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Poisonous plants -- and their twins

Test your knowledge of the Pacific Northwest's most notorious flora, intermixed in this quiz with photos of their harmless lookalikes. Can you tell them apart? Let's find out now, before you learn the hard way.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com

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1. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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Terry Richard | The Oregonian/OregonLive

POISONOUS

Name: Poison Oak

Scientific Name: Toxicodendron diversilobum

Contact with poison oak results in painful rashes that can last for days. Plants can grow up to eight feet tall, but are usually small. The best identifier is the grouping of leaves into threes – as the old adage says: leaves of three, let it be...

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2. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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NOT poisonous

Name: Wild mint

Scientific Name: Mentha arvensis

Wild mint grows all over the world, and though it can be mistaken for stinging nettle, it's completely harmless -- unless you don't like the taste.

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3. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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SEMI poisonous

Name: Wild Carrot

Scientific name: Daucus carota

Trick question! Wild carrot, also known as Queen Anne's Lace, can be easily mistaken for poison hemlock, but it's not nearly as dangerous. Still, the wild carrot leaves can cause rashes and blisters in some people.

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4. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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SEMI poisonous

Name: Stinging Nettle

Scientific Name: Urtica dioica

Stinging nettle is covered in fine hairs that can cause a burn or itch when they come into contact with skin, but if cultivated and prepared properly, the plant can be made into medicine or a healthy snack. Just look out for jagged leaves covered in tiny hairs.

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5. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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NOT poisonous

Name: Meadow Mushroom

Scientific Name: Agaricus campestris

A commonly cultivated mushroom, the meadow or field mushroom grows to about two to four inches in diameter, identified by its fine gills which turn from light pink to dark brown.

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6. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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POISONOUS

Name: Death Cap Mushroom

Scientific Name: Amanita phalloides

The most feared of all toxic mushrooms, ingesting the death cap can cause gastrointestinal chaos, liver shutdown and kidney failure before death. It's best identified by it's yellowish cap and white gills.

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7. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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POISONOUS

Name: Western Poison Ivy

Scientific Name: Toxicodendron rydbergii

Unlike its eastern counterpart, western poison ivy grows as a shrub that can reach three feet tall. To avoid painful rashes, heed that old adage once again: leaves of three, let it be...

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8. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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NOT poisonous

Name: Garry Oak or Oregon White Oak

Scientific Name: Quercus garryana

The hardy oak generally grows west of the Cascades and east of the Coast Range in Oregon. While its leaves can look similar to poison oak, they stem individually off the branches of the tree.

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9. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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POISONOUS

Name: Deadly Nightshade

Scientific Name: Atropa belladonna

The deadly nightshade is lovely, but as the name suggests, the small black fruit that grows within the star-shaped leaves can be quite lethal if ingested – especially for kids and pets.

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10. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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NOT poisonous

Name: Sweet Trillium

Scientific Name: Trillium albidum

There's nothing dangerous about sweet trillium, the wildflower that grows around the region. It's especially revered at Tryon Creek State Park in Portland.

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11. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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NOT poisonous

Name: Black Nightshade

Scientific Name: Solanum nigrum

It may resemble deadly nightshade, but the black berries of black nightshade are quite edible and popular the world over (the unripe green berries, however, can be harmful).

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12. Poisonous? Not Poisonous?

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POISONOUS

Name: Poison Hemlock

Scientific Name: Conium maculatum

Commonly confused for wild carrot, poison hemlock can cause rashes, rapid heartbeat, nausea, paralysis of the central nervous system and death – though the most severe cases usually come from ingestion, not contact.

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Watch your step!

How'd you do? Are you going to make it out there, hacking and foraging through the brush?

The important takeaway here is that while there's plenty of good stuff to touch and eat out there – the vast majority of it, really – there are a few stingers and poisoners lurking among them. That's not to say you should fear stepping into the wild, just tread with some respect of Mother Nature's dark side.