- Melissa Sprenne
- Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Poison Ivy usually has three leaflets ("Leaves of three, let it be"), where the middle leaflet has a longer stem. They can be notched but will have a smooth, non-serrated edge. The plants comes in two forms: low-growing shrub and tree-climbing vine ("Hairy vine, no friend of mine"). In the fall, its leaves turn bright red or orange and its small berries turn white ("Berries of white, best take flight").
Scroll slowly and really look at the photos to see if you can guess whether or not each one is Poison Ivy! Read all the way to the end to find out more information about Poison Ivy.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is not! While it does have three leaflets, they have serrated edges. Also, if you look at the stems, you'll see that they are thorny. Poison Ivy does not have thorns.
This is a Blackberry.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is not! While this plant does look like a low-growing shrub, it has five leaflets. Also, if you look at the stem, you'll see that it is woody, giving you a clue that this might be a tree.
This is a Hickory tree sapling.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is! This is an example of Poison Ivy. Note that each stem has three leaflets. Each leaf has a smooth edge, though you can see that a couple of them have broad notches. Also note that the middle leaflet has a longer stem than the two side leaflets.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is not! While this plant is a vine, it is not hairy. Also, the leaves are singular and serrated. And in the fall, they have large black or green berries.
This is a Muscadine vine.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is not! While this a low-growing plant, it has two leaves. It is a ground cover and its berries are red.
It is a Partridge Berry.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is not! At first glance, it does look like it has three leaves and it is a vine. If you look closer, you will see that each leaf has three deep lobes. Also, the stems are not hairy.
It is a Passionflower Vine.
Is this Poison Ivy?
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It is! It might be harder to tell in this jumble of forest plants, but that is Poison Ivy. It is a good example of how variable the leaflets can be.
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) has a bad reputation, but this native plant has its benefits. Its berries are an important winter food source for many birds (Woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings, Crows, Quail, Warblers, Vireos, and others). Its flowers are important to pollinators. Its vines provide pathways up trees for various reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. The leaves are food for bear, deer, and raccoons and shelter for so many insects, which in turn are fed to young birds by their parents. It has gorgeous red fall foliage and pretty waxy white berries.
And, yes, every part of a Poison Ivy plant is toxic to humans (and some few other primates). Poison Ivy produces a chemical called urushiol. This chemical binds to our skin cells and tricks our immune system into thinking our own skin is a foreign substance, inducing our own bodies to attack our skin cells. This is what produces the characteristic Poison Ivy rash. And every time you are exposed to Poison Ivy, you risk an even more severe reaction.