Dangerous invasive plants

[PhinneyWalker]

Originally Posted by don6170

After reading this book, I am very hesitant to eat/touch anything I didn't buy in a store. It is amazing how much dangerous stuff is out there.

"Wicked Plants"
The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities
https://www.amystewart.com/books/wicked-plants/

Nature is so amazing...the variety of life it produces is mind boggling. I want to read this book. Thank you for mentioning it.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by bagster

I used to pick unfamiliar weeds and take them to my computer for help with indentification.
It'll be cell phone photos only after reading this. Has anyone ever picked a strange plant and had a reaction?


https://www.discovery.com/nature/Suicide-Plant

Yeah, I tried to weed Stinging Nettle once by hand before knowing what it was. It's a unique and very uncomfortable pain. It is a mistake you only make once.

[PhinneyWalker]

I picked either poison ivy or poison oak once as a child because I thought it was pretty. We probably all make that mistake as children.

Insects can be just as bad. I have been stung/bitten by a variety of insects over the years. Some produced awful effects. A couple of years ago I cut down an evergreen tree that a previous tenant had planted so close to the wall that it was pushing against the eavestroughing. At the time, I did not feel anything at all, but a little later, I noticed terrible looking whelps rising up all over my legs that itched like mad. Several days later, perplexed, I did a little research and found out I had been bitten by chiggers. All I can say is, if you ever have to cut down or prune an evergreen, be sure to wear clothing that completely covers your arms, hands, legs, and feet. Wear a hat with netting if you have one. It took WEEKS for those bites to finally go away.

[LoriNJ]

One day, I went outside and saw a gorgeous purple flower blooming under my bird feeders. I grabbed thick leather gloves and pulled it out by the root. Yep, it was jimsonweed. How it got there, I have no clue. But my familiarity with others in the datura genus made me realize right away that this beautiful plant was likely poisonous. I of course did not put it on my compost pile.

[PhinneyWalker]

Originally Posted by LoriNJ

One day, I went outside and saw a gorgeous purple flower blooming under my bird feeders. I grabbed thick leather gloves and pulled it out by the root. Yep, it was jimsonweed. How it got there, I have no clue. But my familiarity with others in the datura genus made me realize right away that this beautiful plant was likely poisonous. I of course did not put it on my compost pile.

It is very likely came in bird droppings, yes? I know that is how Greenbriar Vine ended up in my garden a couple of times.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Originally Posted by LoriNJ

One day, I went outside and saw a gorgeous purple flower blooming under my bird feeders. I grabbed thick leather gloves and pulled it out by the root. Yep, it was jimsonweed. How it got there, I have no clue. But my familiarity with others in the datura genus made me realize right away that this beautiful plant was likely poisonous. I of course did not put it on my compost pile.

Now, you know, what kind of seeds are in your bird feeders!

[Zoisite]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

Now, you know, what kind of seeds are in your bird feeders!

Most likely the datura seeds were brought to the feeder and pooped out onto the ground there by a bird that was visiting the feeder.

.

[2Q&Lrn&Hlp]

Originally Posted by cb2008

I have a weed growing behind some azaleas. It seems to have a strong and long tap root. I cannot dig it out with a spade. Can I just pour a bit of weed killer on it? I am afraid I will lose my azaleas?

I wouldn't. . . .

What I do to attempt killing cacti is to cut it mostly down, making the cut at or above ground, level . . . and then 'scooping' a 'bowl' into the top of it. . . . I then pour 5% vinegar into said 'bowl' & allow it to be absorbed, several times. . . . They have never grown back. . . .

IDK how your weed would respond to that kind of treatment, though. . . .

Post pics of it to an online group specializing in plant IDs,

then research it to find out how to perminently remove it.

[BarefootDiabetic]

Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytophotodermatitis

[KB4]

I've never heard of this tree nor encountered it. A few years back I must have touched a poisonous plant, not sure which one, that left a burn-like mark on my arm. The doctor had no idea what could have happened.