Successful
use of plants in a survival situation depends on positive
identification.
Knowing poisonous plants is as important to a survivor as knowing
edible
plants. Knowing the poisonous plants will help you avoid sustaining
injuries
from them.
Plants generally poison by--
Plant poisoning ranges from minor irritation to death. A common question asked is, "How poisonous is this plant?" It is difficult to say how poisonous plants are because--
Some common misconceptions about poisonous plants are--
The point is there is no one rule to aid in identifying poisonous plants. You must make an effort to learn as much about them as possible.
It is to your benefit to learn as much about plants as possible. Many poisonous plants look like their edible relatives or like other edible plants. For example, poison hemlock appears very similar to wild carrot. Certain plants are safe to eat in certain seasons or stages of growth and poisonous in other stages. For example, the leaves of the pokeweed are edible when it first starts to grow, but it soon becomes poisonous. You can eat some plants and their fruits only when they are ripe. For example, the ripe fruit of mayapple is edible, but all other parts and the green fruit are poisonous. Some plants contain both edible and poisonous parts; potatoes and tomatoes are common plant foods, but their green parts are poisonous.
Some plants become toxic after wilting. For example, when the black cherry starts to wilt, hydrocyanic acid develops. Specific preparation methods make some plants edible that are poisonous raw. You can eat the thinly sliced and thoroughly dried corms (drying may take a year) of the jack-in-the-pulpit, but they are poisonous if not thoroughly dried.
Learn to identify and use plants before a survival situation. Some sources of information about plants are pamphlets, books, films, nature trails, botanical gardens, local markets, and local natives. Gather and cross-reference information from as many sources as possible, because many sources will not contain all the information needed.
Your best policy is to be able to look at a plant and identify it with absolute certainty and to know its uses or dangers. Many times this is not possible. If you have little or no knowledge of the local vegetation, use the rules to select plants for the "Universal Edibility Test." Remember, avoid --
Contact dermatitis from plants will usually cause the most trouble in the field. The effects may be persistent, spread by scratching, and are particularly dangerous if there is contact in or around the eyes.
The principal toxin of these plants is usually an oil that gets on the skin upon contact with the plant. The oil can also get on equipment and then infect whoever touches the equipment. Never bum a contact poisonous plant because the smoke may be as harmful as the plant. There is a greater danger of being affected when overheated and sweating. The infection may be local or it may spread over the body.
Symptoms may take from a few hours to several days to appear. Signs and symptoms can include burning, reddening, itching, swelling, and blisters.
When you first contact the poisonous plants or the first symptoms appear, try to remove the oil by washing with soap and cold water. If water is not available, wipe your skin repeatedly with dirt or sand. Do not use dirt if blisters have developed. The dirt may break open the blisters and leave the body open to infection. After you have removed the oil, dry the area. You can wash with a tannic acid solution and crush and rub jewelweed on the affected area to treat plant-caused rashes. You can make tannic acid from oak bark.
Poisonous plants that cause contact dermatitis are--
Ingestion poisoning can be very serious and could lead to death very quickly. Do not eat any plant unless you have positively identified it first. Keep a log of all plants eaten.
Signs and symptoms of ingestion poisoning can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, depressed heartbeat and respiration, headaches, hallucinations, dry mouth, unconsciousness, coma, and death.
If you suspect plant poisoning, try to remove the poisonous material from the victim's mouth and stomach as soon as possible. Induce vomiting by tickling the back of his throat or by giving him warm saltwater, if he is conscious. Dilute the poison by administering large quantities of water or milk, if he is conscious.
The following plants can cause ingestion poisoning if eaten:
Plants basically poison on contact, ingestion, or by absorption or inhalation. They cause painful skin irritations upon contact, they cause internal poisoning when eaten, and they poison through skin absorption or inhalation in respiratory system. Many edible plants have deadly relatives and look-alikes. Preparation for military missions includes learning to identify those harmful plants in the target area. Positive identification of edible plants will eliminate the danger of accidental poisoning. There is no room for experimentation where plants are concerned, especially in unfamiliar territory.
|
Cowhage, cowage, cowitch |
|
Description: A vinelike plant that has oval leaflets in groups of three and hairy spikes with dull purplish flowers. The seeds are brown, hairy pods.
|
CAUTION Contact with the pods and flowers causes irritation and blindness if in the eyes. |
Habitat and Distribution: Tropical areas and the United States.
|
Death camas, death lily |
|
Description: This plant arises from a bulb and may be mistaken for an onionlike plant. Its leaves are grasslike. Its flowers are six-parted and the petals have a green, heart-shaped structure on them. The flowers grow on showy stalks above the leaves.
|
CAUTION All parts of this plant are very poisonous. Death camas does not have the onion smell. |
Habitat and Distribution: Death camas is found in wet, open, sunny habitats, although some species favor dry, rocky slopes. They are common in parts of the western United States. Some species are found in the eastern United States and in parts of the North American western subarctic and eastern Siberia.
|
Oleander |
|
Description: This shrub or small tree grows to about 9 meters, with alternate, very straight, dark green leaves. Its flowers may be white, yellow, red, pink, or intermediate colors. Its fruit is a brown, podlike structure with many small seeds.
|
CAUTION All parts of the plant are very poisonous. Do not use the wood for cooking; it gives off poisonous fumes that can poison food. |
Habitat and Distribution: This native of the Mediterranean area is now grown as an ornamental in tropical and temperate regions.
|
Physic nut |
|
Description: This shrub or small tree has large, 3- to 5-parted alternate leaves. It has small, greenish-yelllow flowers and its yellow, apple-sized fruits contain three large seeds.
|
CAUTION The seeds taste sweet but their oil is violently purgative. All parts of the physic nut are poisonous. |
Habitat and Distribution: Throughout the tropics and southern United States.
|
Poison hemlock, fool's parsley |
|
Description: This biennial herb may grow to 2.5 meters high. The smooth, hollow stem may or may not be purple or red striped or mottled. Its white flowers are small and grow in small groups that tend to form flat umbels. Its long, turniplike taproot is solid.
|
CAUTION This plant is very poisonous and even a very small amount may cause death. This plant is easy to confuse with wild carrot or Queen Anne's lace, especially in its first stage of growth. Wild carrot or Queen Anne's lace has hairy leaves and stems and smells like carrot. Poison hemlock does not. |
Habitat and Distribution: Poison hemlock grows in wet or moist ground like swamps, wet meadows, stream banks, and ditches. Native to Eurasia, it has been introduced to the United States and Canada.
|
Poison ivy and poison oak |
|
Description: These two plants are quite similar in appearance and will often crossbreed to make a hybrid. Both have alternate, compound leaves with three leaflets. The leaves of poison ivy are smooth or serrated. Poison oak's leaves are lobed and resemble oak leaves. Poison ivy grows as a vine along the ground or climbs by red feeder roots. Poison oak grows like a bush. The greenish-white flowers are small and inconspicuous and are followed by waxy green berries that turn waxy white or yellow, then gray.
|
CAUTION All parts, at all times of the year, can cause serious contact dermatitis. |
Habitat and Distribution: Poison ivy and oak can be found in almost any habitat in North America.
|
Poison sumac |
|
Description: Poison sumac is a shrub that grows to 8.5 meters tall. It has alternate, pinnately compound leafstalks with 7 to 13 leaflets. Flowers are greenish-yellow and inconspicuous and are followed by white or pale yellow berries.
|
CAUTION All parts can cause serious contact dermatitis at all times of the year. |
Habitat and Distribution: Poison sumac grows only in wet, acid swamps in North America.
|
Trumpet vine or trumpet creeper |
|
Description: This woody vine may climb to 15 meters high. It has pealike fruit capsules. The leaves are pinnately compound, 7 to 11 toothed leaves per leaf stock. The trumpet-shaped flowers are orange to scarlet in color.
|
CAUTION This plant causes contact dermatitis. |
Habitat and Distribution: This vine is found in wet woods and thickets throughout eastern and central North America.
|
Water hemlock or spotted cowbane |
Description: This perennial herb may grow to 1.8 meters high. The stem is hollow and sectioned off like bamboo. It may or may not be purple or red striped or mottled. Its flowers are small, white, and grow in groups that tend to form flat umbels. Its roots may have hollow air chambers and, when cut, may produce drops of yellow oil.
|
CAUTION This plant is very poisonous and even a very small amount of this plant may cause death. Its roots have been mistaken for parsnips. |
Habitat and Distribution: Water hemlock grows in wet or moist ground like swamps, wet meadows, stream banks, and ditches throughout the Unites States and Canada.