Poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans (= Rhus radicans, Rhus toxicodendron ) is a common plant found in various habitats in Kansas. Although often found among other woody plants in riparian areas, it is not unusual to find it in more open prairie settings, especially in the vicinity of rocky ledges and outcrops. It may grow in the form of isolated twigs among prairie grasses or as a vigorous vine winding around the branches of a cottonwood tree thirty feet above the ground. Although the toxic oils that cause the typical skin lesions and blisters associated with poison ivy may be more easily encountered on leaves, both the twigs and fruits also exhibit the volatile oils. Do not collect poison ivy for your collection unless you talk with me concerning appropriate procedures for collecting, preserving, and mounting specimens.
Poison ivy in early fall (left) and winter (right). Note the three
leaflets on the leaf in the lower
portion of the fall picture. On the right poison ivy is the single
coarse stem in the middle.
In the picture on the left the more or less pointed, tan to light brown
buds of poison ivy are visible.
On the right note the cream colored berries and the alternate arrangement
of the tan, pointed buds.
Copyright 1998 Joseph R. Thomasson All Rights Reserved