Family: Anacardiaceae
common eastern poison-ivy, poison-ivy
Emmet J. Judziewicz
Etymology: Toxicodendron: means "poison tree"
Plants: climbing, perennial, woody vine; stems with centipede-like aerial roots that grasp the host tree
Leaves: alternate, somewhat shiny, 3-parted, leaflets with large teeth or shallow lobes
Flowers: 5-parted; blooms May-June
Fruits: whitish berry
Habitat: woods, wood edges, floodplains, openings
Hazardous: Careful, this plant is hazardous!
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: climbing, perennial, woody vine; stems with centipede-like aerial roots that grasp the host tree
Leaves: alternate, somewhat shiny, 3-parted, leaflets with large teeth or shallow lobes
Flowers: 5-parted; blooms May-June
Fruits: whitish berry
Habitat: woods, wood edges, floodplains, openings
Hazardous: Careful, this plant is hazardous!
Conservation Status: Native
Floodplain forests with silver maple, green ash, river birch, swamp white oak, and hackberry; river islands, willow thickets, lakeshores, tree lines and fencerows, rock outcrops and cliffs, fields, roadsides, along railroads, upland forests of oak, oak-hickory, sugar maple-basswood, sugar maple-paper birch-hemlock.
This is a high-climbing vine with aerial roots and widely spreading lateral branches; our only other native vine with aerial roots is Parthenocissus quinquefolia, which has 5 leaflets. Plants can be shrub-like if nothing is available to climb and usually have tall, erect stems. Petiole pubescence is usually dense and consists of both incurved and spreading hairs. The leaflets are usually coarsely-toothed or lobed. This is a highly variable species, and our plants are subsp. negundo (Greene) Gillis.
This species is more common south of the Tension Zone, especially along major rivers. Its full range in the state needs investigation.
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 4, Wetland Indicator = FAC+ WIS DNR-Bureau of Endangered Resources: Detailed information on Wisconsin invasive species including decription, habitats, control methods Atlas of the Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora: by T.S. Cochrane & H.H. Iltis: habitat, distribution infomation / flowering and fruiting times USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos Dan Tenaglia's The Missouri Flora: Fabulous photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leave arrangement key. Virginia Tech Dept. of Forestry, College of Natural Resources: detailed description and photographs Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"
