I was Collecting Datura Pods, and then...

...Ah-Chooooo!! I started sneezing violently and blew my nose & sneezed for a whole day(this was a couple weeks ago). Then yesterday I went by the other side of my friend's yard and before I knew it my jacket pocket was filled with MORE pods - and sure enough, I started sneezing again and my nose ran for a day. Has anyone else ever had this reaction to datura pods????? :) (Ahhh-Choooo!)

Hi Tam-Tam. So sorry to hear of your allergic reactions to the Datura. Sounds as though you better clear your friend's yard of the nasty things. And just so you won't be bothered by them, you can send them to me!! (just kidding, of course)
Have you had this type of reaction to the blooming plants? Any skin reaction to the sap? I would be careful around the sap and flesh of the plants since you seem to be sensitive to something in its makeup.
And by the way... God Bless You!

Barb

LOL - Thank you!! Oh gosh, I love dats and stick my nose in them all the time when they're blooming - bring them in for bouquets etc - it's very unusual for me to have this reaction to anything!! My coat with the pocket full of pods is still in the garage - I'm afraid to go near it - but tomorrow I'll put the seeds in a bag & wash my coat - and hold my breath the whole time!!! :) (And yes, I'll have tons of seeds - you're welcome to some!!!)

You could try one of those little surgery masks. I use them when I hack down rag weed. It seems to help a bit.

Good idea - I was thinking the same. I'd been putting off taking care of this - but I'll need my coat soon so I guess I'll get on with it!! I don't have a surgery mask but I think I'll put a bandana over my mouth, do it quick and have the water ready in the washer to dunk the coat! Yeah! I have a PLAN!!!! Here I go!!!! (And all the while I'll be telling myself, "It'll be worth it. It'll be worth it.")

I just had a flashback to collecting seeds off my mustard greens (I grew them for my five foot iguana to eat) for the first time...if I had my 'druthers I think I'd choose the sneezing!!! :)

Hmm... A lizard as big as me..., for a pet. OMG!!! Do you have a picture of the beast?? My son had been begging for one. He would love to see it.

Why does the movie "Little Shop of Horrow" come to mind. How big were the mustard greens? Wow that is one that I would run from.

Oh Boy am I mad - my whole MSN Group site about Lewy the Giant Green Iguana is ...gone!! I've written MSN to see if they can retrieve it.
http://davesgarden.com/place/t/376433/

There is a pic of Lewy but the link to his Group doesn't work...I'll let you know if I can get it back!
...The MUSTARD greens, my gosh, they were pretty - five foot tall, yellow flowers and then of course to seed and lookin' ragged. The prettiest food I grew for Lewy was the Chard - and the ones he shared with us the most were the peas - yummmmm!

Heavinscent - I especially want you to see his Group cuz it's the story of how I "rescued" him and then learned how absolutely incredibly just about impossible it was to care for a Giant Green Iguana correctly. To give you an idea - they eat 50 to 70 different varieties of veggies and fruits EVERY DAY in the wild. Try to match that!! He had to have a heat spot of over 100 degrees in his habitat - no, not a cage!! - (nobody in the neighborhood could match my elec. bill in the summer) and he needed a pool to poop and pee in. There are awesome pics and stories (of his escapes and my scars, etc!) on this Group - I have to find it!!!!!

Wow Tam that sounds like a wopper of a story! I would love to see it if and when you get it back. I tried the link on the pet page but no luck. I had a gecko when I was a kid but Mom told me he ran away hee!hee!

Now was it the lizard or the greens that were 5 ft tall/long?

LOL - Both were over five feet!! LOL!! The collards (another staple of his diet) were huge, too. How funny about your gecko - do you think of him when you see those silly commercials?? :) Alas, my Lewy site is gone, gone, gone. I am so bummed, there were tons of pictures and stories, alot of work. They (MSN Groups) say they emailed me to see if I wanted to keep it, but Junk Mail must have gotten it. Dirty Dogs. Lewy was adopted by this wonderful family - they were forming an Iguana Rescue (did you know Iguanas are the MOST dumped pet in the U.S.?) - I'm gonna see if I can find their site and get back to you!

http://marie.thoughtshop.net/main.html
Well this isn't them, but it gives you a good idea of what it's like to own an iguana as a pet. (...EXCEPT I didn't like it that the owner let her iguana get so close to an unknown child - they are very dangerous reptiles and even tho they give warning before attacking I certainly wouldn't take a chance!!) There are other really good places to go, too -
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html - (Melissa Kaplan).
I gotta say, I would NOT recommend having a giant green iguana for a pet - no, no, no, I wouldn't have even tried taking care of Lewy if I'd have known how much work he was!!!!!!! I think a gecko would be MUCH better!!! :)

P.S. - Here is where I gathered the seedpods!! Just got the pictures!! :) All that sneezing WILL be worth it!! (Anyone want any seeds? Send your addy!!)

I have a lot of seeds from my double, purple/white Datura Metel from last summer. If you are interested, send me a D-Mail with your address and a self adressed, stamped envelope. 63 cents should do it.

Here's a picture:

TamTam, what is that plant growing with the dats? Is it a Japanese paper plant? If so, they have fuzz under the leaves and I sometimes get a snort full and sneeze my head off.

Oh, wow, I missed your message, Windy!! So sorry! No, not a Japanese paper plant - never heard of them, bet they're interesting!! Let's see, starting on the left there's a small castor, then the tall purple-top one is a cleome, under that is a done-flowering 4:00, and that's about all I see. I posted a picture at the top of this thread that had like ten different flowers in it, but then I realized you were talking about the picture at the end of this thread...right?!?!? Hee Hee!! :)