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 sativaLinn.
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.
