Plants to be wary of on your next trip to the Smokies
When thinking about poisonous plants of the Smokies, I started to feel a little haughty. “Who in the world goes through the mountains just eating random plants?”
Then, a torrent of memories from my youth flooded back. All of them revolving around my love of all things sour. There was the time I was caught eating underripe crab apples. There was the time when I made myself sick eating not-yet-ripened grapes from the vines in our backyard. I can remember eating wild rhubarb and chewing on the stems of these little yellow flowers – not dandelions – growing around the yard.
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Who goes around eating random plants? Apparently, it’s me.
Still, not even I am dumb enough – for the most part – to go a-sampling unknown plants in the Smokies. First of all, if you’re in the park, you’re not supposed to be pickin’ and eatin’ stuff. But also, there’s poison in them thar hills.
What poisonous plants live in the Smokies?
Well, a lot of them conveniently have poison right there in the name. Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. These are plants that will cause skin irritation and itching if they are handled. If you come in contact with these, don’t panic and also try very hard not to touch other parts of your body or your eyes until the situation is dealt with. Clean the area with rubbing alcohol or a treatment designed specifically for poison plants. Then apply calamine lotion, hydrocortisone or take an antihistamine to deal with the itching.
You should – for the record – not eat these plants though their poison is more well known for the itchy situation. If you eat poison ivy, for instance, you will suffer rashes, vomiting and diarrhea. In large amounts, it can cause serious reactions. Please do not have a heapin’ helpin’ of poison sumac, y’all.
Are there worse plants in the Smokies than poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac?
Yes. Let me tell you about poison hemlock – which is different than the hemlock trees that grown in the mountains – and is what was given in liquid form to the Greek philosopher Socrates which he willingly drank for reasons we don’t have time to get into.
Poison hemlock is generally considered the most toxic plant in North America. It’s dangerous year-round but particularly so in the spring when it’s white bloom makes it look like Queen Anne’s Lace, a wildflower that can be popular in arrangements.
If touched, it can cause skin irritation like the other poison plants. If you eat it? Well, you’ll be able to find out more about Socrates firsthand from the great Athenian Marketplace in the sky.
How do you spot Poison Hemlock? It’s recognizable by its hollow, purple-spotted stem. However, if you’ve discovered the stem is hollow, I suspect you’ve gone too far already.
Another toxic plant in the mountains is Horsenettle whose berries look like small yellow tomatoes. You can recognize it by its small purple flowers – but really don’t just be eating tomato looking things in the wild. The berries are toxic and should not be eaten. They can also – like everything else on this list so far – cause skin irritation or rash if your skin is punctured by its thorns. That’s a good tip by the way, tomatoes ain’t got no thorns.
Another bad boy is Giant Hogweed, an invasive plant that’s made its way to the Smokies. These things are massive, growing as tall as 15-foot high. It has jagged leaves and a cluster of white flowers atop a hollow stem. Again, with the hollow stems. These things can cause severe irritation, blistering rashes permanent scarring and – if you get it in your eyes – blindness.
Are there any wild plants I can eat in the Smokies?
What is this obsession with eating wild plants? We’ve got tons of restaurants, tons.
But if you must sample something that grows in the mountains consider the ramp. Ramps are wild leeks, like a green onion with a pungent garlic flavor. They’re great but they’re also increasingly hard to find. Cocke County used to host a ramp festival every year where people would sell them or sell food items that featured them. It’s a mountain delicacy.
Edible wild mushrooms
You can also delve into the world of mushroom hunting. Morel mushrooms are popular in the region in the early spring. They are among the several edible mushrooms that grow in the mountains. Other varieties include chicken of the woods, chanterelles, lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms. However, a word of caution. Even I – who was apparently willing to just eat flowers out of the yard as a youth – had a healthy fear of wild mushrooms.
I knew how to recognize the morel and would happily hunt that variety, but everything else was suspect. There are a lot of look alike mushrooms out there in the wild and you don’t want any part of getting ahold of the wrong kind of mushroom or you may – again – be meeting with Socrates.
There are also a variety of wild berries that are edible in the mountains. Blackberries, huckleberries, wild blueberries and elderberries all grow in the mountains. However, as noted with the Horsenettle, there are also a variety of berries that should not be consumed. You’re better off with a look, don’t touch or eat approach while in the mountains. Then later, maybe look for a farmer’s market where you can try some of the more wild fare in a safe and secure setting.
Have you had an encounter with poisonous plants? If so, let us know in the comments.