I'm really excited to share Part 3 of our Poisonous Plant Series - {Incredible, but toxic, Edibles}! If you need to catch up, you can find
Part 1 {Flowering Plants} here and
Part 2 {Nuts, Seeds, & Berries} here.
When I first began studying wild plants in our area, I was quite surprised to learn that many of them weren't as dangerous as I first believed. I remember as a young child, I was lucky enough to have a grandfather who, I still believe to this day, knew everything. He taught me a lot about things outdoors, and although he wasn't much of a hiker or backpacker, he'd lived off the land long enough to know his stuff.
Although I didn't realize it until later in life - long after we'd lost him all too soon to a stroke - I'd already eaten, sucked, nibbled, infused, stewed, and cracked many of the plants I was studying. We'd dig up the roots of sassafras for tea, and although I loved the smell of it, I remember strongly disliking it's flavor - even with more sugar than was probably necessary. Berries were picked galore with the majority being wild red raspberry and wild blackberry. I'd stand watch while my grandmother carefully washed, picked, and jellied the buckets of berries we'd bring in. We chewed on Sourwood leaves, sucked the nectar off Honeysuckle stamens, and ate freshly dug, raw Wild Potatoes straight from the ground (better to cook them, I've now learned). Everyday was an adventure with him around.
Now, I'm re-learning most of this information that he filled my tiny head with back then. Some of it is familiar, other parts are not. The best thing I've learned so far is that we have some incredible plants here in East Tennessee. So incredible that sometimes - just sometimes - they're poisonous AND edible. How can that be? Let me show you.
Common Elderberry
Low toxicity
Possibly another super-fruit, elderberries are known by researchers to aid in boosting the immune system, and help fight against some common ailments such as a cold, flu, cough, and chest congestion. Hippocrates described the Elderberry shrub as a medicine chest - full of nutrients and health benefits. One type of nutrient, known as flavonoids, are responsible for the high antioxidant properties of elderberries. The type found in these berries is one of the most powerful, and known to aid against cell damage. Also, elderberries may improve vision (especially night vision), and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases due to its ability to block LDL (bad) cholesterol oxidation.
Elderberries are perfectly edible when ripe. Even the flowers are edible! The roots, leaves, and unripe berries should be avoided.
Identification: A deciduous shrub with a soft, woody stem and large white pith (inside). Flowers are white, small, and erupt in large, umbrella-like clusters (top left). Fruits are small, purplish-black when ripe (right).
Route: Ingestion
Symptoms: Nausea, Vomiting, diarrhea, and in extreme (rare) cases - coma.
Pokeweed (Poke)
Highly toxic - fatalities have been reported
It's hard to have lived in the southern Appalachian region and not have heard of Poke Sallet (Salad). I've never actually tried it, but people who eat it say it's wonderful. The "salad" is not eaten raw, like a true salad, but is rather double-cooked (in two waters) and eaten like cooked greens (much like collard or turnip greens).
I've always heard the saying, "If it's red, you're dead!" The harmful part of this plant are the roots, seeds, mature shoots, and leaves - especially so if they've already turned red. When preparing poke, you should never include the root, and make sure to discard any shoots tinged with red.
Identification: A widely branched, weedy plant with large leaves and thick stalks that turn red as the plant reaches maturity. It flowers on long stalks and are grouped in droopy clusters. The berries are glossy, purple-black with red stems.
Route: Ingestion
Symptoms: Burning mouth and throat, salivation, severe stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, spasms, convulsions, death.
Mayapple
Toxic except for Mature Fruits
I believe the Mayapple to be God's way of tucking a little tropical into our East Tennessee hills. The mature fruit (or "apple") doesn't taste like an apple, but rather has a distinctive lemon-lime flavor. And the "apple" doesn't ripen in May, like the name suggests. It's the appearance of the gorgeous little white flower peeking out from underneath that puts the "May" in Mayapple. (Left - photo taken yesterday: Mayapples emerging for Spring)
Identification: Look for Mayapples to grow in groups (right). One single rhizome grows below the ground from which multiple plants sprout in early Spring. Usually two types come up: A single stemmed plant and a Y-stemmed plant. Both will have a large, umbrella-like appearance with the leaves being deeply lobed and rounded in shape. The Y-stemmed plants are the ones that produce fruit.
On these, a single 6 (rarely 9) petaled, white flower (left) will appear around May and mature into an egg-shaped, greenish-yellow fruit by June. The fruit ("apple") will ripen usually by late July, early August and have a deeply yellow color. Because the leaves of the plant begin to die off at this time, it is suggested that you locate the Mayapples for harvest before they've grown to maturity. Look for these beauties in low-lying, moist, wooded openings.
All parts of this plant, except the mature pulp around the seed, are poisonous: the unripe fruit (right), leaves, roots, and seeds.
Route: Ingestion
Symptoms: Salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, excitement, headache, fever, coma, possibly fatal.
For more on the Mayapple, visit this awesome article over at
Mother Earth News.
Wild Parsnip
Mild Toxicity - Contact Dermatitis Warning
I've never eaten, gathered, or even photographed Wild Parsnip, but after stumbling across it during research for other plants listed here I had to include it. It's a very interesting plant even without discussing the existence of a compound that causes phytophotodermatitis. Huh... What?!? Phyto- (plant) photo- (light) dermatitis- (skin irritation) - easier when you break it down like that!
In essence, sweaty, wet skin mixes with a chemical produced by the Wild Parsnip plant when you're out chopping it down, digging for roots, and before you know it, there's a big rash appearing on your skin. It could cause a burning sensation at first and later may appear blistery, runny, red, and inflamed. It is primarily associated with the chemical "attracting" or "magnifying" more of the sun's ultraviolet rays. So yeah, it's kind of like getting a really bad sunburn on patches of skin where the chemical has made contact.
Identification: A coarse, biennial herb that produces a low rosette of leaves in the first year, and a thick, hollowed, deeply-ribbed stalk topped with an umbrella-like cluster of tiny, five-petaled, yellow flowers the second. Leaves are without stems, alternating, toothed, oval in shape, and sometimes lobed. The fruit is elongated and dry. First year taproots are used like farm grown parsnips.
Route: Contact Dermatitis
Symptoms: Red, inflamed, irritated skin - may appear with blisters. Could take months to heal. Sometimes cause hyper- or hypopigmentation after the healing process.
Sassafras
Uncertain Toxicity - Could cause cancer
Worth noting is the recent research regarding the use of Sassafras in teas and edibles. Studies have found that a chemical inside the plant (Safrole) caused tumors - including cancerous tumors - on the livers of animals who'd been given a long-term exposure. No human studies have been done that I could find. But because of the animal research, the Food and Drug Administration has banned Safrole as a food additive. Some sassafras products, like Sassafras Tea, can still be found because it is marketed and sold as a "natural food."
It is not known for certain whether Sassafras causes cancer in humans, but researchers suggest you limit your Sassafras intake. Just for reference, long-term exposure would be like drinking 10 cups of Sassafras Tea daily, so limiting your Sassafras habit (does anyone have one of these?) to once a week may be okay.
Identification: A medium-sized deciduous tree growing 30-59 feet tall with bark that is deeply grooved and similar in pattern to an oak tree. The leaves are alternate, simple, and smooth, and can vary between having no lobes to up to four lobes. The flowers are tiny, yellow, and five petaled with blue-black, egg-shaped fruits maturing in late summer.
Route: Ingestion
Symptoms: Long-term exposure could possibly cause cancer.
**Disclaimer**
I have to add this. These are plants found in our region - East Tennessee. Your area may differ, your poisonous plants may differ. Also, none of this information should be taken or used as medical advice. It is for educational purposes only. Please seek medical attention ~ not blog-help ~ if you or someone you know has ingested, inhaled, or otherwise come into contact with an unidentified plant.
by Glacier Glove. This time around Steven has simplified it to only one entry per person, and all you need to do is get the word out about the give-a-way. You can blog about, tweet it, or post it on Facebook. Once you've done that simply go back to MyLifeOutdoors.com and leave a comment on the give-a-way post by May 10th and you are in like Flynn. When you leave your comment be sure to tell Steven how awesome he looks with those gloves on. I'm sure it will make him giggle. :P
. Because of this, Osprey was kind enough to offer one of the packs for a give-a-way. To get a chance at this sweet pack, you just need to head over to Section Hiker, and leave a comment on the give-a-way post. There's a catch though. No ordinary comment will do. Philip wants to know who your hiking mentor is/was and don't just say someone's name, but rather give some detail, a story if you will. While you are at it, tell Philip how cool I think he is that he's section hiking the AT. One of these days I might be as cool as him. ;)
Tyler at MyCampMate.com (Yes the one and only social Camp Trip Planning App for the iPhone) is giving away a camping trip up to $50. That's right a camping trip, who couldn't use one of those right about now. So here's the scoop, May is National Invite a Friend Month at MyCampMate.com and to win the camping trip, is join MyCampMate.com and invite people your friends to join/register. The first 4 people that invite and have 50 friends win a camping trip up to $50 anytime anywhere. Just let Tyler know when and where and he will get it booked for you.
and a Granite Gear Toughsack
. Every month this year they are giving away some cool stuff and the fire starter and Toughsack from Granite Gear is the special gear they are awarding for May. All you have to do is go to there site find the listing for the May give-a-way (don't worry, currently it's the third item down from the top, May 1st post) and click the register link and fill in the info on the subsequent page. While you are there hit their feedback link and let them know they have a great site and some pretty cool give-a-ways.
and free entry into Rock Creek's Scenic City Trail Marathon and 1/2 Marathon. Once you've done that, if you are feeling really ambitious, tell your friends, family and everyone else you know to do the same. I would really be most appreciative and who knows might even have a give-a-way right here. I'll definitely write up a great post about the shoes and the race experience. Who wouldn't want to read that?
so you can enjoy those day hikes as well.
tent and our Ascend Hiker 2
tent. The Eureka is more of a family camp tent that we take to the campground when the whole family (Robin, Ash, the Beene, and I) are going to camp for a couple of days or more. The Ascend is our backcountry tent that sleeps two comfortably even with the Beene, and would sleep all of us but we'd be very cramped. This tent is used for backcountry trips that Robin and I will be taking in the very near future and for short overnight camp outs like we did the other day.
A sleeping pad or an air mattress isn't necessarily essential but it can provide more comfort especially for us older folk who get stiff just thinking about sleeping on the hard ground. There are many different options in this arena so do your research. If we are roughing, then we will just bring our sleeping pads, of course after our impromptu camping trip we might upgrade to one of those pool floats
, they are cheap and lightweight and has to be better than styrofoam. However, if we have the big tent and are out for more than a couple of days you may want to look into an air mattress or two depending on how many campers you have in the tent. Of course there's always military style cots too. If you aren't using a tent or a tarp then a hammock or a good reclining lawn chair has been known to work as well.
for the campsite, flashlights or headlights for walking back and forth to the bathhouse and trash cans at night, and going on those fun nighttime, ranger led park programs. Additionally, you are going to need something for a campfire if there are no fire bans in effect, because let's face it camping isn't camping unless you have a good campfire to tell ghost stories by or to make s'mores and roast marshmallows. In this department there are several remedies.
. It's really all about preference here. Just remember to be careful and respect the fire.
to dutch oven, pots, pans and utensils, and let's not forget dinnerware. Unless of course you like to eat like a Marine, then you will want plates, bowls, spoons, forks, or better yet sporks. You will also need the items necessary to clean the camp dishes, unless of course you go the bare minimum route and plan on beanie wennies, vieanna sausages, hot dogs, etc. Then the most you will need is a good green stick from an appropriate tree. Of course you could always splurge and get some roasting sticks and save the tree branches. 
We've got the bare minimum essentials pretty well covered now with the exception of clothing. Of course I don't think anyone goes camping naked do they? Wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know. So what extra pieces can one consider to make camp life a little more pleasant? There's plenty. Camp chairs to sit next to the fire. It sure beats sitting on a log, a rock, or the ground next to the fire for hours. Of course if it's all you've got then it's all you've got right? Another item of luxury that we absolutely love is our food tent, a full mesh canopy. We aren't much on bugs and stuff around our food items, and it also comes in handy when there's liquid sunshine looming. Most of the campgrounds we go to have picnic tables at the campsites, and our canopy is large enough to stand up over and around the table.
What about bikes? Nothing wrong with bringing bikes or scooters for the kids and for yourself as well. It give you time to spend with the kids around the campground and the rest of the park. Or if you need to get supper done or want some quiet time for a nap or to read a good book, the bikes and scooters are a great way to preoccupy the kids with some good relaxation time. If there are trails available where you are camping you might also consider bringing your daypacks along so you can get up and enjoy a walk in the woods. The best part you don't have to drive because you are already there. Finally, I think another great extra to have at camp is a deck of cards or some sort of game to play. Another way to have good family time around the camp or if there's inclement weather that forces you into the tent, then you've got something to help pass the time. A good book works, too.
Last, but certainly not least in the series is {Ferns & Fungi}. Both of these require a lot of expertise to confirm species. Ferns are just plain hard to identify. And to be fair, in order to cover fungi as thoroughly as it needs to be, we'd have to write a post a day for more than 2,000 days just to cover the known species in the Smoky Mountains alone.
Identification: Our most abundant fern. Grows from 1 to 6 feet, and has large, coarse, erect fronds that are attached to a slender rootstock. Usually divided into three sections and largely triangular in appearance. Fiddleheads are shaped like an eagle's claw when unfurling and is covered in a silver-gray "hair." Mature stems are partially grooved in the front, and colored green then brown.
On these, a single 6 (rarely 9) petaled, white flower (left) will appear around May and mature into an egg-shaped, greenish-yellow fruit by June. The fruit ("apple") will ripen usually by late July, early August and have a deeply yellow color. Because the leaves of the plant begin to die off at this time, it is suggested that you locate the Mayapples for harvest before they've grown to maturity. Look for these beauties in low-lying, moist, wooded openings.
All parts of this plant, except the mature pulp around the seed, are poisonous: the unripe fruit (right), leaves, roots, and seeds.
Identification: A medium-sized deciduous tree growing 30-59 feet tall with bark that is deeply grooved and similar in pattern to an oak tree. The leaves are alternate, simple, and smooth, and can vary between having no lobes to up to four lobes. The flowers are tiny, yellow, and five petaled with blue-black, egg-shaped fruits maturing in late summer.
Pictured on right - Itty-Bitty Ashby with handful of acorns: Notorious for packing pockets full of nuts. One time, I found a gazillion wormy-like insects in her room. I traced them back to a bag full of buckeyes she'd stored in her bookshelf!
Identification: There are four main species of Buckeye tree (also could be called a Horsechestnut in some parts) that decorate East Tennessee. The Yellow, Red, Ohio (above left), and Painted Buckeyes are all native species, along with a few hybrid trees that aren't graced with easy to remember common names. They all have a similar appearance, but can range in height with Red and Painted growing 16 - 26 feet, Ohio 50 - 82 feet, and Yellow 65 - 154 feet. All have a similar, compound leaf structure with leaflets in sets of five, fused at the base, and evenly toothed. Flowers in panicles (clusters - think Lilac) and are yellow on the Ohio, Painted, and Yellow species of tree. The Red Buckeye produces red flowers. After blooming, a smooth, round capsule forms which can contain 1 - 3 smooth, shiny brown nuts with a whitish-beige "eye" or "scar" (right).
Identification: A climbing vine with toothed leaves, five leaflets to a stem. Flowers small and inconspicuously. In the late summer - to early fall it produces dark blue to purplish-blue berries in a terminal cluster. Berries could be mistaken as wild grapes.
