The tree that can sting like a scorpion

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Australia is notorious for venomous spiders, snakes and sea creatures, but there's a rainforest nettle tree known by its indigenous name gympie-gympie which can cause excruciating pain for weeks. A team of Australian scientists have been investigating why its sting is so painful and have found that it produces toxins normally found in animal venom. Irina Vetter, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, explains. "It has very strange crawling, stabbing and shooting pains which can last for weeks and sometimes months." (Photo: A branch of the gympie-gympie tree Credit: Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience