Poison Ivy

Here's some Poison Ivy I encountered. Most of you have probably heard the phrase:

Leaves of three,

Let it be.

This is a common mnemonic device to remind you how to identify, and usually avoid, Poison Ivy. But Poison Ivy takes another form, one that's a potential threat when there are no Poison Ivy leaves along trails, and it's the hairy climbing vine you see going up this tree. And it has it's own mnemonic device:

Hairy rope,

Don't be a dope.

My impression is that this isn't a subspecies of the Poison Ivy you've learned to avoid. This is just what Poison Ivy looks like if it's give a few years to climb. 

March 9, 2021 at the Raritan River Greenway
Photo 127677958, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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