Known colloquially as the gympie gympie (from the Gubbi Gubbi/ Kabi Kabi name for the plant, gimpi gimpi), gympie stinger, and giant stinging tree (D. excelsa), this plant has the dubious honour of being arguably the most painful plant in the world.
Known as Gympie-gympie in Australia and salat in Papua New Guinea, contact with this leaf can result in human death, more often extreme pain that can last for months. Stinging hairs deliver a potent neurotoxin when touched. Leaf has medicinal purposes in some PNG tribes. Scientific name is Dendrocnide moroides.
Dendrocnide moroides, commonly known in Australia as the stinging tree, stinging bush, or gympie-gympie, is a plant in the nettle family Urticaceae found in rainforest areas of Malesia and Australia. It is notorious for its extremely painful and long-lasting sting.
Poison Ivy
vernix) and poison oak (T. diversilobum) all contain a chemical known as urushiol. When touched, nearly all parts of these plants can trigger a severe, itchy, and painful inflammation of the skin known as contact dermatitis.
sensitive plant, (Mimosa pudica), also called humble plant, plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) that responds to touch and other stimulation by rapidly closing its leaves and drooping.
Stinging Nettle
The stinging hairs on stems and leaves produce an intense burning and itching sensation that can last up to 30 minutes. The plant is most often found in forests or at the edges of woods and streams.
No, plants cannot feel pain. There is no possible way for that to happen without a central nervous system.
Given that plants do not have pain receptors, nerves, or a brain, they do not feel pain as we members of the animal kingdom understand it. Uprooting a carrot or trimming a hedge is not a form of botanical torture, and you can bite into that apple without worry.
Stinging nettle has fine hairs on the leaves and stems that contain irritating chemicals, which are released when the plant comes in contact with the skin. The hairs, or spines, of the stinging nettle are normally very painful to the touch.
They conducted all sorts of experiments with plants – playing music, talking to plants, vibrations, etc. But their findings were discredited. Now fast forward nearly 50 years, and it has never been scientifically proven that plants have feelings.
The mimosa pudica — also known as the sleepy plant or touch-me-not — reacts dramatically when touched or shaken.
Gympie-gympie, which is also known as the 'Australian stinging tree' is the most venomous plant in the world. The sting from this plant is so awful that it feels like you're 'being burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time'.
Poppies have been a source of pain relief for centuries. The Egyptians chewed poppy seeds to reduce pain, and the seeds of Papaver somniferum before the poppy is ripe do contain pain relieving alkaloids. The sap can be turned into opium, or combined with alcohol to make laudanum, or turned into morphine, or codeine.
Research has clearly shown that lobsters, crabs, and other crustaceans can and do experience pain. Scientists have shown that their reaction to painful stimuli is more than just a reflex response and instead, they learn from painful stimuli and change their behavior.
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica, Urtica incisa, Urtica urens) are plants that are commonly regarded as weeds in Australia. Stinging nettles are often found in damp areas. They grow about one metre high. Leaves are positioned opposite each other on the stem.
A stinging nettle sting can feel like a bee sting: sharp, sudden, and very painful. It's almost an instinct to look for a bee or stinging ant as the culprit rather than the tall straggly plants along a trail or weeds in a garden. Even a small nettle plant only a few inches tall can deliver a nasty sting.
Urtica incisa, commonly called scrub nettle, stinging nettle, and tall nettle, is an upright perennial herb native to streams and rainforest of eastern and southern Australia, from the north–east southwards through the east, of Queensland and New South Wales, then across the south, through Victoria, Tasmania, south- ...
In south-east Queensland (SEQ) three species of stinging tree can be found: Giant Stinging Tree (Dendrocnide excelsa); Shiny-leaved Stinging Tree (D. photinophylla); and, Gympie Stinger or Gympie-Gympie (D. moroides).
Botanical name: Dendrocnide excelsa, (also known as Laportea gigas), Dendrocnide moroides, (also known as Laportea moroides). General description: These species are common in Queensland rainforests especially on the edges or in disturbed areas.
Many plants can cause skin irritation that can lead to a rash. These include poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, stinging nettles, ragweed, leadwort, baby's breath, and giant hogweed.
The leaves of the Mimosa pudica are not just sensitive to touch, but also temperature and light. When you run your fingers over them, the leaves will fold up and remain closed for a few minutes.