Leaf guide › Vines
Poison ivy
Toxicodendron radicans
Leaves of three, let it be. Its fall color is gorgeous, and it can still give you a rash.
Updated
- Fall color
- RedOrangeYellow
- Turns
- Early to mid
- Leaves
- Alternate along the vine
- Size
- Leaflets 2–5 in. long
- Found in
- New England & New York, Great Lakes & North Woods, Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Great Plains
Look, don’t touch. If you brush against it, wash the skin with soap and cool water as soon as you can, and wash clothing and gear too.
How to recognize it
- Three leaflets. The middle one sits on a longer stalk than the two side leaflets.
- Side leaflets often have a notch on the outer edge, like a mitten thumb.
- Edges may be smooth or have a few irregular teeth.
- Grows as a ground cover, a shrub, or a vine covered in hairy roots.
Easy to confuse with
Virginia creeper
Five leaflets from one point, and no hairy roots on the vine.
Box elder seedlings
Also three leaflets, but the leaves grow in pairs across from each other.
Worth knowing
The oil that causes the rash, urushiol, stays active in fall and even on bare winter vines. Never burn it: the smoke can cause severe reactions. On the West Coast, its cousin western poison oak plays the same role.
Common questions
What color does poison ivy turn in fall?
Poison ivy turns red, orange and yellow in fall. Leaves of three, let it be. Its fall color is gorgeous, and it can still give you a rash.
When does poison ivy change color?
It turns from early to the middle of the local season.
How can you tell poison ivy from virginia creeper?
Virginia creeper: Five leaflets from one point, and no hairy roots on the vine. Poison ivy: Three leaflets. The middle one sits on a longer stalk than the two side leaflets.
Where does poison ivy grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in New England & New York, Great Lakes & North Woods, Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Great Plains.
See where the color is peaking today.
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