Why the sap of a mango tree can also irritate your skin like poison ivy

Recently, after writing about mangoes, I received the following email from Steve Huffman: “It might be worth mentioning that mango sap can cause skin irritation similar to poison ivy. When I was a child, my family moved to Hawaii for several years. I climbed a mango tree in our yard with very painful results.”

This is an important reminder and makes perfect sense since mango is the botanical kin of poison ivy, possessing similarly dermatitic sap. This sap contains urushiol (yu-RU-she-ol)...