Sunday 25 January 2015

If You Have Ever Been Unfortunate Enough,

to be stung by a stinging nettle,


you will know how painful that can be, so you really do not want to be stung by one of these, it has been known to kill dogs, horses and humans alike, if you’re lucky enough to survive, you feel excruciating pain that can last several months and reoccur for years, even a dry specimen can inflict pain, almost a hundred years after being picked, so if you are out and about in in the rain forest areas of north-eastern Australia, the Moluccas and Indonesia, be on the lookout for the heart shaped leaves of the Gympie-Gympie,  (Dendrocnide moroides),


with the exception of its roots, every single part of the deadly tree – its heart shaped leaves, its stem and its pink/purple fruit – is covered with tiny stinging hairs shaped like hypodermic needles, you only need to lightly touch the plant to get stung, after which the hair penetrates the body and releases a painful toxin called moroidin, the same chemical that is in our native stinging nettles, sometimes, merely being in the presence of the plant and breathing the hair that it sheds into the air can cause itching, rashes, sneezing and terrible nosebleeds, so if you go out to the woods today look out for a big surprise, if you walk into a Gympie-Gympie!


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