In the summer, people start to do more activities in the yard and outdoors. In particular, we should remind everyone that outdoor activities should pay special attention to some plants, which are often highly toxic killers.
Although it looks like Queen Anne's Lace, poison hemlock is a very dangerous plant.
Pansy was previously mainly found in the northern and western United States, but recently appeared in some parts of southern Texas, and nearly killed a woman in the Dallas area.
Kenzie Kizer of Lancaster, a suburb of Dallas, posted a post late last month with photos of the poison pansy and what happened to her. She said that she was weeding that day, just plucking the poison pansy, and her hands were as if they were burned. Thankfully, she decided to take a shower first, so an hour later when the toxicity attacked, she was able to rush to the emergency room for help, but by then she had a swollen tongue and difficulty breathing. Therefore, Kenzie Kizer's post reminds residents of northern Texas to pay attention to this poisonous weed that looks like a wild carrot flower, once found, do not touch it, and wear it neatly to remove it, and do not burn it after uprooting, because it will overflow with poisonous gas, and it is best to throw it away with other gardening waste.
Experts at Texas A&M University said that the stems and leaves of poisonous pansies are the most poisonous parts, and animals will die violently after eating two or three hours, and people will die within two hours after eating six to eight leaves.
If you find a trace of the poison pansy, in addition to contacting Sam Houston State University, send the photos to the [email protected], if you want to remove it yourself, wear rubber gloves, long sleeves, long pants and shoes, not only to avoid skin contact with the poison pansy, but also do not burn. Once a poison pansy is found near your home, it is best to pull the weeds manually and use a weeding machine to splash the juices.
In addition to poisonous pansies, there are many poisonous weeds in various states in the United States, and the editor summarizes for everyone, and you must be careful next time dealing with these grasses.
1. Poison ivy (also known as poison ivy, poison lacquer ivy)
“Leaves of three, let it be.” (Don't touch a cluster of three lobes.) This well-known nursery rhyme in the United States refers to the poisonous plant that people most often come into contact with: poison ivy.
The leaves, stems and roots of poison ivy contain a resin called Urushiol, and people who come into contact with it will have allergic reactions, most of them only mild rashes, and some children will have severe rashes.
Not only is poison ivy dangerous to touch directly, but people or pets with urushiol can also infect others with this allergen. Incineration of poison ivy is also not an option, because urushiol releases toxins during incineration, and when inhaled, it can cause severe allergic reactions in the lungs and throat, making it difficult to breathe and fatally dangerous.
Exposure to poison ivy allergy is the most reported case by U.S. poison control centers, with at least 350,000 cases per year.
● Identify poison ivy
Poison ivy can be found on the edge of forests in almost every state in the United States, except in Alaska, Hawaii and California; It is also found in the western part of the continent. The leaves are ovate and zigzag, with three lobes in a cluster. Poison ivy is generally a vine or shrub that grows around trees and fences. The leaves are red in spring, orange in autumn, and sometimes light berries.
● Removal of urushiol
Experts in skin inflammation recommend that in case of exposure to poison ivy, the touched area should be thoroughly washed with soap and warm water no later than 8 hours (rinse three times). The key to removing "urushiol" is to wipe the skin with wet wipes, loofah baths, etc., which is more effective than any detergent.
Clothes or tools that have come into contact with poison ivy should also be washed; If the child's soccer ball rolls into poison ivy, it must also be released to clean.
● Rash treatment
The rash usually appears 12 to 48 hours after exposure to poison ivy, and in addition to redness, swelling, and blisters, the symptoms can also make it itchy for two or three weeks to sleep.
Mild rashes can be tried to relieve symptoms at home; If the rash is severe, such as persistent swelling, infection, fever, etc., you should see a doctor. Treatment at home can be done in the following ways:
• For the first few days, apply some corticosteroid ointment;
• Apply calamine lotion 3 to 4 times a day and apply cold for 15 to 30 minutes;
• Oral antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) to relieve itching, diphenhydramine also helps sleep;
• 1% hydrocortisone ointment reduces inflammation;
2. Poison sumac
Poisonous sumac trees are most commonly found in the Mississippi River basin and east coast of the Midwestern United States, mostly in moist woods or swampy areas.
Poison sumac trees can grow into shrubs or trees that produce yellowish or cream-colored berries; Its leaves are ovate, with 7 to 13 pieces per stem, orange in spring and red in autumn.
Like poison ivy, both sumac and the poison oak described below contain urushiol, the same symptoms after exposure or inhalation of combustion fumes, and the same emergency and treatment methods.
3. Poison oak (also known as poison oak)
Poison oak is more commonly found in the southeastern and western regions of the United States. Like poison ivy, the poison oak can grow into a shrub or climbing vine, and the leaves are also in groups of three, except that the leaf margins are wavy or rounded, resembling oak (i.e. oak) leaves.
Poison oak will bloom yellow-green flowers in spring and light green berries in summer and autumn; The leaves are green in spring, yellowish pink in summer, and brown in autumn.
4. Poison hemlock (Spotted hemlock, or poison pansy, poison hemlock)
It's the poisonous weed that appears in Texas today.
It is a common perennial plant in North America and one of the most toxic plants in North America. The plant grows up to 1.5 to 2.5 m tall and has white umbel-shaped flower clusters with purple spots on the stem.
For livestock and other animals that eat plants, exposure to poison ginseng can cause rashes; If a person or animal eats by mistake, it will initially cause general fatigue, rapid heartbeat, muscle atrophy and severe pain, and eventually vision loss, paralysis of both lungs and death. It is worth mentioning that Plato recorded that the philosopher Socrates died generously and drank poisonous ginseng juice.
5. Water Hemlock (also known as water poison pansy, water hemlock)
It is a close relative of poison ginseng and grows in swamps, rivers and moist meadows, with white and green umbrella-shaped flowers. Its appearance is similar to artichoke, celery, sweet potatoes, fennel and wild parsnips, and is generally recognizable by the purplish-red stem and a whitish membrane on top.
Poison celery is called "the most poisonous plant found in England" by the British. Its toxic component is apigenin, the most toxic is the rhizome, and other parts are also available. Symptoms of poisoning after ingestion include nausea and vomiting, dizziness, tremor, and abdominal pain, which can be fatal within 15 minutes if not treated immediately. Most deaths are due to ingestion, but there are also cases of children dying after skin-to-skin contact.
6) Giant Hogweed
This biennial weed is a poisonous plant transmitted to North America from the United Kingdom, which can grow to more than 4 meters tall, and has twenty or thirty umbrella-like white flowers at the top, thick leaves, purple spots and white hairs on the green stem.
If the human body is exposed to the white juice in its stems and leaves and then exposed to direct ultraviolet rays, skin cells will be damaged and necrosis, and serious reactions such as scalds, blisters, redness and swelling will occur, and the blisters may be very painful, and the scars may not disappear for years; If it touches the eyes, it will burn light, fear of light, and risk blindness in severe cases.
7. Wild Parsnip
Wild parsnips are ubiquitous in North America. It is a close relative of radish and edible at the root, but the stems and leaves are highly toxic. If you see this yellow umbrella-shaped flower on the side of the road and smell a strong smell, don't pick it up or touch it.
The sap of wild parsnip stems and leaves contains the same allergic ingredient as large hogweed, photosensitive furocoumarin, which will produce the same rash symptoms after exposure to the sun.
Skin invaded by the sap of large hogweed or wild parsnip cannot be exposed to the sun for at least 3 years, which is also known as "vampire symptoms".
8. Stinging nettle
Most of the United States is found in stinging nettle, which resembles herbs such as catnip and has greenish-white flowers. The leaves are jagged, with piercing hairs, and even if the skin is lightly touched, there will be an immediate tingling and burning sensation, and in severe cases, inflammation or urticaria will appear.
However, stinging nettles are also a green vegetable, and cooking soups is delicious and healthy.
9. Spotted spurge
In American gardens, spotted brocade can be found everywhere, this grass grows into dense mats, with dark green leaves growing in pairs, and purple round spots can be seen in the middle of the leaves.
When the stem is broken, milky white toxic juice flows out of the spot, which can irritate the eyes and skin, and should be thoroughly washed and seen by a doctor if touched.
10. Daturas
Datura plants belong to the genus Solanaceae Mandala and include:
• Angel's trumpets (also known as angel's trumpets, left), up to 2 meters tall,
• Desert Datura (also known as American Mantura, upper right), is a dwarf shrub with large flowers and leaves.
• Herbaceous mandala (Jimsonweed, thornapple, bottom right), an annual grown, up to half a meter tall.
When the datura blooms, the whole plant is hung with tubular flowers, white, yellow, pink, lilac, etc., the leaves are green or slightly purple, and the edges are coarsely jagged. The whole plant contains neurotoxins such as scopolamine, scopolamine and a small amount of atropine, of which scopolamine is known as the world's most feared drug. The herb "Meng Khan medicine" recorded in ancient books comes from mandala.
However, because mandala flowers can be used medically, and the leaves of mandala resemble okra (Okra) and wild vegetable pseudo-sour slurry (Giftbeere, that is, large cannon grass), accidental ingestion poisoning accidents often occur, and its symptoms include fever, dry mouth, rash, visual hallucinations, palpitations, headache, delirium, cramps, coma, etc.
Looking at the photos, many people think that these flowers and plants look alike, it is still difficult to distinguish, it seems that you can only advise everyone not to pick the wildflowers on the roadside!