Information about poison ivy, oak, sumac and the skin rashes they cause
As a poison ivy nerd, I figure I have heard most of what there is to say about poison ivy. But when I picked up the newest book by Anita Sanchez, "In Praise of Poison Ivy," I was totally mind boggled.
We have a new poison ivy control service listed: our first goat-powered service. Goats (and other farm animals) can eat all the poison ivy they want with no ill effects.
Poison ivy is a vine. It runs along the ground and climbs on trees and buildings. So here we see a plant with stalks over six feet tall. So can this be poison ivy?
Here we have a good example of how different poison ivy leaves can appear, from the first leaves of spring.
Notice how the top "leaves of three" is a typical set of three, all pointed, about the same size.
The CBS station in San Francisco reports that the heavy rains have produced an explosion of poison oak; certainly a less welcome result than the wildflower superblooms in the deserts.
I just received this totally offbeat way to deal with poison ivy rash:
If you are a fellow poison ivy freak: someone fascinated by this devilish plant, consider attending the Annual Poison Ivy Conference, put together by Umar Mycka, of The Poison Ivy Horticulturalist. Umar knows pretty much everything there is to know about poison ivy, oak, and sumac.
My last blog post was about how poison ivy sometimes reveals itself with fall color. Here is a weird one where poison ivy is "pretending" to be part of a tree.
One interesting thing that happens in the fall is that, sometimes, poison ivy gets shown to be hiding in plain site. Here we have a poison ivy vine growing in a hedge. During the spring, summer, and winter, the ivy blends in with the hedge.
This is a pattern I have seen fairly often, where poison ivy leaves turn into spectacular fall color patterns. I have no idea why this pattern develops, but it sure is eye-catching.
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