Poison Ivy

Here's a Poison Ivy vine, Toxicodendron radicans. Feeling itchy yet? Although we're usually cautious around those shiny leaves that appear to be dripping with urushiol, this vine will also give a good dose of irritant.

Many of my plant identification guides begin with warnings and good descriptions of poison ivy, oak, and sumac. For those without these books, here are a couple of helpful rhymes:

Leaves of three,
let it be.

Hairy vine,
no friend of mine.

And here's our full moon. I'm not ready to call this a tradition. After all, it's only two lunar cycles in a row. But, you never know...