Poisonous plants to be avoided


By Lesley McKay, StittsvilleCentral, July 19, 2019

Some information in this article was provided by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

Poisonous plants can be more troublesome than the beauty they hide behind. Most can cause many health issues that are painful with long-term effects. I speak from personal experience when my case of poison ivy turned into Necrotizing fasciitis (or commonly known as flesh-eating disease) on my legs. I am now susceptible to a form of flesh-eating called meaney’s ulcers (that many diabetics also suffer from) – and they are mean when they raise their ugly head.

Poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumacwild parsnip and giant hogweed all have a presence in Eastern Ontario, lining roadside ditches, taking over empty fields and popping up along nature trails and woodlots.