Friday, August 17, 2007

Leaves of three, let them... oh never mind

Any plant buffs out there?

I've heard the "leaves of 3 let them be" thing. The only problem is, every other plant in Japan seems to have 3 leaves. I've had extensive skin contact with most of these, and at least 2 or 3 other types, one with shiny leaves, that I never took photos of. I never got a rash though. I don't think I'm resistant to poison Ivy/Oak, because I'm allergic to Cashews, which are a related plant species. I tried a google search to find out what the plant leaves look like out, but there's like a million leave types, and I suck at identifying them. Anyway, the last couple days I decided to take photos of the 3 leaved plants I see. Most of these are on the side of the path up to my work place:








Here's some interesting facts:

1) The toxin in the plant is called "Urushiol." This comes from the Japanese name for the plant, "Tsuta Urushi."
2) The glossy finish you see on Japanese wood products is made by coating the wood with the same oil (that makes you miserable) in the poison ivy plant. They cut the stem on the lacquer tree, gather the urushi oil, and coat the wood. Then they heat treat it, which eliminates the toxic effect of the plant. [I wonder who discovered this the first time around.]
3) Almost everyone gets 1 free lunch with the plant. On first exposure your body learns what it is, and you don't get a reaction.

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