mango wood

[markbot]

I live in Florida and have a mango tree I planted. The fruit is spectacular and delicious. Picking fruit and working and around the tree I got a sever case of poison ivy. Had to go to the doctor and get a prednisone Rx (4 tablets 4 days, 3 tablets 3 days, 2 tablet 2 days, an then one tablet). Cured it right up. No way I'm eating food smoked with mango wood. Growing up I was always very susceptible to getting poison ivy anytime I went out to the woods hunting. I'd say if you are like me and get poison ivy easily steer clear of mango. The chemical urushiol is to blame. It's not in the fruit just leaves, branches and sap.

 

[dave schiller]

Interesting info about the use of mango wood. Turns out that it's in the plant family Anacardiaceae, which includes many other species that produce urushiol. That's the oil that causes skin reactions in many people but not everyone. The family also includes pistachio and cashew trees. Hit and miss as to who it affects; some are allergic and some are not.

As a kid, i could catch poison ivy by looking at it. But now, years later, it doesn't seem to bother me. Maybe I've built up a resistance or maybe I'm better at recognizing (and avoiding) it.