Applegater Fall 2011 5 DIRTY FINGERNAILS AND ALL Parsnip o’ parsnip: What is thy true self? by sioux rogers On a very lovely, sunny afternoon, the form of a compound umbel, and has is a key difference between the photo toxic my ten-year-old niece Talya and I decided the same root as the word “umbrella.” 1 dermatitis caused by poison parsnip and we needed to remove the entire bed of The following is from a Northern the allergic contact dermatitis you get four-foot-tall parsnips. I decided the Woodlands Magazine article subtitled from poison ivy. Parsnip burns feel like height of the leaves and the skimpiness of “Danger in the carrot family”: burns, whereas poison ivy rashes are often the roots were due to too much nitrogen “To the untrained eye, many members more itchy and irritating than painful. in that particular bed. I needed to plant of the carrot family look alike. Poison “While the pain from a parsnip burn it with a leaf vegetable, say like spinach. hemlock and spotted water hemlock is relatively short-lived, an encounter can Sioux Rogers—And the beet goes on. Okay, so with that goal in mind, we can be confused with leave long-lasting burning, tingling, and blisters (often in sallied forth with a mission—which we Queen Anne’s lace; was shocked to discover that I scars. As part of the the shape of the streak where the plant accomplished. wild parsnip can be I had parsnip leaf poisoning. recovery process, juices brushed against the body) within But that was the good news. confused with cow the body produces 24-48 hours of exposure. Now for the bad news. The next parsnip, which can be confused with dark pigmentation that is thought to “When gardening parsnips, gloves morning I awoke with what looked like giant hogweed, which can be confused serve as a protective mechanism against and long sleeves are advised. If bare a giant “Mark of Zorro” on my left thigh with great angelica. Of all the plants just further UV injury (sort of a super suntan). skin does come into contact with the and smaller red marks on my right thigh. mentioned, though, only wild parsnip These dark splotches can linger on the upper part of a parsnip plant, the area And yes, I had been gardening in shorts, and giant hogweed contain sap that body for years. In an interesting twist, should be washed immediately and kept in case you were going to ask. These red will significantly irritate your skin. (The people with psoriasis and similar skin- out of sunlight. A cool, indoor area is aliens burned and small little blisters hemlocks are very poisonous, but only if pigment disorders sometimes turn the best to retreat to, as sweat can aid in the spread. J.D., who is frightfully allergic to eaten.) toxin to their advantage and use psoriasis absorption of the toxin, and sunlight poison oak, was convinced I had poison activates its deleterious effects. Should a oak—even though I was not itching but rash appear, the area may be treated similar burning—and popped an antihistamine to a burn and a physician or pharmacist pill into my mouth. I immediately ought to be consulted.” 3 started to yawn and announced that he Despite all the warnings and dangers, and Talya would have to go to the coast parsnip has many saving graces, especially without me as I would be in bed sleeping when the leaves are treated with respect. and scratching all day, probably at the Wikipedia states that “The parsnip is same time. richer in vitamins and minerals than its Off they went, returning several close relative, the carrot. It is particularly hours later with bags full of poison oak rich in potassium with 600 mg per 100 remedies, because by now, Talya had g. The parsnip is also a good source of the same red, burning marks but to a dietary fiber. 100 g of parsnip contains lesser degree. Detective J.D. began an 55 calories (230 kJ) of energy.” 3 interrogation of what Talya and I had been I hope that my experience keeps you doing together. “Everything,” I explained. from the same painful blunder. That’s how our parsnip adventure became Photo left: First appearance of burning blisters (near knee) due to a close encounter with the focus of what became an intense parsnip on a sunny day. Photo right: During recovery, these dark splotches can last for years. Parsnips so white, investigation. “So what family does the and roasted so sweet, parsnip belong to?” J.D. queried. I am “…The toxin in parsnip sap is to help increase their skin’s sensitivity to then why do I fear thee sure he thought it would be poison oak. different from the toxin found in poison ultraviolet light. in the summer’s heat? After much googling, I was shocked ivy or poison sumac; the reaction your “As its name indicates, wild parsnip —Sioux Rogers to discover that I had parsnip leaf body has to it has nothing to do with is directly related to the edible parsnip poisoning. The following information is your immune system, and everyone growing in your garden. Like its domestic Dirty Fingernails and All is susceptible. The harmful chemical counterpart, the roots of wild parsnip are Sioux Rogers • 541-846-7736 he condition is a type of compounds – specifically, psoralen and its safe to eat and, by some accounts, quite [email protected] T chemical burn rather than an derivatives – are photosensitizing, which delicious (especially in late fall or very allergic reaction and should be means they’re activated by ultraviolet early spring, after the plant has had time to treated as such. (UV) radiation from the sun. (Smear convert its root starch to sugar). Take the yourself with parsnip sap in a dark closet, time to properly identify the plant before moderately technical, but very interesting and nothing will happen.) you eat it, though, since other look-alike and informative. “When you get some sap on your members of the carrot family have highly The following is from Wikipedia: skin, the sap absorbs solar energy, then poisonous roots that could kill you.” 2 “The Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family releases it in the form of heat. On a There are many more articles about Photo above: Horrendous blister on wrist of of usually aromatic plants with hollow micro level, the psoralen molecule lodges the hazards of parsnips, like the following suffering parsnip gardener. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk) stems, commonly known as umbellifers. between two strands of DNA, and article from Wikipedia: “While the root It includes angelica, anise, arracacha, sunlight fuses the strands together. “You of the parsnip is edible, the handling of 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, centella can imagine what this does to an insect its shoots and leaves requires protective Apiaceae. asiatica, chervil, cicely, coriander/cilantro, that tries to eat the plant,” says [Tom] clothing. Like many other members of 2 http://northernwoodlands.org/ cumin, dill, fennel, hemlock, lovage, Vogelmann [a plant biologist at the the Apiaceae family, the parsnip contains articles/article/avoiding_rash_decisions Queen Anne’s Lace, parsley, parsnip, sea University of Vermont]. furanocoumarin, a photosensitive _a_guide_to_plants_you_shouldnt_ holly, the now extinct silphium, and other “Parsnip stems are deeply grooved, chemical that causes a condition known touch. Reprinted with permission by Dave relatives. It is a large family with about which distinguishes them from other as phytophotodermatitis. The condition Mance III, editor of Northern Woodlands 300 genera and more than 3,000 species. members of the carrot family. is a type of chemical burn rather than an Magazine, www.northernwoodlands.org. The earlier name Umbelliferae derives “The chemical reaction damages skin allergic reaction and should be treated 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ from the inflorescence being generally in cells and feels very much like a burn. This as such. Symptoms include redness, Parsnip.