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poison ivy
poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
Illinois Status: common, native
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
Poison ivy may be a vine or a shrub. Its leaves are arranged alternately along the stem. Each leaf has three leaflets, the central leaflet on a longer stalk than the other two. The leaves have a shiny or oily appearance. Small green or white flowers are borne in loose, long clusters at the base of the leaf. The white fruits are spherical.
BEHAVIORS
Poison ivy grows in waste areas, woods and along stream banks. Poison ivy climbs by sending out many short rootlets, or aerial roots, that attach the plant to a tree or other structure. A liquid produced by the leaves may cause irritation, a rash and/or swelling in humans. Birds and some other animals eat the fruits and disperse the seeds in their waste material.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Habitats
Aquatic Habitats
bottomland forests; lakes, ponds and reservoirs; rivers and streams; swamps
Woodland Habitats
bottomland forests; coniferous forests; southern Illinois lowlands; upland deciduous forests
Prairie and Edge Habitats
edge
