An Encounter with Poison Ivy

In October of 2009, the Walker Mineralogical Club had a trip to the Pinchin Quarry, actually, a series of old marble quarries and waste dumps near Malone, Ontario, Canada. We were after vesuvianite and epidote crystals which can occur in excellent specimens at this locality. We went on a day that had been preceded by ample rain and it rained much of the way to the locality, that morning. By the time we arrived and went to the most promising dump the rain had abated and I removed my raincoat.

The method of collecting here is to dig through the waste rock dump and find chunks of rock that have calcite, under-which might be excellent vesuvianite or epidote crystals. As with many waste rock dumps in southern Ontario, the years have deposited multi-layers of old leaves on and between the rocks, eventually developing into an environment where small plants, raspberries, trees and other plants, including poison ivy grow quite happily.

My method of digging in these kind of localities is to find a high dump slope and dig into the side of the dump, moving large quantities of rock with the help of gravity to expose the desirable lumps. I undertook this strategy that day and dug into the side of the dump first moving the roots and leaves to expose the rock chunks and then digging into the side of the dump, occasionally moving more roots and leaves from the top as I dug into the side.

Didn’t see any poison ivy which I know very well from my childhood encounters and years of avoiding it on collecting trips! It has a distinctive three leaf pattern which is unforgettable. I haven’t had a dose of it for 40 years! Well, I guess there were poison ivy roots there. I’ve heard that you can get it from roots. They look like any other roots and have no distinguishing features that I know of. In the late fall, the leaves are gone, there is no surficial trace of the plant but the roots are still alive and well and full of poison ivy juice. If you get the juice on your skin, you will end up with a rash, more or less terrible depending on exposure, amount, conditions, time, etc. I got it good this time. First time if 40 years despite collecting in many places where poison ivy is prevalent. ! I think the combination of wet shirt, wet roots, leaning on the muckpile (and thus the roots) made for a perfect storm for me to get a major dose.

As it happened, I had to go to a conference in Ottawa, a couple of days afterwards and then on a mineral buying trip to Quebec after that. I noticed the poison ivy rash as we left for Ottawa. It wasn’t too bad and I thought it would not be a big problem. I’d wear long sleeve shirts and nobody would notice. It worked. The poison ivy rash, however got worse and worse and, after four days was a festering mess of blisters, liberally oozing yellow fluids. And the itching/tickling! That is one of the symptoms of poison ivy is the incessant itching and tickling sensation from the wound. Hard to sleep! Hard to concentrate!


I started to worry. I decided the only way to manage it was to wrap it lightly in non-adhering gauze pads and light gauze, allowing it to “breathe” but catching all of the liquid, as well. One of my friends in Montreal, Gilles Haineault, gave me some lotion which helped soothe the itching.
When I finally returned home, I went straight to the doctor and he gave me a prescription for prednisone and penicillin, the standard treatment for really bad poison Ivy. Two weeks after the initial infection, it finally felt like it was healing. Three weeks after, it is finally dried up. It STILL ITCHES/TICKLES! Aieee Aeeiieee Aeeii!

I don’t know why I’m telling you all this except that it may make you a little more careful if you are collecting in southern Ontario, Quebec or the U.S. of A. where this plant thrives. I will be extra vigilant in the future when collecting in areas where poison ivy is known, particularly in the late fall when the leaves are gone!

The worst thing is that I didn’t even FIND one good specimen to make it all worth-while. I don’t think that anyone on the trip found anything worth keeping that day. It was a nice day in the woods, though. Yeesh.

So there you are. Watch out for poison ivy!

OUCH!

As for the poison ivy, the oil does occur on the stems. Look for crooked dark stems, with what appears to be some kind of bark. The stems are about 5-15 cm. Unfortunately, in fall, they are quite easily hidden by recently fallen leaves. (In summer, take a look at poison ivy stems. They are quite unique compared to stems of other small plants we have here.)

I really have to join the Walker Club, they seem to go to interesting spots! Malone is a classic loc for big vesu xls, one that I always wanted to visit.

Dave , you get viruses, poison ivy and are allergic to cats. I shudder think what is next. I can only hope that what doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2009 02:30AM by Rob Woodside.

Hi Philipe,

I always wanted to visit it as well and I am glad that I did despite the P.I. You should join the Walker Mineralogical Club! www.walkermineralogicalclub.org.

Hi David,

I'm sorry about the PI. Sounds horrid and I can relate because I am highly allergic to it. One time it got into my eyes and as I walked into the doctor's office for a shot of Cortisone, the receptionist let out a shriek.

Anyway, digging up roots is always a problem. Just because the foliage has dropped and it is WInter, I find I can get PI year round. And unfortunately, I can no longer take prednisone, so I have to maintain high discipline and not scratch. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Yikes, David!

Rather too cruel that you had to endure such hardship and NOT have a specimen for your efforts. And you looked like you were wearing enough protective gear, too! Potent stuff!

A chap I know had a very similar story to tell... he was clearing brush and pulling vines down from trees... it was a hot day so he was wearing only shorts and boots...(really not so smart, eh?) a day or so later... covered head to toe in the same mess you describe. The vines were poison oak. In his case, after the initial outbreak had cleared, even mowing the lawn could trigger a minor re-ocurrence... Another friend who had an even more severe case as a child (emergency ward to treat anaphylactic shock) has since been allergic to cashews, apparently in the same family as poison ivy.

Thanks for sharing your story.

Maggie

Maggie, Very cruel! Well, at least I only had it on one arm. Bad but localized!

Rob, You guys out west only have to worry about grizzlies and cougars. WE have poison ivy!

David, Thank for your empathy. I empathize with you! Now, I hope I don't get it for another 40 years!

Cheers,

David K. Joyce

HI All!

I have had simular experence as a child with that evil weed. However we in the South have a solution. It is really simple. If you EVEN THINK you have been exposed go home run a bath tub of water and add one cup of Colox or other bleach to the water and take a bath. Due to the chemical make up of PI the bleach breaks it down and it does not posion you. The smell will go away in about 48 hours but you have that clean just wash smell that all the TV ads talk about. Hope this help all dedicated rock hounds out there avoid your pain and itch.

Danny Jones

Dave, you have my deepest sympaathy! I have been there. One time I could not bend my fingers or my elbows because of the mass of blisters.

Danny, Thanks! I was hoping for this sort of input.

Donald, Yikes! You really got into it!

David K. Joyce

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), poison oak (Toxicodendron pubescens), and poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) are all in the Anacardiaceae family, which includes cashew and mango. Poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum, luckily only in south Florida and points south) is another even more toxic relative. Many members of the Anacardiaceae family contain a toxic compound called urushiol. Different species contain different amounts of urushiol and related compounds, and so can cause different reactions in different people. My late father was highly sensitive to poison ivy. I work in the field and come into constant contact with poison ivy and rarely with poison oak. Unless there is much sweat and wiping of the brow, I am unaffected. However, a TINY bit of poison sumac will make me look like your pictures.

Note that for most of the fall and winter all three species of Toxicodendron have persistent white berries. These should help you notice them when no leaves are present. I believe that urushiol is most concentrated in the bark of the stems and roots. I have seen (but not touched) great golden drops of resinous sap exuding from poison ivy stems that have been nicked.

Ken, Thanks for the information! Very helpful.

David K.

The following might be nonsense, but in New York I've heard people hire Haitians to clear poison ivy as they allegedly are immune to the toxic compounds for some genetic reason. Leads me to wonder whether genetic engineering could someday make us all immune to such nuisances...

Ken, thanks for the info. I thought cashews were a legume (pea family). Wrong again? I also remember that cashews were toxic when harvested and had to be treated (roasted?) to get rid of the toxin. Is it urushiol? I dearly love cashews, but have no idea what I'm eating. Is it a bean or a nut?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2009 06:56PM by Rob Woodside.

I worked, some years back, on a mine exploration project in Mineral, Virginia. This historic mining district had numerous lenses of massive pyrite and assorted other sulfides. Over the decades, the abandoned mines had oxidized, and the water table often came to the surface. One local pit, right next to Contrary Creek (yes, they really called it that) was a beautiful emerald green from the dissolved metals. It had a pH of around 2, and drained into the creek which was similar (hence the name).

Locals who got poison ivy or oak were sometimes sent by their doc to take a quick bath in the lovely green liquid, which apparenty removed the toxins on the skin, and probably the first layer of skin as well! Fortunately, I never had to take the cure. But, if you walked in the creek water it would dissolve the thread holding your boots together, so there were other hazards as well.

This was all in the days before the US Clean Water Act. I don't know what has been done for regional cleanup since, but imagine the area has received plenty of attention. I imagine mitigation would have been pretty substantial, and besides, you would lose the local cure for our not so favorite three leaved plants.

Many plants are mistakenly referred to the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family, including coffee (coffee beans) and cacao (cocoa beans). Common names are often misleading in the plant world, arguably more so than minerals......
The cashew nut (seed) is covered by a shell which is removed before sale. The shell contains vesicants - irritating compounds (including urushiol and/or related compounds?). I don't think the seeds themselves contain vesicants that must be destroyed by roasting. I think the shelling gets rid of them. The cashew seed (in its shell) is bourne at the end of an enlarged fleshy stem (pedicel) called the cashew apple. This is also edible.

Sap (sometimes poisonous and irritating ones) from various species in the Anacariaceae are used to produce laquers and mastics (resins). Both are used as varnishes.

Ken, thanks so much for this. I no longer fear raw cashews!!!

I once spent 6 months in Belize, where I heard that poisonous phenols distilled from the spongy shell around the abundant cashews there were used to paint wooden fence posts, which kept them from rotting in that humid tropical environment. But mostly the valuable phenols were wasted by roasting in fires, with the oily poison flashing into flame like petrol, after which the nuts were safe to eat. There is none of this awful stuff in the nut itself, so they are quite safe to eat, but pity the ignorant tourists who sometimes bite into the spongy shell and find their throats filling with blisters! (Incidentally, for "raw foodies", the "raw" cashew nuts in health food stores aren't really raw.)

Here are a couple of photos of cashews on the tree. These are from the island of Hawaii in 2006.

Doug

Thanks so much Doug. Now I see where Hollywood got the idea for pod people!!! No wonder cashews are so expensive- they come individually wrapped. Now I'm curious about the bulbous feature that occurs above the nut. In the first photo one is large and red and presumably attacked by birds, so presumably that doesn't have the toxins? What is that structure? It also raises the question as to why the nut shell is toxic? What is the evolutionary advantage? Nuts with hard or toxic shells protect the seeds from predation, but sweet fruits attract preditors and get a fertilized start in their feces. That both can exist even in the same environment means that both are good strategies. Biology is so confusing!!!