Identity Required
It's that wonderful outdoor season that we always look forward to every year. With camping and hiking being a big part of this season it's important to be able to identify things that might hamper our fun time in the sun.
One of these things that is so common to being outdoors is the poison ivy plant known far and wide but not that easy to identify at times. Over the years I have become aware of the fact that poison ivy can take many forms.
When my children were in scouts and doing many outside events with them they always quoted a saying, "leaves of 3 let it be." However, there's much more to identifying poison ivy since it grows in many different ways and can be very hard to identify.
First of all, all 3-leafed plants aren't poisonous, and, by the same token, there are plants with more than 3 leaves that fall into the poison category that can leave one with a nasty rash.
Poison ivy can grow as a vine, bush, in small patches or even run up trees. The leaves can take most any form or shape. There may be berries or not-it just depends.
The shape and type of growth of the plant depends on where it is located. In the forest it is probably a creeping vine on the ground while in the city it probably takes the form of a climbing vine on a tree.
Sometimes despite our best efforts identifying poison ivy we fail since it is such a chameleon.
In case you fear you have come in contact with poison ivy-don't panic. Just take a shower at your earliest opportunity within several hours to lessen the chance of an annoying rash
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