If you just avoid poison ivy, you won’t need a poison ivy treatment, right?
That one falls under the ‘easier said than done’ heading. In the first place, poison ivy, or Toxicodendron radicans as it is formally named, can turn up just about anywhere. In the second place, poison ivy can look many different ways, depending on what variety it is and what the growing conditions are.
You’ve probably heard the adage: “Leaves of three, let it be.” That’s a good place to start, because poison ivy usually has three leaflets. Two of them are opposite each other, and the third one is connected by a little stalk. That called “pinnately trifoliate leaves” if you want to get technical about it.
The leaves in this photo have a slightly jagged edge. That’s a common form, but they can also be smooth-edged. Other times, each leaflet can be deeply lobed, almost like an oak leaf. (Toxicodendron diversilobum, or poison oak, is a closely related species.)
This photo shows bright green leaflets. The leaves can also be a dark green. Often they are shiny, but they can look dull and flat. In the spring and fall, the leaves are often a nice bright red. It would be a beautiful plant if it didn’t have such a miserable affect on people!
Poison ivy likes to grow as a vine. It produces aerial rootlets that cling to any available support. It’s also happy growing as a ground cover, and sometimes it grows as a shrub.
Learn to recognize poison ivy and avoid it if you can. That way, you won't even need poison ivy treatment!
Share This Post
0 comments:
Post a Comment