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Day Of The Plants: Tales Of Man Vs Flora (And Man Suffers)

Timble2

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Alternatively this thread could be called the 'lesser of two weevils', or 'it's grown hyacinth yesterday'.

At: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1223065,00.html

It shows what happens went you try to manage one ecological cock-up by eco-friendly means, but only succeed in setting off another mess.

Malawi's beetle 'cure' triggers new weed

Attempts to halt the choking spread of water hyacinth have spawned even more aggressive vegetation

Rory Carroll in Mangochi
Monday May 24, 2004
The Guardian


Malawi was not picturesque enough for the anonymous European settler suspected of importing water hyacinth a century ago. Now the legacy of that decision is all too clear as power cuts ravage the economy.
As mats of weed flow down the Shire River, Malawi's electricity stops, crippling industry and costing the country half a million pounds a day.

Stretched in bunches more than 100 miles upstream from the Nkula hydro-electric station, was one such culprit, floating vegetation never meant for Africa. It is not hyacinth, but a highly invasive plant spawned by the battle against the hyacinth.

"The vegetation is getting worse. It's blocked the whole barrage," said Wales Kalombola, a technician from the Electricity Supply Corporation.

He stood on a dam in Liwonde, known locally as a barrage, which regulates the river for the Nkula plant. But the weeds block the flow.

Every day a crane hauls out tonnes of the gunk, and four trucks shuttle it to a site for burning. A second crane is due this month, said Mr Kalombola, as are a further six trucks.

The authorities are considering buying a floating bulldozer and harvester from Aquarius Systems, a US firm which battles the super weeds.

"They're struggling. It's coming down river faster than they can remove it," said Jane Dauffenbach, the firm's president.

Disruptions of hydro-electric power, which account for most of Malawi's 355MW, cost £188m a year, a third of GDP, says the energy ministry.

Soil erosion and silt clogs the rivers, as does hyacinth - a bitter twist because for a time the evil weed seemed vanquished.

The floating mass which can double in size in a fortnight, proliferated across the Shire until the mid-1990s. Blocking sunlight and sucking oxygen and nitrogen from the water, the plant increased acidity and damaged algae and plankton.

Unchecked it would have been an ecological disaster for Lake Malawi, the third biggest in Africa. Fishing villages with no alternative source of income faced ruin.

"In some areas 60% of the beach was no longer accessible," said Alexander Bulirani, deputy director of fisheries. "And crocodiles hide in the hyacinth, so it wasn't safe for women to collect water."

The weed came from Brazil and so, with help from Britain's department for international development, did its nemesis: Neochetina aerchornae and Neochetina bruchi, two beetles which eat only hyacinth.

Some 500,000 were released but although the hyacinth stood no chance, Malawi has found a malign side to the weevil solution.

Feeding on the decaying leaves and branches has come a new breed of hippo grass and papyrus, more aggressive than traditional vegetation, said Patrick Phiri, a district fisheries officer in Mangochi.

"Just as we were winning the battle against hyacinth we realised this problem of secondary growth," he said.

Back in Liwonde, Mr Kalombola confirmed that the weeds which snagged the turbines had become worse since hyacinth largely disappeared.

Malawi's only option was a combination of biological, chemical and mechanical means to control the hyacinth's revenge. "This will be a long-term programme, probably forever."
 
Rotting fruit brings causes emergency landing...

At;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3761781.stm


Gassy fruit forces airline alert


BA is still investigating the cause of the fire alert
A jet carrying 308 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing in Ireland on Sunday, after fruit fumes set off its fire alarm system.
The British Airways Boeing 747 en route from Miami to London Heathrow landed at Shannon Airport, after a warning light indicated there was a fire in the hold.

An airport spokeswoman said a closer examination found that rotting fruit was giving off unusual fumes.

British Airways says it was still investigating the cause of the alert.

A spokeswoman for the airline said flight BA206 landed safely at 0854BST, approximately two-and-a-half hours after its scheduled arrival time.

'No fire'

She said the plane had made a standard diversion into Shannon Airport after a fire alert indication light illuminated, setting off fire extinguishers in the hold.

"There was no fire on board the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely and the passengers and crew disembarked normally.

"A full technical assessment was undertaken by engineers and the aircraft was declared safe and serviceable to fly onto Heathrow," she said.

The airline has apologised to the passengers concerned but said: "Safety, as ever, is of paramount importance."

Shannon Airport said the cargo of fruit had been unloaded and was awaiting collection.
 
Last Update: Sunday, February 13, 2005. 5:47pm (AEDT)

Lucky Hong Kong tree unlucky for some

A Hong Kong tree that according to legend is imbued with lucky powers proved unlucky for two people when part of it collapsed on them.

A huge branch from the city's famous Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree fell on a 62-year-old man and a four-year-old boy as they were making Chinese New Year wishes on Saturday.

They were released from hospital after treatment to head wounds.

Reports said the branch had been overburdened by traditional wishing tokens, comprised of slips of paper tied to oranges.

"The two people were injured when the branch fell on them as they threw oranges into the tree," a government spokesman said.

Thousands of people flock to the tree in the northern rural Lam Tsuen village to throw their wishes for the Chinese New Year into its branches.

Ancient folklore has it that if an orange hooks onto the tree's branches, the wish written on the slip of paper will come true.

The government spokesman said agriculture staff would assess the safety of the rest of the tree Monday.

The tree's collapse is the latest incident in which traditional Chinese rituals have clashed with modern safety regulations in Hong Kong.

A festival in which children would scale huge towers dotted with buns was banned in 1978 after 100 people were injured when one of the towers collapsed.

The ancient ritual of sweeping ancestors' graves is under review as bonfires of the collected debris have caused countless hill fires.

-------------------------------
-AFP

Source
 
This is depressing:

Man, trapped by fallen tree, kills himself

Coroner: Stuck in trailer struck by tree, man died from self-inflicted gunshot

The Associated Press
Updated: 5:46 p.m. ET Dec. 27, 2005

CAMANO ISLAND, Wash. - A disabled man who was injured when a windblown tree crushed his trailer killed himself as he lay trapped in the wreckage on Christmas Day, authorities said.

The injuries that Richard Payne suffered when the tree fell early Sunday were not life-threatening, Island County Coroner Robert Bishop said Monday. The cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bishop said.

However, it did not appear that Payne had any means of summoning help, sheriff’s spokesman Jan Smith said in a statement. There was no phone in the trailer and no nearby neighbors in the remote wooded area at the south end of Camano Island.

A visitor found the body Sunday afternoon.

No suicide note was found, Bishop said.

Payne, 52, was on disability and had been living in the trailer on family property for about a year, the coroner said.

The area was struck by a storm early on Christmas Day, with wind damage cutting power for 20,000 Puget Sound Energy customers between Bellingham and Olympia.

--------------
© 2005 The Associated Press.
© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10616794/

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10616794/
 
Women survive 'savage attack' from tree in Wolterton

Two women have survived what they called a "savage attack" from a falling oak tree which smashed through the roof and windscreen of their moving car.

Helen Howes and Heather Hasthorpe were en route to a costume and textile fair at Wolterton Hall, Norfolk, on Saturday when the accident happened.
"The tree came through the windscreen and broke the wheel off from between my hands," said Mrs Howes.
A police spokesman said the friends were "very lucky" not to have died.

Mrs Howes, an artist based at Raveningham, near Beccles, was taken to hospital to be treated by a plastic surgeon who repaired a tendon and removed glass from her hand.
Mrs Hasthorpe walked away unhurt.

The tree fell at about 08:45 BST as the women were driving past the Saracen's Head pub, Wolterton.
Guests having breakfast at the pub called the emergency services.

Mrs Howes' car, a red VW Passat estate she calls the Red Baroness, was written off.
On her blog she described the car as being "savagely attacked by a falling oak tree". 8)

"It was a fantastic impact, it pretty much stopped the car," Mrs Howes said.
"When we staggered out the tree was across the road leaving this big bush on top of the car. In retrospect it looked quite decorative, but we could have done without it."


Mrs Hasthorpe said it was "amazing" that the injuries were not more serious.
"That branch that came into the car beside her right leg and ripped off the door panel actually caused a burn to the skin on her right knee, that's how close it was," she said.
"It was definitely a guardian angel job."

PC Ian Reed from Norfolk Police said Mrs Howes was "incredibly lucky" to escape what "could have easily been a fatal incident".
"I did suggest she might want to get a lottery ticket after her experience," he said.
Mrs Hasthorpe said she did buy a ticket on the way home but did not win on Saturday night's draw. ;)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-24116694
 
Many years ago I was out with my youngest, then aged about 5, and we stopped to watch a large branch fall off a tree across the road and crash to the ground, bouncing off other branches and making a huge din as it went.

We chatted for a minute about how sudden and dangerous it was and then moved on, and when we'd walked about 10 feet another big branch fell off a tree over where we'd been standing and landed exactly on the same spot. If we'd stayed a few seconds longer it would've hit us.
:shock:

Summer branch drop, it's called. Happens when trees get a bit dry and lose bits.
 
Man owns two cars. The cars were parked in different cities. Each car gets crushed by a tree, on the same day. At least they were different trees.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/01...in-different-cities-on-same-day/1491484925961

more at link, but you get the idea
------------------
A California man whose two vehicles were both crushed by trees in different cities on the same day says he feels like "the luckiest guy."
Georgiy Karpekin said he was at Sacramento City College when strong winds swept over the area Wednesday, leading to an unfortunate discovery in the parking lot.

"I walked up to my truck and I saw it was 'taco'd' around a tree," he told KTXL-TV.

Karpekin's truck was indeed "taco'd" -- a fallen tree had reformed the pickup into the shape of a taco shell.

Karpekin got a ride to his West Sacramento home where he made another shocking discovery -- another tree had fallen on two vehicles parked in front of his house, including his own car.
 
Ghana waterfall: Many dead in Kintampo freak tree accident

Up to 20 people have died and many have been injured after a large tree fell on them at a popular waterfall spot in Kintampo, Ghana.
They were swimming during a storm when the freak accident happened, emergency officials said.
The tree had seemingly been brought down by the storm.

Ghana National Fire Service spokesman Prince Billy Anaglate said the incident happened at the Kintampo waterfalls in the Brong-Ahafo region.
A combined team of police and fire service personnel attended the accident site, in a bid to rescue those trapped by the tree.
"A huge tree fell at the top when the rains began and crashed the revellers," an eyewitness told Ghana's Starr News.
"Most of them are students of the Wenchi Senior High School. Others are tourists. We are trying to save those who are trapped by cutting the trees with chainsaws."

Fire Service spokesman Mr Anaglate told AFP that 18 students had died at the scene, while two others died in hospital.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39323826
 
No high winds, an unsafe tree which had been propped up.

Falling tree kills 12 on Portuguese island of Madeira
A falling tree has killed at least 12 people and injured 50 more at a religious ceremony on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

A video shows the tree crashing down on a crowded square in a suburb of the main town, Funchal, forcing people who were enjoying the religious festivities in the sunshine to flee.

Two children are among the dead, Portuguese broadcaster RTP reports.

Reports suggest the tree which fell was an oak that was about 200 years old. ...


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40940007?ocid=socialflow_twitter
 
... In such places, kids are taught from an early age to beware and avoid the dangers that visitors are usually totally oblivious of. The Australian Outback is a case in point. ... As kids we are taught not to camp in dry creekbeds or under large gum trees. ... My university lecturer went camping in the Flinders Ranges during term break and never returned to our tutorial class. He pitched his tent under a gum tree and suffered multiple breaks in both legs when a 400kg limb just dropped onto him in the night. ...
 
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The youngest, aged about 4, and I once spotted a big branch crashing down from the top of a tree across a road. We stood and watched it and discussed it briefly, as you do, and then moved off, just as another even bigger branch suddenly fell off another tree behind us and landed exactly where we'd been standing.
 
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This Maine woman was dually impaled when a tree fell on the vehicle in which she was riding.
Woman impaled by tree limb has 7 broken ribs, husband says

A Maine passenger who was impaled when a falling pine tree struck the vehicle she was riding in suffered seven broken ribs, but she’s getting better day by day ...

Theresa Roy, 79, has a long recovery ahead, said her husband, David Roy. But he said he’s just happy they’re alive after the bizarre incident that destroyed their vehicle and injured both of them.

David Roy, 78, ... and his wife were driving home to Oakland on a two-lane road because their vehicle had been buffeted by strong winds earlier on I-95 during a powerful wind storm. ...

The crash in Sidney happened in an instant when a pine tree blown down by high wind struck his vehicle as he drove at 50 mph (80 kph), with limbs crashing through the windshield as he struggled to control the vehicle.

A large limb came through the center dashboard and windshield at an angle, hitting him and then striking his wife’s armpit while another broke the windshield and impaled her shoulder ...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/pine-tre...-wind-storms-7792497317b897dafac7d5886a95db41
 
A Pennsylvania man was trapped in a portable toilet by a falling trea.
Water-loo? Tree takes battlefield prisoner in portable lav

Authorities say a man was rescued after a tree that fell during high winds trapped him inside a portable toilet at Gettysburg National Military Park in south-central Pennsylvania.

The Barlow Volunteer Fire Department said on its Facebook page that the crew was called to Little Round Top shortly before 4 p.m. Friday. Assistant Chief Joe Robinson told the York Daily Record that they found a tree atop a vehicle but no one inside, and park rangers then told them the tree had trapped a man in the portable toilet.

Robinson said crews treated it like a car entrapment, cutting away the tree with a chain saw and then cutting the portable toilet open with another saw. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-gettysburg-69f03d57db0cb1e4b912b59ddce396dd
 
More evidence that everything in Australia is out to get you, this guy deliberately gets stung by the 'Gympie Gympie' plant, a plant so painful that allegedly a man committed suicide to escape the pain.

 
A young girl was killed when a large tree unexpectedly fell down onto her family's Smoky Mountain campsite.
Girl killed when tree crashes onto campsite in Great Smoky Mountains

A 7-year-old girl from Georgia was killed when a large maple tree "approximately 2 feet in diameter" came crashing down on her family's campsite in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the National Park Service said.

The tree fell early Wednesday amid a period of heavy rain that has pounded the area, prompting park officials to close many trails and roads that course through the popular tourist destination. ...

Rangers responded to the scene in the Elkmont Campground, a 200-site campsite about 8 miles from Gatlinburg, Tenn.

The girl's father and two other siblings were not injured, and the girl's identity was not immediately released ...

Officials said it's unclear what caused the tree to fall in the middle of the night. Heavy rain has deluged the region for much of July, saturating the ground. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/07/28/great-smoky-mountains-girl-killed-tree/3171659022567/
 
Two trees fell down in a Philadelphia park within hours of each other. The first one injured 8 people at a reunion gathering.
8 injured when tree falls on group of people in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park

Eight people were injured Sunday afternoon when a large tree fell on a group having a class reunion party in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, then another tree fell hours later.

According to police, the incident happened at about 12:20 p.m. ...

The eight people who were injured are between 66 and 67 years old, police said. The group was celebrating a reunion for the West Philadelphia High School class of 1972. Action News was told six people were injured immediately after the incident, but that number increased on Monday.

"Every man ran across this park to go pick up heavy tree branches together to get them off the classmates," said Hagains.

While people worked to pull heavy branches off those who were stuck, police arrived to the scene within minutes.

The victims were taken to area hospitals where they were being treated for their various injuries. Three remained hospitalized Monday afternoon. ...

Action News reached out to the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation department, which issued this statement: "Today a tree fell on park users during a picnic at the pavilion on North Georges Hill in West Fairmount Park. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation arborists responded to assess the site and condition of the fallen tree. The tree was identified as an approximately 90-year-old white oak, and has been cleared from the scene."

Then just hours later, a second tree came crashing down 100 feet away, also in the North Georges Hill picnic area, where the class of 1982 was having a gathering.

No injuries were reported in that incident. ...
FULL STORY: https://6abc.com/fairmount-park-tree-falls-on-people-mann-center-fell-party/12107575/
 
Enjoy the shade at your own peril ... Yosemite park rangers warn visitors to watch out for trees dropping large branches. This sudden "summer branch drop" phenomenon is believed to be more possible this year owing to drought stress.
Relaxing under oak trees could be deadly, warn Yosemite park rangers

Rangers at Yosemite National Park are warning visitors to be extremely careful when sitting under trees during late summer days. At this time of year, healthy-looking oak trees can undergo something called 'summer branch drop', which is exactly what it sounds like – limbs suddenly breaking off and crashing down.

As the National Park Service (opens in new tab) explains, if you hear a cracking sound near a tree, you should get out of the way immediately. Any trees can be affected, but Yosemite's black oaks are the most likely to suddenly shed branches, so it's best to avoid sitting or camping underneath their large limbs.

Summer branch drop (also known as sudden limb drop or sudden limb failure) isn't related to wind, and often happens in the afternoon on hot, calm days. Rather than coming away right at the trunk, branches tend to break off a few feet along, and are usually long, horizontal limbs. ...

According to the University of California's Master Gardeners (opens in new tab), summer branch drop may be caused by drought stress, which limits the flow of water within the branch. This raises its internal temperature, and increases the concentration of ethylene. This can weaken the plant cell walls, which together with increased sap pressure, can result in the limb breaking away. ...

"Old wounds and decay hidden inside a limb (possibly resulting from improper pruning) occasionally contribute to branch drop, but this does not account for the majority of summer branch drop failures," say the Master Gardeners. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.advnture.com/news/relax...eriously-dangerous-warn-yosemite-park-rangers
 
Touching itchy and painful plants:

 
I think this should go here.

Potatoes bury people after roof collapses in India
At least eight people have died after the roof of a potato storage facility collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Video shows rescuers searching through huge piles of potatoes to find anyone trapped.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-64987190
 
More evidence that everything in Australia is out to get you, this guy deliberately gets stung by the 'Gympie Gympie' plant, a plant so painful that allegedly a man committed suicide to escape the pain.


It's kept locked up in Alnwick Garden.

One of the world's most venomous plants which causes pain like being "electrocuted and set on fire at the same time" has come to Northumberland.

The Dendrocnide moroides, known as gympie-gympie, has been introduced to Alnwick Garden's Poison Garden, where it will stay under lock and key.

The plant, housed in a glass case, has its own minder because even a slight brush with it can cause extreme pain.
The stinging plant is usually found in Australian rainforests and Indonesia.

Staff in hazardous materials suits with the poisonous plant
IMAGE SOURCE, THE ALNWICK GARDEN Image caption, The plant must be kept in a locked glass cabinet

John Knox, lead tour guide at the Poison Garden, said: "There's little hairs on it, so if you brush past it and there's any skin contact, the hairs from the plant grow under the skin, break off and inject venom - which has been described as being electrocuted and set on fire at the same time."

A single touch of the plant can leave its victims suffering for weeks or even months.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-66101616
 
Wow!
Decades ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Alnwick.
I wish I'd known of the Poison Garden then.
 
Glochids on the Opuntia group of cacti are bloody painful as well. Some illustrations on this site:

https://laidbackgardener.blog/2020/12/23/prickly-pear-encounters-removing-glochids/

A friend once bought me some opuntias for a birthday present. (I like growing them) and warned me what to expect. They arrived from a nursery in Italy all neatly wrapped in newspaper. I opened them all very carefully, potted them straight away using sticks, etc. to prop them in the pots, firm the soil, etc.

Then I crumpled up the newspapers to throw away. The paper was, of course, loaded with glochids that had stuck to the paper and now stuck to me. Took weeks to get rid of them all.
 
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