Origin: United States Problems:

Every part of the plant contains an oil called urushiol that inflames skin and results in painfully itchy blisters and rashes. It also spreads incredibly easily via the transfer of oil. Inhalation of smoke from burning leaves and vines is hazardous. The urushiol oil becomes vaporized and will cause internal irritation. Profile:

Perennial plants that grow erect or as trailing vines with aerial rootlets. Leaves are 3-parted. Flowers (May-July) are small yellowish and it produces small, smooth white rounded fruit (August-November) that form a cluster. It can grow as a vine, as a groundcover or as a shrub. In mowed areas, the vine "learns" to stay low to the ground and grow small leaves, often only about 3/4 of an inch long. A healthy vine growing up a tree may have leaves 8 inches long. Two to three inches is a common size. Poison Ivy and Poison Oak are very similar in appearance and both cause irritation with urishiol oil. Poison Oak has more rounded leaves and points. Its leaf surface is also less smooth, tending to be "lumpy" between the veins. Habitat/Distribution:

Widespread throughout the eastern United States. Often found in young woodlands, thickets, path edges, sand dunes, walls and roadways. Controls/Management:

Treat with herbicide first (to kill the roots) then, wearing gloves, hand pull dead plant material. NOTE: The poison remains active even after the plant is dead. Poison Ivy also grows along the ground and caution must be used when cleaning mowing decks and blades.



Leaves can appear in many different forms. As shown above, the central leaf often has a notch on either side (red arrows numbered 1), while the two outside leaves are asymmetric, having a notch (yellow arrows numbered 2) on the side away from the central leaf. Note that the notches shown are larger than typical.



Sometimes, the leaves may have very small notches, as indicated by the blue arrows numbered 3, or may even have smooth edges. Sometimes, as indicated by the violet arrows numbered 4, the leaf margins may contain several notches. As indicated by the red arrow, numbered 5, young leaves often have a reddish tinge to them. Some very young leaves will be a dark reddish brown with just a hint of green. Note also that, in this sample, the bases of the leaves are close together. In the first image and the image below, note that there is a significant length of stem between the center and lateral leaves.



The small berries are a pale green when first formed, lightening to white as they ripen. Unfortunately, some birds like to eat them, which results in the seeds being quickly distributed over broad areas.