Poison what?

[Bluezman]

Botany is not one of my strong points (unless the plant can either be eaten or smoked) so when I ran across this in my neighbors yard I was a little concerned. It appears to be a plant that was pointed out to me a long time ago and told to be weary of. Why wasn't I listening?



Bluezman

 

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[ericwt]

I am itching to hear about this.

 

[aa battery]

Not poisen oak AA

 

[SC_hunter]

Not poison Ivy either....Has five leaves...watch out for the 3 leaf variety....Might even be a wild blackberry...

 

[Gypsy Heart]

We have that vine everywhere here....including my house...we always called it Wild Grape

 

[Born2Dtect]

It is not one of the big three. Poison Ivy, Oak, or Sumac. Looks like a common vine type not poisonous.

Ed D.

 

[wildrider]

Looks like Virginia Creeper to me.

Burt

 

[ericwt]

What is it, already!

 

[DCMatt]

As Wildrider stated:

Virginia Creeper

It grows everywhere near my house... in Virginia...

DCMatt

 

[River Rat]

Bluz,

Does the runners have stickers? Looks like dewberry to me. Related to the blackberry, but grows differently. I rather pick dewberries than blackberries...more plump & sweeter. That's just my opinion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewberry

I keep looking at the leaves in your pic and the others of the Virginia Creeper. I'm not going back out in the heat to double check.



RR

 

[BioProfessor]

Virginia creeper it is. The saying you are probably referring to is "Leaves of three, let it be."

Daryl

 

[Bluezman]

No stickers. Sure looks like it anyway. V.C. Sounds benign, so I hope that's what it is. I always thought Virgina Creeper was the one with the little blue trumpet shaped flowers and Ivy shaped leaves, though.

Does this mean that I can get naked and roll around in it? Or should I use a modicum of caution?

Bluezman

 

[Baggins]

Well, if you do roll around naked in it, be sure to wear your rubbers!
Baggins

 

[Rob in KS]

Virginia creeper it is. The saying you are probably referring to is "Leaves of three, let it be."

Daryl

Berries white, poisonous sight

 

[BioProfessor]

That works too.

Daryl

 

[bean man]

It is Virginia Creeper, a type of Woodbine and cousin to the grape. It's berries are poisonous to humans, but not to birds. I have it growing on my waterfall, and everyone thinks it's poisonous.

 

[Monty]

If you roll around in it it won't hurt you, but the ants, spiders, mosquitos, chiggers, etc that live on it might give you a hard time! Monty

 

[Bluezman]

I've been checking this stuff out , now that I know what it is.
Evidently, it's almost as bad as Poison Ivy. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1695/ No rolling around.

I guess I'll have to wait 'till fall and try to remove as much of it as I can. Then hit it with round up next spring.

Even though it's my neighbors yard, I still take care of as much of it as I can. Her husband passed last year and she has a 14 yr. old son with autism, so I do what I can.

Thanks for the quick I.D.
Bluezman

 

[BioProfessor]

It's not that bad. Even to roll around in:

Common Name(s): Virginia Creeper, Redtwig Creeper
Species: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Synonyms:
Family: Vitaceae
Longevity: Perennial
Origin: Native
Height: 9 m
Flowers: May - July
Fruits: Fall
A high climbing or prostrate woody vine. Widespread on a variety of sites, usually climbing trees or trailing along forest floors. A potential ornamental because of its ability to climb walls and its striking red fall foliage. Although it is sometimes confused with Poison-ivy, Virginia-creeper has 5 to 6 leaflets and does not cause contact dermatitis. However, the fruit is reportedly poisonous and the plant tissues contain microscopic, needle-like crystals that can cause irritation. The fruit is eaten by squirrels and many species of birds.

 

[captain Jack]

I get in it a lot in the woods (here in Va, how appropriate) and it doesn't bother me. But last year when I first started MDing and found out that notbeing alergic to poison ivy didn't mean I wasn't alergic to poison sumac, in doing a little research, found out that some people ARE alergic to VC. But not nearly as many as ivy, oak, and sumac. That was my first and hopefully last time with that. My forearms were so swollen my arm looked like a pregnant fish!