![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
video- don't you put it in your mouth
Jun. 27th, 2016 11:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zen_en_vertHello, Hadriel.
We have a garden now, and Sorrow has made comments to the effect that the food in it might disagree with us, so I'm going to talk to you about how to test for poisons in plants.
First of all, to those of you who aren't human, let me apologize, because I won't be able to help much with your physiology. But for those of you who are-
We need to catalogue and name everything we can that's growing in there, and then identify the plant species that no one knows. Once we have the unidentified species, each one needs to be assigned a volunteer. The testing period takes several days, and if you do two at once and get a reaction, you won't know which are poisonous.
The first step is to test for contact toxicity- that is, touch the leaves and stems and fruit juices of the plant to your skin, and see if it poisons you that way. Plants that provoke that kind of reaction aren't generally safe to eat. You take a few days to see if a reaction develops, and then begin by cooking small portions of the plant, and holding it in your mouth for a few minutes- three, and then later fifteen, testing to see if it provokes tingling, swelling, or any kind of reaction.
No one should try to test any plant with milky sap, white berries, or any kind of pod. You never want thorns, spurs, on the plant itself or on grain heads. If you get an almond scent or a bitter taste, stop eating, and just to play it safe, avoid plants with leaves in clusters of threes.
I've got a small supply of activated charcoal in the clinic. Let me know if you can help. Nothing is ripe yet, but we can begin classification and contact testing immediately.
Thank you, everyone.
We have a garden now, and Sorrow has made comments to the effect that the food in it might disagree with us, so I'm going to talk to you about how to test for poisons in plants.
First of all, to those of you who aren't human, let me apologize, because I won't be able to help much with your physiology. But for those of you who are-
We need to catalogue and name everything we can that's growing in there, and then identify the plant species that no one knows. Once we have the unidentified species, each one needs to be assigned a volunteer. The testing period takes several days, and if you do two at once and get a reaction, you won't know which are poisonous.
The first step is to test for contact toxicity- that is, touch the leaves and stems and fruit juices of the plant to your skin, and see if it poisons you that way. Plants that provoke that kind of reaction aren't generally safe to eat. You take a few days to see if a reaction develops, and then begin by cooking small portions of the plant, and holding it in your mouth for a few minutes- three, and then later fifteen, testing to see if it provokes tingling, swelling, or any kind of reaction.
No one should try to test any plant with milky sap, white berries, or any kind of pod. You never want thorns, spurs, on the plant itself or on grain heads. If you get an almond scent or a bitter taste, stop eating, and just to play it safe, avoid plants with leaves in clusters of threes.
I've got a small supply of activated charcoal in the clinic. Let me know if you can help. Nothing is ripe yet, but we can begin classification and contact testing immediately.
Thank you, everyone.
