7 Dangerous Plants You Should Never Touch

Manchineel (Hippomane mancinella) is an evergreen tree native to Florida, the Caribbean, and parts of Central and South America. Its leaves and fruits resemble those of an apple, and it is sometimes known innocuously as “beach apple.” However, its Spanish name, manzanilla de la muerte (”little apple of death”), better reflects its dangerous properties. The plant contains a number of toxins, and eating its fruits could possibly kill you and will most definitely blister your mouth and esophagus. The milky sap of the leaves and bark contains an irritating chemical called phorbol, which generates a strong allergic skin reaction. Raindrops falling through the tree can collect phorbol and burn a person standing underneath. Even touching the tree can cause the skin to blister. Native peoples have long used the sap to poison arrows, and it is thought that the explorer Juan Ponce de León possibly died from such a weapon during his second trip to Florida.

If you live in eastern North America, you likely know to watch out for poison ivy’s infamous “leaves of three.” Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and its close relatives poison sumac (T. vernix) and poison oak (T. diversilobum) all contain a chemical known as urushiol. When touched, nearly all parts of these plants can trigger a severe, itchy, and painful inflammation of the skin known as contact dermatitis. Even more frighteningly, urushiol can persist on clothing, shoes, tools, soil, or animals that have made contact with the plants, thus later poisoning an unsuspecting victim. If you’ve been hiking through underbrush areas with these plants, be careful to remove your clothing in such a way that the outside does not touch your skin and to wash your clothing immediately. The rash can last anywhere from less than one week to more than three weeks but does not usually require medical treatment.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is found throughout Eurasia, North America, and northern Africa, and has been introduced to parts of South America. The leaves and young stems of this herbaceous plant are fitted with stinging hairs tipped with formic acid and other irritants. If touched, these needle-like hairs inject the stinging acid into the skin, triggering a burning, tingling sensation and an itchy rash. Thankfully the symptoms usually do not persist longer than 24 hours. Interestingly, the cooked plant is safe to eat and is popular is some places as a vegetable.

The two species of hogweed, the giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) and the common hogweed (H. sphondylium), are native to Europe and have naturalized in parts of the U.S. The leaves and sap of these weedy wildflowers contain chemicals called furocoumarins and should be avoided. Contact can cause phytophotodermatitis, in which the skin erupts in severe blisters if exposed to sunlight. Blindness can occur if the sap enters the eyes. Given that hogweeds are also similar in appearance to the deadly poisonous water hemlocks (Cicuta species), it’s probably a good rule of thumb to mostly avoid tall carrot-looking plants with white flower clusters.

Tread-softly, also known as noseburn or finger-rot (Cnidoscolus stimulosus), is an attractive little herb native to the southeastern United States. The plant and its flowers and fruits are covered in fierce stinging hairs that break off in the skin, releasing various irritant compounds. Although contact causes intense stinging and itching, symptoms usually last less than an hour; some people may have skin discoloration for several days. Definitely not a plant to step on with bare feet!

The nettle family is full of stinging plants, but none is quite as aggressive as the gympie gympie (Dendrocnide moroides). One of six stinging trees native to Australia (because of course) and also found in Indonesia, the gympie gympie is one of the most dangerous plants in the world. The stinging leaves trigger an intense allergic reaction in its victims, sometimes even causing anaphylactic shock. The sting can cause excruciating, debilitating pain for months; people have variously described it as feeling like they are being burned by acid, electrocuted, or squashed by giant hands. Many people have reported flare-ups of the pain for many years afterward, and there are several accounts of horses, mad with pain, jumping off cliffs to their deaths after being stung. Foresters and scientists working around the tree must wear respirators and thick protective clothing and are armed with antihistamine pills, just in case.

Also known as African poison ivy, the pain bush (Smodingium argutum) is native to southern Africa and lives up to its name. The plant is a shrub or small tree and exudes a creamy sap that is laden with chemicals known as heptadecyl catechols. Contact with the sap, which turns black when dried, causes a livid swollen rash with blisters, though some lucky people are immune. The symptoms usually subside after a few days.