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honey mesquite, poisonous?

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Posted by beauxhaus 24 (My Page) on
Wed, Mar 28, 07 at 17:33

My husband and I were in the garden last weekend tearing out our lawn and amending the soil with manure and sand. We have very few remaining plants/trees in the yard, so we were startled to discover a nasty rash/blistering on his forearms the morning after we worked in the garden. We know he isn't allergic to our gardenias, roses, or our pink melaleuca, but wondered is the spines on our honey mesquite might be the culprit. It's possible he might have scratched himself without noticing.. He says the blistering reminds him of what poison oak rash looks like. Anyone have any ideas as to what might have caused it?

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RE: honey mesquite, poisonous?

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Honey mesquite is very prevalent in my area, and I have never heard of any plant parts being poisonous (the pods in fact are edible) and have never known anyone to have an allergic reaction.

Here's what a quick search turned up:
Mesquite is not known to be highly toxic. However, there are parts of the plant that can have adverse effects. When eaten, the seeds can cause digestive problems (Tull, 1999). Though the spines aren’t necessarily poisonous, they may cause soreness ("Honey Mesquite"). The flowers are allergenic and the pollen can cause hay fever (Tull, 1999). The gum may also cause irritation (Kay, 1996).

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