near London in 2012, after leaving Ru ...

, a Russian financier cooperating with a fraud investigation in London, though the role of the plant in his death has been disputed.

References

Gelsemiaceae Poisonous plants {{Gentianales-stub