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| Wed Oct 26, 2005 9:38 pm Spotting Two Common Poisonous Plants |
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Spotting Two Common Poisonous Plants
You've heard the lore about poisonous plants, but is there a surefire way to identify them? While it's true that poisonous plants often have stalks with clusters of leaves arranged in threes, not all three-leaved plants are toxic, and some toxic plants have more than three leaves. Poison oak and poison sumac are two good examples.
Poison oak: As its name suggests, T. diversilobum, or poison oak, has lobed leaves resembling those of an oak tree. Poison oak leaves are a little larger than poison ivy's and grow in groups of three, five, or seven. The plant's flowers and fruit are similar to those of poison ivy, as is its ability to grow in the form of a vine or a shrub up to 3 feet high. Poison oak leaves have short, smooth hair on the undersides, and its berries are fuzzy and white. It loses its leaves in the winter, but the plant remains toxic in all seasons.
Poison sumac: T. vernix, or poison sumac, is not as common as poison ivy or poison oak. It's most likely to be found in the Midwest, growing as a tall tree or a shrub with clusters of 7, 9, 11, or 13 leaves arranged in pairs with one leaf at the end. Its small yellowish flowers appear in clusters and mature into whitish green berries that hang in loose clusters up to 12 inches long. Another species of sumac has red berries, but it is not poisonous. To be on the safe side, though, always assume that any plant resembling poison sumac is probably toxic.
© Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Reproduced with permission. |
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