What is the name of this dangerous plant/nettle?

[Peter Denis]

My girlfriend's son has a small business selling herbs/plants on-line.

In our garden he did grow a large plant (approx 1.5 meter), which he says is very dangerous, and that's why he did put a wooden cage around it (see picture).

It seems to be a kind of nettle, and according to him when you just touch it within 10 minutes you will have a rash oozing pus.

And it takes 3 days before the rash disappears.  And if you are so unlucky as to fall against it, you need to go to hospital.

Thai people compare it with the sting of a scorpion. 

On my - obvious - question, why plant a dangerous thing like this in the garden his answer was that he can sell it for approx 1000 THB (which is a lot in Isaan).

> Anyone knows the name of this plant/nettle, and what could be its use (medical?).

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Peter Denis
clarification

[PatOngo]

Kratom, also still illegal! Hence the price!

Edited November 4, 2019 by PatOngo

[Peter Denis]

Searched on Wikipedia, and found this descriptor which seems to match >

Dendrocnide sinuata (meaning "tree nettle" with "wavy leaf margin" in Greek) is a poisonous plant called pulutus',^[1]pulus,^[1]stinging tree,^[1]fever nettle,^{[citation needed]} or elephant nettle,^[2] growing in subtropical wet evergreen forests throughout Asia.^[3] Some of its uses in herbal medicine have been scientifically validated.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_sinuata

[steven100]

keep away from it   !!   it will sting and give you a rash   !!!   destroy it as fast as you can ….

[Peter Denis]

12 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Kratom, also still illegal!

When I look for kratom on Wikipedia, it does not say anything about the terrible skin rash you get from the plant my girlfriend's son is growing.  So maybe it is not kratom after all, but Dendrocnide sinuata or something else.

Note: on Wikipedia it says kratom is not illegal is USA, but might be in Thailand...

[Peter Denis]

4 minutes ago, steven100 said:

keep away from it   !!   it will sting and give you a rash   !!!   destroy it as fast as you can ….

Yes, that was my initial reaction also - Why grow such a dangerous thing?  But it's not mine, and seems he can sell it for approx 1000 THB which in Isaan is a lot.  So would not be appreciated if I destroyed it.

> Do you have any idea what could be the use of this plant, as there seems to be a demand for it.

[steven100]

There are various types of Dendrocnide sinuata as shown the leaves may vary in shape slightly.

 

Keep away from it  !!  it will sting you if touched !!  … please keep it out of harms way  !!!

 

[tifino]

anti-burglar!! especially if they crawl through it in the dark! 

 - better than broken glass along the roofline! 

 

[steven100]

Dendrocnide sinuata has been used as medicine for curing diverse ailments including fever, chronic fever, malaria, dysentery, urinary disorder, Irregular menstruation, swelling, blindabscesses and hypersensitivity by most ethnic tribal communities of North East India including the Nishi, Apatani, Adibasi, Karbis.

 

 

[Peter Denis]

1 minute ago, tifino said:

anti-burglar!! especially if they crawl through it in the dark! 

 - better than broken glass along the roofline!

Yikes! 

But thanks for response.

[steven100]

3 minutes ago, tifino said:

anti-burglar!! especially if they crawl through it in the dark! 

 - better than broken glass along the roofline! 

 

yes ….  plant it under all your windows and you can leave them open on humid nights without fear of a burglar

[Enoon]

12 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Yes, that was my initial reaction also - Why grow such a dangerous thing?  But it's not mine, and seems he can sell it for approx 1000 THB which in Isaan is a lot.  So would not be appreciated if I destroyed it.

> Do you have any idea what could be the use of this plant, as there seems to be a demand for it.

 

Herbal medicine.

 

 

[ballpoint]

Medical uses:

A decoction of the roots, combined with the leaves of a Schizostachyum species, is drunk as a remedy for swollen limbs

The leaves are applied externally as a treatment against scabies

The plant is claimed to be used as an oral contraceptive

 

Other uses:

The sap is occasionally used as a hair wash

 

http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dendrocnide+sinuata

[steven100]

20 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Yes, that was my initial reaction also - Why grow such a dangerous thing?  But it's not mine, and seems he can sell it for approx 1000 THB which in Isaan is a lot.  So would not be appreciated if I destroyed it.

> Do you have any idea what could be the use of this plant, as there seems to be a demand for it.

you can give one to the MIL as a gift …. 

[Thian]

Last week i was pulling weeds in the garden and something hit my chest...it became burn wounds oozing push and that lasted for several days...i still don't know what happened, i guessed a hairy caterpillar which was on a tree or so....it might have been this plant....is this a weed?

[Peter Denis]

7 minutes ago, Thian said:

Last week i was pulling weeds in the garden and something hit my chest...it became burn wounds oozing push and that lasted for several days...i still don't know what happened, i guessed a hairy caterpillar which was on a tree or so....it might have been this plant....is this a weed?

The symptoms you describe exactly match what my girlfriend's son said what happens when merely touching this cutie.  Reason he caged it.

 

According to Wikipedia > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_sinuata

the treatment when being stung is >

It's not sure what toxin in the plant causes such severe reactions but formic acid, serotonin, histamine, oxalic acid and tartaric acid are some of the suspects. When the antidote lime juice or turmeric is smeared on the affected areas apparently the symptoms immediately subside.

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Peter Denis

[Thian]

19 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

The symptoms you describe exactly match what my girlfriend's son said what happens when merely touching this cutie.  Reason he caged it.

 

According to Wikipedia > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_sinuata

the treatment when being stung is >

It's not sure what toxin in the plant causes such severe reactions but formic acid, serotonin, histamine, oxalic acid and tartaric acid are some of the suspects. When the antidote lime juice or turmeric is smeared on the affected areas apparently the symptoms immediately subside.

 

Do you live in the mountains? I live in BKK which is at sea level...

 

This nettle grows along streams and among understorey trees in wet evergreen forests between 300 metres (980 ft) – 850 metres (2,790 ft) but up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) elevation.

 

I still think it was a caterpillar that stung me, we have them here in the garden...

[Peter Denis]

37 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Dendrocnide sinuata has been used as medicine for curing diverse ailments including fever, chronic fever, malaria, dysentery, urinary disorder, Irregular menstruation, swelling, blindabscesses and hypersensitivity by most ethnic tribal communities of North East India including the Nishi, Apatani, Adibasi, Karbis.

According to the homeopathic law formulated by Hahnemann of similia similibus curentur (the same cures the same), a plant which such strong effects must be equally strong for curing like-wise symptoms when applied in diluted form.  The medicinal use posted by Steven100 confirms this.

[tifino]

3 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

According to the homeopathic law formulated by Hahnemann of similia similibus curentur (the same cures the same), a plant which such strong effects must be equally strong for curing like-wise symptoms when applied in diluted form.  The medicinal use posted by Steven100 confirms this.

imagine if this same theory could apply to magic mushrooms! 

[Peter Denis]

5 minutes ago, Thian said:

Do you live in the mountains? I live in BKK which is at sea level...

This nettle grows along streams and among understorey trees in wet evergreen forests between 300 metres (980 ft) – 850 metres (2,790 ft) but up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) elevation.

I still think it was a caterpillar that stung me, we have them here in the garden...

No, I live in KhunHan (Sisaket province), which is flat land without evergreen forests and approx 100 metres above sea level. 

However, my girlfriend's son did not find it in the woods, but planted/growed it (he keeps it in the shade and waters it regularly).

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, tifino said:

imagine if this same theory could apply to magic mushrooms! 

It does!  It's not a 'theory' > much literature / case stories on homeopatic use of magic mushrooms.  Look it up...

[Puchaiyank]

Give the kid a 1000 baht for the plant...tell him you will give him another 1000 when he destroys it...provided he never plants another one in your home garden...

[kidneyw]

Think it is called "Spurned Woman!"

[overherebc]

14 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Give the kid a 1000 baht for the plant...tell him you will give him another 1000 when he destroys it...provided he never plants another one in your home garden...

I would 'accidently' drop a large dollop of sodium chlorate on it when he's not around. Give him 1000 baht to buy another then rinse and repeat.

[marcho]

In Australia up north in Cairns there is a plant, we  call stinging Bush. My God if you get hit with it you are going to be in pain for days, and can kill if you a bad heart. 

Edited November 5, 2019 by marcho

[Peter Denis]

16 minutes ago, marcho said:

In Australia up north in Cairns there is a plant, we  call stinging Bush. My God if you get hit with it you are going to be in pain for days, and can kill if you a bad heart. 

Probably family from the S-E Asia variety > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_sinuata

which my girlfriend's son has grown in my garden (firmly caged).

If you look for Dendrocnide on Wikipedia, you will see that there are approx 7 varieties, and most of them are exclusively in Australia.

Hiking there would require good precautions...

[RickBradford]

34 minutes ago, marcho said:

In Australia up north in Cairns there is a plant, we  call stinging Bush. My God if you get hit with it you are going to be in pain for days, and can kill if you a bad heart. 

That is dendrocnide moroides, the Queensland stinging plant, and I had the misfortune to fall into one while bushwalking near Cairns, getting stung on the face, arms and legs.

 

I could hardly sleep for a month, and the pain did not completely go away for over 6 months. Not to be recommended.

 

 

[ballpoint]

20 minutes ago, marcho said:

In Australia up north in Cairns there is a plant, we  call stinging Bush. My God if you get hit with it you are going to be in pain for days, and can kill if you a bad heart. 

The stinging bush is Dendrocnide moroides, also known as gympie gympie, or the suicide plant, and, as Peter Denis says, is in the same family as the Dendrocnide sinuata he describes.  There's a good description on Wikipedia of what brushing against one can do to you:

"Ernie Rider, who was slapped in the face and torso with the foliage in 1963, said:

'For two or three days the pain was almost unbearable; I couldn’t work or sleep, then it was pretty bad pain for another fortnight or so. The stinging persisted for two years and recurred every time I had a cold shower. ... There's nothing to rival it; it's ten times worse than anything else'."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_moroides

 

And this little horror story:

"One ex-serviceman, Cyril Bromley, fell into one of the plants during WWII training exercises, and he ended up strapped to a hospital bed, "as mad as a cut snake." Bromley also told a story of an officer who unknowingly used a leaf as toilet paper. He ended up shooting himself".

 

https://curiosity.com/topics/the-suicide-plant-has-the-most-painful-stingers-in-the-world-curiosity/

 

Makes the eyes water just thinking about it.

 

 

[Peter Denis]

Looks like it is wise to take lime-juice or turmeric with you when hiking in Australia.

According to Wikipedia > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_sinuata

the treatment when being stung is >

It's not sure what toxin in the plant causes such severe reactions but formic acid, serotonin, histamine, oxalic acid and tartaric acid are some of the suspects. When the antidote lime juice or turmeric is smeared on the affected areas apparently the symptoms immediately subside.

[RickBradford]

The problem is also in the delivery of the toxins.

 

The hairs on the leaf are like tiny syringes, which stick into the skin, with the toxin inside them. That's why the pain takes so long to dissipate.

 

One suggested method is to try and pull the hairs out with tweezers, but since they are nearly invisible, that is not a trivial task.

 

I relied heavily on a medicine called XXXX Heavy to get me through the worst times.