Thank you for this information. Regi
What good is a house if you don’t have a tolerable planet to put it in? Henry David Thoreau > On Oct 26, 2019, at 12:53 PM, darlingtonbets <darlingtonb...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > A number of years ago, I asked poisonous plant expert, John Kingsbury, about > pokeweed. He's a retired professor of botany from Cornell and was lecturer in > phytotoxicology at Cornell's Vet. College. And author of "Deadly Harvest," an > excellent book on poisonous plants. > > He told me that a group of medical researchers who were studying pokeweed, > and handling the plant, all developed leukemia-like symptoms. (I don't know > what happened after that. Did they recover, once they stopped handling it?) > > He recommended wearing gloves, if handling the plant. I think he said that > the berries were the least toxic part of the plant. > > Just because a plant is toxic to humans, of course, doesn't mean it should be > destroyed, just that people should be cautious in using, handling or eating > it. And many plants that are toxic to humans are fine for birds and other > animals. Pokeweed is a beautiful, interesting plant. Just don't eat it or > handle it without gloves. > Betsy > > > > > Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Maryfaith Miller <merrymilkm...@gmail.com> > Date: 10/26/19 12:08 PM (GMT-05:00) > To: anneb.cl...@gmail.com > Cc: Regi Teasley <rltcay...@gmail.com>, bluewing-gr...@googlegroups.com, > CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Angry birds (Am robins!) > > I have used pokeweed berries in my forest kindergarten class to dye wool an > intensely beautiful shade of purple. 5-6-7 year olds, harvested, crushed, > boiled over a campfire and stirred the pot full of wool roving and pokeweed > berries. My students love knowing which plants are deadly poisonous. I have > taught them a lot about mushrooms, and all of them can identify a destroying > angel, jack o'lanterns, etc. Knowledge is power, and children love having > this knowledge. They know where all the pokeweed plants are at Lime Hollow > and love to inform people about them. > > But this is a bird list, and the question is about bird behavior...I'd love > to hear about the OP's question re American Robin aggression if anyone knows > more about that. > Maryfaith Decker Miller > > On Sat, Oct 26, 2019 at 11:38 AM <anneb.cl...@gmail.com> wrote: >> And I am living proof that eating young pokeweed is not deadly. We didn’t >> use 3 waters either, although drained it. >> But I am NOT suggesting everyone try it. Young spinach causes less panic. Or >> try lambs quarters. >> Anne >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Oct 26, 2019, at 9:56 AM, Regi Teasley <rltcay...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> I understand Pokeweed is poisonous to humans. Your thoughts on keeping >>> these plants? >>> >>> Regi >>> >>> >>> What good is a house if you don’t have a tolerable planet to put it in? >>> Henry David Thoreau >>> >>>> On Oct 26, 2019, at 9:01 AM, anneb.cl...@gmail.com wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> This morning I have a large number of robins all age/sexes foraging on my >>>> productive pokeweed berries and scratching leaves AND chasing each other >>>> hard and long. More athletic long chases than I am used to associating >>>> with robins. >>>> >>>> They are not just chasing around the berries although I watched some head >>>> lowered face offs ( before a chase) on the fence near pokeweed. >>>> >>>> Anne >>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>> -- >>>> >>>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >>>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >>>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >>>> >>>> ARCHIVES: >>>> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >>>> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >>>> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >>>> >>>> Please submit your observations to eBird: >>>> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >> >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
