Fox 6 news did a whole article on it tonight. They were at Havenswoods park and showed someone with burns. They said it takes 24 hours for the blisters to appear, but the brown scarring you get from it can take up to 2 years to disappear. That’s some nasty stuff.

Ran into ArcherDragoon at an event in Rochester, MN over the weekend and he had the worst case of wild parsnip I have yet encountered. He had been bushwhacking in wet conditions and feels that the sap of the plant impregnated his wet pants and passed to his skin. The next day he spent the morning in bright sunlight, the phytophototoxins in the sap had their reaction, and he had terrible blistering all over his lower legs. One blister was literally the size of my thumb, not just the knuckle, the whole thumb, and stood up at least 1/2 inch. Several others were sizeable as well and the entire surface of his legs was reddened, blistered and swollen. He had calamined his legs, and you could see the rivulets where blisters were breaking and leaving tracks. Very, very serious stuff. If you don’t know what it looks like, try to memorize the pictures and keep an eye out. My mild encounters were bad enough, I can only imagine ArcherDragoon’s experience 🙁 .

the plant top is yellow and looks like an umbrella, I do believe.

I got into the parsnip about five years ago. I always just stepped it down to the sides of myself when walking through it. I imagine that it would be like poison ivy if you got the oils on clothing. You contact the clothing that contains the oil and then you may get a reaction to it. I have never had a reaction to poison ivy, but I just barely brushed my arm against some parsnip and the next day I was blistering. I don’t recall any kind of burning/itchy type of sensation, just the blisters and then the scars. The scars took between a year and a year and a half to disappear. Depending on the amount or severity of the burns/scars you should come up with some really good stories to tell when you get asked, “What is that from?”.

I did a little caching today and saw some wild parsnip. As it is that time of year again, I just want to remind all of you to be cautious when around these plants.

@greyhounder wrote:

But, more importantly, can you eat them? I love parsnips!!

(I may or may not be kidding)

Bec

I remember reading once that it is edible but I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig. The article said something to the effect that the wild stuff is the same as the cultivated, but after it turns wild its defense mechanisms are brought out. If I remember right, the only “poisonous” part of the plant, if you will, is above ground. But like I said, I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig. And I am certainly taking no responsibility in any way, shape, or form to what happens if somebody were to try it and become sick, injured, dead, incapacitated or in any way become abnormal in comparison to their usual self.

Did I cover my rear end enough?

The white ones are Queen Anne’s Lace, those are not poisonous.

TE