Where is the arrow poison tree native to? Introduction to its main distribution areas
The arrow poison tree is a national third-class protected plant, with the scientific name Antiaris toxicaria, a highly toxic and medicinal plant of the genus Antiaris in the Moraceae family. Its bark is gray, it blooms in spring, and its milky white sap is extremely toxic. Once it comes into contact with a wound on a human or animal, it can cause heart paralysis, blood vessel closure, and blood coagulation in the poisoned subject, leading to death by suffocation. Let us take a look below at where the arrow poison tree is native to!
Where is the arrow poison tree native to?
The arrow poison tree mostly grows in rainforests below 1500 m in altitude. Its domestic origins are mainly distributed in Guangdong (Leizhou Peninsula), Hainan, Guangxi, southern Yunnan, and other places. Abroad, it is distributed in Sri Lanka, India (including the Andaman Islands), Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia, and Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi). Varieties are distributed in Oceania and Africa.
The native environment of the arrow poison tree
The arrow poison tree mostly grows in tropical monsoon forest and rainforest regions, with abundant heat, long summers and no winters, and weak influence from winter cold waves. The annual average temperature is mostly 21-24°C, the average temperature of the coldest month is above 13-17°C, and the extreme minimum temperature is above 0-5°C. In years when major cold waves move southward, brief low temperatures below 0°C may occur from southwestern Guangxi to western Guangdong. The annual rainfall is 1200-2000 mm, and the dry and wet seasons are either distinct or not very distinct. Air humidity is relatively high, with an annual average relative humidity above 80%. On acidic bedrock such as granite, shale, and sandstone and on Quaternary red earth, the soil is lateritic red soil or red soil, with a pH of 6.8-7.7.
How strong is the toxicity of the arrow poison tree?
Antiaris toxicaria is the most poisonous tree in the world. Its sap is extremely toxic and is often mixed with strychnine for use as arrow poison. The sap enters the body through a wound and causes poisoning. The main symptoms include muscle relaxation and slowed heartbeat, and finally the heartbeat stops and death occurs. The poisoning symptoms in animals are similar to those in humans, with death occurring 20 minutes to 2 hours after poisoning. Only the red-backed bamboo pole grass can antidote this poison. There is a saying among the people of Xishuangbanna called "seven up, eight down, nine falls to the ground."
The plant culture of the arrow poison tree
1. Dai people: It is said that the first person in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, to discover that the sap of the arrow poison tree is highly toxic was a Dai hunter. Once, while hunting, this hunter was cornered by a huge black bear and was forced to climb a large tree, but the black bear still did not let him go and kept chasing closely. At the critical moment when he was desperate and facing life or death, the hunter quickly thought of a plan, broke off a branch, and stabbed it at the black bear that was climbing up the tree. As a result, a miracle suddenly happened: the black bear immediately fell to the ground and died. From then on, the hunters of Xishuangbanna learned to smear the sap of the arrow poison tree on arrowheads for hunting.
2. American Indians: It is said that when the ancient Indians of the Americas encountered enemy invasion, the women and children in the rear would smear the sap of Antiaris toxicaria on arrowheads and transport them to the front for the men to kill enemies on the battlefield. Because of this, the Indians won repeated victories, killed the invading enemies so that corpses lay everywhere and their spirits were shattered, and tenaciously preserved the homeland where they had lived for generations. According to historical records, in 1859, when the indigenous peoples of the East Indies fought against the British army, they shot arrows coated with Antiaris toxicaria sap at the invaders. At first, the British soldiers did not know how formidable these arrows were, and those hit by arrows still charged forward bravely, but soon fell to the ground and died. The lethality of this poisoned arrow terrified the British army.