Looks like global warming poses a threat to letterboxing. It's not just that boxes planted on the shores will be inundated as sea levels rise; it's worse than that:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=2017413

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WASHINGTON - Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy. The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers report Monday.

And a CO2-driven vine also produces more of its rash-causing chemical, urushiol, conclude experiments conducted in a forest at Duke University where scientists increased carbon-dioxide levels to those expected in 2050.

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The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers report Monday.

Actually, that's pretty much the case for all plants, as I understand it. When I visited Biosphere 2 out in the Arizona desert, they were doing tests with that by pumping a whole lot of CO2 into certain parts of the system. Looked like nothing I ever saw before in my life. Absolutely enormous leaves from otherwise ordinary plants, and the only change they did was to increase the CO2 levels. Pretty amazing, really.

Biosphere 2 is really worth visiting if you ever happen to find yourself in that part of Arizona. Fascinating, fascinating place! =)

-- Ryan

That sounds like a place to plant a box....or is there one already?

Shiloh

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Actually, that's pretty much the case for all plants, as I understand it. When I visited Biosphere 2 out in the Arizona desert, they were doing tests with that by pumping a whole lot of CO2 into certain parts of the system. Looked like nothing I ever saw before in my life. Absolutely enormous leaves from otherwise ordinary plants, and the only change they did was to increase the CO2 levels. Pretty amazing, really.

Kinda makes sense, actually, doesn't it?
AFter all, plants convert CO2 to Oxygen, and if there's mroe and more available to them, they'll convert more and more of it...

Hmm. Never run into poison ivy before, though. So i'll steer clear of it still.

-CQ

Good thing I'm not allergic to P.I.


P&B

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Hmm. Never run into poison ivy before, though. So i'll steer clear of it still.

You're lucky.

I'm (once again) sporting a mild case (thanks probably to Tecnu) on my leg from an outing on Sunday. And, this is a box I gave up on, because I couldn't figure out which tree covered in vines (it looked like a jungle in there--they all had vines!) the author meant. It's now on my "to-do in the winter" list.

Dewberry

To tell you the truth, I will trade 10 poison ivy plants for just one of those evil Giant Hogsweed plants. Don't know if many of you have seen this stuff, but I saw firsthand the results of an encounter with this plant and it wasn't pretty. Can even expose you to dangerous skin cancer, I have read.

Here's a link about it spreading into Pennsylvania..

http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/news/news.asp?ID=1592

And here are some geocachers discussing its spread in New York, with links for photo identification....

http://ny-geocaching.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=2432&highlight=

BEWARE!

LW

Hogweed...

Am I correct in assuming that the Giant Hogweed is the only one that causes severe skin problems, not the Common Hogweed? I think I have seen lots of that around the PNW, but I very well could be mistaken.

Thanks, LW, for the warning.
~SHH :-)

Yes, the Giant Hogweed is a very different plant than the general Hogweed. Here are some pics to give you a better idea of what the nasty stuff looks like in the wild. You often see it roadside in drainage ditches as it likes moist soil.

http://www.holyoke.org/hogweed_links.htm


I was trying to find some pics I had of burns caused by this plant so you could really get an idea of what you're dealing with here, but can't find them. I'll keep looking.

LW

Here is a map of its spread and a breakdown county wise..and how states are listing it. Funny that this particular map isn't including Massachusetts, as it has been found all over that state...

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HEMA17#blankmap

LW

Ok..here are only a couple that I could find. The first one shows the blistering and blue scarring that occurs.

http://ashtabula.osu.edu/ag/images/aphis-burns.jpg

These next photos are of a cute little boy who came into contact with it, and the doctor's attempt to limit the sun exposure on the lesions, to prevent them from erupting into multiple blisters that can produce scarring.

http://splash.metrokc.gov/dnrp/press/img/HogwdScar-face.jpg
http://splash.metrokc.gov/dnrp/press/img/HogwdBandages.jpg

You'll notice the boy has nearly a circle around his eye. This is a common occurence as doctors have discovered that children will cut down the smaller stalks of giant hogweed, as they are hollow and make great "telescopes" for children to play with. A rash (pardon the pun) of this type of markings led to interviews with the children and this discovery.

LW

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Ok..here are only a couple that I could find. The first one shows the blistering and blue scarring that occurs.

http://ashtabula.osu.edu/ag/images/aphis-burns.jpg

OUCH! that stuff is NASTY!
Oh man o man, i'm steering clear of that stuff!

-CQ

There's a related wild parsnip, doesn't grow as high or as thick in the stem, has yellow flowers. I've never had a lot of reaction to it though I've tried to avoid exposure since the time my wife got some on her and developed huge blisters on her arms. Her family's property (on Onondaga Hill) gets covered in the stuff -- they're trying to limit it by mowing before it goes to seed.

At our place we just have forest tent caterpillars, which are ravaging our young fruit trees and crawling up our guests' legs, but at least no one's allergic to them.

From what I'm finding, the common hogweed is also toxic but not as bad as the giant hogweed. It can still cause blisters apparently. I think I'll just admire this interesting looking plant from a distance.

Crochanna...
who is becoming more and more fearful of the great outdoors...poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac, common hogweed, giant hogweed, bees, wasps, hornets, mosquitos, flies that bite, ticks, evil people...I think I'll stay home today

Whoa! Those are huge! (thanks for posting the pix)

Of course, WA & OR are green, wouldn't ya know it??! :-(

I will definitely be on the lookout for these monsters - I would hate for my shorties to get tangled up in these!

~SHH :-)

Thanks LW for alerting us to this menacing plant. I'd never heard of it but I think I'm more afraid of it than poisin ivy now! After doing some research on Google, it seems like it's a fairly big plant so it should be easy to spot. I'm going to burn the image of it into my brain. It's a deceptive plant because it's actually kind of pretty!

Take care, Orion
who lives in MA and doesn't know we're not showing up green on the map. I know that a new law goes into effect soon about banning several plants from being planted here because of their invasiveness.

causes severe skin problems

I thought it was so pretty I took it home and planted it in my garden. Three years later, I finally got rid of the purple scars on my arm. Looked like someone had dripped hot fat on my arm. Hopefully thats the worst of it. The plant has been banished from the garden and I have learned....

SHH, what we have here is Queen Anne's Lace. It looks similiar but doesn't get as big, and doesn't cause the damage this stuff does.

Maiden

OK, I take it back. that's what I get for answering before reading all of the posts. According to the web site LW posted, we do have it here. Thank you for posting that. Something else to watch out for out there!

Maiden

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SHH, what we have here is Queen Anne's Lace. It looks similiar but doesn't get as big, and doesn't cause the damage this stuff does.

Maiden

Good! Cuz I'm really gettin' freaked out!

~SHH :-)

Ok...gotta see it...anyone got a pic or link to see this Hogsweed??
Sounds like something Uncle Hubert woulda grown up in the holler after "sweetening" the soil real good with hog crap. Everybody wanted some of his Hog Weed!!

LOL
*slapping knee*
*belly laughing*

dixiekin

LW had a link on her post earlier in this thread that has some great pix...

~SHH :-)

You are right. It looks EXACTLY like Queen Anne's Lace only on steriods. It is really freaky to see one up close. And unless the law has changed very recently it was still legal to grow in PA. Yikes!

I've seen it in Orange County NY.

Cleverpig