Knowledgebase

Allergic reaction #413678

Asked July 12, 2017, 12:40 PM EDT

We need your help. 2/3rds of a household is apparently very allergic to one of these three wild plants. Yet they don't know what it is to identify it outside the backyard and avoid it. It produces terrible allergic reaction father and daughter not not mother, swelling of face, bad hives, itching, low grade fever. Any one know what this foe is?

Washington County Oregon

Expert Response

Dr. Richard Halse of the OSU Herbarium identified the top two pictures as bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), and the bottom picture, with variegated leaves, as English ivy (Hedera helix) . English ivy can cause allergies.  The entire nightshade plant is toxic.  The toxic element, solanine, is the same element that causes problems in green potatoes.  Signs of toxicity include:  abdominal pain, headache, tiredness, flushing and irritation of the skin and mucous membranes.  The plant can cause an allergic response as well.

 

English ivy causes enormous problems in the Pacific Northwest.  Forest Park in Portland is being overrun with it.  Birds eat the berries and scatter the seeds miles from the main infestation.  Use gloves to pull small plants, and/or use herbicides.  Trichlopyr (brush killer) or glysophate (Round-up) both will work.    Control requires vigilance as new plants develop readily.  This article, English Ivy is an Invasive Weed in the Pacific Northwest, gives more information.

 

Bittersweet nightshade can be controlled by pulling (please use gloves) when small, and while the soil is loose and moist.  Plants can also be dug out.  For chemical control either trichlopyr or glysophate will work.  Always follow the instructions on the herbicide container for dilution and application methods.  Be careful of herbicide use around desirable plants.  Bittersweet nightshade is common, so watch for new plants to come up.  They're much easier do deal with when small.  This article, Bittersweet Nightshade, has pictures of the plant and its flowers with detailed information.

 

Both these weeds are common and can cause problems.  Both need a consistent control program
Anne, OSU Extension Master Gardener Replied July 13, 2017, 8:58 PM EDT

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