« Previous Day: Brosimum alicastrum |
Main
| Next Day: Hippophae rhamnoides »
May 9, 2008: Musa textilis
May 9, 2007:
Gilia capitata
May 9, 2006:
Galium odoratum
May 9, 2005:
Picea sitchensis 'Bentham's Sunlight'
March 28, 2008 : Cnidoscolus stimulosus
Keywords: Euphorbiaceae | Cnidoscolus stimulosus (Michx.) Engelm. & A. Gray | central Florida, USA
The last photograph and write-up in the underutilized plants series will appear on Monday. Connor and I are still sorting out some details about the entry, a task made more difficult by the fact that I'm 2000km away from Vancouver and not online often. So, that's the explanation for today's exceptionally late entry! In the meantime, Connor has assembled this write-up:
Todays Botany Photo of the Day comes courtesy of Bruce Vanderveen aka duneaster@Flickr (original via UBCBG BPotD pool). Check out his collection of native plant photos from Florida.
Who could suspect this dainty member of the Euphorbiaceae of being such a menace? A flower has never looked so appetizing, bearing such close resemblance to a piece of floral confectionary from some wedding cake. However, with such suggestive common names as finger rot and tread softly, it's no surprise that this plant isn't found on cakes or in bouquets. As can be seen from today's image, Cnidoscolus stimulosus is covered in trichomes. In the case of Cnidoscolus stimulosus, these small hairs will irritate the skin upon contact. Regarding tread softly and other plants which possess such weaponry, Nancy C. Coile writes,
"The urticating hair or trichome has a bulbous and very fragile tip which breaks off at an angle and results in a perfect tool for piercing skin. Basically, the shaft of the hair resembles a glass tube due to the deposition of silica in the cell wall during formation (Thurston 1974). When the urticating hair tip is broken, it has the action of a hypodermic needle and injects the urticating substances which cause the intense pain and result in irritated skin rashes." (from Florida's Department of Agriculture - Urtica chamaedryoides Pursh: a Stinging Nettle, or Fireweed and Some Related Species - PDF).
Cnidoscolus stimulosus is often mistaken for the true stinging nettle, Urtica dioica. The latter has a near world-wide distribution while finger-rot is confined to the southeastern United States. As far as the urticating substances in Cnidoscolus stimulosus are concerned, I can only guess that they might include those found in Urtica dioica such as histamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin (from the previously mentioned article).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at March 28, 2008 11:03 PM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at March 29, 2008 3:15 AM
Check out this incredible scanning electron micrograph (with text) of the surface of a stinging nettle leaf! http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/bia/gallery.html?image=18
Posted by: George L. 
at March 29, 2008 7:18 AM
I grew up in Florida and have a specific memory of this beautiful little flower. I was maybe 6 years old and was attending Vacation Bible School at our small Presbyterian church in Gainesville. The class was running around the church grounds looking for flowers. I saw this beautiful dainty white bouquet in the grass. I reached down to pluck it , and as I touched it I got two painful sensations. In addition to the sharp prick from the plant, my fingers were stomped on by another child. Other children had discovered the prickly secret of these little flowers and were stomping on them as they ran around the yard. I've never touched this plant since.
Posted by: Java at March 29, 2008 7:49 AM
What a very unlikely looking member of this family - Euphorbiaceae certainly has some surprises!
Posted by: Allan Hall at March 29, 2008 7:56 AM
My cousin and I were in a wooded park near Seattle once, and he told me to hold a green leaf between my thumb and forefinger. Being the innocent person I was, I did it. It was a stinging nettle, and after a while he said I could let go. We went on our way, and suddenly I felt more pain in my thumb and forefinger than I had ever felt before or since. That was a LONG time ago I wish I could send him one of these little flowery plants, and get even, hee hee. Tell him to smell them every day, get his nose right down there. OH Revenge would be MINE.
Posted by: Sue in Bremerton WA at March 29, 2008 10:48 AM
This plant is beautiful - stinging nettles are not! I have nettles in my garden for some butterfly larvae, but it is also a nasty weed. I'd prefer this one any day!! In the spring we pick young stinging nettles and make soup of them - very nice! Great photo!
Posted by: fotrristi at March 29, 2008 11:25 AM
I just have to defend the Noble Nettle! Yes, their stings are painful, but if you wear gloves to pick the leaves, and steam them for about 5-10 minutes, you have a delicious, organically grown, spinach-like green!
And actually, a few times I mislaid or forgot my gloves, and picked them anyway, using just the thumb and fingertip of one hand. After the first few leaves, my finger and thumb went numb, so there was no more pain, and I was able to pick as much as I wanted.
Does the beautifully photographed finger rot have any such redeeming qualities?
Posted by: Peggy at March 30, 2008 11:00 AM
Hi Daniel, One more example of why this website is so fabulous. Beautiful pictures and information I would probably never have an opportunity to find otherwise. Thanks as always.
Posted by: Deb Lievens at April 1, 2008 5:23 PM
I live in Florida. Does the Cnidoscolus stimulosus have the same medicinal effects as the 'true' stinging nettle??? If I dry and use this in herbal recipes, will I get the same effects???
Thanks for the responses.
Posted by: Janis Brown at April 13, 2008 5:26 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
Post a comment
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.
About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums
Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
i live in florida one learns the hard
about watching step what you pick
we have a misery called fire ants