Ongaonga plant

Thanks Stu! I hope she's feeling better soon, what a hideous plant!!!

Yakut

Nice one Stu thanks for that and pass on my best wishes to Stacey for a full and fast recovery ...where was Blossom????[:0]
Cheers

Didnt ask terralee .. um was just happy the old tart was ok .. um maybe Sam had her

I'm alive........Feel beaten up though.

Yeah, I'm on the mend now. Apparantly I had a severe allergic reaction to it. Spent the night in hospital. They have me drugged up on Prednisone (my amping pills) and Promethazine (sleepy pills) soooooo its somewhat like a million partys happening in my body. One minute I be amped, next I feel trashed, then I feel hung over.

Got home 6am and was fully asleep when Stu came round. Sam (my daughter) told me of all the goings on whilst I'd been zonked including the fact that I agreed she could have ice cream for breakfast, hahaha, taking advantage of me when at my worst.

Blossom possum is at a friends place as we are going away this week.

Thanks for all the concern. Now that I know what Ongaonga plant is, I shall stay well clear of it in future....

'onya Stu good for u to follow up, Glad every thing is fine with Rotavile

Yakut;386774 wrote: Thanks Stu! I hope she's feeling better soon, what a hideous plant!!!

Yakut

I am of course as relieved as all of you that Rotaville is ok, but in defence of the Ongaonga plant, they are doing some exceedingly important research on its properties and have had some good success in treating BPH, congestive heart failure and also arthritis.

It is also a primary food source for our native Red Admiral butterfly and is a native, so also will have protection.

So glad to hear that you are on the mend and it hadn't progressed into anything more serious!
How long do they have you on Prednisone for? I was on that for quite a while (on and off for a year) while have chemotherapy - made me have issue's sleeping at night - they give it to you acouple of days before you start your chemo round, to 'amp' you up for it LOL - yeah right! Who can ever be amped about that :confused: ! Plus, you also get 'moon face' if you are on it for a longer time frame - but it does go away once you stop!

Look after yourself and get better

Stu - you are such a lovely person, you really go out of your way to check in on people and offer help at the drop of a hat! You are a special breed []

Stikkibeek;386823 wrote: I am of course as relieved as all of you that Rotaville is ok, but in defence of the Ongaonga plant, they are doing some exceedingly important research on its properties and have had some good success in treating BPH, congestive heart failure and also arthritis.

It is also a primary food source for our native Red Admiral butterfly and is a native, so also will have protection.

not nice plant if it does this to you tho.

Stikkibeek;386672 wrote: A fatal poisoning was described in 1961, when a young man died of paralysis and respiratory problems several hours after walking through a patch of tree nettles.

I'm in no way discrediting the severity of Ongaonga stings and seeking immediate help - I know because I've got up close and personal with them myself and god did it hurt for days! But there is more to the above quote posted by Stikkibeak that I want to clarify. This is the only recorded death in NZ due to Ongaonga and was my uncle. He was only 16 years old and severely allergic to bee stings, so was predisposed to allergic reactions. There had been a long drought that year and Ongaonga concentrates its poison in its nettles when dehydrated. He didn't die several hours afterwards, he died pretty much immediately - it was several hours walking to raise the alarm because they were hunting out the back of the family farm in the foothills behind Pahiatua.

I'm not saying don't seek help if you get stung, because it can kill, just pointing out that there is more to a story than what is usually reported.

Rotaville, glad that you're feeling better and not too worse for wear!

Yeah I've had prednisone before. Got 4 days worth this time. Not getting the amped feeling though. All I been doing since I got home is sleep, sleep and more slepp.

I did read that the plant is native and that it is important for the red admiral butterflies. I also read that it is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world record holder for the most dangerous plant.

My symptoms were intense burning stinging to my leg. Felt like a million red hot accupuncture needles had been plunged into my skin and someone was flicking them. Over the next couple of hours I got all shakey, felt sick, wicked headache, dizzy, heart rate was rather increased. I now have a slight tingle where the plant touched me (by the way, I had pants on and it got me through them) and a dead feeling leg.

Well think I might go back to sleep now......

rotaville;386890 wrote: Yeah I've had prednisone before. Got 4 days worth this time. Not getting the amped feeling though. All I been doing since I got home is sleep, sleep and more slepp.

I did read that the plant is native and that it is important for the red admiral butterflies. I also read that it is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world record holder for the most dangerous plant.

My symptoms were intense burning stinging to my leg. Felt like a million red hot accupuncture needles had been plunged into my skin and someone was flicking them. Over the next couple of hours I got all shakey, felt sick, wicked headache, dizzy, heart rate was rather increased. I now have a slight tingle where the plant touched me (by the way, I had pants on and it got me through them) and a dead feeling leg.

Well think I might go back to sleep now......

I can't allow this libel of our Ongaonga plant.
One human death, which reportedly (above) might not be wholly attributable to the plant, doesn't make it 'deadly' ,in the classic worldly sense.
Whether it's even 'dangerous' or not is completely subjective , dependent upon what different people might perceive as an affliction. (Everytime I go brush-cutting I end up in welts that I scratch all night).
I'd very much doubt that any World Record list of dangerous plants would have ongaonga at the top. In fact it wouldn't likely make the top two hundred.
Have a look at this list: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poisonous_plants

Some of us in this tiny country of ours sometimes need reminding of just how damned blessed we are, compared to the rest of the world. We would struggle to lay claim to any flora and fauna that can really be fatal to humans.
If all we have to look out for are ongaonga and 'deadly' katipo spiders, I'd say we can rest easy.
A walk through a paddock past a jersey bull would potentially be far more risky than a walk through the bush.
Come to think of it, I'd say that OngaOnga the Hawkes Bay township would be more dangerous to health than ongaonga the plant.

Ed

According to a report in the Sunday StarTimes, the ferocious shrub has made an appearance in the Guinness Book of World Records 2006.
Under the category Most Dangerous Stinger, comes "New Zealand's tree nettle injects toxins into the skin powerful enough to kill dogs and horses. In one case, the plant is known to have killed a man within just five hours of him making contact with it."

rotaville;386923 wrote: According to a report in the Sunday StarTimes, the ferocious shrub has made an appearance in the Guinness Book of World Records 2006.
Under the category Most Dangerous Stinger, comes "New Zealand's tree nettle injects toxins into the skin powerful enough to kill dogs and horses. In one case, the plant is known to have killed a man within just five hours of him making contact with it."

It wouldn't stand up in a Court of Law.

Ed

rotaville, glad you're going to be okay.

WillEyre, just because someone is allergic to bee stings, doesn't mean their death wasn't wholly attributable to the plant, unless there was a bee hiding in it... I agree that particular circumstance shouldn't make the plant 'deadly' but it does make it 'potentially deadly'.

It's good to see that NZ has not let Aus lay claim to all the 'World's Most Dangerous' list []

A quick glance through the ' most poisonous' list shows that most if not all have to be ingested so maybe the most deadly stinger title is ours...

Very glad to hear you're recovering, Rotaville and thanks for alerting us to the danger!