Poison Ivy

Most of us are familiar with the warning: Leaves of three, let it be.

Some of us are also aware of the companion warning: Hairy rope, don't be a dope.

But beyond these identifications for Poison Ivy, you should also be careful of their berries. I only IDed these berries because:

  1. I knew there was Poison Ivy in the area because I had been helping remove invasive plants around there in the summer.
  2. And when I followed the berry stem, I found the "hairy rope".

Poison Ivy is in the cashew family aka sumac family, and the allergic reaction it causes in humans is from a substance called urushiol (pronounced sort of like you-ROO-shee-awl). I'm told it only affects humans, though I've wondered whether other primates would be affected if there were any roaming the North American woods. [1]

Here's a shot of its berries, though they look pretty old at this point. They are considered to be a nutritious food for birds in the winter, when food like insects is hard to come by. (I'm assuming the white ones are dried out and less nutritious than the light tan ones, though no birds were available to confirm my suspicion.)

December 10, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 174068611, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

AFAIK there isn't anything about the berries themselves that cries out "Poison Ivy!", but that branch had to come from somewhere. And if you follow it back, you can see it comes from one of those "hairy ropes" that you've been warned about.


December 10, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 174068621, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] If Bigfoot was real, it would be interesting to see how they'd be affected by Poison Ivy.

Comments

  1. sillig1January 12, 2022 at 8:53 AM

    TIL: Hairy rope, don’t be a dope. Hits all the boxes of a great mnemonic: vivid imagery, emotionally-charged warning, catchy rhyme, genuine utility. Surprised I’ve never heard it. I’ll carry it with me in any future woods walks.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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