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They mention the toxin comes from the rhododendron flower. I remember camping in North Carolina once and one of the people I was with warned against burning any
by nkrisc 1mo ago
They mention the toxin comes from the rhododendron flower. I remember camping in North Carolina once and one of the people I was with warned against burning anything from the rhododendron in the area, as supposedly the smoke would give you the runs.
I mostly thought they were joking, and I have no idea what specific type of rhododendron would be there (if any), but maybe there’s a glimmer of merit to it? Or maybe they were thinking of a different plant?
This was somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains, if I remember correctly.
- john_strinlai 1mo agoi believe ingestion is the primary concern, but the smoke can also lead to symptoms, yes.
- nkrisc 1mo agoThat makes sense. We definitely weren’t going to eat random plants, but we could have easily accidentally grabbed some for firewood or kindling.
- SoftTalker 1mo agoYou also don't want to burn poison ivy because the oil (urushiol) is not something you want in your lungs if you are reactive to it.
- riazrizvi 1mo agoFlorida's manchineel tree (with the tiny apples) is the OG wood you don't burn because it blinds you.
- blacksmith_tb 1mo agoOr oleander [1], which people occasionally poison themselves with by burning its wood. 1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/nerium-oleander#:~:text=inhalation%20of%20smoke https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbio...
- riazrizvi 1mo agoFascinating. So it seems to have been used for parasitic and fungal skin treatments, angina, and to induce miscarriage. With no doubt a very narrow band of error.
- dmurray 1mo agoBut you also don't touch it, eat it, or stand under it when it rains, so the opportunity to burn it by mistake is limited.
- wpollock 1mo agoYou remind me of Episode 2 of the Apothecary Diaries: several Chinese troops were poisoned after eating local food. The food was fine, the wood used for fire and eating utensils was the source. I wonder if something like that ever actually happened?
- winocm 1mo agoThat is such a good show.
- onlypassingthru 1mo agoI would think any poisonous campfire would be quickly noticeable (who the hell likes to breathe campfire smoke?) and you would have to actually ingest the toxin like the guys who drank poisoned coffee. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-a-deadly-camping-trip-revealed-an-arms-race-between-snakes-and-newts https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-a-deadly-camping-t...
- eleventen 1mo agoI was wondering if someone would mention this. I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC and heard this all my life. Once had a camp councilor who would inspect every twig to make sure there was none burned. I also burned Rhododendron wood in campfires and brush fires more times than I can count without any adverse effects that I know of. My back yard was completely overgrown with the stuff. I’m sure the smoke inhalation of any fire is worse for you than anything specific about rhododendrons. https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/7100/are-rhododendron-and-mountain-laurel-truly-toxic-to-burn-in-a-campfire https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/7100/are-rhodod...
- malbs 1mo agoAnother one is Oleander, heard stories of people burning this off in incinerators and inhaling the smoke and getting very sick https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11946565/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11946565/