Since so many readers commented on last month's blog on poison oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum, I felt compelled to add some of the information many felt I had ignored. In the interest of brevity, I had not mentioned the extremely important caution against the burning of poison oak. Never, ever burn poison oak. Urushiol, the resin that causes the unpleasant skin reaction to contact with this plant, will be released when either the stem or leaves are burnt, and can very serious indeed. Wildland firefighters are at the greatest risk to lung involvement due to this exposure, but if you are gathering wood for a campfire, be very aware of any neighboring poison oak that you could accidentally gather. It seems unlikely that gardeners would be burning yard debris during the hot weather and severe drought, but should you somehow inhale the smoke from burning poison oak, go immediately to an emergency room. Many, many people have been made quite ill from this smoke, and you definitely want to avoid this problem!