Anodyne
Saturday, August 07, 2004
 

Devil's Club, a.k.a.Oplopanax horridus. Still picking spines out of my legs with tweezers a week later.

"The stems are thick, crooked, almost unbranched but frequently entangled and are armed with numerous large yellowish spines up to 1/2 inch long. The leaves are large, up to almost 3 feet across in its most favorable growing conditions. They are alternate, deciduous, maple-leaf shaped with 7-9 sharply pointed and heavily toothed lobes. In our local area, these leaves have the most beautiful translucent golden yellow color in the autumn. The veins on the underside of the leaves are again armed with numerous spines.

"It is wise to avoid contact with this plant as the spines produce wounds that can easily become infected. If I remember correctly it has been established that Devil's Club is one of the plants that accumulate silicon in the spines which means that the wounds resemble those experienced from slivers of glass. Tweezers are a good addition to the day pack in Devil's Club country but it has been my experience that the spines break off easily at wound entry level. Gloves are the best preventive medicine."
Posted by Hello

- posted by cjb @ 9:31 AM


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