# Thick black smoke over Ohio marsh

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 29, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857 "2003-04-29T04:53:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857/1 "2003-04-29T04:53:52Z")

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According to CNN the black smoke is the result of a fire burning a particular weed whose leaves contain an oily substance.  
So whats the weed?

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857/2 "2003-04-29T05:12:25Z")

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Let’s all hope it isn’t poison ivy. That smoke contains the irritant oils that make your skin inflame, and the smoke can enter your lungs.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857/3 "2003-04-29T05:14:31Z")

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The most common growth in the Mentor Marsh is reed grass (Phragmites australis), growing over eight feet tall. There is also a variety of cattail that is pretty common, there.

[Cleveland Museum of Natural History article on Mentor Marsh](http://www.cmnh.org/naturalareas/mentor.html) that mentions the fire from 11 years ago.

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**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857/4 "2003-04-29T05:51:10Z")

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[url =http://www.hort.agri.umn.edu/h5015/97papers/robertson.html] This page says that burning cattails would be the source of the black smoke:

> [@](#):
>
> Burning cattail marshes presents a problem of smoke management. While the smoke from upland fires can be thick and hazardous to a burn crew, cattails (Typha spp.) produce an extremely thick, black smoke

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**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thick-black-smoke-over-ohio-marsh/171857/5 "2003-04-29T05:54:01Z")

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[Post count +1](http://www.hort.agri.umn.edu/h5015/97papers/robertson.html)🙂