Discovery Trail Dangers

The Discovery Trail above the San Luis Obispo County Botanical Garden

I had a date with a fellow nature lover last Tuesday at the San Luis Obispo County Botanical Garden, which I'd not yet visited. I was eager to see local plants with labels so I could identify some I've been wondering about.  Unfortunately I was two weeks too early for our date. My calendar was wrong. Rather than waste the trip over the grade I decided to explore a bit on my own. I started with the Children's Garden.

Gnome Depot in Children's Garden with Teepee on the Left,  © B. Radisavljevic

The Discovery Trail

As I came to the edge of the Children's Garden, I saw a sign pointing to the Discovery Trail, which invited me to a walking adventure that would last about 3/4 mile. It instructed me to be on the lookout for birds and other animals, unique plants, and ancient volcanoes. It was too misty near the ocean for me to see the "awesome views to Morro Bay," though I did see the famous smoke stacks. On my hike I did see some unique plants, but I was unaware of how many of them were poisonous.

Beginning of Discovery Trail goes through the shade of the trees on the right, © B. Radisavljevic

The sign failed to warn me of all the dangers I might encounter on the trail before it was too late to turn back. Although the trail was level at the beginning, it started climbing when I was not far along. By the time I realized what might endanger me personally, it would have been just as dangerous for me to turn back as to complete the hike.

I'm 75 years old and was alone. I never should have attempted to do this trail without a companion and without any idea of what was ahead. Fortunately it wasn't a hot day, but I was out of shape for an uphill climb. I had also forgotten it was summer and snake season. My knowledge of poisonous plants near the trail was limited to identifying poison oak.

Dangers I Encountered on the Discovery Trail

The first bit of danger I encountered with no warning signs was this tree root in the trail that would have been easy to trip over. It was surrounded by dried leaves and other debris that helped hide it.

Tree Root across the Discovery Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

Next was a warning sign telling me how to identify poison oak. I was already proficient at that.  I had already posted a visual ID guide online which my city police department asked permission to use on their training website for search and rescue teams. You can find it here: Oak and Poison Oak in Photos: Can You Tell the Difference?

Poison Oak Warning Sign on Discovery Trail Surrounded by Poison Oak

The abundant poison oak was not only close to the trail, but all too often intruding onto the trail itself. A bare branch on the trail side actually brushed me as I walked past and hit my shorts. The trail is narrow, and there's not a lot of room to get out of the way of obstacles.

Poison oak bare branches extending onto Discovery Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

Fortunately no oil transferred to my skin. The oil that causes the itchy rash is present even on dead parts of the plant and dead leaves are often mixed with the oak leaves from the trees above the creeping poison oak. This can transfer onto shoes. So it's a good idea to be careful when removing clothes and shoes that might have picked up the oil and to clean the shoes with strong soap and launder any affected clothing quickly. You don't want it on your skin.

Red poison oak and coyote brush by edge of Discovery Trail, © B. Radisavljevic

If your skin does come in contact with poison oak, this may help if you use it as soon as possible.

Steep Trail and Wild Fennel

After I had walked for a few minutes past the concentrations of poison oak under the trees, the trail started to climb rather steeply.

There are two dangers in the photo above that may not be obvious. You can see places where the narrow trail is almost covered with the slippery straw-like dried grasses. In addition to that there are small loose rocks you may not see as clearly. Both are easy to slide on. That's dangerous on this sort of slope. It was difficult to get sure footing. I began to envy mountain goats here.



When I published this post, I believed those pretty yellow-top plants you see on the side of the trail were wild parsnip -- an invasive plant that can make you as miserable as poison oak. Wild parsnip has a toxic sap in the stem. If that sap gets on your skin, it will make it extremely sun sensitive -- so sensitive that some people have gotten second and third degree burns from it. Check this illustrated article to see what it can do to you. It also has information about a look-alike plant called Golden Alexander.

I have since found out from a volunteer at the botanical garden that the plant is wild fennel instead. That makes me feel better about this trail. The flowers are very similar to the wild parsley, but the leaves of the fennel are much frillier. They just don't show much in these photos. I think the leaves get smaller when the plant flowers and the stalks shoot up.

Closeup View of Wild Fennel, © B. Radisavljevic

Wild Fennel on Hillside, © B. Radisavljevic

The only other plant I know of that only slightly resembles this is common dill -- the kind they make pickles out of. It has similar yellow tops, but its leaves are much more fern-like. If in doubt about any plant with a yellow umbrella-shaped flower head, stay away from it or you may be very sorry later that you didn't.

Over all, I would not wanted to have missed this view from a high point on the trail. I wish there had been a bench to rest on before I got to the highest point on the trail. Those my age might appreciate it. At least I did not encounter any snakes -- especially rattlesnakes. I would not want to hike this trail in the rain because of its hazards, but in dry weather it offers lovely views. Just don't go by yourself as I did. I would not go alone again. You might want to pick up one of these trail guides so you can plan better than I did, though this trail is not mentioned in the Falcon Guide published in 2011 that I own. The Eagle Rock Trail above it is listed. There was no mention of the poisonous plants.

What's Lurking under the Willow Tree?

Is That Hollow a Good Place to Hide?

If one passes by this willow tree and looks at it from the path, one sees this shady space, almost like a little hollow or cave that would make a good hiding place. But you aren't likely to find any lovers there making the most of solitude. Anyone who has any sense will stay away.

Let's take a closer look at what's hidden in the shadow of this tree. I approach it, stepping away from the trail. I use my flash to chase away the shadows. Does it look like a good hiding place now? It this a tree you'd like to climb? Would you like to gather these beautiful shiny autumn leaves? I don't think so. Not if you recognize that lovely patch of poison oak?

And If You Did Not Recognize the Poison Oak in Time or Fell Into It?

Use this. It should offer some relief from the itching and pain.

A Closer Look at the Poison Oak Leaves

The photo above shows how the poison oak looked under the tree without using the flash. It was late afternoon. You will notice that some leaves are changing color, but others are still quite green. Poison oak leaves are arranged in groups of three connected leaflets. They are shiny with urushiol, the oil that causes the rash when it comes in contact with skin. The leaves don't have to touch the skin to cause the rash. Anything touching the skin that has picked up some oil can also do the same damage -- clothing, pet fur, etc.

Below is a photo I took exactly two years earlier than the photo above under that same tree. Here it is easier to see the patterns and colors of the leaves.

It is very important for anyone who hikes in California to be able to recognize poison oak. When I was growing up, we all learned the rhyme you may have heard: "Leaves of three, let it be." That's a good precaution. It's better safe than sorry. And if you touch poison oak and are as sensitive to it as most people are, you will be sorry. Books can tell you how to identify poison oak, but the sketches are often much neater than what you will see in the wild.

 It's true that berries that grow in some of the same places as poison oak does and can resemble it. I've seen them grow right next to each other. Most of the berries have thorns. Poison oak doesn't. They both change color in the fall. If in doubt, don't touch.

Poison Oak Loves to Climb

It climbs fences and shrubs. It especially likes to climb oak trees. Chances are if you are in an unmaintained area and you see a group of oak trees, you will also find poison oak climbing some of them.

Many public parks in Paso Robles that have open spaces don't maintain those open spaces. That's why Larry Moore Park is such a likely place to encounter poison oak right next to trail. I've even seen poison oak in maintained areas. I once encountered it encroaching on a public sidewalk on a busy street next to a hospital in San Luis Obispo.  I sure didn't expect to see it on a busy city sidewalk.

Go enjoy your open spaces, but be careful. Keep your eyes open and stay away from anything than looks like poison oak. If you are walking your dog in such a place, remember if he gets the oil on his fur, and you pet him, you can be just as miserable as if you'd touched the plant itself.

Have you had any experiences with poison oak or poison ivy? Feel free to share them in the comments.

***

Are Those Mushrooms in Your Yard Edible or Poisonous?

Don't Eat that Mushroom Unless You're Very Sure it's Safe

During our wet weather in January, it's likely you will find mushrooms growing in your lawn, among the weeds in your flower beds, or under your trees. If you're anything like me, you may be wondering  if those mushrooms in your yard are edible or poisonous. It is very difficult, unless you are an expert, to tell the difference between poisonous mushrooms and edible ones.

Possibly Toxic Amanita Mushrooms on my Property
 © B. Radisavljevic

I'm still wondering because I'm not brave enough to take a chance without a lot more knowledge. This is one of those instances where a just little knowledge can be dangerous. Look at these mushrooms in the photo above for example, taken in mid-January 2011.

These photos show the other end of the mushrooms after I pulled them from the ground.  They were growing under evergreen and oak trees on my property. These mushrooms are most common in oak forests.

Cap Down View of Possibly Toxic Amanita Mushrooms on my Property
 © B. Radisavljevic

Cap Down View of Possibly Toxic Amanita Mushrooms on my Property
 © B. Radisavljevic

After a bit of research this afternoon and watching numerous videos, I am pretty sure the mushrooms you see here are deadly Amanita mushrooms, perhaps Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the Death Cap, but might also be to be Amanita ocreata. These two mushroom varieties account for almost all deaths from eating wild mushrooms in coastal California. Both can be found during the winter and spring on the Central Coast. I don't believe I will try adding these to my recipes because it could be fatal.


I love the way this video compares three different Amanita species visually -- two poisonous, including Amanita ocreata, the Destroying Angel, with one edible mushroom that looks similar. When I took my photos, I didn't exactly know what to look for, so I did not cut a cross-section to see if the stipe (stem) was hollow. Now, after watching this video, I know I should have.

One of the best sites I found for identifying toxic mushrooms in our area is Toxic Fungi of Western North America. When reading books or websites on mushroom identification, it is helpful to learn the parts of the mushroom. I found several diagrams of labeled mushroom parts on this page, and enlarged the one I personally found most useful. Even with all these sources, I would not yet feel safe eating a mushroom I found in my yard unless I was with an expert I could trust and he ate one first. How about you?

If you're anything like me, you have a curious mind and want to know if the mushrooms in your yard or that you see in parks or vacant lots are edible or toxic. It would be really handy to be able to identify those that are safe to harvest and eat.

There is a lot to be learned online, but most experts I've found in my online research suggest having more than one field guide with you if you plan to do any foraging. The field guides below are some of the most highly recommended. Why not get one or more now? I plan to do the same.

 Mushrooming without Fear: The Beginner's Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms Mushrooming with Confidence: A Guide to Collecting Edible and Tasty Mushrooms The Complete Mushroom Hunter, Revised: Illustrated Guide to Foraging, Harvesting, and Enjoying Wild Mushrooms - Including new sections on growing your own incredible edibles and off-season collecting California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide Wild Edible Mushrooms: Tips And Recipes For Every Mushroom Hunter Mushrooms Demystified National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

Watch Out For Poison Oak at Larry Moore Park

Poison Oak at Larry Moore Park in Mid-October, © B. Radisavljevic

As I was walking at Larry Moore Park yesterday, I was surprised to see this clump of poison oak in the middle of the park beside the large willow tree.

This is one tree anyone walking the main path that parallels the river can't miss. It's between that path and the sidewalk next to Riverbank Lane.

Large Willow Tree in the Center of Larry Moore Park, © B. Radisavljevic

Large Willow Tree in the Center of Larry Moore Park,

As one approaches the tree, as children might be tempted to do, it is full of  hiding places. I would be surprised if children did not find it an  attractive place to play. Dogs might also find it an attractive target for their activities.

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, in the lower right corner you will see a green clump with a few red and yellow leaves.  That is the same clump of poison oak I showed you in the first photo. There is likely to be more around the tree I did not notice. Poison oak also grows among the trees near the river and has been known  to grow right onto the trail on the north end of the river trail past the shopping centers and on the other side of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (aka The Niblick Bridge)

Click here for more information on how to identify poison oak in North San Luis Obispo County,  Show it to your children so they can learn to stay out of it.

If your children play in this park or any park where poison oak is abundant, it would be a good idea to have one of these products on hand to treat it, just in case they do come in contact with it. 

Be Very Careful When You See This

Even though it's summer now, winter is coming. If you live in an area or visit areas where poison oak flourishes, take note of this. During summer and autumn, learn to identify poison oak, and make mental notes of where you see it, especially, in those places you frequent. Poison oak may stand alone as a shrub or you may find it climbing trees or other vines. It is easy to identify most of the year, but in winter, when it loses its leaves it will appear as just bare branches and look like the vines climbing this tree. If you click these photos, they will enlarge.





Sometimes poison oak can be confused with other plants. The berry vine you see to your right shares some of poison oak's characteristics. Like poison oak, it has its leaves in groups of three. They also have a reddish tinge in January. Berry vines often grow right along side poison oak in the wild. In fact, these two photos were taken very close to each other on the same day. At first I thought this was poison oak, until I saw the thorns. Poison oak does not have thorns. Berries do.

So when winter comes, and you see bare vines climbing a tree, be very careful. It is probably poison oak, unless it has thorns. Poison oak can make people break out even if it has no identifying leaves. Even forest rangers clearing trails in winter have been fooled. If you see bare vines along the ground in places where poison oak normally grows, such as in oak forests or along the banks of rivers or at the edges of hiking trails, remember you may be seeing poison oak. Leave the vines alone and try not to step on them. The offending oil can cling to shoes and clothing.

If you do come in contact with poison oak or think you might, Amazon has products that can help prevent or treat an outbreak.   You will be able to read the reviews to see which products people have found most effective.

Related articles

• Exploring a Small County Road
• The Poison Hemlock at Larry Moore Park Grew Right through This Bench

Dead Weeds and New Life from Stump

The main path at Larry Moore Park in Paso Robles is lined with dead weeds and dead trees at this time of year. Some of the dead trees have been there for years, along with more than one generation of dead poison hemlock and milk thistles. The weeds reseed every year. The stump of the tree that broke apart a couple of winters ago refuses to give up and die. You can see that it wants to put forth new shoots and restore itself. If you would like a closer look, just click the photo to enlarge it.

Beware the Jimson Weed Blooming in the Summer

Jimson Weed Grows at Larry Moore Park

I made myself walk tonight, and part of the walk went through Lawrence (Larry) Moore Park. It seemed all along the path I saw jimson weed in bloom. Now those white trumpet flowers may contrast nicely with the brown all around and their own green-gray leaves, but the plant has caused a lot of harm when people have tried to use it as a recreational or medicinal drug. One should Beware the Jimson Weed.

Jimson Weed Flower in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic

Jimson weed has the form of a creeping vine. This is how a typical whole plant looks. You can see the long green buds ready to unfold any time now.

Jimson Weed in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic

Does jimson weed grow near you?

The Poison Hemlock at Larry Moore Park Grew Right through This Bench

One thing I have noticed for years is that weed abatement does not happen at Larry Moore Park. Besides the fire hazard this can be, it can also make the park hard to use as intended. This bench is one example of that.

I took this picture on March 26, 2011, a year when there was a lot of rain and the river almost flooded. Hard to believe now when we haven't seen water in the river for two years, but that year it came almost up to the water's edge near the fence you see below.

As I walked to the bench to take the above picture, the poison hemlock and prickly milk thistle were up to my calves and I had be be very careful not to get scratched. It was so high, as you can see, the poison hemlock grew right through the seat of the bench. That bench is not on the ground as it appears to be. Its seat is at normal height for park benches. Who would want to walk over to that bench to sit and look at the river?

This year I walked past the same bench in February, and we had had a bit of rain by then. Fortunately the poison hemlock and thistles had not taken over near the bench yet, and I'm hoping the high grass around the bench will discourage the other weeds from surrounding it.

Unfortunately, in other parts of the park, along the paths, the poison hemlock is growing over my head, though most is only waist high. Closer to the riverbed on the south end of the park, there is poison oak next to the last access path to the river. One has to be careful what one touches there.

I'm not sure if the city just wants to keep the park wild for the sake of maintaining a wilderness area or if they are just not willing to spend maintenance money. Weeds are everywhere but the ball diamond and the paths themselves. Maybe the city just can't afford weed abatement and the hauling away of dead tree branches in the middle of the park as they fall from trees. I suspect the city gets grant funds to build the parks and trails,  but not to maintain them.

Meanwhile those walking through the park just have to be aware of the poison weeds and hope lightning or smokers never set the dead wood by the river ablaze. If the park catches fire some dry season, the nearby residents will need gas masks to protect their lungs from burning poisonous plants.

Poisonous plants are everywhere in the North County. It pays to be able to recognize them and understand what they do. If you want a delightful read on this subject, try Amy Stewart's book below. She is an amazing writer and I've read this book and a couple of her gardening books, as well, and loved them. Wicked Plants is not a field guide, though. That's why I've suggested a highly rated field guide to poisonous plants as a supplement to it. Treat yourself to one or both today. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that having a good set of reference books around when you need them is very helpful.

 Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities The North American Guide to Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms

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• Poison in the Park
• Why I Stopped Hating Coyote Brush

Poison in the Park

We like to think of our parks as safe places, and, for the most part, they are. But Larry Moore Park is full of poison, especially from February until the end of summer. It's not only poison, but it's lovely poison. You can see it here above. I suggest you click to enlarge these photos so you can see the leaves in greater detail. Those beautiful green lacy leaves are none other than poison hemlock, the same stuff that killed Socrates. See my article Poison Hemlock: Lovely but Lethal for information on how to recognize it at every stage of its life.

I took the photos in this blog post at Larry Moore Park on February 18, 2015, but the park is full of poison hemlock very year. You will also find it all over the North County on uncultivated land and on roadsides, and probably in your yard if you have open space. It smells sinister if you pick it, but you really don't even want to touch it. One mouthful of this plant can kill an adult, but it comes with no warning labels except its smell, and even that is subtle.

Poison hemlock often grows in close proximity to milk thistle, another beautiful plant, but it won't harm you unless you touch its thorns. Wild mustard often grows with one or both of these. You can see the broad white-streaked milk thistle leaves interspersed among the hemlock plants in this photo.

If you see a fern-like bright green plant growing next to mustard and / or milk thistle, it is very likely to be poison hemlock. Teach your children to recognize these plants. Mustard and milk thistle are harmless, but they can warn you that poison hemlock may be nearby. If your children play at Larry Moore Park between back trail and the riverbed, be sure they are warned never to touch the green plants or eat them. Poison hemlock can resemble wild celery, Queen Anne's Lace, and even wild carrot. They are in the same family.

Wild Mustard and Poison Hemlock Together

This last photo shows you just how much poison hemlock invades the park. I was walking that back trail that leads to river access when I took these pictures. The poison hemlock grows not only along the trail, but through all the dead and living trees almost to where the river sand starts. It's a see of green invading the woods - just where children might be playing hide and seek. Look through the trees and you will see it everywhere.

Poison Hemlock Invading Larry Moore Park