Minute by minute of what happens when you touch 'world's most dangerous plant'

A British man has admitted to growing the 'world's most dangerous plant' in his home, and this is what happens if you touch it - minute-by-minute.

Daniel Emlyn-Jones, 49, from Oxford, insists that he's growing the gympie-gympie plant 'very safely', despite the fact that its sting has been known to make people suicidal.

The plant is being grown in cage with a 'danger' sign, and it has an additional warning that reads: "Skin contact with leaves or stems, even slight, will lead to agonising pain."

It adds: "In the event of stinging do not rub. Apply 3 percent hydrocholoric acid for 30 minutes followed by hair removal using wax strips."

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Now, a YouTube video has emerged explaining exactly what will happen if someone is crazy enough to touch the plant with a sting that feels like 'being burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time'.

Gympie-gympie, also known as the 'suicide plant', is covered in what look like little hairs, but they are actually needles, and when touched, they break, releasing toxins.

These needless operate as syringes that activate pain receptors in the body - and they prevent them from turning off too, leaving a person in significant pain.

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As revealed by The Backyard Scientist, who willingly touched a small part of the plant, touching a gympie-gympie initially feels like being stung by a bee.

"It feels tight," he said. "It's like hand sanitiser in an open wound."

The YouTuber went on to reveal that he experienced a whitening of the area and skin tightening around the wound.

However, while all of this was unpleasant in and of itself, it got worse when the sting began to welt and blister.

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While the YouTuber did try out a number of methods in a bid to ease the pain, unfortunately, none of them worked, and he was left suffering for a day.

He advised against taking a hot or a cold shower with the sting, which is sometimes advised, as it actually made the problem worse and this persisted for about two weeks.

The Backyard Scientist revealed that an infa-red camera showed where the sting was on his body because it caused his temperature to rise so much.

He said that while he was largely back to normal after a week, he could still feel the needles in his arm for at least two months.

So, you can imagine how bad it would be if you, for example, stepped on a gympie-gympie.

It will come as no surprise that after allegedly using the plant as toilet paper, a man shot himself dead because he was in so much pain.

In a nutshell, this is not a plant to mess with.

Emlyn-Jones, however, has insisted that he's growing the plant to promote an interest in botany. Each to their own.

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