Is this Poison Ivy?

[Asheville Native]

Nope!

[North Beach Person]

The last picture in Post 6 is poison ivy.


The first set of pictures in Post 1 all look, to me, as mostly Virginia Creeper. It can be a mild irritant to people who are sensitive. Get rid of it in any case, it will take over.

[Ohiogirl81]

The last picture is definitely poison ivy. I itch just looking at it.

[J&Em]

Sheesh go away for a few days and come back to crazy town. I react very strongly to poison ivy and have been exposed to it often. I had to learn to ID it from a distance when I did a lot of treking in wooded areas without paths. Even then it is easy to miss a little sprout or mistake a few common seedlings and plants that are similar. As several people have attempted to say there is NO poison ivy visible in those pictures. Every one of the three leaf groups does NOT have the one hallmark so many people miss when trying to ID poison ivy and poison oak. The center leaf always has a longer stem than the side leaves, which don't have a real stem, in the grouping of 3 leaves. If all of the leaves have no stem or all stems are the same length you can rule out poison ivy. There are other things one would look for as well (like opposing or alternating leaf groups, or "hairy" vines on trees) but in these pictures it is the most clear one. Also identification via pictures is always a problem since artifacts can be introduced that are deceptive, like reflectiveness when a flash is used making a leaf seem "shiny" when to the eye it isn't. Shiny does not make it poison ivy but very often shiny leaves and milky sap are very irritating to many people's skins.


Since all the links to poison ivy ID did not get looked at I'll try again to show what it looks like.

This shows a perfect poison ivy 3 leaf group with the longer center stem very visible, even on the newly emerging reddish leaves in the background:


This artist rendition courtesy of the IN state government website shows the longer central and non-existent side stems in the 3 leaflet group.






Now to the real ID....


Along with the standard ivy already identified there is some bindweed and dandelion along with a rhododendron but in several of those pictures is another vine everyone is misidentifying. It's probably too late to save the OP from ripping out a combination of her ivy and some Clematis virginiana (sometimes called Virgin's Bower or Devil's darning Needle). It's a shame if TXMG already removed a native vine thinking she had something else.







If the OP hasn't killed it yet it may be blooming shortly since its bloom time should be late July into August in MN. It can be pretty if it gets enough sun:






More info: Clematis virginiana page

[villageidiot1]

Originally Posted by J&Em

Sheesh go away for a few days and come back to crazy town. I react very strongly to poison ivy and have been exposed to it often. I had to learn to ID it from a distance when I did a lot of treking in wooded areas without paths. Even then it is easy to miss a little sprout or mistake a few common seedlings and plants that are similar. As several people have attempted to say there is NO poison ivy visible in those pictures. Every one of the three leaf groups does NOT have the one hallmark so many people miss when trying to ID poison ivy and poison oak. The center leaf always has a longer stem than the side leaves, which don't have a real stem, in the grouping of 3 leaves. If all of the leaves have no stem or all stems are the same length you can rule out poison ivy. There are other things one would look for as well (like opposing or alternating leaf groups, or "hairy" vines on trees) but in these pictures it is the most clear one. Also identification via pictures is always a problem since artifacts can be introduced that are deceptive, like reflectiveness when a flash is used making a leaf seem "shiny" when to the eye it isn't. Shiny does not make it poison ivy but very often shiny leaves and milky sap are very irritating to many people's skins.


Since all the links to poison ivy ID did not get looked at I'll try again to show what it looks like.

This shows a perfect poison ivy 3 leaf group with the longer center stem very visible, even on the newly emerging reddish leaves in the background:

Excellent post! I have been around poison ivy all my life but never knew that, "The center leaf always has a longer stem than the side leaves." Poison ivy doesn't alway look the same, making identification sometimes difficult. This is good to know.

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

Excellent post! I have been around poison ivy all my life but never knew that, "The center leaf always has a longer stem than the side leaves." Poison ivy doesn't alway look the same, making identification sometimes difficult. This is good to know.

There are more ways to ID the stuff if you want. I was fortunate to have someone teach me "on the job" as I worked in conservation and his lessons were hard earned. The leaves can take on various shapes at times so it is not always easy to tell "fer sure" so other clues make all the difference. I looked high and low for a site I had seen a few years back with all the folk wisdom quotes which were perfect for remembering them but didn't find it. Instead here are some of the best "rules" in plain English:

1. A longer middle stem and "no stems" appearance of both "side" leaves as seen in the pictures above and below. This is true for its cousin poison oak, too (below right).


2. "mittens" as side leaves This refers to the rounded notched edges of the leaves on most poison ivy. If it is the side leaves the "thumb" will always be on the opposite side of the main center leaf (see the top picture). Notice I said most because there can be multiple notches and tiny notches or no notches at all with the leaves but if there is even a hint of a notch this will always be true. (The main leaf will have the notches on both sides and usually mirror the notches on the side leaves.)


3. If you can see more of the vine (or main stem if it is a free standing plant) look at how the 3 leaf groups grow outward off of the main stem. Each group will come off the stem or vine on alternating sides. If you see leaflets coming off the main stem opposite each other it isn't poison ivy. The poison ivy leaf groups always alternate.

4. Color In autumn this is easiest to use if it is a vine going up a tree. In fall poison ivy leaves are one of the earliest to change colors.


Since some of the leaves will fall off you may not always see "groups of three" and the shine may not be obvious so you will need to look at leaf shapes and the actual vine to see the other clues. Color in spring is less helpful but the new leaves tend to be reddish as they first come out and are very shiny for the most part.





4. Hairy vine refers to the main stem(s) when the ivy climbs a tree for example and isn't always obvious. Other vines may have some "hairy" appearance as well (for example climbing hydrangeas) but it isn't common otherwise. btw the "hair" is aerial roots it uses to cling to the tree or whatever it is climbing.





I hope this gives you a few more ways to ID the stuff before getting in trouble. I'm itchy just from thinking about it now!

[txmg]

Thanks for all the input everyone! I had kinda decided it wasn't poison ivy. Once I saw the pic of the 3 leaf Boston Ivy, I was pretty sure that's what most of it is.

There may be some other stuff in there too. My current plan of attack is to get all the Boston Ivy off of the Rhodendrons. Then I'll try to sort out what else is over there. I expect there could be more than just Boston Ivy. It's getting a bit overgrown.

I'll probably wear some disposable dish gloves just in case though.

[Lee W.]

Yeah, that stuff sure looked different than my poison ivy. I have to remember where it is on the property and avoid it. None of it inside the fenced yard, thank goodness.