With a sting so potent it may cause pain that can only be described as burned with boiling acid and electrocuted at the same time, a plant that is said to be among the world's most poisonous plants has been discovered in the UK at a well-liked garden.
World's Poisonous plant comes in UK
Entomologist Marina Hurley asserted that this plant's stings cause the worst kind of unbearable pain, comparable to being simultaneously electrified and burned with hot acid, as per Express.
The ecologist was in a sneezing fit and had runny eyes and nose for hours after her first experience with the Gympie-Gympie stinging tree.
The plant is housed in a glass cage and needs its own caretaker because it is so deadly. Over 100 dangerous and addictive plants are on display at Alnwick Garden.
Because the plant's hairs could cause a serious allergy, they are being kept behind glass. The Gympie-Gympie is going to be shown next to plants that produce deadly ricin and cannabis.
Its scientific name is Dendrocnide moroides, and it may be found in Australia's and Malesia's rainforests. It is a member of the nettle family Urticaceae.
The plant typically flowers and bears fruit while it is under three meters tall, although it can grow up to ten meters tall, according to John Knox, the Poison Garden's lead tour guide.
Stinging hairs cover the stem, branches, petioles, leaves, and fruits, which are all poisonous and should not be handled.
Trichomes, which are small, fragile hairs that cover the entire plant and are packed with poisons when touched, can remain in the skin for up to a year and release a toxic cocktail into the body when certain triggers are present.
Instances like contacting the afflicted area, coming into contact with water, or variations in temperature are included in this.
Australia-based researchers discovered in 2020 that the plants' poison production closely resembled that of spiders and scorpions.
After being stung, a road surveyor's horse went crazy and died within two hours in 1866, leading to the discovery of the organism with the Latin name dendrocnide moroides.
Visit the webpage for Alnwick Garden to learn more about The Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle. Visitors are not allowed to touch every one of the plants there, and entry to it is only available on excursions.
Also Read: World's 7 Deadliest Plants You Should Never Touch
Prevention from stinging Gympie-Gympie
Stinging nettles are frequently viewed as weeds. Nettles that sting can be found in wet environments. About one meter is how tall they get. On the stem, leaves are located across from one another, as per healthdirect.
The most excruciating sting is said to be that of the gympie-gympie. Gympie-gympie leaves can be as little as a thumbnail or as large as 50 cm in width.
Wearing long, thick pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a cap, and thick gardening gloves will help protect you from getting stung by stinging plants.
As strolling, keep in mind that your clothing may pick up stinging plant hairs, so use caution while taking the clothes off. Avoid touching any plants that have hairy, heart-shaped leaves or leaves with saw-toothed edges.
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