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Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac
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As moving to North Carolina has
proved to be a more lengthy process than I once
believed, I have decided to resurrect “The Old Woodsman”
for the time being. And then perhaps, time permitting,
write occasional columns about the environments that I
find myself surrounded by and new ecosystems that I
encounter. This column will be devoted to a subject that
I have already covered in the past yet which remains
timely: poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac.
Recognizing the plants as well as a little knowledge can
provide the ability to avoid the pain and discomfort of
the rash caused by any of these plants, or in some
cases, if a rash has already appeared provided the
ability to reduce the symptoms. Also added is some new
information regarding recent experiments on the effects
of increased carbon dioxide on poison ivy.
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Furry Poison Ivy - The only
vine with fur!
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“Leaves of three – let it be” is the
familiar and helpful ditty which is the first
step in learning to avoid poison ivy. The
beautiful lush ivy plant grows all over this
village and frequently encroaches on areas where
people walk. In the early days of New England
these plants were brought back to England as
garden plants resulting in a sudden new skin
disorder called: “English Housewife’s Disease”
by doctors until the sourced was identified.
Poison ivy is often spread through the
alimentary canal of birds that, along with many
other animals, show no adverse symptoms eating
the seeds, leaves or other parts of this plant.
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| Quite by accident birds plant
the foods they enjoy the most by this method.
While this is great for the birds it is
decidedly not good for human beings; any part of
this plant can cause a rash to appear. The rash
will no appear at the first exposure to
“urushoil” – the oil substance on the plant
which is the irritant’s name. It usually takes a
second exposure to cause a reaction. Reactions
differ among individuals as well. While I always
avoided deliberate contact with poison ivy, I
managed to remain rash free until I was 50 years
old, and seemed to have a low reaction to
occasional brushing by the plant until then. It
is folly to think that one cannot get this rash,
so a word of caution is useful. By the way,
poison oak is probably simply another form of
poison ivy and not recognized as a separate
botanical plant by many authorities. It simply
has greater lobes (divided leaf parts as in an
oak leaf) on its leaves. Once you have memorized
what this plant looks like winter and summer,
you will recognize it as surely as one does a
stop sign when driving – even when one is
distracted. |
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Jewelweed or Spotted Touch Me
Not
is the remedy
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Poison ivy’s newly emerged leaves initially appear
the color or cranberries in early April to May.
Later the green leaves can grow as a vine up the
trunk of a tree, or as a small plant on the floor of
the forest. It is usually at the edge of the forest
where the birds are most often seen. In the fall,
the leaves turn a yellow to brown. Finally in the
winter, it is still visible as a hairy vine growing
up tree trunks. As the oil urushoil is evident on
the vine even in winter, avoid touching all “hairy”
vines on trees in the winter. The little rootlets
hold the vine onto the trunk look like hairs. Do not
burn them in the fireplace either, as the oil will
escape up the chimney and anyone coming into contact
with the smoke can also get a serious rash. Remember
too, that when clearing land of poison ivy, the
urushoil oil can remain in the soil for some time
especially in an area where a lot of poison ivy has
grown. It can take a season or two to get ride of
all the urushoil oil in the soil. |
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Nature provides a remedy as
well. And the amazing part of this is that it
frequently grows near the poison ivy plants and is
called Spotted Touch-Me-Not or Jewelweed. The first
name is a misnomer as it is NOT a problem to touch
any part of this plant. The name refers to the seed
pods which when gently touched with a finger tend to
explode. Once fall when I was busy doing something
else, this discovery kept my nephew harmlessly busy
for an hour exploding hundreds of seed pods on a
bank of Jewelweed plants. This plant comes up in
early spring about the time poison ivy begins to
appear. When exposed to poison ivy grab some of the
juicy stems and leaves and rub the exposed area.
This should act as a preventative. On the other hand
if the rash has already appeared, this same method
will stop the itching and spreading. The American
Indians knew of this plant and used it in this way;
the US forestry service uses it today. The
naturalist who taught me also kept some of this
frozen in her freezer in the winter for anyone who
came in contact with the vine in winter. Also there
is liquid hand soap available on the Internet which
contains the substance. (www.herbalremedies.com)
or 1-866-467-6444) is just one source for the lotion
and soap. I also have used “Fels Naphtha Laundry
soap in the pat. This soap contains “naphtha,” a
derivative of gasoline. It is not recommended today
as naphtha is considered too strong for human skin.
It would appear an especially poor choice for
children. Also, the soap only removed the oil, was
used primarily as a preventative if used soon after
exposure and did nothing for the rash. Often, folks
believe that the rash spreads after it appears. In
fact it is the urushoil oil that spreads even after
the rash appears so using Jewelweed will limit its
spread. The authorities also recommend washing any
clothing worn at the time of exposure with hot,
soapy water as the oil can remain on clothing
through normal washing.
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Poison sumac is an altogether
different plant. It grows in very swampy
areas often with its roots in wet
ground. Some people mistakenly believe
Staghorn Sumac is poison sumac. Staghorn
Sumac grows along the right hedge row
after the mail boxes when heading north
on Bunker Hill road and is evident by
its dark red upright clusters of fruit.
Staghorn Sumac is harmless and is in
fact called the “Lemonade Tree’ by
American Indians since the clusters will
make a sour tasting tea if boiling water
is poured on them and then strained of
fruits. |
| Both have pinnate leaves
(leaves attached to a single stem, and
forming a group as opposed to single
leaves which leave a scar on the stem
when removed such as on a maple tree.)
The pinnate leaves of poison sumac
number 7-12 and on Staghorn Sumac: 12-24
leaves. Poison sumac favors swamps,
bogs, seepage areas, and frequently
flooded areas. While these are not
frequently areas where humans walk, a
little fore-knowledge is a good thing
since this is one of the most dangerous
trees in North America. Again the entire
plant is dangerous to touch. Again,
wildlife eats the fruits – which appear
as white berry clusters without any harm
as they are not sensitive to the plant.
Poison Sumac tree appears as an
attractive tree or shrub and really only
easily identifiable by the 7-123 pinnate
untoothed (or smooth edged) leaves. The
bark is gray to black and otherwise
unremarkable. Most authorities recommend
consulting a physician if knowingly
exposed to poison sumac. |
Finally, some new experiments
carried out in southern forests testing the effect
of increased carbon dioxide on plant life have
wrought some surprising results. As most all of the
electricity produced in the United States uses coal
and as the increased population and development
along with concurrent increased use of automobiles
and electricity is resulting in ever higher
concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air, these
experiment were carried out to provide some clues as
to the effects. Interestingly, vines were very quick
to respond. For those who may have forgotten the
biology of plants, plants produce oxygen and utilize
carbon dioxide in respiration. It seems the poison
ivy plants really loved the increased carbon dioxide
and grew larger than normal. Additionally, they
produced an even more virulent form of urushoil.
While it is too early to draw too many conclusions
from this experiment, it may provide at least a clue
to the future of poison ivy. One thing is for sure.
Whether this experiment portends the future or not,
poison ivy is a plant that is here to stay. |
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