Poisonous Plants to Avoid on Your Camping Trip
By Darren Lintern
The three most notable toxic plants that you are likely to encounter
on a camping trip are poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. All of these have the potential to cause an itchy and painful rash.
Being able to identify poisonous plants could be a useful skill.
Poison ivy is perhaps the most widespread of the three, as it
has become well established all over Northern America. Poison ivy can be a low-growing shrub or vine that grows along the ground or
as a high climbing woody vine. The leaves are typically a dull, dark green colour, but can become vivid red during the fall. It seldom
appears above 5,000 feet, but the majority of campgrounds are below this altitude.
Poison oak also has multi lobed leaves, with
white or tan berries on the branches. Often the leaves have toothed or scalloped edges and appear to be creased rather than flat as
noticed on the poison ivy leaves. The leaves are divided into three leaflets, but five lobed leaves are present as well.
Poison
oak is found in the sandy soils in the regions of southern New Jersey to Florida and common in western areas of the U.S. as well,
such as Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Some species are also noted in Washington, Oregon, in the Columbia River gorge, and Nevada.
Poison
ivy is most notable in the east, whereas poison oak is typically more common in the south and west.
Of the three mentioned toxic
plants, poison sumac is the least established. As it favours especially wet soils such as peat bogs and swamps. The leaves have a
bluish green tint, often with red tones. The fruits on the bush are small white or grey coloured berries. Although, the least common,
it has the most toxic poison of the three.
All three of the plants produce a toxic resin called urushiol, which is the cause
for the unpleasant irritation to humans. In view of the fact that urushiol is oily it can quickly become spread across other parts
of the body, such as the hands, and face just from casual brushing. The oil tends to bond to the skin cells it comes into contact
with, and then stays there.
The irritation can vary from mild to severe and a cream like corisol is often used to treat the symptoms.
If you suspect that you become into contact with Poison ivy, the first step is to avoid spreading it. Don't make contact with your
face or other body parts.
Thoroughly washing the exposed skin with soap and water is the primary treatment, but once contact has been established some degree
of effect is inevitable. Within fifteen minutes of the initial contact, the urushiol has become chemically bonded to the skin.
Applying
a pharmaceutical product, such as a cream or spray will help to treat the effects, and avoid the temptation to start scratching. This
can lead to a secondary infection. The rash will need up to two weeks to run its course, but it treated effectively the irritation
will settle within a week.
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