I vividly remember my first encounter with bichhu ghas, literally scorpion grass. My botany teacher had introduced me to the Himalayan giant nettle, known as Girardinia diversifolia in botanical lexicon, during a study trip to a forest near Narkanda in Himachal Pradesh. Five years later, I came across the plant again during a trip to Niti Valley, located along the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand.

The experience this time was not pleasant. I was walking through the forest when I felt a stinging pain on my left ankle, as if stung by a scorpion. My colleague told me that I might have brushed against dhol kanali, as the plant is known in the Garhwal region. The oil glands of its stinging hair contain formic acid, which, when in contact with skin, cause iritation. Though my pain subsided within a few hours, some might need anti-allergy medicine

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