“Poison” Parsnip Has Invaded Charlotte’s Fields and Roadsides
by Richard H. Bernstein, M.D.
July 15, 2010, pg 2

There is a striking flower growing alongside the roads and in the fields in Charlotte. It looks like a yellow Queen Anne’s Lace, and it has tempted some to add it to bouquets of other wild flowers. But beware. This is the wild parsnip (Pastinacea sativa), a member of the carrot family, whose touch can cause a serious skin reaction.

Unlike poison ivy, which causes an allergic reaction in susceptible people, wild parsnip leaves, stems and flowers contain a juice that reacts with ultraviolet light in the sunshine to cause a severe sunburn. And whereas poison ivy makes you itch, the parsnip rash has a more burning quality. Within a day after exposure, blisters form on the skin, the overlaying skin turns brown, and the reaction seems to spread as more lightly exposed parts of the skin start to react after another day or two. No one is immune from the effects of the wild parsnip, called a photodermatitis (skin reaction caused by exposure to light in sensitized skin).

Treatment of wild parsnip burns is similar to other burns. Keep the area clean to avoid infection and covered to avoid painful exposure to the air. Cool compresses help, and ibuprofen helps the pain. Sometimes, a course of anti-inflammatory steroids is prescribed early on to shorten the course of the reaction, which can last for two weeks.

Parsnip burns are easier to prevent than treat. Wear long clothing and socks when walking in fields if the plant is about. Wash the skin promptly to remove any juice if exposure occurs.

The wild parsnip is an invasive plant from Eurasia; it spreads by self-seeding. Cutting fields and ditches before the flowers set seeds will help remove this ubiquitous plant, but there must be a second cutting later on to mow down new shoots. Digging out the long taproots is definitive, but arduous.