Poisonous Plants of Paradise

Poisonous Plants of Paradise: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Injuries from Hawaii’s Plants by Susan Scott and Craig Thomas, MD. Available at the Kapaa library (and possibly others), H 615.952 Sc under Hawaiiana.

This is a fascinating book if you’re interested in the outdoors and/or the specificities of flora in our isolated islands. Written as a medical reference, it thoroughly explains the toxicity and injury vectors of every (?) plant known to harm humans in Hawaii. Each plant is photographed and explained, including how it arrived in Hawaii and where it is usually found, then its toxins and method of injury are explained. Some readers may be interested in the description of traditional uses for each plant, though the authors always add that using these plants “as a remedy is scientifically unproven and may be harmful.”

I would put the dangerous plants in three categories:

• Decorative plants that you are unlikely to see outside someone’s yard
• Landscaping plants that you are likely to encounter in public places
• Native and naturalized plants that hikers are more likely to find on the trails

Here are some of the landscaping plants whose toxicity you should be aware of:

Oleander, Be-Still: Both of these colorful ornamentals are deadly if any part is ingested even in small quantities. Oleander leaves and be-still seeds are the most poisonous, but even dust from leaf litter can irritate the airways. Parents should definitely know these plants, never bring them in the house or yard, and keep children away from them outside. I’ll mention that be-still also grows wild in Kalalau, mauka of the trail between the river and the campsites at the beach. The book says that even using a stick from it to roast marshmallows or hot-dogs over a fire, or inhaling smoke from burning the wood can kill an adult.

Angel’s Trumpet (on the cover above), Cup of Gold: These two plants aren’t related, but they both have large, pretty and sweet-smelling flowers with similar toxins. The smell of the flowers is pleasing, but some people report mild symptoms such as headaches and dizziness just from inhaling the scent. Also, rubbing the eyes after touching the cup of gold flower or any part of the Angel’s Trumpet plant can cause pupil dilation and blurred vision for up to a week.

Plumeria: This widespread plant is mildly poisonous, ingesting leaves or flowers can irritate the digestive tract. It’s the sap that’s irritating and a few people develop rashes when they get it on their hands from breaking a branch or leaves. Children sometimes put the fragrant flowers in their mouths, but will not have any symptoms unless they ingest whole flowers.

Mango: The sap of this tree contains toxins related to poison ivy and poison oak of North America, so people who are sensitive to those might react to the leaves and skin of the fruit. Because repeated exposure increases the reaction, sensitive people should avoid contact. The fruit is safe to eat even for sensitized people once it is peeled by someone else.

Poinsetta: A professor in Hawaii in the 1940’s erroneously claimed that even one leaf was toxic, but this book claims it was a mistake. While ingesting the leaves may cause vomiting, and repeated handling may cause a mild skin rash, the authors are confident there is no toxic substance that may cause further harm.

Here is a short list of poisonous plants that hikers should be aware of, especially when taking children along:

Castor Beans: This plant grows along roadsides and disturbed areas all over the island, but the whole plant and especially the beans are deadly. The beans are very pretty and contain both castor oil and the poison ricin, known to have been used by spies for assassinations. I’ve never seen a seed lei made with these, but pricking your finger with the needle for stringing them is enough to cause severe symptoms.

Elephant Ear: These plants with leaves up to 4 feet (1+ meter) are related to taro and grow in wet, muddy conditions near streams and rivers. Like the taro plant, they contain invisible calcium oxalate crystals, tiny sharp needles inside the plant cells that irritate the skin. What I did not know is that these plants have a cell mechanism to project the crystals whenever a leaf or stalk is broken. Crushing or chewing the leaves or stems will cause a burning rash where the crystals embed in the skin or mouth. Differernt species had varying amounts of calcium oxalate. Taro leaves must be thoroughly cooked, and elephant ears were only cooked in times of famine.

Hawaiian Poppy: It’s one of the few native poisonous plants and the only prickly one. Like most poppies, the sap can irritate the skin and causes vomiting if ingested. The toxin affects the heart muscles and is deadly if enough is ingested. The only place I’ve seen this plant outside of botanical gardens is near the heiau in Kalalau Valley.

Kukui Nut: All parts of the tree contain a mild toxin that is only dangerous to small children. The sap can cause a skin rash, but most poisonings are from the nuts. Raw nuts allegedly taste good, but a single nut can cause nausea, more cause vomiting, severe cramps, and diarrhea. Hawaiians cooked the nuts and ate them as a relish, and the authors say “cooking alters the toxins and makes the nuts safe to eat in small amounts”.

Pokeberry/Coral Berry: Pokeberry is a native plant with small black berry clusters, coral berry has tiny red or orange berries. Both types of berries were used as dyes, and the plants are eaten as greens, despite the danger. The whole plant contains toxins: eating the root or undercooked leaves can be deadly to adults, and berries, especially unripe ones, can be deadly to children. I’ve only seen the red coral berry, but it grows as a weed in our garden and an invasive in Waimea Canyon and Kokee.

Silky (or Silver) Oak: This non-native tree from Australia is not related to oak. It was used in the 30’s and 40’s to reforest the eroded slopes of Waimea Canyon and the Pali-side of Kokee. Some people can get a rash from touching any part of this tree, though it only appears after 1-3 days, making identification difficult and often spreading to the eyes by contact. Sensitized people can get an asthma attack near these trees. It has a pretty flower, and even though my parents’ house used to have a specimen, I didn’t know it was potentially harmful.

Lantana: This bush with a recognizable smell might have pretty flowers, but it is an invasive weed that grows in thickets and is taking over forests on Kauai. Hikers know it because it has small curved thorns that can scratch badly, but I didn’t know the plant was poisonous. The leaves can cause a rash and are deadly to ruminants and fish. The berries are toxic when unripe, and even though some people eat ripe berries, they are potentially dangerous as well.

Mushrooms: If you haven’t learned to identify mushrooms in Hawaii, never pick and eat them here. Many poisonous and dangerous mushrooms in Hawaii look similar to edible ones on the mainland. They may even be the same mushroom, but different soil and weather conditions make them inedible. According to the book, the fatality rate for the hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms is “less than 1%,” which is very high if you think about it.

Unlike the book, these descriptions are not exhaustive. Other plants may also produce unpleasant symptoms if touched or ingested, especially in children. Avoid touching plants you are not familiar with, wash your hands as soon as possible especially if you get sap on them, and do not touch your eyes in the meantime.

If you suspect a plant poisoning of any kind, keep the plant for identification and call the poison hotline. If symptoms are present, take the patient and the plant to the nearest emergency room.

There are other ways in which plants can hurt people outdoors. A maintenance worker was killed recently on Kauai while cutting trees away from the highway. While I doubt many of you will be chainsawing, remember to be careful of rotten branches and stumps in the forest. I’ve been thrown off balance when pulling myself up on one of those, and there’s always the potential they they are holding up other branches than can fall on you.

Finally, always pay attention when you linger under coconut trees. When I was “fresh off the boat,” it hadn’t occurred to me that coconuts eventually fall off the tree, and they are most likely deadly if they hit you. Most parks and public places remove the developing coconuts, but it’s best to look up and make sure before you spread out your towl.

Blossoming Lotus Mini-Review

Ariane from the previous post also asked:

have you ever tried the blossoming lotus? heard it is amazing…

The Blossoming Lotus restaurant is indeed excellent, it was selected as the best restaurant on Kauai in 2006 by the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper. They serve “vegan world fusion” which means you’ll discover new foods and flavors that mainstream restaurants never bother to explore. My vegetarian wife loves to go there because she knows she can order anything off the menu without having to ask or worry about meat products. And I know they use fresh, local and often organic ingredients because I’ve seen the staff do their shopping at Kapaa’s Wednesday afternoon farmer’s market.

At almost $20 per entree, it is pricier than most Kapaa restaurants but on par with the resorts and not overpriced like some trendy restaurants in other cities. I wouldn’t call their food “amazing” because superlatives give people overly-high expectations, and then they blame the reviewer when they are unjustifiably disappointed. But their food is delicious, and we have always enjoyed whatever we order. As a matter of fact, we liked their food so much that we had the Blossoming Lotus cater the hot dishes and the cake for our wedding reception. We also bought their cookbook, which not only contains recipes for most of their menu items, but also beautiful pictures of the cultures from which they draw their culinary inspiration.

Last year, the Blossoming Lotus moved into a larger space on the ground floor of the “Dragon Building” at the stoplight in downtown Kapaa, across from the ABC convenience store. In their old location is the Lotus Root, a juice bar serving their vegan pastries, smoothies, and a great selection of teas. I find it to be more expensive than standard coffee house fare, but everything is the same quality as their restaurant.

Browsing on their website, I see they have opened a café in Portland. It looks like they have a less fancy and cheaper menu, a format I wish they’d offer somewhere here on Kauai.

Pledge: I have not received nor intend to receive any compensation from the businesses I mention. I have no connection to the Blossoming Lotus restaurant or its staff, other than being a satisfied customer.

Kalalau Trip Reports

After writing my description of the Kalalau trail, I’ve come across several other trip reports on the web. These provide some other details about the Na Pali coast, and I find them accurate compared to my past experiences:

• Kayak Kauai is a local outfitter that runs kayak and hiking tours of the Na Pali coast. They just published a description of the Kalalau trail which I find accurate, including having an empty and washed campstove fuel bottle tossed out by an airline (despite the 9-11 security measures, I still believe they are over-interpreting FAA regulations, but we were lucky, I heard they now take away the stoves). One point where I’ll disagree is the warning about leaving a car at Kee beach. We have left cars parked there, mostly empty and locked without incident, but they were not shiny new rental cars. Now that there is a ranger stationed at Haena, I think leaving a rental car there is justifiable, as long as:
  • You leave nothing inside that you wouldn’t want to lose.
  • You have paid with a credit card that gives you extra rental insurance.
  • Your flight doesn’t leave the same day you plan to finish hiking.
  • Actually, maybe you should just find the ranger and ask about it.
• GORP.com has a classic trail description that includes some of the characters you might meet along the way. It also mentions the helicopter nuisance.
• DayHiker.com has an extreme hike report of somebody who hiked-jogged in and out in one day (8:30-4:30, which I find barely believable, though perhaps without a pack).
• The previous writer should participate in the Kalalau Challenge: swim to Kalalau and hike-run all the way back (2003 winner’s time was 6:04:15). This video of the race has some good footage of the trail and scenery:
  

  Or if you prefer to watch “Kalalau Challenge” on YouTube.

• And finally, some amateur video of people on the trail. These aren’t very good, but they give you some more first person accounts: search YouTube (Google video only seems to have stock aerial footage of Na Pali, but maybe that will change)

Update: As I find more Kalalau trip reports on the web, I’ll add them here:

• A travel journal from 2002 that gives one experience of hiking in and out in two days (start reading at 17.03.2002; there is a photo link but they do not display). This account is notable because the authors are true traveling backpackers: they did not rent a car and hitch-hike from the airport to Kee and back, with mixed results. Also, they chose to forgo all camping permits and spent some time fearing the ranger.
• A guy from Oahu wrote to tell me he blogged about his day-hike to Kalalau and back (that link takes a while to load). He was ready to start before sunrise, but when he saw some hunters starting out before him, he wisely decided to wait until daylight. He made it all the way to Kalalau beach and back to cell-phone reception (probably around Lumahai) before sunset, which was his friends’ appointed time to notify rescuers to go looking for him. I suggested that 9 or 10pm was a better time, especially because he did bring a flashlight. At the bottom of his page he also has an animated flyover of the trail that he made from my trail maps, so that’s worth checking out.
• Another day-hike to the beach and back by a group from Oahu. I’m not a big fan of their writing style, but they do have some funny pictures, and the minutes-per-mile table at the end gives other hikers an idea of what to expect.
• The ultimate solo single-day hike to the waterfall at the end of the trail and back in just under 12 hours. On top of that, the guy took the wrong trail at Hanakapi’ai and walked a mile up the valley before realizing his mistake, for a total of 24 miles. If you look around his website, you’ll see this guy is a peak bagger in California, and he did several other very impressive hikes the same week on Kauai—the guy is a hiking machine.

Update: Since this post is morphing into a list of resources for further information, it wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention the book and the map for going to Kalalau:

On the Na Pali Coast: A Guide for Hikers and Boaters, by Kathy Valier. I borrowed this book from the Kapaa library a while ago (H 796.51 V, in the Hawaiiana section), and I remember it being very thorough. It does favor kayaking over hiking in the amount of details, but that just made me want to kayak the Na Pali coast someday.

Northwestern Kauai Recreation Map, by Earthwalk Press, available in a weather-proof plastic edition. You don’t need a topo map to hike to Kalalau, but if you’re like me and you love maps , this is the one to take. It’s a topo map printed on a plastic sheet that covers Na Pali, Kokee and upper Waimea Canyon. It also has an enlarged map and accurate description of the Kalalau trail on the back.

You can buy the books through Amazon with the links above (or on my bookstore page) and support my blog. If you’re on Kaua’i, you can buy both from Kayak Kauai in Hanalei and support an island business (to which I am in no way affiliated or recieving compensation).

Blogroll Finally

A blogroll is a list of links from one blog to other blogs. It usually represents the blogs that inspire or inform the writer of the blog in question. It is usuall presented as a list of links and sometimes images to the side of the main content, as you can see in the right column on this blog.

Ever since I’ve started blogging, I’ve been on the lookout for other blogs about Kaua’i, and while I have mentioned them sometimes, I never had time to set up my blogroll. This evening, my wife who designed the layout of this website created the little image and got my blogroll … ahem, rolling.

I’m happy to reserve the inaugural top spot on my blogroll for IslandBreath.org edited by Juan Wilson. Juan is an architect who lives in Hanapepe on the west side, and who is concerned about the future of Kauai. He covers environmental and political issues that threaten this island, this country, and the world in general. He knows a lot of insiders from whom he publishes information, added to his own knowledgeable observations and recommendations for saving the character and beauty of Kauai. In addition, he has a knack for illustrating each article with a thought-provoking graphic.

IslandBreath.org is the local website that I read most frequently, at least once a week. It is actually not a blog in the sense that articles are gouped primarily by topic instead of by time, and there is no comment mechanism. I acutally like the grouping by topic because it gives you more depth to each article. If you like reading about Kauai, you should definitely check it out.

I Want to Be a Travel Writer

I’ve always wanted to be a travel writer: who wouldn’t want to go off and have adventures, meet people, research interesting stories, and then get paid for it. That is until I realized everybody else wanted to do that, and the few who were good enough to get paid weren’t making a living. But I still like to read travel articles, learn about new places, and secretly entertain the thought that maybe I could’ve gone to the same place and written a better article.

Well, that finally happened. The article in question is “Hawaii: Searching For Koolau The Leper”, on a sleek travel website whose name I can’t even pronounce. So now I will become a travel writer critic.

Overall, the article follows a classic recipe: travel to an interesting place, search for some historical figure, and find echos of the past by interviewing the locals. The problem is that you need to do some historical research, and that takes time away from your working vacation. I know one should never let the facts get in the way of a good story, but in this case, they got in the way of my reading.

The story of Koolau the Leper was made famous by Jack London who heard a second- or third-hand account while traveling in Hawaii. So it was with great interest that I read the story told by his widow in The Kauai Papers, published by the Kauai Historical Society. Too bad our travel writer never found this credible account while he was at the local library, because it clearly states that Koolau and his wife came from Waimea, and hiked into Kalalau down the steep cliffs at the back of the valley on a trail that no longer exists.

So the entire following-in-his-footsteps premise of the article is undermined, and the author appears for what he really is: just another tourist. Yes, the Kalalau trail is hard, but it is nowhere near as hard as what Koolau and his wife actually had to do. If the writer had climbed that cliff, which might be feasible or might be suicide depending on whom you ask, then I would’ve been impressed. As it is, I think he needs to search for another way to pay for his vacations.