Poisonous plants and antidotes

Poisonous Plants and Antidotes - Jesse Trail
                       Rating: * * *

The enjoyment of outdoors can be easily interrupted by the hidden dangers in the wilderness; most often being camouflaged in the appearance as a plant. A fun trip can quickly become disastrous by picking the wrong berries, stepping in the wrong bush, or rubbing up against a random tree. These mistakes are made by many people when experiencing the wilderness and often don’t end well.

In this article Trail discusses the different types of poisonous plants, explaining their symptoms and antidotes. He also provides the places in which these said plants can be found in Canada. He begins by talking about the most well-known plants: poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. He then provides insights on the stinging nettle, canadian nettle, and yellow lady’s slipper which all contain small “stingers” that cause itchiness. Reluctantly enough Trail explains that although these plants cause animals and humans inconvenience, the antidote is usually found close by. He finally concludes the article with a few extra plants that people should look out for when embarking in the wilderness.

The article Poisonous Plants and Antidotes is good for our class as we spend so much time outdoors in the woods where these plants are found. Also, after reading this article, I learned that many of these poisonous plants are found in the woods around Cairine Wilson where we go to take part in class activities almost every day. By knowing which plants to watch out for and where to be cautious when taking part in our class activities, we can avoid people being put in uncomfortable situations after being presented with these plants during daily classroom experiences.

Overall this article had valuable information that everyone in our outdoor ed. class could benefit from knowing. If I were to change anything about this article it would be to provide more details about the antidotes so that the readers can be better prepared in case they do end up coming in contact with one of these poisonous plants.

Magazine, Explore. 'Poisonous Plants And Antidotes'. Explore Magazine. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 June 2015.