This is a great example of the confusion these two plants (and others) can cause.

What we have here is/are poison ivy and Virginia creeper ground vines growing and creeping around right on top of each other.

It would be easy for someone to see these as a single plant, with both leaves of three and leaves of five.

But these two friendly enemies grow so often together that it is worth a moment to look closer and realize there are two plants here, not one.

There are a few people who have told me they get a bad reaction to Virginia creeper, and that might be true, but creeper is not the national nightmare that poison ivy is.

Any doubt about how nasty poison ivy can be, just take a look at our Skin Rash Hall of Fame.