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Update: 17.01.23

Copyright Dr. Eng. Jan Pająk



Img.289 from Healing (#F1a)



Img.290 from Healing (#F1b)



Img.291 from Healing (#F1c)



Img.292 from Healing (#F1d)

Sequence (#F1ab):Abb.289/ Abb.290 Two photographs which illustrate the most important details of the appearance of the entire famous Ipoh tree. It is from the sap of such an Ipoh tree that the electrifying poison "curare" is produced. However, this tree is not at all that popular in the tropical jungles. It takes quite a bit of searching and effort to find it. I found and photographed its specimen shown in both the above photographs (a) and (b), as well as in the photographs (c) and (d) shown below, in a kind of well-maintained park that provided excellent visibility and hence good conditions for photography. This park is located at "Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM)", 52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia; frim.gov.my.

Img.289 I, or Dr. Eng. Jan Pająk, by the trunk of a tropical Ipoh tree. The photograph was taken on August 12, 2008. As you can see, this tree is huge in size and looks typical - i.e. almost like any other tropical tree. In order to produce curare, the native people cut the bark on just such a trunk, then collected the poisonous sap as it flowed out from under the bark. Just above my right ear you can see an inventory plate with a description of this tree, a close-up of which is shown in the photograph in part (b) of this illustration. Notice also the cleanliness, neatness and good visibility of the park in which the tree shown above grows. Only because of this good visibility was it possible to photograph this tree. This is because a typical tropical jungle does not look like this at all. The jungle normally is so dense that trees start to be visible in it only when you can already touch them with your hand - that is, when someone approaches them at a distance of less than one meter. Of course, in such a natural jungle there is NO way to photograph and show all the details of this tree, e.g. its crown, as the above photographs do.

Img.290 The appearance of the crown of the Ipoh tree, photographed from the ground.

Sequence (#F1cd): Img.291/ Img.292 Two photographs which illustrate the appearance of the leaves of the famous Ipoh tree, from the sap of which the electrifying poison "curare" is produced.

Img.291 (#F1c) The appearance of the crown of the Ipoh tree, photographed from the ground.

A close-up of the trunk of this tree showing the appearance of its bark and also the appearance of an inventory plate with an inscription identifying this tree, nailed to its trunk. This inscription states, and I quote: URTICACEAE ANTIARIS TOXICARIA LESCIA IPOH MALAY PENINSULAR, MALAY ISLANDS INDIA, CEYLON I slipped a leaf of the Ipoh tree under this plate. The next plate contains the inventory number of the tree: E1 441.

Img.292 (#F1d) The appearance of the leaf of the Ipoh tree. To photograph this leaf, I placed it on the long root of this tree.

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