Toxicodendron radicans

First of all, the trifoliate leaves make identification easy. However other species have such leaves as well including box-elder, bladdernut, strawberry, wafer-ash, and raspberry (Frankel, 1991).The leaves contain a chemical called urishiol which makes the plant the bane of all humans which causes swelling, rashes, itching, and blisters (Walters, 1988). The leaves can grow in many alternate forms on the plant including in pairs, opposite one another, in whorls, or singly at any stem level (Frankel, 1991). Other alternations come in the form of simple, without lobes or indentations, or compound leaf, with several separate leaflets arranged palmately or pinnately. However, the leaves almost always follow in the pattern of a longer terminal, center leaf with two leaflets on opposite sides (Frankel, 1991).

Only poison ivy has aerial roots that look like hairs covering the stems of this species. These aerial roots allow poison ivy to form a vine which can cling to trees. One can recognize the vine since its furry and usually grows straight up a tree without winding around it (Frankel, 1991).

Another way one might distinquish poison ivy from other harmless species is by the small clusters of greenish-white flowers. These flowers bloom in June and are clusters of unisexual, 5-petaled blossoms that bloom betweem the stem and the base of the petiole (Walters, 1988).

T. radicans grows throughout the eastern U.S., usually in shady forests. T. radicans can also grow as a ground creeper, a short shrub, or even a small tree. Furtermore, all of these types can grow in a small area making avoiding all types more difficult. However, whenever you see a vine bearing alternate trifoliate leaves, you should leave the plant well-enough alone (Frankel,1991). However, in some ways poison ivy is helpful. It is used as an erosian deterrant on sand dunes due to the tough root system of the plant (Smith, 1990).

T. radicans has distinct male, flowers with stamens, and female plants, with pistils. The pollen of the male plant is usually spread by bees led to the flower by its sweet-smelling flowers where it is then transported the female plant due to the same attraction the bee has to the male plant. By the end of June, the male flowers die while the females' fruits, called drupes, are beginning to grow. These drupes are eaten by birds in the fall, and the birds then disperse the seeds in their feces (Eastman, 1995). The drupes fall to the ground as summer progresses. In winter, the plant is leafless and dead-looking but still alive indeed and very toxics still (Frankel, 1991).