wild parsnip image:31107:0::0

Wild parsnip is another one of those invasive plant species that was brought to the Americas from Europe, and was likely introduced as a plant to be used for food, or some decorative purpose. It's pretty to look at, but beware...to touch is to get burned!

It is relative to the carrot family, and grows three to four feet in height. During the Summer months, it produces hundreds of little yellow flowers, which in turn produces large yellow seeds. These plants grow in areas varying from wetlands to prairies, savanna openings and along roadsides. Once the start growing, they quickly spread to form a thick ground cover that's hard to get rid of.

What makes this plant so bad is there are chemicals in the leaves, stems and even the flowers that cause localized, intense burns, rashes and even blisters. John Walkowiak, forester and land protection leader with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said,

"It appears that contacting wild parsnip sap increases the skin's sensitivity to sunlight giving a dermatitis like burn, some people call a false or artificial sunburn...."

From the 'Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine' I also found out this: "One of wild parsnip's 'signature' effects is a dark red or brownish discoloration of the skin in the area where the burn occurred. This hyper-pigmentation can persist in the skin for as long as two years." The picture below, also from the same site, shows the burns.


While researching this a little more, I found out too, that this kind of burn is more often diagnosed as poison ivy, because this plant isn't known as well to the medical community. So, the best advice here is to know what plants your skin has touched. If you have been in contact with this plant, and blisters have formed, keep the area clean, apply cool wet compresses and try not to let the blisters rupture. Apply antibiotic creams or powders as needed, but always...if it gets worse, see your doctor.

I was curious too about where these plants were found, and found this site from theUSDA. You can check your state and county to see if these plants are near you. In my case, they are in a neighboring county, but not in my own. (That makes me happy!)

Here is another site to visit: Cornell University's Pest Alert