Poison Ivy and Friends

"leaves of three, let it be"

 Summer is here and it's time to spend some quality time outside. Whether you are hiking or working in your garden, you are always at risk for getting poison ivy.

All of these plants contain an oily resin called Urushiol ("you-ROO-shee-ol") which causes the rash. Urushiol has as its dermatitis-producing principle, pentadecylacatechol. This chemical does not evaporate and dries quickly on clothing, shoes, animals and tools.

Urushiol remains potent for a year or longer. Therefore, it is important to wash any tools, shoes or clothing after exposure to poison ivy. The resin will remain active on these articles and can cause a rash months, or even years, later. 

Poison Oak

Poison-oak is usually a shrub, though it sometimes becomes a vine several inches in diameter that grows high into the oak trees attached by air-roots. The leaves DO come in threes. They are shiney, without prickers, and the middle leaf has a distinct stalk.

It is harder to identify Poison Oak in the winter, when it loses its leaves and looks like erect bare sticks coming from the ground. 

 Poison Oak is highly variable. It varies from shrub to vine. The leaves vary from red to green. It has erect stems, leaves in threes, small greenish flowers, and smooth seeds that are about 1/4 inch across. It is often lush in coastal canyons, but sparse in the mountain woodland. It is deciduous, and often looses its leaves in late summer, leaving it hard to recognize. The erect branches give a clue.

PREVENT THE SPREADING

Remove all contaminated clothing or footwear, and clean carefully without direct skin contact. Residual plant oils on clothing can easily recontaminate unless thoroughly washed.  Next, wash all affected skin with strong soap and water.

IvyMed will stop the itch and stop the spreading on your skin within 1 minute if used as directed. See our products page for more information.

Poison Ivy

The leaves of Poison Ivy are compound, each leaf comprised of 3 leaflets. In general, the stalk of a leaf whether simple or compound, is the petiole, and the stalk of a leaflet is a petiolule.

The fruit of Poison Ivy is referred to botanically as a drupe, and is greenish-white in color.

A close look at the compound leaves of Poison Ivy shows 3 leaflets with distinct petiolules, one of them long and clearly differentiated from the blade of its leaflet.

Poison Sumac

Sumac can be found mainly in the eastern United States. It grows in peat bogs and swamps. To identify Poison Sumac, look for the fruit that grows between the leaf and the branch. Nonpoisonous sumac has fruit growing from the ends of it's branches.

Poison Sumac is a woody perennial shrub or small tree growing from 5 - 25 feet tall. It is commonly found in the eastern part of the US but also grows as far south and west as Texas. It reproduces by seeds grown on drooping clusters of white, berry-like fruits. Leaves are arranged in an alternate pattern on the vine.

There are about 7-13 leaflets forming a feather-like appearance. The foliage has brilliant orange or scarlet coloring in the fall.