Wild parsnip
General poisoning notes:
Parsnip (Pastinaca
sativa) is a cultivated and a naturalized herb in much of Canada. The plant
juices can cause photodermatitis in some individuals after exposure to
sunlight. Exposure to leaves, stems, and peeling roots can cause the problem.
The edible roots contain enough furocoumarins to be physiologically active in
some cases. These toxins are mutagenic (even in the dark) inducing melanization
in human skin. Photodermatitis from this plant is often confused with
poison-ivy dermatitis (Mitchell and Rook 1979, Ivie et al. 1981).
Description:
Plants stout, 1–1.6 m high. Root
yellowish-brown, up to 30 × 10 cm, fleshy becoming fibrous with age. Basal
petioles ca. 13 cm, sheathing; leaf blade oblong-ovate, 20–30 × 10–16 cm,
pinnate; pinnae oblong to ovate, 5–8 × 2.4–4 cm. Peduncles stout, 5–12 cm; rays
10–30, 3–8(–10) cm, unequal; umbellules ca. 1 cm across, ca. 20-flowered;
pedicels 5–10 mm, slender. Petals 1–1.2 × ca. 1 mm. Fruit 5–6 × 4–6 mm. Fl. and
fr. Jun–Aug. n = 11.
Pastinaca sativa Linn.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Pastinaca sativa
Linn.
Vernacular
name(s): wild parsnip
Scientific family
name: Apiaceae
Vernacular family
name: parsley
Geographic Information:
Alberta, British
Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince
Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan,, Yukon Territory.
Notes on Poisonous plant parts:
Exposure to the
plant juices in the leaves, stems, or roots can result in dermatitis caused by
phototoxic furocoumarins. Wetness of the skin accentuates the results.
Ingesting large quantities of parsnip root may expose people to sufficient
quantities of psoralens to have physiological affects. Parsnips produce much
higher concentrations of these toxins in response to disease infection (Mitchell
and Rook 1979, Ivie et al. 1981).
Toxic parts:
Roots, plant
juices.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Three
furocoumarins (psoralen, xanthotoxin, bergapten) are found in parsnip roots.
These chemicals are phototoxic, mutagenic, and photo- carcinogenic. The
cumulative concentration is about 40 ppm. Consumption of 0.1 kg of parsnip
could expose a person to 4-5 mg of psoralens, a level that may cause some
physiological effects. These chemicals are potent photosensitizers and are
highly mutagenic in long-wavelength ultraviolet light (Ivie et al. 1981).
Toxic plant chemicals:
Furocoumarin.
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an
animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993)
contained no detailed explanation.
Humans
General symptoms of
poisoning:
Erythema,
blistering.
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