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Ashoka

Australian stinging tree..

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I recently heard about an Australian stinging tree (Dendrocnide moroides), when if stung, one would suffer extreme amounts of pain for the longest time.

Have any of you ever tried getting stung by it?

and

Actually I would be interested in some seeds, it would be a fun plant to have in the collection. I guess the best thing to do would be to build a cage around the plant, though.

[ 15. May 2004, 08:36: Message edited by: Ashoka ]

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Yeah, its not a pleasant sting. Its a lot worse than stinging nettles and stays in the skin for more than a few days.

Dendrocnide excelsa is the nastiest. D. photinophylla is flowering around here at the moment, i'll see if i can collect some seed.

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It's a nasty one. I got it on my shoulder once and it hurt every time it got wet for several weeks after.

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Not sure if I would consider it a fun plant.

The sting is really very painfull and it changes in intensity so you can't become habituated to it.

Only affected me on the day I was stung but it is more then enough to take all the pleasure out of a days bushwalk.

I believe you can eat the fruit

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been hit twice by that bastard. both times in the daintree region/cape tribulation. the ones i got in the back of the hand stayed with me for months ie initial swelling and swearing, then irritating reminders for ages. came as quite a surprise as i only became aware of the warnings after my encounter. good stocks of these between cairns and cooktown, also known as the bowen stinging tree, big heart shaped leaves.

was special enough to be hit by fire coral on a night dive too, so i guess the area was out to get me.

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Thanks for your answers.. sounds like a nasty and evil plant.

I read somewhere that a scientist attempting to prove that the irritant effect was caused by a neurotoxin and not just the hairs, injected himself with an extract of the leaves.

He then suffered extreme amounts of pain, thus proving the neurotoxin was the cause. Mad science, I say!

Darcy, thanks, but be careful! Wear welders gloves.

I saw aa picture of the fruits. They look like raspberries.

[ 15. May 2004, 20:42: Message edited by: Ashoka ]

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Are you sure you really want this plant?

http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s243639.htm

"...between mild irritation and intense pain and death"

"The Dutch Botanist H. J. Winkler made the only official recording of Death By Stinging Tree, for a human..."

"anecdotal stories from soldiers in WW II suffering intense pain, and of an officer shooting himself because of the unrelenting pain..."

"plants continuously shed their stinging hairs. Stay close to the stinging trees for more than an hour, and you can get an allergic reaction - intensely painful and continuous bouts of sneezing. You can even get nose bleeds from these silicon hairs floating in the air. But Dr. Hurley found that if she wore filter masks, which she replaced regularly, she could work near the plants for a few hours at a time."

http://www.mordor.u-net.com/smbd/nettles.html

They are so painful / dangerous that even the Sado's will not use them.

So to summaries.

* It can sting you internally if you stand to close (shedding of hairs).

* It can kill you or drive you to kill yourself if you get stung well enough.

* You WILL suffer days (possibly months) of agony.

* Once stung you can't do a thing about it (except ax the area and remove a few of the hairs).

I like nasty plants, but not those that require welding gloves and breathing apparatus.

But if you like it hardcore then you might also be interested in Hippomane mancinella (West Indian manchineel). Said to be so irritating that rain drops from its leaves will cause blisters on the skin... used by some Indians to poison their arrows.

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Depends where you get stung. It is especially nasty when you get stung on the face. The stinging hairs seem to remain in the skin for some time and cause pain and suffering for at least a day after especially when you make contact with the affected area. Much worse than a bee sting. I would prefer ten bee stings. Never heard of anyone dying from them though, just not a fun plant to encounter or work with. Not sure that many people grow them for this reason.

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recently on a biology excursion i stung myself quite purposfully with the plant as i was interested in ti antidote. yes that right it does have an antidote. my teacher called it the kunjyvoy plant i think it looks very similar to the aram lilly any way. the sting was more intense than the stinging nettle i had just moments earlier put on my nipples( had to put salad fingers to the test but it failed no white milk was found though quite sensitive nipples were) i rubbed the crushed stem of the kunjyvoy plant on my stings and it was very soothing and after about 1/2 hr the pain from my stings was completely gone( except for very tender nipples)

it was a very nasty sting though and i wouldnt recomend doin it unless ur a complete nut :P

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This thread resembles most datura/brugmansia advice threads (oddly? or not so much?) :P

It's dangerous, it'll hurt, you may end up dead or in hospital...but you want one.

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have heard that the early use ov waxing---yeah--just like real ladies do to their legs---can remove many ov the stinging hairs & ease the pain considerably.

that's pretty screwed that you can breathe them in though

[ 04. May 2005, 01:40: Message edited by: nabraxas ]

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Sticky tape can be useful for removing very fine prickles found on some types of opuntia. However if there are neurotoxins involved, pressure applied to the site may lead to further envenomation - if a plant can envenomate.

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Hi guys, I know this is a really old thread, but havent found much good info on good bits stinging tree and think it should be out there. Its awesome.

I have been stung twice, the last time I enjoyed it so much that at the end of the day i was wishing I had used more.

It was used by the aboriginals as an excellent and often permanent remedy for rheumatic/arthritic stuff---like nettle only much stronger,very cool but blahdy blahdy blaaah...

I have a friend who was stung as a teenager and repeatedly tells me that the pain returned every year at the time he was stung for 15 years.

I have been stung twice in the last year, so havent had time to do a full years cycle yet, but: While the pain is definitely very unpleasant at first, I have found that it soon, especially by relaxing quickly turns to a very pleasant tingling sensation on the skin. I attribute this to the release of endorphins - It was made much more pleasurable by the application of the juice of cunjevoi which is a great antidote and is always somewhere close when you get stung. Stingincg tree is a very potent pain killer and was used to numb the skin before initiations where deep cuts were made in the shoulders. I guess it kills pain sorta the same way as cayenne.

any way to put it bluntly, the last time I was stung, I enjoyed it so much that later on thatt day I was wishing I had stung more to have that pleasant tickling sensation on more of me....wouldnt go as far as balls, face or armpit but any other skin is really enjoyable. Now these were the northern rivers one, which I know are not as potent as those growing in north QLD, but I am keen to get up there and try them.

berbedeberblllblbllblalbelbelbebedeberbededeTHATSALLFOLKS!

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Jumanji I am actually quite glad you've resurfaced this thread with your input!

It I indeed a fasinating tree, I (thankfully?) have not encountered it as of yet, the major factor of course being that I live in VIC.

It's interesting you mention of variations in the punch this sting has perhaps because of location.

If you happen to come across this variety again when in seed I would be interested, in collection (if your game enough for it of course), I would dare anyone to propagate it by cuttings! >: )

Edited by HolographicYou
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In PNG they use a strong type of stinging nettle to treat sprains and strains etc. they called it salat (sal - at) Both the highlanders and the coastals are very familiar with the plant and it's use is common.

I'd be very wary of taking the seeds of stinging tree outside of Australia, if they went feral they would be the most cursed weed ever. And I think there is potential for them to do so in the right conditions too. The ones around here are a huge tree with large buttressed roots, quite common within their range and they seem to come up all over the place. They are a bit of a pioneer species from memory.

Quite a beautiful tree to look at, but a very nasty side to them.

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about a month back a young girl got quite messed up around here from one. It wasnt in the news, I overheard it from one of my mates who does bush regen work on a volunteer basis. Apparently they are now focusing on removing these out of the illawarra bush regen sites... I didnt get to hear if they are purposely planted or just occur naturally, but they are less than a foot off most tracks youll come across. even the botanical gardens has then within grabs reach of children.... it confuses me when I see familys picnicing 20mtrs from them too lol

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My friends dog died a couple of years ago in the atherton table lands from the stinging tree when they got lost in the bush. The dog got covered in it and inhaled alot of the hairs, and my friend got it all over his arms from trying to help his poor dog. I dont go any where near those shitty trees now

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HolographicYou: Il try and get you some seeds the next time im in the forest around fruiting time, have fun with the sting.

I find that the people that hear about the pain and think "that sounds like a lot of fun" really enjoy it, but in reality its total torture :))

THey are really, extremely nasty, especially when someone unwittingly bumps the trunk and a rain of super fine stinging needles drops down on them from above.......

funnily enough many I've met people don't know about this tree. To the ones who have come across it by surprise...they never forget.

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Oh, And the ones from around here should grow as far south as vic as long as they have shade and lots of water. However, might be killed by frost as they don't get frost on the rainforest floor where they grow.

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Oh, And the ones from around here should grow as far south as vic as long as they have shade and lots of water. However, might be killed by frost as they don't get frost on the rainforest floor where they grow.

Giant Stinging Tree (Dendrocnide excelsa) is moderately frost hardy, as is Shiny Leaved Stinging Tree (D. photinophylla).

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nice, and got that last bit wrong. They are pioneer plants and often regrow in sunny places where rainforest has been cleared like roads and walking tracks, making them an extra hazard for bushwalkers.

Doing this they provide shade for the rest of the rainforest to build itself back up.

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i grabbed onto a branch of a young giant stinging tree & pulled myself up a rock in a gulley thinking it was a normal old branch, put my whole weight onto it. it felt like i'd been shot. the pain was extreme during the first hour then it slowly subsided over the evening & could barely feel it the next day.

up in the mountains in central bali i went for a walk in the jungle on top of a mountain cause i could see this beautiful fig tree popping out of the canopy, the trunk was covered in really nice looking figs & it was pretty easy to climb so i climbed up into the canopy for a look & all of a sudden i felt the same feeling of being shot but this time in my rib cage & all up my arm. There was a small but extreme stinging tree of some description growing up in the canopy & i nearly fell out with the shock. i took a photo of that one if anyone can id:

post-2376-0-66639700-1410052292_thumb.pn

stinging tree bali.png

stinging tree bali.png

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