Upas, << YOO puhs, >> is a large forest tree known for its poisonous milky sap. It grows in southeastern Asia and Indonesia. Hunters traditionally mixed its sap with other plant poisons to poison arrows and darts. Tales about the deadliness of this poison terrified early European explorers and travelers in the area. Fabulous but false stories started regarding the plant and its poison. People said nothing could grow in the shade of the tree. They said the tree brought death to birds that perched on it or flew above it. But today botanists know that poisoning only occurs from contact with the tree’s sap.
