[Arid_gardener] Century Plant: irritant in leaves
Tom & Linda Watson
watsontl@mindspring.com
Tue, 19 Aug 2003 09:53:22 -0700
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This is definitely a plant to be treated with respect. (As if the tips =
of those leaves were not hazardous enough!) I've never been able to =
find a definitive explanation for how the sap of the century plant =
causes the dermatitis so many (including yours truly) have experienced. =
One guess I was given by a plant physiologist is that steroidal =
saponins or tiny crystals of calcium oxalate (called raphides in some =
books) present in large quantities in these plants cause the reaction. =
It's possible both working together are to blame.=20
In my case the rash turned to white pustules that took a couple of weeks =
to fully heal. Hurt like hell, I don't mind telling you, and nothing I =
applied topically made the slightest difference! (Taking aspirin, =
however, made it tolerable.)
Safety note: my experience involved helping a neighbor who was using a =
small chainsaw to remove an unwanted century plant. This did a very =
poor job of removing the agave, but was an excellent method for spraying =
the sap over as much of the human body as possible. Fortunately, we =
were wearing safety goggles (and long pants!!)
Tom
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Sue Bass=20
To: Bosko Joseph S Contr ESC/HRSPP ; Arid_gardener=20
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 2:26 PM
Subject: [Arid_gardener] Century Plant: irritant in leaves
Joe,=20
I don't know that answer to that question, however, I will happily =
post it to the Master Gardener list and see if anyone else can provide =
you with information. This may take a day or two.=20
Fellow Gardeners: Can anyone answer Joe's question? Please be sure to =
send your response to him at the above e-mail address.=20
Regards,=20
Sue Bass=20
Gilbert, AZ=20
Bosko Joseph S Contr ESC/HRSPP wrote:=20
=20
=20
Sue ,=20
I have an interesting question that (perhaps) you can =
answer. This year I was fortunate to have three (3) Century Plants =
(Agave) bloom in my back yard. The stalks reached a height of some 30 =
feet and were beautiful to watch as they grew so quickly.=20
As you know, once these plants blossom, they die and the =
giant (I'll call them) leaves turn yellow, then brown and eventually dry =
up and look quite ugly.=20
Due to the fact that the stalks had started listing (toward =
my neighbors yard) I decided to cut them down before they damaged =
property. In order to get to the stalks, I had to cut away the leaves =
(extremely thick) and herein lies my question. Do you know what =
chemical is in the SAP of the leaves? We noticed that if this SAP from =
the leaves got on your skin, it immediately began to itch terribly. =
Spraying the itch with (soothing) Bactine only resulted in the pain =
getting worse - not better. This was NOT the case when the stalk was =
cut down.=20
Would appreciate any advice and assistance you may provide. =
Will gladly send you photos of the plants if that is necessary. =
Thanking you in advance.=20
Sincerely,=20
Joe Bosko=20
San Antonio, TX
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<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>This is definitely a plant to be =
treated with=20
respect. (As if the tips of those leaves were not hazardous=20
enough!) I've never been able to find a definitive =
explanation for=20
how the sap of the century plant causes the dermatitis so many =
(including yours=20
truly) have experienced. One guess I was given by a plant=20
physiologist is that steroidal saponins or tiny crystals of calcium =
oxalate=20
(called raphides in some books) present in large quantities in these =
plants=20
cause the reaction. It's possible both working together =
are to=20
blame. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>In my case the rash turned to white =
pustules that=20
took a couple of weeks to fully heal. Hurt like hell, I =
don't mind=20
telling you, and nothing I applied topically made the slightest=20
difference! (Taking aspirin, however, made it=20
tolerable.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Safety note: my experience involved =
helping a=20
neighbor who was using a small chainsaw to remove an unwanted century=20
plant. This did a very poor job of removing the =
agave, but=20
was an excellent method for spraying the sap over as much of the human =
body as=20
possible. Fortunately, we were wearing safety goggles (and =
long=20
pants!!)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Tom</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3Dsjbass@qwest.net href=3D"mailto:sjbass@qwest.net">Sue =
Bass</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Djoseph.bosko@RANDOLPH.AF.MIL=20
href=3D"mailto:joseph.bosko@RANDOLPH.AF.MIL">Bosko Joseph S Contr =
ESC/HRSPP</A>=20
; <A title=3Darid_gardener@Ag.arizona.edu=20
href=3D"mailto:arid_gardener@Ag.arizona.edu">Arid_gardener</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 18, 2003 =
2:26=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Arid_gardener] =
Century Plant:=20
irritant in leaves</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Joe, <BR>I don't know that answer to that question, =
however, I=20
will happily post it to the Master Gardener list and see if anyone =
else can=20
provide you with information. This may take a day or two. =
<BR>Fellow=20
Gardeners: Can anyone answer Joe's question? Please be sure to =
send your=20
response to him at the above e-mail address. <BR>Regards, <BR>Sue Bass =
<BR>Gilbert, AZ=20
<P>Bosko Joseph S Contr ESC/HRSPP wrote:=20
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=3D"CITE"> <BR> =20
<P><B> <FONT color=3D#0000ff><FONT face=3D"Courier New"> =
Sue</FONT><FONT=20
face=3DArial> ,</FONT></FONT></B>=20
<P><B> <FONT =
face=3DArial><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>I have an interesting question that (perhaps) you =
can=20
answer. This year I was fortunate to have three (3) Century =
Plants=20
(Agave) bloom in my back yard. The stalks reached a height of =
some 30=20
feet and were beautiful to watch as they grew so =
quickly.</FONT></FONT></B>=20
<P><B> <FONT =
face=3DArial><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>As you know, once these plants blossom, they die and =
the giant=20
(I'll call them) leaves turn yellow, then brown and eventually dry =
up and=20
look quite ugly.</FONT></FONT></B>=20
<P><B> <FONT =
face=3DArial><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>Due to the fact that the stalks had started listing =
(toward my=20
neighbors yard) I decided to cut them down before they damaged=20
property. In order to get to the stalks, I had to cut away the =
leaves=20
(extremely thick) and herein lies my question. Do you know =
what=20
chemical is in the SAP of the leaves? We noticed that if this =
SAP from=20
the leaves got on your skin, it immediately began to itch =
terribly. =20
Spraying the itch with (soothing) Bactine only resulted in the pain =
getting=20
worse - not better. This was NOT the case when the stalk was =
cut=20
down.</FONT></FONT></B>=20
<P><B> <FONT =
face=3DArial><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>Would appreciate any advice and assistance you may=20
provide. Will gladly send you photos of the plants if that is=20
necessary. Thanking you in advance.</FONT></FONT></B>=20
<P><B><FONT face=3DArial><FONT =
color=3D#0000ff>Sincerely,</FONT></FONT></B>=20
<P><B><I><FONT face=3D"Bookman Old Style"><FONT =
color=3D#0000ff><FONT=20
size=3D-1>Joe Bosko</FONT></FONT></FONT></I></B> <BR><B><I><FONT=20
face=3D"Bookman Old Style"><FONT color=3D#0000ff><FONT size=3D-1>San =
Antonio,=20
=
TX</FONT></FONT></FONT></I></B></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTM=
L>
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