The soldier wiped his butt with its leaves and committed suicide due to the pain

Makes people and animals go crazy with pain

The leaf in the picture below looks harmless, and the shape of the "little heart" even looks a bit romantic. But if you accidentally touch it, it may make you "unforgettable".

Leaves of the Gympie tree, Image source: Wikipedia

This plant is called Gympie, scientifically known as Dendrocnide moroides. It is mainly distributed in the northeastern region of Australia. Gympie is a transliteration of the name given to it by the local Australian Aboriginals, "gympie-gympie".

The main distribution area of ​​the golden bark tree, image source: Wikipedia

In Queensland, where it is mainly distributed, the Gympie tree has long been "notorious". There are many legends about it circulating locally, such as that horses will feel unbearable pain after touching it, so much so that some horses will jump off the cliff to seek relief.

However, because this plant is so inconspicuous in the dense rainforest, humans cannot avoid having "close contact" with them.

For example, in 1963, a ranger named Ernie Rider accidentally bumped into this tree while patrolling the rain forest. His arms, chest, and face were pierced by the small thorns on the leaves.

As a forest ranger, Ernie had experienced being stung by various insects and other poisonous plants, but according to Ernie's description, no plant or small poisonous insect caused as much pain as the golden bark tree.

In the first two or three days after being stung, Ernie was in so much pain that he could not work or live normally, and even could not sleep. After that, the pain was not as severe as at the beginning, but it still lasted for about two weeks. Within two years, Ernie still felt a dull sting in the area where he was stung, especially every time he took a cold shower, the stinging would become more intense.

Another soldier named Cyril Bromley had a similar experience. During World War II, Cyril was training in the jungles of northeastern Australia when he accidentally fell into a Gympie tree.

Cyril soon felt in excruciating pain and was taken to hospital, but unfortunately, the hospital had no special medicine for golden bark stings, so they had to tie him to the bed and let him howl in pain.

Cyril also mentioned that there were other soldiers in the hospital who were stung by the golden bark tree. The worst case was that of a soldier who wiped his butt with the leaves of the golden bark tree after defecating in the jungle.

Because of the special location of the injury and the intense pain, the soldier eventually shot himself (perhaps this is also the reason why the hospital tied up patients like Cyril).

A toxin that should not be underestimated

The leaves of the golden bark tree look harmless, but if you put them under an electron microscope, you will see that the leaves are covered with tiny needle-like hairs.

Not only do these hairs look like needles, they also function like needles. The hairs are hollow and contain venom that can cause excruciating pain. Once they come into contact with these hairs, the venom will be injected into the skin.

In addition, these hairs have a pre-breaking point. Once they penetrate the skin, these hairs will break off from the leaves and remain in the body of the unlucky person or animal.

The hairs of the golden bark tree leaves under an electron microscope. Image source: Reference 2

Through experiments, scientists discovered that there is a previously undiscovered plant toxin hidden in the needle-like hairs. So they named it "gympietide" after the golden skin tree. Its mechanism of action is similar to the neurotoxins produced by some spiders and marine cone snails.

Different organisms in the plant and animal kingdoms have evolved toxins with similar mechanisms. This co-evolution across the plant and animal kingdoms has also aroused the interest of scientists.

You can't get too close.

For ordinary people like us, if we go to the northeastern part of Australia (mainly Queensland), we need to be extra careful about this plant.

Where there are golden bark trees, there are often such signs. When you see them, you should be extra careful of the heart-shaped leaves.

Notice of North Queensland National Park, image from, reference 2

It is important to remind you that the leaves of the golden bark tree will not only harm people who come into contact with them, but if you get too close, you may also be "infected". The hairs on the golden bark tree leaves will fall off by themselves, and they may float in the air around the leaves. Close contact may cause the fallen hairs to be inhaled into the respiratory tract, causing respiratory complications.

As early as 1963, an article suggested that if you accidentally inhale the fuzz of the golden bark tree suspended in the air, you will soon start sneezing. Diffuse nasopharyngeal pain will appear within three hours, and a day later you may experience a sore throat similar to tonsillitis.

Some people may experience a more severe allergic reaction.

So if you are lucky enough to see this kind of tree while traveling, don't get too close, just take a photo from a distance.

References:

[1] https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2009/06/gympie-gympie-once-stung-never-forgotten/

[2] Gilding EK, Jami S, Deuis JR, et al. Neurotoxic peptides from the venom of the giant Australian stinging tree[J]. Science advances, 2020, 6(38): eabb8828.

[3] MacFarlane W V. The stinging properties of Laportea[J]. Economic Botany, 1963: 303-311.

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Creation Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Tian Dawei, popular science creator

Reviewer: Wang Kang, Director of the Science Museum of the National Botanical Garden