In 1581 an explorer warned of an island in the South Pacific known only as the Island of Death On this island grew the Death Flower The large beautiful flower formed a cave that a person could enter Once inside the flower’s strange perfume lulled its visitor to sleep Then the flower folded its petals tight and devoured the sleeping victim Over the years other explorers told tales of deadly plants they had encountered A naturalist named Dunstan relayed the terrifying story of a vampire vine in Nicaragua While Dunstan and his dog were exploring a swamp the dog let out a high-pitched squeal and Dunstan found the animal wrapped in ropelike vines The dog struggled and whined as if in great pain Dunstan hacked at the vine with his knife and with great difficulty freed the animal To his horror as he sliced at the vines they curled around his arms like living fingers and left his skin red and blistered Does the idea of killer plants send a chill down your spine If so you’re not alone These plants make for thrilling tales but you might not want them growing in your neighborhood Fortunately the plants in these old An image of a murderous tree from Sea and Land by J W Buel The 1889 book told fantastic tales of blood thirsty plants and other wonderful and curious things of nature explorer’s tales aren’t real Scientists know beyond a doubt flowers don’t devour people Vampire vines don’t attack and strangle dogs But are there flowers that lure animals for their own dark purposes Vines that suck the juices from their fellow creatures Plants that cause terrible pain or even death Definitely Plants can be murderers kidnappers or just monstrously misbehaved Come take a walk on the dark side of the plant world But tread carefully It’s a jungle out there 5
chapter 1 Stinging Tree Picture this You are walking along a trail through a rain forest in Australia There beside the path sits a shrub covered with huge fuzzy leaves The leaves look so velvety soft that you want to touch one You reach out your hand Stop Don’t let the plant’s harmless appearance fool you This is the stinging tree also known as the gympie It is the most painful plant in the world It attacks anyone who touches it with sharp poison-filled hairs One touch and you’ll feel as if you’ve been stung by angry hornets Your heart will race You’ll begin dripping with sweat Your joints will swell and throb 6
Dogs horses and even people have died after a brush with the stinging tree A soldier reportedly shot himself after using a stinging tree leaf as toilet paper Another soldier who fell into the plant during military training in 1941 had to be tied down to a hospital bed for three weeks because the pain was so bad The pain can take years to go away completely Such a tiny mistake Such a horrible punishment THE MYSTERY OF THE GYMPIE’S STING In the wild every plant is at risk of being eaten Plants can’t run away so they must defend themselves To do so they may wield sharp thorns ooze a sticky gum or fill their leaves with bitter poisons But the stinging tree takes self-defense to a horrifying level Even though it is called a tree it’s really a big shrub that grows in clearings in the Australian rain forest How painful is its sting Just ask Marina Hurley Being stung is the worst kind of pain you can imagine like being burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time said Hurley an ecologist who has studied what eats the tree Stinging hairs cover every inch of the plant from the ground up stems fruits and leaves The sharp hairs are made of silica the same substance found in glass and are filled with poison They break off with the slightest touch and jab into the skin like poison-filled needles If the skin closes over the tiny hairs the pain can come back years later A hot shower a cold shower or a touch of the stung area and the pain returns ATTACKER Dendrocnide moroides ALIASES stinging tree stinging bush gympie gympie stinger suicide plant ATTACK STRATEGY stings animals and people with poison-filled hairs KNOWN WHEREABOUTS sunny clearings in the rain forest of northeastern Australia The fuzzy leaves of the stinging tree are covered with poisonous hairs One touch can mean months of pain 7
