Poisonous Plants
AS THOSE OF US WHO HAVE SUFFERED THROUGH a bout of poison ivy can attest,
coming into contact with a poisonous plant—let alone ingesting it—can
be an extremely unpleasant experience. Poisoning from plants can result
in anything from minor irritation to death.
An important part of your trip planning and preparation is to learn
which plants you’ll encounter when you’re in the wild, especially since
many edible plants have poisonous look-alikes. Also, don’t believe the fol-
lowing misconceptions about poisonous plants:
Misconception: “Eat what the animals eat.”
Fact: Not true. Animals sometimes eat plants that are poisonous to the
rest of us.
Misconception: “If I boil the plant, the toxins will be removed.”
Fact: In some cases, boiling doesn’t remove all toxins.
Misconception: “Red... you’re dead.”
Fact: Some red plants are poisonous, but not all.
Misconception: “White... just right.”
Fact: Many white plants and berries are poisonous.
If you don’t know what a plant is, don’t touch it or eat it. Eating
the wrong plant can kill you. Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal
cramps, depressed heartbeat and respiration, headaches, and hallucina-
tions are all symptoms of poisoning.
If you suspect you’ve eaten a poisonous plant, immediately induce
vomiting. This will bring up some of the toxic matter, but not all. After
vomiting, if you have an ample supply of water, drink as much as possible
to dilute the poison.
When you have no knowledge of a plant, suspect it’s edible, and have
no other choice but starvation, then you need to do an edibility test before
you ingest any quantity of it. (For more on edibility tests, refer to “Food,”
Chapter 8.) However, never eat mushrooms! Identifying mushrooms is
(^264) | Survive!