@@BackyardEcology i was recently trained by texas master naturalists that poison Ivy has 3 leaves. They said the left leaf is a mitten with the thumb out to the left. They said the right leaf has the thumb out to the right and that the middle/top leaf has two thumbs. That looks like the one on the right side of the image. Lovely. Now, I am really confused.
@@jonathans1472 I have seen poison ivy with perfectly entire leaflet margins, several large teeth and even partial lobes. It is a very phenotypically plastic species. But it will always have an alternate leaf arrangement, and the buds are quite distinctive.
@@sweynforkbeardtraindude Thanks! When growing in the vine form it has tons of adventitious roots - the hairy vines. When growing as ground cover or as a small shrub poison ivy does not have these.
Finally! I have box elder trees and a small patch of woods. Over the 35 years we have lived here, I have looked occasionally for poison ivy and poison oak. Well, the plentiful box elder "helicopters" sprout in the woods and have leaves of three. And look a lot like poison ivy. Many of our neighbors have oak trees and I have those acorns spring up here and there, courtesy of our abundant squirrels. BTW, we have walnut trees and mulberry trees, just to add to the fun. Anyway, I would see leaves of three and wonder why I never seem to have gotten poison ivy, when I am sensitive to contact with some things outside. Now I know. So grateful.
Sometimes raspberries (also 3 leaflets) and Virginia Creeper (which generally has 5, but newer growth often shows just 3) can confuse for poison ivy, too.
@@pamelah6431 Young blackberries and raspberries look very much like poison ivy. They quickly grow to a size where they don't, but when they first come up they can be tricky to tell apart at a glance.
@@pamelah6431 I just heard about Virginia Creeper. I thought we had a Poison Ivy vine growing upward on the trunk of a pine tree in the yard. A neighbor said it wasn't Poison Ivy because the vine wasn't a typical red color. He called ours Virginia Creeper since the vine section was green.
@@SPCLPONY Virginia Creeper has 5 leaflets that radiate from a central point. Poison Ivy has 3 leaflets; 2 are directly across one another and a third is straight up between them on a longer stem. :)
Gd man finally a simple video thatakes things really clear. Literally thousands of silly leaf comparisons that don't help at all. The branching is the key and easiest distinction to make and have been looking for a simple video to share with people. Thanks
Oooh, wow. I'm from Finland and we don't those poisonous vines. I've been here for a long time & not never seen (?) or touched any of those until about a year ago. I had to clean up an area in my yard. Was full of all sorts of growth. I remember pulling a bunch of vines. I didn't know. Omg. I mean OMG ! First time experience. Got it all over my both arms & both inner legs from shorts to angles. It truly was a one helluva horrible experience. So much pain. So much oozing yak. Part of my fence is now full of vines of all sorts and I am scared. I am now counting leaves !! I really like the leaf arrangement tip. Easy to see. Thank you 👍👍
@@PaiviProject Here's something about poison ivy to keep in mind that many people don't realize... The oily liquid that causes the rash, urushiol, can get transferred from the plant to your clothing and to your skin. You need to be diligent about washing any clothing that may have touched the poison ivy. Once you've dealt with the clothing, a thorough scrubbing of any skin that might have been exposed to the urushiol is not a bad idea either. Good luck... As you learned, that stuff can be nasty to deal with.
@@PaiviProject "I am now looking & being careful. I hope to never experience that again. Thanks again." To add to what StoneE4 said about scrubbing: Use a dishwashing liquid, like Dawn, *_with no water at all_* at first. NO WATER!!! Apply the straight dishwashing liquid to the skin, and rub it in will. Use a lot. Once you have it well worked in, start adding a bit of water, rub it in well, add a bit of water, rub, and so on.. If you add water right away it actually prevents the detergent from contacting the oil. You want to get the oil thoroughly attached to the detergent before introducing any water. This is based on how they interact chemically. This also helps when cleaning any ordinary oil or grease, not just urishiol. Worked on your car and your hands are a mess? Follow this method. Detergent first, THEN water.
@@Packhorse-bh8qnCool! Thanks! Makes sense and will really help out around here. Unless it is an unusually small case, whenever I get the dreaded poison ivy or poison oak, my doctor has to shoot me with steroids to ease my symptoms. Luckily, I’ve called myself pretty careful, so the dreaded skin bubbles and soul-sucking urge to scratch seldom appear. Backyard Ecology’s video and your tip will be lifelong saviors for me.👍🏻👏🏻
I’m 65 and I’ve only had a case of poison Ivy itching once. It was excruciating and I came to the conclusion that I would never wish that on my worst enemy.
I was so glad when I first figured that out since I was scared before to touch anything that looked like poison ivy. Learning those little differences is so helpful thanks for putting this out there so others can learn and not fear the hundreds of boxelder seedling that pop up in many yards each year
Thank you for showing examples. I've had a giant tree in my side yard that I had no idea what it was until today. I was gardening and I saw a new sprout that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. I was panicking a little. Husband and I watched a ton of videos but non of them confirmed it wasn't poison ivy. I saw an image comparing p.ivy to box elder and I saw box elder trees have the same seed pods my tree does. Finally found your video with confirmed our sprout has leaves opposite each other. Damn they look so close it scary.
Thank you! We have maple trees and assumed they were covered in poison ivy. Im gonna go check the leaf node placement! Thanks for the straight to the point, helpful video. 😊
Glad you find them helpful! They are the only names that tell you the exact plant - the common names are super confusing. Some don't like that I use scientific names, but honestly it is the only way to be certain what plant is being discussed.
Opening graphic "what's the difference between this leaf... and this leaf?" Both pictures show the leaves attached to the stem opposite from each other.... not staggered.
The pics are of the leaves of each plant - both have compound leaves made up of multiple leaflets. The leaflets of both have an opposite arrangement on the leaf stem (called a rachis) in compound leaves. The compound leaves are arranged differently on the plants, poison ivy having an alternate leaf arrangement and boxelder being opposite.
Oh! This is handy, thank you! I have a couple of Box Elder saplings on my ppty and noticed I now have a stand of poison Ivey….or maybe just Box Elder again. This is helpful!
THANK YOU! The trick of looking where the stems is GREAT INFORMATION! I can never remember how to tell poison ivy from other plants. Other than leaves of three let it be.
Very interesting and helpful. Where i grew up (Oklahoma) poison ivy was more of a vine climbing up on everything it seems and was everywhere. I retired to western Montana (in part because of a really bad allergy to poison ivy) and the ivy here (what there is of it) is more of a shrub.
Short and to the point. Thanks. Only minor quibble - maybe switching from box elder on the right (1.08-1.25) to box elder on the left (1.26-1.34) makes the difference harder to visualize.
I already knew them all apart from each other plus i have a box elder in the backyard I've been keeping the top of it cut but then decidedto let it grow on up
Ones a tree and ones a vine. Although, the poison ivy on my fence looks like a tree, but it has been growing there for about 25 years. It's oil looked like pine sap while i was cutting it down and it was the worst I've ever gotten poison ivy. Usually i can just pull out poison ivy with my bare hands and never get it, but that stuff STRONG!!!
Poison ivy is a super variable plant and can grow as a vine, a small shrub, or even look like a tree sapling at times. I am sure that much sap caused one heck of a reaction!
An interesting idea for a video. Although several plants can easily be confused with poison ivy, I find that box elder seedlings are the leaves that are the trickiest. Everything in this video is correct, but my advice is: if you're unsure, don't try to figure it out. Just don't touch it.
I still remember my third grade "leaf colection" homework project. One of my leaves I identified as Box Elder. My graded colection was returned with huge red pen POISON IVY scrawled on my box elder page. That was in 1967.
I can see that happening. There is a box elder near my driveway that is at least 8 feet tall now that has nothing but leaves with 3 leaflets and looks very much like poison ivy.
In under 2 minutes, you did a good job of pointing out how to tell them apart, without just saying touch the plant in a way that will make it obvious very quickly which it is based on whether you itch or not. Plus, you point out some other things about them the combination of plants that not everyone knows. The only thing I would change is in the last comparison image, since the prior two images put poison ivy on the left and box elder on the right, and the last image swapped their places, which could lead people to remember things incorrectly. Consistency can help. But it's nice to see videos that are under 2 minutes, rather than 10+ minutes to say enough for people to benefit from it, and without being so short that you have to talk really fast to get it under a minute or half minute like some people do for other platforms.
@@Torby4096 Steroids are for the worst of the worst cases. They usually won't prescribe them unless the face or other tender areas are seriously effected. But when they are needed they do work well. I have had to take them one time for ivy when it was on my face and eyelids.
Since we do not have the box elder ( may be very rare ) it is safe to assume the plants are toxic to the skin W/O testing them on your skin .( N TEXAS mixed prairies )
I would like to thank you for this very informative video...we live in an area that has poison ivy and oak. We camp and hike quite often and take the little ones......this may just save one of us from a costly Drs. visit and a shot in the bum. Blessings.
I am one of the 10%-25% of people who are not very allergic to urushiol. One day I was out hiking with my buddy, who was badly affected by poison oak. I got a branch caught in the crook of my elbow and forgot to wash it off when I got home. It produced a bit of redness but nothing more. I washed it and in the morning it was unblemished. My buddy suffered for most of a week.
Any feature associated with the box elder is the box elder beetle which appears in clumps of hundreds of bugs often found on the sunny side of a house in the spring. Black beetles with red strips. Harmles but they love my Missouri house.
Poison ivy is one of the most variable plants in eastern North America. I have seen it grow so many ways with so many leaflet shapes it is kind of incredible.
Poison Ivy never bothered me, even though it was everywhere growing up in the Chippewa National Forest, unlike my wife, who is highly affected by it. I actually would pick it to show people what poison Ivy looked like. I have always been asked the same question: Why are you touching it? Now, stinging nettle, that's another story!
The way I remember which is alternating and which is opposing, is that PI is a vine, whereas is Box Elder is a shrub. That may not be technically correct but it works for me.
I've grown up around box elder and poison ivy and it never even occurred to me that some people could mistake them. Jack n the pulpits can resemble poison ivy a bit too.
lol. I was happier before you mentioned the possibility of variability in Tr's leaflet count. I've never seen more than three. But I can remember finding two four-leaf clovers as a child when my eyes were younger and closer to ground level. Toxicodendron radicans is everywhere in southeast michigan, clinging to any available tree trunk with its creepy aerial roots. As a ground cover it's bad enough, but when it climbs trees, the way it branches out/ reaches out laterally creeps me out.
It is rare for poison ivy to have more than three leaflets, but it can happen. On the vast majority of plants the leaflet count will be three, and even if a plant has a few leaves with 5 leaflets most will only have 3.
Remember also that poison ivy is a vine and will climb up a tree. The roots look like a hairy rope. Box elder gets the typical winged samaras for the fruit while poison ivy has white berries.
Big point you missed is that Box Elder is a tree and grows straight up while Poison Ivy is a vine that needs to cling onto something in order to go up. Also, on a different note, I have met two people in my entire life who were immune to poison ivy. I had both at one time or another remove massive poison ivy infestations from some of my trees and also my fences. They both did it with no gloves and, to them, it was like removing something like Virginia Creepers or just plain old ivy. I envy those two folks.
Poison ivy is a highly variable plant and can grow as a vine, a small shrub and even resemble a small sapling at times. It doesn't always need to grow up a structure. This is why people often get boxelder and poison ivy confused. Immunity to ivy can come and go - one day you are immune and the next you break out. It can also go the other way.
When I was first exposed to poison oak many many years ago, I didn’t have a reaction, and (foolishly) thought I was one of those rare people who was immune to it. Fast forward years, and was unknowingly exposed, but it didn’t manifest right away. I had to visit my dermatologist, who said that each exposure builds on the previous one, releasing those histamines, so subsequent exposures get worse. Now I know, and make sure I carry Technu (or other similar products). This helps me a lot, so thank you for this!
@@brenda5511 I was also immune for a long time and then got a horrible case. It is quite a shock the first time you get it after being able to wade through it with zero consequences forever.
I have a complete mental block when it comes to plant identification. I spent a lot of time hiking and backpacking in the upper midwest as a yute. Poison Ivy was a matter of "leaves of three . . ." no problemo. However, when I moved to No. Cal. and was hiking all over the west, the wetern Poison Oak was much more difficult much of the year as it could be seemingly anywhere and everywhere and it's oil is present even when there are no leaves (nice feature, that) and would get on packs and clothing.
Several years ago I made a video on telling Poison Ivy from Virginia Creeper. Since I'm immune to the effects of Poison Ivy, I handled the leaves in the process of shooting the video, and I made it clear I was immune. I got a couple of haters who responded to the video who said my video was misleading, because some people are allergic to Virginia Creeper. But that fact was beyond the scope of my video. I ultimately deleted the stupid thing because they had me so pissed off. Maybe I could have turned off commenting. I don't know. But this was years ago.
What tricks do you use to help identify poison ivy? Also, be sure to check out our online classes: shannontrimboli.com/events/category/classes/
At 11 seconds, i think you are pointing to the wrong plant. The one on the right side of the screen is poison ivy. Not the left side of the screen.
@@jonathans1472 Nope. This is why simple leaf characteristics are not a great way to ID these two plants. Poison ivy has quite variable leaflets.
@@BackyardEcology i was recently trained by texas master naturalists that poison Ivy has 3 leaves. They said the left leaf is a mitten with the thumb out to the left. They said the right leaf has the thumb out to the right and that the middle/top leaf has two thumbs. That looks like the one on the right side of the image. Lovely. Now, I am really confused.
@@jonathans1472 I have seen poison ivy with perfectly entire leaflet margins, several large teeth and even partial lobes. It is a very phenotypically plastic species. But it will always have an alternate leaf arrangement, and the buds are quite distinctive.
@@BackyardEcology ok. Ty!
Precise info, no noise, great video. Thanks for your knowledge.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you. Very helpful. But it'd be better if you didn't switch which side of the screen the plants were on at the end.
Glad you found it helpful! This was one of my earlier videos. I try to keep things more consistent these days.
@@BackyardEcology Good to hear. Consistency is a marvelous tool for reducing confusion.
That's the first thing I noticed after viewing the video.
Good stuff! Only thing I would add is, poison ivy has hairy vines.
@@sweynforkbeardtraindude Thanks! When growing in the vine form it has tons of adventitious roots - the hairy vines. When growing as ground cover or as a small shrub poison ivy does not have these.
Good video, BUT...
Switching sides of the screen at the end could be confusing for some viewers.
Noted!
I agree
Finally! I have box elder trees and a small patch of woods. Over the 35 years we have lived here, I have looked occasionally for poison ivy and poison oak. Well, the plentiful box elder "helicopters" sprout in the woods and have leaves of three. And look a lot like poison ivy. Many of our neighbors have oak trees and I have those acorns spring up here and there, courtesy of our abundant squirrels. BTW, we have walnut trees and mulberry trees, just to add to the fun. Anyway, I would see leaves of three and wonder why I never seem to have gotten poison ivy, when I am sensitive to contact with some things outside. Now I know. So grateful.
Glad you found the video useful!
Sometimes raspberries (also 3 leaflets) and Virginia Creeper (which generally has 5, but newer growth often shows just 3) can confuse for poison ivy, too.
@@pamelah6431 Young blackberries and raspberries look very much like poison ivy. They quickly grow to a size where they don't, but when they first come up they can be tricky to tell apart at a glance.
@@pamelah6431 I just heard about Virginia Creeper. I thought we had a Poison Ivy vine growing upward on the trunk of a pine tree in the yard. A neighbor said it wasn't Poison Ivy because the vine wasn't a typical red color. He called ours Virginia Creeper since the vine section was green.
@@SPCLPONY Virginia Creeper has 5 leaflets that radiate from a central point. Poison Ivy has 3 leaflets; 2 are directly across one another and a third is straight up between them on a longer stem. :)
Gd man finally a simple video thatakes things really clear. Literally thousands of silly leaf comparisons that don't help at all. The branching is the key and easiest distinction to make and have been looking for a simple video to share with people. Thanks
Thanks! Glad you liked the video and found it useful.
Right? Quick, clear, and concise.
Oooh, wow. I'm from Finland and we don't those poisonous vines. I've been here for a long time & not never seen (?) or touched any of those until about a year ago. I had to clean up an area in my yard. Was full of all sorts of growth. I remember pulling a bunch of vines. I didn't know. Omg. I mean OMG ! First time experience. Got it all over my both arms & both inner legs from shorts to angles. It truly was a one helluva horrible experience. So much pain. So much oozing yak. Part of my fence is now full of vines of all sorts and I am scared. I am now counting leaves !! I really like the leaf arrangement tip. Easy to see. Thank you 👍👍
Ouch! Poison ivy rash is no fun. Hopefully you will be able to ID this time and avoid it.
@@BackyardEcology Oh, heck yeah. I am now looking & being careful. I hope to never experience that again. Thanks again.
@@PaiviProject Here's something about poison ivy to keep in mind that many people don't realize... The oily liquid that causes the rash, urushiol, can get transferred from the plant to your clothing and to your skin. You need to be diligent about washing any clothing that may have touched the poison ivy. Once you've dealt with the clothing, a thorough scrubbing of any skin that might have been exposed to the urushiol is not a bad idea either.
Good luck... As you learned, that stuff can be nasty to deal with.
@@PaiviProject "I am now looking & being careful. I hope to never experience that again. Thanks again."
To add to what StoneE4 said about scrubbing: Use a dishwashing liquid, like Dawn, *_with no water at all_* at first. NO WATER!!! Apply the straight dishwashing liquid to the skin, and rub it in will. Use a lot.
Once you have it well worked in, start adding a bit of water, rub it in well, add a bit of water, rub, and so on..
If you add water right away it actually prevents the detergent from contacting the oil. You want to get the oil thoroughly attached to the detergent before introducing any water. This is based on how they interact chemically.
This also helps when cleaning any ordinary oil or grease, not just urishiol. Worked on your car and your hands are a mess? Follow this method.
Detergent first, THEN water.
@@Packhorse-bh8qnCool! Thanks! Makes sense and will really help out around here. Unless it is an unusually small case, whenever I get the dreaded poison ivy or poison oak, my doctor has to shoot me with steroids to ease my symptoms. Luckily, I’ve called myself pretty careful, so the dreaded skin bubbles and soul-sucking urge to scratch seldom appear. Backyard Ecology’s video and your tip will be lifelong saviors for me.👍🏻👏🏻
I’m 65 and I’ve only had a case of poison Ivy itching once. It was excruciating and I came to the conclusion that I would never wish that on my worst enemy.
You're way too nice because I know a LOT of people that I'd wish it on. OK. So I'm evil.
As a truck driver who utilizes the employee restroom at the rear of a dropped trailer, I find this video very helpful.
Extremely high quality content
Thank you!
People like you make the world a better place . Thank you for the useful information . Stay safe !!!!!!
Thanks, you too!
I was so glad when I first figured that out since I was scared before to touch anything that looked like poison ivy. Learning those little differences is so helpful thanks for putting this out there so others can learn and not fear the hundreds of boxelder seedling that pop up in many yards each year
Glad you found the video helpful!
Thank you for showing examples. I've had a giant tree in my side yard that I had no idea what it was until today. I was gardening and I saw a new sprout that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. I was panicking a little. Husband and I watched a ton of videos but non of them confirmed it wasn't poison ivy. I saw an image comparing p.ivy to box elder and I saw box elder trees have the same seed pods my tree does. Finally found your video with confirmed our sprout has leaves opposite each other. Damn they look so close it scary.
Glad you found the video useful! They do look very similar.
Bro thank you. You have no idea how far this will help me
Glad you found the video helpful!
I took notes; and will check out the suspects in my yard. Thanks.
I’ve made up an old new saying “leaves of green, leave the scene . “ Leaves of three, leave it be. but I just play it safe
I get a lot of poison ivy plants in my backyard so I have specimens to examine up close, thank you for this information!
Thank you!
Thank you for clearing this important plant identification up for me.
Glad you found the video helpful!
Thank you for the explanation. Clear and easy to remember.
Glad it was helpful!
love a video like this. To the point, SHORT no "listen to me run on". Thanks you.🦇
Glad you enjoyed!
Someone who knows what he is talking about. Had to hit the subscribe button. Thanks
Thanks for the sub!
Love it! Thank you.
Thank you!!!
You are wolcome!
Thank you! We have maple trees and assumed they were covered in poison ivy. Im gonna go check the leaf node placement!
Thanks for the straight to the point, helpful video. 😊
Glad you found it useful!
Thanks. Short, sweet, and informative. Also I really love that fence for some reason
Glad you liked it!
And we didn't have to change gears half way through to hear about Nord VPN's great sign up deal.
good info....thanks
Outstanding!… good to know!
Good video. Thanks!
This is great infrmation. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Super helpful thank you
Glad you found it helpful!
Thank you sir
You are welcome!
Extremely important and very helpful info, thanks!
💚😊💚
Glad it was helpful!
You are SO helpful to me!! 💕💕💕
Happy to help!
Really helped me out! Thank you!
Glad you found the video helpful!
Great!, short and to the point.
Thanks!
Right to the point. Well done.
Thanks!
Thank you
Welcome!
Thank you very kindly!
I was able to correctly identify the little box elder that started growing in my yard and will let it be for now. 😅
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful.
Thank you for saying the scientific names!
Glad you find them helpful! They are the only names that tell you the exact plant - the common names are super confusing. Some don't like that I use scientific names, but honestly it is the only way to be certain what plant is being discussed.
thank you
Just found your videos like that they are short and informative very nicely done thank you
Glad you like them!
Great video, very helpful! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Opening graphic "what's the difference between this leaf... and this leaf?" Both pictures show the leaves attached to the stem opposite from each other.... not staggered.
The pics are of the leaves of each plant - both have compound leaves made up of multiple leaflets. The leaflets of both have an opposite arrangement on the leaf stem (called a rachis) in compound leaves. The compound leaves are arranged differently on the plants, poison ivy having an alternate leaf arrangement and boxelder being opposite.
Thanks for the info...
As a Floridian, this is a good one to remember 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Brilliant video ❤ Thank you 🙏
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this important info..
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks
You are welcome! Thanks for watching!
Very good!
Thanks!
That was great! Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
We have both in Florida😊
yessss thank you this is so useful
Glad it was helpful!
Oh! This is handy, thank you! I have a couple of Box Elder saplings on my ppty and noticed I now have a stand of poison Ivey….or maybe just Box Elder again. This is helpful!
Glad you found the video helpful!
Very, very helpful. Just getting over a bout of poison ivy. I was careless and overconfident
THANK YOU! The trick of looking where the stems is GREAT INFORMATION! I can never remember how to tell poison ivy from other plants. Other than leaves of three let it be.
Glad you found the video helpful!
Good to know! 👍👍👍 Thank you! 🌿🌿🌿
Glad you found it useful!
Good Man. Thanks SO MUCH. 🙏
You are welcome!
Awesome video! Also, I love your shirt 😀
Thank you so much 😀
Very interesting and helpful. Where i grew up (Oklahoma) poison ivy was more of a vine climbing up on everything it seems and was everywhere. I retired to western Montana (in part because of a really bad allergy to poison ivy) and the ivy here (what there is of it) is more of a shrub.
Poison ivy is super variable. I have seen it growing as a vine, ground cover and a shrub all within sight of each other.
Good video❤
Short and to the point. Thanks. Only minor quibble - maybe switching from box elder on the right (1.08-1.25) to box elder on the left (1.26-1.34) makes the difference harder to visualize.
Thanks! This is an older video, my newer vids are much more consistent.
I already knew them all apart from each other plus i have a box elder in the backyard I've been keeping the top of it cut but then decidedto let it grow on up
very informative
Thank you! Glad you found it useful.
Ones a tree and ones a vine. Although, the poison ivy on my fence looks like a tree, but it has been growing there for about 25 years. It's oil looked like pine sap while i was cutting it down and it was the worst I've ever gotten poison ivy. Usually i can just pull out poison ivy with my bare hands and never get it, but that stuff STRONG!!!
Poison ivy is a super variable plant and can grow as a vine, a small shrub, or even look like a tree sapling at times. I am sure that much sap caused one heck of a reaction!
An interesting idea for a video. Although several plants can easily be confused with poison ivy, I find that box elder seedlings are the leaves that are the trickiest. Everything in this video is correct, but my advice is: if you're unsure, don't try to figure it out. Just don't touch it.
Thanks! And great advice! When in doubt just leave it alone, works great for poisonous plants, snakes, and a lot of other things in nature.
I still remember my third grade "leaf colection" homework project. One of my leaves I identified as Box Elder. My graded colection was returned with huge red pen POISON IVY scrawled on my box elder page. That was in 1967.
I can see that happening. There is a box elder near my driveway that is at least 8 feet tall now that has nothing but leaves with 3 leaflets and looks very much like poison ivy.
THANK YOU for your video. I subbed.
Thanks for the sub!
This was an awesome video! Thank you for the info. Do you have a video on poison sumac?
Thanks! Nothing on poison sumac yet, but keep an eye out for an upcoming video!
In under 2 minutes, you did a good job of pointing out how to tell them apart, without just saying touch the plant in a way that will make it obvious very quickly which it is based on whether you itch or not. Plus, you point out some other things about them the combination of plants that not everyone knows. The only thing I would change is in the last comparison image, since the prior two images put poison ivy on the left and box elder on the right, and the last image swapped their places, which could lead people to remember things incorrectly. Consistency can help. But it's nice to see videos that are under 2 minutes, rather than 10+ minutes to say enough for people to benefit from it, and without being so short that you have to talk really fast to get it under a minute or half minute like some people do for other platforms.
Thanks! Glad you liked the format. This is one of my older videos - I try to keep things much mire consistent in my newer vids.
Cool
Thanks!
I recently acquired a bad rash from either ivy or oak. Now I know what to look for when I’m out walking or weeding! Thanks!
Glad you found the video helpful! Hopefully your rash heals quickly!
If it is bad, your doctor can give you steroid pills. I felt better in hours of the first dose.
@@Torby4096 Steroids are for the worst of the worst cases. They usually won't prescribe them unless the face or other tender areas are seriously effected. But when they are needed they do work well. I have had to take them one time for ivy when it was on my face and eyelids.
Since we do not have the box elder ( may be very rare ) it is safe to assume the plants are toxic to the skin W/O testing them on your skin .( N TEXAS mixed prairies )
I would like to thank you for this very informative video...we live in an area that has poison ivy and oak. We camp and hike quite often and take the little ones......this may just save one of us from a costly Drs. visit and a shot in the bum. Blessings.
Glad you found the video hepful!
yes get to know the difference. biggest thing is the poison ivy is very glossy along with the three leaf clusters
I am one of the 10%-25% of people who are not very allergic to urushiol. One day I was out hiking with my buddy, who was badly affected by poison oak. I got a branch caught in the crook of my elbow and forgot to wash it off when I got home. It produced a bit of redness but nothing more. I washed it and in the morning it was unblemished. My buddy suffered for most of a week.
Some people have little to no reaction to the oil produced by poison ivy. That immunity can go away though. I found out the hard way.
Any feature associated with the box elder is the box elder beetle which appears in clumps of hundreds of bugs often found on the sunny side of a house in the spring. Black beetles with red strips. Harmles but they love my Missouri house.
Boxelder bugs can sometimes appear in huge numbers, and sometimes in places without a lot of boxelder.
Good info, haven't seen box elder here in NH. T.R. can look like a ground cover, a shrub or a tree-strangling vine. Sneaky devil.
Poison ivy is one of the most variable plants in eastern North America. I have seen it grow so many ways with so many leaflet shapes it is kind of incredible.
Poison Ivy never bothered me, even though it was everywhere growing up in the Chippewa National Forest, unlike my wife, who is highly affected by it. I actually would pick it to show people what poison Ivy looked like. I have always been asked the same question: Why are you touching it? Now, stinging nettle, that's another story!
I use to nor be bothered by poison ivy, and then one day I was. Immunity can come and go so just be aware. It is great while you have it though!
The way I remember which is alternating and which is opposing, is that PI is a vine, whereas is Box Elder is a shrub. That may not be technically correct but it works for me.
Poison ivy can also grow as a ground cover and as a small shrub. It is one of the most variable plants in North America.
I've grown up around box elder and poison ivy and it never even occurred to me that some people could mistake them. Jack n the pulpits can resemble poison ivy a bit too.
Poison ivy has so many look-a-likes.
lol. I was happier before you mentioned the possibility of variability in Tr's leaflet count. I've never seen more than three. But I can remember finding two four-leaf clovers as a child when my eyes were younger and closer to ground level. Toxicodendron radicans is everywhere in southeast michigan, clinging to any available tree trunk with its creepy aerial roots. As a ground cover it's bad enough, but when it climbs trees, the way it branches out/ reaches out laterally creeps me out.
It is rare for poison ivy to have more than three leaflets, but it can happen. On the vast majority of plants the leaflet count will be three, and even if a plant has a few leaves with 5 leaflets most will only have 3.
just found your channel. this post was great. I am super allergic to poison ivy. gotta get on steroids to clear it. so thanks.
Glad you found the video useful!
I tried the box elder syrup trick when I was a kid. It turned out sweet, but bitter at the same time. Fun though.
Definitely a different flavor than sugar maple syrup.
“Tasty tree blood” 😂😂😂
Remember also that poison ivy is a vine and will climb up a tree. The roots look like a hairy rope.
Box elder gets the typical winged samaras for the fruit while poison ivy has white berries.
Poison ivy can also grow as a small shrub and a ground cover. It is an incredibly variable plant.
Thank you!!! Would love to know how you get the sap from box elder for consumption.
There are a ton of maple tapping videos out there. Just search for "tapping maple trees for syrup".
☮️ It's the peace sign. If the branches make the peace sign, it's safe.
Thank you so much for this video - we were freaking out about if our daughter grabbed a handful of poison ivy - hopefully it’s just box elder! 😅🤞🏻
Glad you found it useful! Hopefully it wasn't ivy she grabbed!
Thank you so much for this.I have been playing is it a Box Elder or is it poison ivy? to my detriment for many years.
We have a bottom full of both boxelder and poison ivy so I am always looking at it to make sure what it is.
Interesting. I didn't know box elder had sweet sap.
It does, like most maples, but not near as sweet as that of sugar maple.
Big point you missed is that Box Elder is a tree and grows straight up while Poison Ivy is a vine that needs to cling onto something in order to go up. Also, on a different note, I have met two people in my entire life who were immune to poison ivy. I had both at one time or another remove massive poison ivy infestations from some of my trees and also my fences. They both did it with no gloves and, to them, it was like removing something like Virginia Creepers or just plain old ivy. I envy those two folks.
Poison ivy is a highly variable plant and can grow as a vine, a small shrub and even resemble a small sapling at times. It doesn't always need to grow up a structure. This is why people often get boxelder and poison ivy confused. Immunity to ivy can come and go - one day you are immune and the next you break out. It can also go the other way.
When I was first exposed to poison oak many many years ago, I didn’t have a reaction, and (foolishly) thought I was one of those rare people who was immune to it. Fast forward years, and was unknowingly exposed, but it didn’t manifest right away. I had to visit my dermatologist, who said that each exposure builds on the previous one, releasing those histamines, so subsequent exposures get worse. Now I know, and make sure I carry Technu (or other similar products).
This helps me a lot, so thank you for this!
@@brenda5511 I was also immune for a long time and then got a horrible case. It is quite a shock the first time you get it after being able to wade through it with zero consequences forever.
I have never gotten he itchiness from poison Ivy. Hope I never do!
I have a complete mental block when it comes to plant identification. I spent a lot of time hiking and backpacking in the upper midwest as a yute. Poison Ivy was a matter of "leaves of three . . ." no problemo. However, when I moved to No. Cal. and was hiking all over the west, the wetern Poison Oak was much more difficult much of the year as it could be seemingly anywhere and everywhere and it's oil is present even when there are no leaves (nice feature, that) and would get on packs and clothing.
Poison ivy can still give you a rash in the winter with no leaves too.
@BackyardEcology that makes sense. I probably never ran into it when I was young and we had real winters and spent less time in the woods in WI.
@@stringlarson1247 Worst case I ever got was in the fall from a leafless vine going up the side of a tree.
Very good. Now, make one that shows the difference between poison ivy and fragrant sumac.
It is on the list!
ive always asked myself "is that poison ivy, or THAT tree?" now i know the trees name. maple family? syrup? awesome info.🍻
Thanks! Glad you found it useful!
Both are everywhere on my farm and the box elder is far more of a problem than poison ivy since I'm not allergic!
Boxelder has a way of growing in all the places you really don't want boxelder to be growing - and there is usually a ton of it.
Thank you good sir. We have a bit of poison ivy and silver maples in the yard, wonder where this box maple came from?
Box elder is a common native tree across most of the U.S. and parts of Canada. It tends to be very prevalent in disturbed areas and bottomlands.
So, very cool and very smart way. I always get hit with the dog gone poison ivy.
Thanks! Glad you found the video useful!
Several years ago I made a video on telling Poison Ivy from Virginia Creeper. Since I'm immune to the effects of Poison Ivy, I handled the leaves in the process of shooting the video, and I made it clear I was immune. I got a couple of haters who responded to the video who said my video was misleading, because some people are allergic to Virginia Creeper. But that fact was beyond the scope of my video. I ultimately deleted the stupid thing because they had me so pissed off. Maybe I could have turned off commenting. I don't know. But this was years ago.
I 100% feel your frustration about the comments. You can only put so much in each video. I try hard to keep my videos focused on one single topic.
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Nice video. Keep it up brother. #VRA
Thanks for the visit!