Urera baccifera
Urera baccifera
Safety & Hazards
This is one of the best known plants of Guatemala and all Central America, one known and probably physically so, to all Central Americans, for it is one of the most severely stinging plants that exist in the Americas[ 331 Title Flora of Guatemala Publication Author Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark Website http://www.archive.org/ Publisher Year 1946 - 1976 ISBN Description A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/ ]. The large spine-like prickles are hollow and filled with liquid. When one brushes against a branch or a leaf, the prickles penetrate the flesh and cause the most excruciating pain, as sudden as an electric shock, that may last two or three days. The pain gradually disappears, to be followed by numbness in the affected part. It is needless to explain why the shrub makes an effective hedge plant!!![ 331 Title Flora of Guatemala Publication Author Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark Website http://www.archive.org/ Publisher Year 1946 - 1976 ISBN Description A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/ ].
Botanical Description
Urera baccifera is usually a stout shrub growing 2 - 4 metres tall, though it can often become a small tree up to 7 metres tall. It has few, thick, pale, branches and is armed throughout with coarse, broad-based, often recurved, hollow, stinging, spine-like hairs[ 331 Title Flora of Guatemala Publication Author Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark Website http://www.archive.org/ Publisher Year 1946 - 1976 ISBN Description A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/ ]. Because of its stinging prickles, the plant is widely grown as an impenetrable hedge, and is also used as a source of fibre. The plant is sometimes cultivated for its fibre[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ].