After the heat and humidity of summer, winter brings a welcome relief from sunburns, mosquitoes, and poison ivy. Well … not entirely.
Summer leaves.Though people are more likely to come in contact with poison ivy while enjoying the outdoors in the spring and summer, the plant’s irritating urushiol (yoo-ROO-shee-ol) oil can still cause an allergic reaction in the winter. Cases occur from direct, indirect, and inhaled contact,
such as when people burn wood that has urushiol on it. The best defense against poison ivy is to recognize and avoid it in all seasons. Watch out for a vine with groups of bright green shiny leaflets, each about four inches long with the middle leaflet on a longer stem than the other two. In the spring, poison ivy has light green flowers with a reddish tinge. In early fall, the leaves turn yellow or red while other plants are still green, and the berries change from green to off-white.
Fall leaves.In winter, the plant loses its leaves but can be identified by dense root hairs along the vine, like a hairy rope. As the old saying goes, “Leaves of three, leave them be!”
Summer Bush
The same bush in winter.
