Poison Ivy

notice the Poison Ivy vine on the left of the tree

17 October 2013

One of the dangerous native plant species of at least the eastern part of the U.S , Poison Ivy leaves turn a beautiful yellow to yellow red in the fall.  Birds eat the small seed berries and I have often wondered if they are affected by the poison.
I am one of the lucky ones that seldom get 'poison ivy' - a nasty itching, blistering swellings of the skin that ooze fluid and which can spread the affects farther on the skin.  Once when I was about 12 to 13 I helped my father burn a pile of debris which contained poison ivy vines from cleaning unwanted shrubbery etc around the house.  He too was normally immune but the smoke carried the poisoning agent to our skin and we both were covered over our whole body with the rashy, itchy, blister-like swellings.  We were pretty poor in those days so no doctor, or medication was available.  However Dad used another native plant - Narrow Leaf Plantain - that an old indian had told him would relieve poison ivy and it worked well for both of us.  Within less than 24 hours of our outbreak the plantain had relieved the itching and lessened the swellings and within two days we were better. Usually the condition can last a week or more, especially if you break the blisters when scratching to relieve the itching.