Toxin in Common groundsel

If taken in small doses repeatedly by humans, cows or horses, the senecionine it contains causes irreversible cirrhosis of the liver, without the joy of imbibing, and in larger dosage it can prove lethal. It usually takes a few weeks to 5 months after consumption for symptoms to appear. A dosage of about 5-10% of total body weight can result in a chronic long-term liver-based illness, but when dosage reaches 25-50% of total body weight, senecionine can kill. Because of their lower body mass, it afflicts younger people or younger animals most easily. The highest concentration of poison lies in its flowers and the lowest in the roots. Leaves become most toxic just before flowers mature. While moths, rabbits, goats, sheep, and birds consume it, I’d sure hate to test tolerance levels on a precious pet.

Left: Common groundsel looks raggedy… Right: and its multiple fertile florets never emerge to form showy flowers

Poison ivy, Dangerous to Touch or Consume

Poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, gains its weedy reputation from the horrendous itchy rashes it creates in the allergic, as well as its invasive growth. To reiterate from Q#3…its toxic oil, uroshiol, binds with skin proteins to become part of its living victim, which helps oils linger. Oil cannot be easily dissolved, unless removed IMMEDIATELY, or within 5-10 minutes. Uroshiol can inflame and blister the skin within 24-48 hours of contact. External blisters turn relentlessly itchy and even painful, linger for 2 weeks, and internal blisters or severe rash can prove fatal. Don’t eat it or inhale smoke from burning plants. Its roots, stems, leaves, in fact all of its parts contain uroshiol.

Even over-wintering stems and roots can irritate, since non-volatile uroshiol remains active for over a year in dead, dried or even chemically treated plants. Some botanists contend, in theory, that you must bruise or break the plant to release its poisons, but insects that feed on plants usually provide enough surface disruption to allow toxins to ooze onto the unwary and allergic. Wear gloves when weeding and if you think you touched it, clean gloves with bleach, chlorine, or alcohol!