Is Gympie-Gympie fatal?
Gympie gympie Gympie-gympie (Dendrocnide moroides), a potentially lethal species of Australian stinging tree. The sting can cause excruciating, debilitating pain for months; people have variously described it as feeling like they are being burned by acid, electrocuted, or squashed by giant hands.
Where does Dendrocnide Moroides grow?
Stinging trees grow in rainforests throughout Queensland and northern NSW. The most commonly known (and most painful) species is Dendrocnide moroides (Family Urticaceae), first named “gympie bush” by gold miners near the town of Gympie in the 1860s.
Where are Gympie plants found?
The tree – Dendrocnide excelsa – is also known as the gympie-gympie. It has broad oval- or heart-shaped leaves covered with needle-like hairs, and is primarily found in rainforests in the north-eastern areas of Queensland.
How many people have died from the Gympie-Gympie?
Only one death A journal article about painful stings after exposure to different types of stinging plants, including Gympie-Gympie, notes that there had only been one human death reported as a result of coming in contact with a stinging plant.
How many species of Dendrocnide trees are there?
Dendrocnide is a genus of 37 species of shrubs to large trees in the nettle family Urticaceae. They have a wide distribution across Southeast Asia, North East India, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
How tall does a Dendrocnide nettle tree grow?
Dendrocnide. They are colloquially known as stinging trees, stinging nettles or nettle trees. One Australian species, Dendrocnide excelsa (giant stinging tree), can grow to over 40 metres in height, but the dangerous Dendrocnide moroides ( gympie-gympie) is only shrub-size.
How tall does a Dendrocnide Gympie Gympie grow?
One Australian species, Dendrocnide excelsa (giant stinging tree), can grow to over 40 metres in height, but the dangerous Dendrocnide moroides ( gympie-gympie) is only shrub-size.
What do they call the Dendrocnide in Vanuatu?
In Vanuatu, where Dendrocnide species are known by the Bislama name nanggalat or under commonly used alternative spelling nangalat, they have various customary uses, including the whipping of those found guilty of breaking taboos.