What Gary said was spot on - I garden every day for clients and even at home I always even on the nastiest hot days wear long jeans or blue uniform pants, large tee shirts, sturdy sneakers or boots and rubber coated gloves because some of these plants (junipers, poison ivy, barberries, spurge as common examples I am around) and even the granules of dirt can really do a number on you - from itchy scratches to rashes - some minor and a couple in the past not so minor. I've never had a poison ivy rash as I'm always on the lookout for it but I did get a horrible rash from Cow Parsnip (a woodland native) I was deadheading in an all native garden. It was just like a poison ivy rash after the direct sun light activated the irritant - it took almost a month to go away. I have Dictamus - a buy from last year for a ridiculous price but I have been very careful around it. It has a lemony scent just don't get to close to touch it. It's one of those old timey hard to find plants like Peonies but my thinking is its' toxicity is what made it fall out of favor. But at least it doesn't spread around like the poison ivy.

I have found the name of the skin condition it causes : '' Phytophotodermatitis (also known as "Berloque dermatitis"[1]:32) is a chemical reaction which makes skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light. It is frequently mistaken for hereditary conditions such as atopic dermatitis or chemical burns, but it is caused by contact with the photosensitizing compounds found naturally in some plants and vegetables like parsnips, citrus fruits, and more '' Here is a picture of the natural habitat taken from Wikipedia in Polish. : The habitat is described as dry forests and sun-baked dry hills, soil rich in calcium (Ca) but poor in other nutrients.. Nearly no watering in cultivation. The plant is listed as toxic (2 alcaloids among many others), used in medicine and perfume industry. Hardy in zone 3 to 9. Can attain the age of 20 years. The picture was taken from this site: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyptam_jesionolistny You can also be interested in this quote: ''Phytophotodermatitis connotes phototoxic reactions consisting of erythema (with or without blistering) and delayed hyperpigmentation. Phototoxicity implies an immediate or delayed inflammatory reaction caused by the combination of a topical or oral photosensitizing agent followed by the appropriate wavelength of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) to the skin.37 This response can occur in any person who has been exposed to adequate amounts of a photosensitizing chemical and UVR. It is therefore not an immunologic reaction, and no prior sensitizing exposure is necessary for any potential victim.'' For die-hard taxonomists: As far as I know none of these names are scientifically valid: Ruber, Purpureus, Caucasicus. They all refer to the same species and are synonymous(But I may be wrong too :-) ) Here is a link that might be useful: phytophotodermatitis

Mike, My mom has had dictamnus (gas plant) for years. She grew it in sunny locations. I just got 2 this year, one albus(white) and one purpurea(pink). Both of mine looked great from Lazy S's Farm and Nursery until I planted them in the heat of summer. They both dried up and lost their leaves. The nursery reassured me that dictamnus is hard to kill and keep watering and watch for new sprouts either this fall or next spring. Sure enough, both resprouted and have healthy green foliage now. I am also excited as this is my second attempt as well. It takes several years to grow to mature size. Well worth the wait. My mom's are beautiful and rabbits don't eat it. I don't think it needs full sun location as she had one next to her house but they do best with a lot of sun. I wouldn't plant them under a tree.

I forget where I first heard of a gas plant, but I thought I'd really like to have some. So I bought seeds last year and planted them. They didn't come up. Then I bought them again and even learned that they need 3-5 months of cold (that's what the packet from J.L. Hudson said) and so I did that and have been waiting for them to sprout. Still nothing and it's almost the end of May! I've all but given up on this plant and it might be like DH says, that somebody might be trying to tell me something and I'm just not supposed to be growing it in my garden. I am allergic to lots of different weeds, some trees, grass (can you believe it!), and other things besides plants. I didn't know that I was allergic to Colorado Blue Spruce until I was trimming one of our trees one day and got a rash all over my arms and on my neck. I solved that problem in a hurry and cut them down not long after that. I won't get itchy from them again! I think our yard would look a little funny without any grass in it though. Ha. Oh yeah, I think I also must be somewhat allergic to tropical milkweed because it makes me itchy, although I don't get a rash from it. Anyhoo, maybe I'd end up being allergic to the gas plant anyway, so I don't think I'm going to cry about the fact that it's hard to germinate and I won't waste anymore of my money buying seeds! lol Believe me, I have enough plants here anyway! Really, the main reason that I wanted to plant it here is that it is a host plant for Giant Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. I have acquired some rue though, which is another host plant for them, and I planted some wafer ash (yeah, they eat that too) tree seeds, so it's not like I'll be lacking things for them to eat if I ever get them here. :) The strange thing is, I haven't gotten any rash from the rue! I didn't find out about some people being allergic to rue until after I already got it, so thank goodness none of us at my place are. I'm glad I'm not allergic to it because my Black Swallowtail caterpillars love it! Good luck to everyone trying to grow Gas Plant. I'm beginning to understand now why I've never seen it in anyone's garden. Cathy