Another one is Oleander, heard stories of people burning this off in incinerators and inhaling the smoke and getting very sick
replyI was wondering if someone would mention this. I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC and heard this all my life. Once had a camp councilor who would inspect every twig to make sure there was none burned.
replyI also burned Rhododendron wood in campfires and brush fires more times than I can count without any adverse effects that I know of. My back yard was completely overgrown with the stuff. I’m sure the smoke inhalation of any fire is worse for you than anything specific about rhododendrons.
https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/7100/are-rhodod...
You also don't want to burn poison ivy because the oil (urushiol) is not something you want in your lungs if you are reactive to it.
replyFlorida's manchineel tree (with the tiny apples) is the OG wood you don't burn because it blinds you.
replyOr oleander [1], which people occasionally poison themselves with by burning its wood.
reply1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbio...
Fascinating. So it seems to have been used for parasitic and fungal skin treatments, angina, and to induce miscarriage. With no doubt a very narrow band of error.
replyBut you also don't touch it, eat it, or stand under it when it rains, so the opportunity to burn it by mistake is limited.
replyYou remind me of Episode 2 of the Apothecary Diaries: several Chinese troops were poisoned after eating local food. The food was fine, the wood used for fire and eating utensils was the source. I wonder if something like that ever actually happened?
replyi believe ingestion is the primary concern, but the smoke can also lead to symptoms, yes.
replyThat makes sense. We definitely weren’t going to eat random plants, but we could have easily accidentally grabbed some for firewood or kindling.
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