DO NOT TOUCH THESE PLANTS
These are some of the 15 flowers you should stay away from.
There's another set of 3 types flowers at the bottom of the page.
Olender | Poison Hemlock | Bitter Night Shade
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Some plants can cause unberable itching,
oozy blisters, damaged vision & even death.
Here's how to recognize the ones you should never touch or eat.
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Poison Ivy
- Like its cousins poison oak & poison sumac, it has an oily sap in its leaves called urushiol.
- This causes an allergic reaction that can make your skin red, swollen & itchy.
- It grows over most of the U.S. except Alaska & Hawaii.
- Each stem grows into three leaflets that might help you notice it in the woods.
- In the East, Midwest & South, it grows as a vine & in the North & the West as a shrub.
Poison Oak
- It looks a lot like poison ivy, but its leaves are more similar to those of an oak tree.
- The sun-facing side of the leaf has tiny hairs on it & is a darker shade of green than the ground-facing side.
- Though it grows all over the country, it’s more common in the West.
- It could be hours or days before your skin reacts to the plant sap (urushiol).
- And your rash may eventually turn bumpy & form blisters that ooze.
Poison Sumac
- This woody shrub grows in wet, swampy areas all over the U.S. Each stem has 7 to 13
leaves & clusters of green berries that droop. - Cool showers & calamine lotion might help relieve the itch, but mostly, you wait a week
or two should bring relief. - See your doctor if the rash is on your face or private parts, covers more than 25% of
your body, you notice pus from the rash or you breathe in smoke from burning leaves.
Giant Hogweed
- It lives in the rich, wet soil near ditches, streams & farms, especially in the Northeast.
- It has umbrella-shaped groups of small white flowers, leaves with deep creases & stems
with white hairs & purple splotches. - It grows as tall as 15 feet.
- Its sap can make your skin more sensitive to ultraviolet light, which could blister, burn
or scar it, sometimes permanently.
- It could even damage your vision.
Stinging Nettle
- The little hairs on the stems of these plants can inject your skin with a combination of
chemicals. - One of these, formic acid, helps put the 'sting' in bee stings & fire ant bites.
- It’s part of what causes the itchy & even painful allergic skin reaction.
- Stems grow unbranched in patches to about 4 feet tall, but sometimes as high as 6
feet. - Look for those stinging hairs on the stem, which are the telltale sign.
Wild Parsnip
- Coarse, saw-toothed leaves grow on hairy, grooved stems that are 2 to 5 feet tall.
- The yellow flowers grow in an umbrella pattern like other plants in the carrot family.
- When juice from crushed leaves, stalks or flowers touches your skin, sunlight can cause
a skin rash within a day or two. - Look for the distinctive yellow flower in fields, roadsides, pastures & Midwestern prairie.
Poinsettia
- This decorative plant is one of many in the 'spurge' group that also includes prostrate
spurge, spotted spurge & leafy spurge. - It has a milky sap that could irritate your skin.
- Like wild parsnip & giant hogweed, sunlight triggers the skin rash.
- If you eat it, as kids sometimes do, it can give you an itchy mouth, diarrhea & nausea,
though it usually isn’t serious.
Poison Hemlock
- This plant looks like a wild carrot or an unusually big parsley plant because of the
umbrella like bunches of tiny white flowers & distinctive leaves.
- But it might be poison hemlock if you see purple blotches on the stem, a ridged fruit
or if it grows especially big (3 to 7 feet tall).
- It also has separated leaves that look similar to parsley.
- It can poison humans & livestock when eaten.
- You could also get sick if you absorb plant oils through your skin.
Foxglove
- People grow it for its looks throughout the United States.
- It thrives in the wild in some places, too. Its bell-shaped flowers are often bright purple
but can be white, yellow or pink. - It blooms in the spring.
- It also has a fruit with lots of seeds, which kids sometimes eat.
- All parts of the flower are poisonous & can slow or disrupt your heart.
Bitter Nightshade
- This woody perennial has a stem that grows through the year.
- It can reach up to 6 feet.
- Purple flowers in groups of 3 or more bloom around July or August.
- Kids are sometimes drawn to the roundish, juicy, glossy, red, poisonous berries.
- The poison (solanine) can give you headache, drowsiness, stomachache, vomiting,
trembling, lowered temperature, dilated pupils & diarrhea. - If you think someone’s eaten it, get them to a doctor right away.
Jimsonweed
- This strong smelling nightshade herb has thick stems that grow 4 feet tall, with leaves
up to 3 inches long. - Nectar from the white, trumpet-shaped flower could make you sick, along with the leaves
& even the seeds, which some people use to get high. - It makes you nauseous, thirsty & feverish, weakens your pulse & raises your heart rate.
- You might even forget where you are or see things that aren’t there.
Mistletoe Is A Problem Even For Jews
- This plant lives off of other trees & shrubs, which makes it a parasite.
- Its stems are thick & easy to break, with lots of branches.
- The leaves are often thick & stay green all year.
- Its little yellowish flowers don’t have petals.
- The small, white berries have one seed & contain a sticky, poisonous pulp.
- Keep this common away from kids & pets.
- The berries can give you diarrhea & slow or stop your heart.
Oleander
- This tall shrub has long, leathery leaves that grow in groups of three.
- Bright clusters of flowers bloom at the ends of branches in colors that vary from red
& pink to white. - All parts of the plant are very poisonous.
- Just one leaf is enough to kill an adult.
- You may have serious stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, dilated pupils, dizziness &
breathing problems.
Azalea & Rhododendron
- Roman soldiers got sick on 'mad honey' made from these flowers in the first century
BCE. - Historians think their enemies in Turkey gave it to them to weaken them before battle.
- It worked: The Romans lost.
- The leaves, nectar & flowers of these bushes can poison you too, though you’d need
to eat a lot.
- It irritates the mouth & could make you nauseated enough to vomit.
- Kids may mistake it for honeysuckle & eat the nectar.
If You Suspect Poison
- Act fast.
- Call 911 if someone has a seizure, has trouble breathing, or loses consciousness.
- If your throat or mouth feels burned or irritated, try to drink a little milk or water.
- Get away from any suspected toxic fumes & into the fresh air.
- If the poison got onto your skin, rinse it quickly.
- If it got into your eyes, rinse them with saline drops if you can.
- Keep it up for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Call poison control as soon as possible for instructions about specific poisons.
These are just some of the 15 flowers you should stay away from.
Foxglove | Mistletoe | Poinsettia
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