''Cnidoscolus texanus'', commonly known as Texas bullnettle (also Texas bull nettleNieland, Lashara J. and Willa F. Finley (2009) Lone Star Wildflowers: A Guide to Texas Flowering Plants. Texas Tech University Press. Lubbock, Texas x, 320 pp. and Texas bull-nettleTveten, John and Gloria Tveten (1993) Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas. University of Texas Press. Austin, Texas. ix, 309 pp. ), tread-softly, mala mujer, and finger rot, is a perennial herb covered with stinging hairs. The main stem, branches, leaves, and seed pods are all covered with hispid or glass-like bristly hairs that release an allergenic toxin upon contact. Contact with the plant results in intense pain: stinging, burning, and itching lasting for hours. It is native to the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and Oklahoma and also native to the northeastern state of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, Mexico. It is an herbaceous flowering plant that grows between tall and as much as across.Johnston MC, and BH Warnock. 1963. The species of ''Cnidoscolus'' and ''Jatropha'' (Euphorbiaceae) in far Western Texas. ''The Southwestern Naturalist'', 8(3): 121-126. Texas bullnettle (''Cnidoscolus texanus'') has showy, fragrant white flowers that can bloom throughout the year in southern regions of its distribution, predominantly March to November in northern regions.Ajilvsgi, Geyata (1979) Wild Flowers of the Big Thicket: East Texas, and Western Louisiana. Texas A&M University Press. College Station, Texas 361 pp. It is a drought-tolerant plant, therefore making it a superb choice for

xeriscaping Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acceptance in other ...

. This plant is attractive to birds, bees, butterflies, and other insects. The seeds are known to be consumed by Rio Grande wild turkeys (''Meleagris gallopavo intermedia'') and

mourning dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Caroli ...

s (''Zenaida macroura''). Seeds of Texas bullnettle (Cnidoscolus texanus)

The seeds, which are edible when ripe, are also consumed by humans. Native Americans harvested bullnettle seeds in the past and some people still eat them today. Each seed pod contains three seeds, which are smooth, somewhat cylindrical, brownish white, and a half to three quarters of an inch long. When ripe, they are dispersed when the pod burst open, catapulting the seeds away from the plant. Great care and caution is advised in collecting the seeds. Tull suggested wearing long pants, long sleeves, boots, and gloves to pick the seed pods with a pair of tongs, then dropping them into a paper sack and waiting for the pods to ripen and burst in the sack to collect the seeds. They are said to be appetizing and tasty with a nutty flavor.Tull, Delena (1987) A Practical Guide to Edible and Useful Plants: Including Recipes, Harmful Plants, Natural Dyes, and Textile Fibers. Texas Monthly Press. Austin, Texas. 518 pp.

Description

It is a perennial plant with erect or sprawling branching stems growing from thick root stock , up to 40 inches long and 8 inches thick. It has milky latex and stiff prickly glandular-based, stinging hairs. The stems and leaves are green. The leaves are three to six inches, simple, and are alternately arranged on the stem, and each leaf is deeply cut with 3 to 5 lobes. The lobes are typically roughly and irregularly toothed or lobed again. The flowers are in a few flowered terminal cymose inflorescences about one inch across. Flowers have five sepals and lack petals, the sepals are lobed, white, fragrant, and covered with hispid hairs. Each flower has 10 connate stamens. The male and female flowers separate but within the same cluster. The fruits are in prickly 3-seeded capsules. It was first described by

Johannes Müller Argoviensis Johann Müller (9 May 1828 - 28 January 1896) was a Swiss botanist who was a specialist in lichens. He published under the name Johannes Müller Argoviensis to distinguish himself from other naturalists with similar names. Biography Müller w ...

in 1865 as ''Jatropha texana''. It was then moved to the genus ''Cnidoscolus'' in 1903 by

John Kunkel Small John Kunkel Small (January 31, 1869 – January 20, 1938) was an American botanist. Born on January 31, 1869, in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, Kunkel studied botany at Franklin & Marshall College and Columbia University. He was the first Curator of ...

Bullnettle exposure

Contact with the plant, even the inadvertent, gentle brushing of exposed skin in passing, results in intense pain, including a burning, stinging, itching rash lasting for hours, with the fine hairs breaking off in the skin secreting caustic irritants. The spines providing a vehicle for the plants secretions to make it into the dermal and epidermal layers of the skin. In a few extreme cases, people experience a severe reaction that may require treatment, ranging from cellulitis (a type of skin infection) to rare allergic reactions. Some authors suggest relief from a normal reaction can be found with the application of a weak solution of ammonia, "Windex is a good choice" or when in remote areas that urine can be applied, stating "desperate times call for desperate measures". The secretions of the plant cause an intense burning sensation due to their highly acidic pH. Once the nettles themselves are removed from the skin, a moderately basic preparation such as baking soda mixed with water to form a paste is sufficient to neutralize the acidic secretions of the plant, thus stopping the painful burning and itching sensation. The spines can be removed with an adhesive tape, however, one website suggest waiting 10–15 minutes for the spines to dry, otherwise the pressure from applying the tape will only press more toxins into the skin.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5137374 texanus Flora of Arkansas Flora of Kansas Flora of Louisiana Flora of Oklahoma Flora of Tamaulipas Flora of Texas Plants described in 1865 Taxa named by John Kunkel Small Flora without expected TNC conservation status