Poisonous plants and venomous animals of Alabama and adjoining states

777 Pages·1990·13.67 MB·English

by  J. Whitfield Gibbons

Poisonous Plants and Venomous Animals of
title:
Alabama and Adjoining States
Gibbons, Whit.; Haynes, Robert; Thomas,
author:
Joab L.
publisher: University of Alabama Press
isbn10 | asin: 0817304428
print isbn13: 9780817304423
ebook isbn13: 9780585331041
language: English
Poisonous animals--Alabama, Poisonous
animals--Gulf States, Poisonous animals--
subject Southern States, Poisonous plants--
Alabama, Poisonous plants--Gulf States,
Poisonous plants--Southern States.
publication date: 1990
lcc: QL100.G53 1990eb
ddc: 574.6/5/09761
Poisonous animals--Alabama, Poisonous
animals--Gulf States, Poisonous animals--
subject: Southern States, Poisonous plants--
Alabama, Poisonous plants--Gulf States,
Poisonous plants--Southern States.
Page ii
Page iii
Poisonous Plants and Venomous Animals of
Alabama and Adjoining States
Whit Gibbons
Robert R. Haynes
Joab L. Thomas
With a Foreword by
Robert J. Geller, M.D.

Page iv
Copyright © 1990 by
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 354870380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
¥ The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information Science-
Permanence of Paper Library Materials, ANSI A39.481984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gibbons, Whit, 1939
Poisonous plants and venomous animals of Alabama and adjoining
states / Whit Gibbons, Robert R. Haynes, and Joab L. Thomas.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0817304428 (alk. paper)
1. Poisonous animalsAlabama. 2. Poisonous animalsGulf States.
3. Poisonous animalsSouthern States. 4. Poisonous plants
Alabama. 5. Poisonous plantsGulf States. 6. Poisonous plants
Southern States. I. Haynes, Robert R., 1945 . II. Thomas, Joab
L. III. Title.
QL100.G53 1990 8834003
574.6¢5¢09761dc19 CIP
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available
The drawing on the title page:
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), by M. E. Jackson.
The color photographs are by the authors, Ted Borg, Trip Lamb,
Lloyd Logan, Dave Scott, Rebecca Sharitz, and others.

Page v
To Our Wives
Carol,
Elizabeth,
and
Marly
Page vii
Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1. Overview of the Poisonous Plants and Venomous 1
Animals of Alabama
2. Categories of Biological Toxins and Suggested 16
Treatments
3. Poisonous Mushrooms 25
4. Vascular Plants Causing Systemic Poisoning 37
5. Vascular Plants Causing Dermatitis or Other Forms of 222
Irritation
6. Venomous Invertebrates 253
7. Venomous Vertebrates 285
8. Harmless Animals That Appear Dangerous 321
Glossary 324
Selected References 334
Index 337
Page ix
Foreword
Every moment of our lives, we are interacting on a chemical level
with the world around us. Most of these events are beneficial to us.
However, discomfort or injury occasionally results from contact with
plants or animals. These toxic effects are frequently preventable,
however, with careful planning.
The authors of this book, all with field experience as professional
biologists in the southeastern United States, have focused on
potentially harmful plants and animals in Alabama. They have chosen
Alabama as a paradigm for the southeastern United States, but their
information is relevant to a much wider geographic area. Through
discussion and the use of maps, diagrams, and tables, the reader is
assisted in identifying plants and animals to be avoided or deserving
of caution because of potential risk.
The Alabama Poison Center receives several hundred calls each year
regarding human encounters with plants, insects, or snakes. Certainly
some of these prove much more consequential than others. Each
person's immune system is primed, from its genetic makeup and
subsequent experiences, to respond differently. A bee sting to two
brothers may cause one to have local pain and the other to develop
life-threatening respiratory difficulty as a hypersensitivity reaction.
This response pattern is rarely predictable, and medical management
following exposure must therefore be cautious yet tailored to the
individual.
Prevention of exposure is clearly applicable to all. This volume should
prove useful not only to biologists and medical professionals, but also
to the gardeners, outdoorsmen, hunters, and fishermen of our society
seeking safe and relaxing pastimes.
ROBERT J. GELLER, M.D.
DIPLOMATE, AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL
TOXICOLOGY
FELLOW, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS
TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA