In 1941, an Australian World War II soldier recounted: An officer once went to the toilet in the jungle after eating a bad stomach, picked a few leaves to wipe his buttocks, but shot himself when he returned. Why is that?
A few ordinary leaves brewed a tragedy, and the soldiers were in unbearable pain and committed suicide with their guns.
The experience of a World War II soldier unveils the mysterious plant of the rainforest, the poisonous overlord of the plant kingdom, which is not inferior to the poison wood of arrows.
The story also goes back to World War II, when a group of soldiers were ordered by the headquarters to cross a forest and reach the target location to launch a campaign.
After receiving the order, the team quickly assembled and began a rapid march day and night.
According to the map signs, to reach your destination, you have to pass through a forest in the middle.
Before entering the forest, the commander of the squad repeatedly stressed that because the natural state of the forest is very well maintained, the danger is unpredictable.
There are many things that humans cannot explore and understand in the primeval forest, especially there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants here, and they are larger than the outside world, and they are more toxic than ordinary mosquitoes, and some can kill people in an instant.
The commander instructed the team members to tighten their belts, trouser legs, and cuffs, and wear gloves and not take off their combat boots.
After resting in a clearing outside the forest, the team officially entered the forest.
As the sky gradually darkened, the troops decided to set up camp in a leeward place sheltered from the rain, mainly in response to the changing weather of the rainforest.
It's not wise to walk through the rainforest with a black light, after all, the seemingly beautiful forest is full of murderous motives.
After dinner, an officer suddenly reported a stomachache, and the commander gave him permission to find a place to solve the problem and reminded him to watch out for mosquitoes.
The officer really took the commander's words to heart and specially found a place with fewer bugs to go to the toilet.
After solving the physiological problem, he went through his equipment bag, and there was no toilet paper at all, what should he do?
He turned his head to see a plant next to him. The leaves of the plant are large and thick, and they are also very ordinary, which are very common heart-shaped leaves on the roadside.
He took advantage of the situation to pull off a few pieces of toilet paper, his stomach stopped hurting, and he happily returned to the camp.
At first, I didn't feel anything, but in the middle of the night, my lower body began to hurt, and I couldn't sleep, and then it became more and more painful to the point that I couldn't bear it.
The soldiers in the same camp heard the movement and hurriedly reported the situation, and the accompanying military doctor found that his buttocks were red and swollen abnormally, and there were many small bumps, such as poisoning and allergies.
There was no professional equipment to deal with the march, and it could only be simply cleaned with water and alcohol.
There was no choice but to make it through the jungle as quickly as possible to reach the field hospital.
After walking for about two hours, I suddenly heard a gunshot in the middle of the group.
The officer, who was lying on the stretcher, committed suicide because he could not stand the itching and pain. This is a soldier who has been trained hard, and it is conceivable that what he encountered is definitely not ordinary.
Another soldier fell one after another, and in order to avoid a similar situation from happening again, his comrades around him had to tie people to stretchers with ropes and belts.
Eventually, they came into contact with the same thing, which was a large, thick heart-shaped leaf with fluff on it.
They gave the plant its terrifying name, the Killer Tree.
Years later, with the improvement of science and technology, many botanists began to study this type of plant. Locals call it the golden bark tree, and the burrs on its leaves contain toxins. Although this toxin is not directly fatal, it can cause immense pain that is unbearable.
Survivors of the goldbark tree described the painful sensation as if their bodies were being broken down by sulfuric acid, which the soldiers described as more painful than the electric chairs.
But it's not without its nemesis, as many insects and even some mammals in the rainforest can feed on it. After extraction, it was found that the leaves of the golden bark tree can replenish the calcium required by the human body, and the amount is not small.
If the poisonous fluff on the leaves can be handled well, this must be a major breakthrough in human history. However, the rapid development of human society and the serious damage to the natural environment, many research results on the golden bark tree are still stuck in the 20th century, and the results are also embarrassing.
