Poison Ivy Plants
Tips to Identify Poison Ivy Plants
Avoidance is always the best course of action when it comes to poison ivy plants, but many people don’t know how to identify them. The old adage of “leaves of three, leave them be” is a great one, but only if you see the plant before it touches you.
Poison ivy plants are native to North America; found in every state with the exception of some areas on the west coast. Primarily found in the Midwest and the East, concentrated around lakes, rivers and streams, these plants appear in one of two forms. An upright shrub measuring up to 2 feet tall can be found when there is no means of support for the plant to climb upon. Often, poison ivy plants creep along the ground; twining itself up tree trunks or bushes.
A member of the cashew family, poison ivy plants contain a substance called urushiol, a resin that is highly poisonous to humans; hence the name of the plant. The oil of urushiol is easily transferable; a mere brush against a plant leaf is enough to set off a reaction within a person’s system if not flushed away with water immediately. After approximately 20 minutes of being on the skin, the urushiol has invaded deep within the skin surface and begun its progress toward an allergic reaction.
The most identifiable feature of poison ivy plants are the leaves. Clustered together in groups of three, these leaves are positioned in a rather unique formation. One leaflet in the cluster grows from the tip of the stem, with two additional leaflets pairing up on opposite sides of the stem underneath. The thicker part of the leaf is near the stem; a slight notch divides the thinner top portion that progresses upwards to a point.
In the early spring, the leaves of poison ivy plants have a lovely blush of red. As spring progresses to early summer, the appearance of the leaves change from red to a glossy green, with tiny, green flowers growing in bunches near the bottom of the stem. Whitish colored drupes, small fruits with a single seed, develop toward the end of the growing season. As fall approaches, a rainbow of yellows, oranges and reds take over the plant leaves. Despite their attractive appearance, the plant is to be avoided at all costs during any season.
Learning to identify poison ivy plants will help you to avoid any contact with the plant that could lead to an allergic reaction. It also gives you the opportunity to eliminate its presence from your yard once identified, if necessary, to avoid secondary contact from a pet. Remember, leaves of three, leave it be is the rule for poison ivy plants.