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A British man has grown the world’s most dangerous plant, known as the ‘suicide plant’, with a sting that feels like ‘burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time’.
Daniel Emlyn-Jones, 49, decided to grow the gympie gym in his house — where he’s in a cage with a “danger” sign.
Dendrocnide Moroides – also known as the ‘Gympie-Gympie’ is capable of torturing its victims ‘for more than a year if the stinging hairs are not removed from the skin’ – in some cases even leading to suicide.
A man reportedly went mad from the excruciating pain after using the poisonous plant as toilet paper and shot himself.
Gympie-gympie, also known as the ‘Australian stinging tree’, is a nettle-like shrub known as the world’s most poisonous plant.
A British man has grown the world’s most dangerous plant known as the ‘suicide plant’ with a sting that feels like ‘burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time’
Daniel Emlyn-Jones, 49, decided to grow the gympie gym in his house – where he’s in a cage with a ‘danger’ sign
A man reportedly went mad from the excruciating pain after using the poisonous plant as toilet paper and shot himself
The gympie-gympie species is mostly restricted to the tropical rainforests of northeastern Australia.
Referred to as ‘ankle biters’, the shrub can grow up to 15 feet in height, but usually grows to about 3 feet tall.
It is said to be capable of causing a sting such as ‘being burned with hot acid and being electrocuted at the same time’.
Daniel, an online lecturer from Oxford, said he wants to promote interest in plants by cultivating a unique flora.
He said, ‘I don’t want to come like a madman. I do it very safely. Some botanical gardens have these plants as interesting specimens.’
Daniel, 49, said he grew the dangerous plant because he was “a little bored with geraniums” and wanted to add “a little excitement” to his otherwise somewhat boring gardening hobby.
He said, ‘I thought it would add a little drama to my gardening. You can get seeds on the internet, but you have to be careful it doesn’t spread from an enclosed area, so I keep it in my front room.
‘I got my seeds from a company in Australia, it cost about sixty Australian dollars, so it wasn’t cheap. However, I’ve always loved plants, I’m just a little bored with geraniums.
“After growing my bananas in the front yard, I thought the gympie-gympie plant would keep things interesting. I planted these in the spring so they now take a good few months to grow.
‘According to the internet, the Aboriginal people would have used it to treat arthritis. I’m not sure how true that is, or how that would work.’
The online tutor is no stranger to growing exotic plants – he has successfully grown bananas in his front yard in the past.
When asked if he had been stabbed yet, Daniel said he had been stabbed a few times with danger.
He said, “If you grab it, it’s probably not a good idea, but I got a little bit stung by the bit of fabric on the back of my heavy, elbow-length gloves and it wasn’t a big deal.
“I have 3% hydrochloric acid that you can soak the area for 15 minutes to reduce the sting. It was very light – it didn’t really bother me much to be honest.
“I’ll keep the cage locked, though, and I’ll keep the leaves away from the bars as if someone got too close and bumped into it, which would be rather risky.”
Gympie-gympie is a plant of the nettle family Urticaceae and is found in rainforest areas of Malaysia and Australia.
If touched for even a second, tiny hair-like needles will cause a burning sensation that will intensify over the next 20 to 30 minutes.
The pain can then last for weeks or even months, leaving patients unable to even sleep from the pain — and in some cases, suicidal.
Those stabbed by the bush describe the pain as the “worst kind imaginable.”
Victims of the plant have reported sneezing, developing allergies, developing massive red rashes and painfully swollen limbs.
While not always necessary, some cases have resorted to hospitalization due to their severity.
The plant – dendrocnide moroides – was discovered in its native Australia when a road steward’s horse was stung, went mad and “died within two hours” in 1866.
Another horror story told by World War II Australian soldier Cyril Bromley recalled falling into stinging nettles while exercising – driving him mad after weeks of pain and ineffective treatments.
Another allegedly shot himself after accidentally using the nettle as toilet paper.