1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Geology

Hazardous Plants

By Andrew Alden, About.com Guide

Geologists aren't like most people—they have to go off the path. They have to know the plants to avoid. These are plants that affect the skin or, if burned, the lungs. This gallery does not feature plants that are poisonous to eat, because geologists don't eat wild plants.

Images 1-12 of 17

A well-named hazard in the NorthwestDevil's Club, Oplopanax horridusBurning, disfiguring sapGiant Hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianumThe leaf is distinctiveGiant Hogweed LeafDon't even get closeJumping Cholla, Opuntia bigelovii
Not for eating or smokingOleander, Nerium oleanderA skin-shredding pestPampas Grass, Cortaderia sp.A wicked lineupPampas Grass GantletA Massachusetts specimenPoison Ivy, Toxicodendron radicans
A berry vineNOT Poison IvyClusters of drupesPoison Ivy BerriesScourge of the Pacific coastPoison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobaAn oak seedlingNOT Poison Oak
  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Geology
  4. Rocks
  5. Start Rock Collecting
  6. Hazardous Plants Gallery>

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.