''Dendrocnide meyeniana'' or the poisonous wood nettle is a species of tree in the family

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

, native to the thickets and secondary forests of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The specific epithet ''meyeniana'' comes from Meiyuan/眉原, a place name in

Nantou County Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...

, central Taiwan. ''Dendrocnide meyeniana'' is commonly referred to as the lipa tree, but more specifically lipang kalabaw or, more rarely, apariagua. In Philippines, the plant is named bulan-bulan in the

Iloilo province Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

, and other areas with

Bisayan languages The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mo ...

. The official Chinese name of ''Dendrocnide meyeniana'' is 咬人狗 (yǎo rén gǒu, biting-people-dog) because the stinging hairs on the plant can cause people's skin pain, redness, burning or itching, which may last for several hours or even a day or two; in severe case, it may also cause skin inflammation. 咬人狗 is also the name of traditional Chinese medicine. The Paiwan, an indigenous ethnic group in Taiwan, call it ''Bazyuru'', ''Bazyu'', ''Bazyuyu'' or ''Bazyaro''. The city of

Lipa, Batangas Lipa (), officially the City of Lipa ( fil, Lungsod ng Lipa), is a 1st class component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 372,931 people. It is the first city charter in the pro ...

in the Philippines is named after the lipa tree. Locals distinguish it primarily by the short irritant hairs on its twigs. It is referred to as the lipa tree ("''puno ng lipa''" in Tagalog) or ''lipang kalabaw'' ("carabao lipa") to distinguish it from '' Fleurya interrupta'', a shrub locally named ''lipang aso'' ("dog lipa"). The distinction between ''lipang kalabaw'' and ''lipang aso'' is descriptive, referring to their heights.

Medicinal importance

The poisonous wood nettle may cause acute dermatitis when the skin gets into to contact with the stinging hairs on its leaves, or other parts such as stems or inflorescences. The fruit and receptacle are edible, but the stalk is not, because it is covered with stinging hairs.The stinging hairs of ''D. meyeniana'' are short and hard to see. Although the leaves are densely covered with stinging hairs, they are invisible to the eyes. In Philippine traditional medicine, the tree's sap is prepared as a drink for improving the production of breast milk. Its roots and leaves can also be used as a diuretic.

Gallery

File:咬人狗 Dendrocnide meyeniana 20221020185903 02.jpg, Axillary inflorescences. Dioecious. File:咬人狗 Dendrocnide meyeniana 20221020185903 03.jpg, Leaves alternate, clustered at the ends of the branches. File:咬人狗 Dendrocnide meyeniana 20221020185903 04.jpg, Obvious lenticels File:咬人狗 Dendrocnide meyeniana 20221020185903 05.jpg, Trunk light brown, straight.

References

External links

* Trees of the Philippines meyeniana Trees of Taiwan {{Urticaceae-stub