Poison Ivy vs Box Elder - Simple Trick to Tell Them Apart

[@BackyardEcology]

What tricks do you use to help identify poison ivy? Also, be sure to check out our online classes: shannontrimboli.com/events/category/classes/

[@jonathans1472]

At 11 seconds, i think you are pointing to the wrong plant. The one on the right side of the screen is poison ivy. Not the left side of the screen.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@jonathans1472 Nope. This is why simple leaf characteristics are not a great way to ID these two plants. Poison ivy has quite variable leaflets.

[@jonathans1472]

@@BackyardEcology i was recently trained by texas master naturalists that poison Ivy has 3 leaves. They said the left leaf is a mitten with the thumb out to the left. They said the right leaf has the thumb out to the right and that the middle/top leaf has two thumbs. That looks like the one on the right side of the image. Lovely. Now, I am really confused.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@jonathans1472 I have seen poison ivy with perfectly entire leaflet margins, several large teeth and even partial lobes. It is a very phenotypically plastic species. But it will always have an alternate leaf arrangement, and the buds are quite distinctive.

[@jonathans1472]

@@BackyardEcology ok. Ty!

[@f.demascio1857]

Good video, BUT... Switching sides of the screen at the end could be confusing for some viewers.

[@BackyardEcology]

Noted!

[@cathym8053]

I agree

[@debralegge8513]

Precise info, no noise, great video. Thanks for your knowledge.

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad it was helpful!

[@salazardjim4398]

Gd man finally a simple video thatakes things really clear. Literally thousands of silly leaf comparisons that don't help at all. The branching is the key and easiest distinction to make and have been looking for a simple video to share with people. Thanks

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video and found it useful.

[@stringlarson1247]

Right? Quick, clear, and concise.

[@robertmosher772]

Thank you. Very helpful. But it'd be better if you didn't switch which side of the screen the plants were on at the end.

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found it helpful! This was one of my earlier videos. I try to keep things more consistent these days.

[@Packhorse-bh8qn]

@@BackyardEcology Good to hear. Consistency is a marvelous tool for reducing confusion.

[@robertmayott5835]

That's the first thing I noticed after viewing the video.

[@sweynforkbeardtraindude]

Good stuff! Only thing I would add is, poison ivy has hairy vines.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@sweynforkbeardtraindude Thanks! When growing in the vine form it has tons of adventitious roots - the hairy vines. When growing as ground cover or as a small shrub poison ivy does not have these.

[@paulettek3682]

Finally! I have box elder trees and a small patch of woods. Over the 35 years we have lived here, I have looked occasionally for poison ivy and poison oak. Well, the plentiful box elder "helicopters" sprout in the woods and have leaves of three. And look a lot like poison ivy. Many of our neighbors have oak trees and I have those acorns spring up here and there, courtesy of our abundant squirrels. BTW, we have walnut trees and mulberry trees, just to add to the fun. Anyway, I would see leaves of three and wonder why I never seem to have gotten poison ivy, when I am sensitive to contact with some things outside. Now I know. So grateful.

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found the video useful!

[@pamelah6431]

Sometimes raspberries (also 3 leaflets) and Virginia Creeper (which generally has 5, but newer growth often shows just 3) can confuse for poison ivy, too.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@pamelah6431 Young blackberries and raspberries look very much like poison ivy. They quickly grow to a size where they don't, but when they first come up they can be tricky to tell apart at a glance.

[@SPCLPONY]

​@@pamelah6431 I just heard about Virginia Creeper. I thought we had a Poison Ivy vine growing upward on the trunk of a pine tree in the yard. A neighbor said it wasn't Poison Ivy because the vine wasn't a typical red color. He called ours Virginia Creeper since the vine section was green.

[@pamelah6431]

@@SPCLPONY Virginia Creeper has 5 leaflets that radiate from a central point. Poison Ivy has 3 leaflets; 2 are directly across one another and a third is straight up between them on a longer stem. :)

[@PaiviProject]

Oooh, wow. I'm from Finland and we don't those poisonous vines. I've been here for a long time & not never seen (?) or touched any of those until about a year ago. I had to clean up an area in my yard. Was full of all sorts of growth. I remember pulling a bunch of vines. I didn't know. Omg. I mean OMG ! First time experience. Got it all over my both arms & both inner legs from shorts to angles. It truly was a one helluva horrible experience. So much pain. So much oozing yak. Part of my fence is now full of vines of all sorts and I am scared. I am now counting leaves !! I really like the leaf arrangement tip. Easy to see. Thank you 👍👍

[@BackyardEcology]

Ouch! Poison ivy rash is no fun. Hopefully you will be able to ID this time and avoid it.

[@PaiviProject]

@@BackyardEcology Oh, heck yeah. I am now looking & being careful. I hope to never experience that again. Thanks again.

[@StoneE4]

@@PaiviProject Here's something about poison ivy to keep in mind that many people don't realize... The oily liquid that causes the rash, urushiol, can get transferred from the plant to your clothing and to your skin. You need to be diligent about washing any clothing that may have touched the poison ivy. Once you've dealt with the clothing, a thorough scrubbing of any skin that might have been exposed to the urushiol is not a bad idea either. Good luck... As you learned, that stuff can be nasty to deal with.

[@Packhorse-bh8qn]

@@PaiviProject "I am now looking & being careful. I hope to never experience that again. Thanks again." To add to what StoneE4 said about scrubbing: Use a dishwashing liquid, like Dawn, *_with no water at all_* at first. NO WATER!!! Apply the straight dishwashing liquid to the skin, and rub it in will. Use a lot. Once you have it well worked in, start adding a bit of water, rub it in well, add a bit of water, rub, and so on.. If you add water right away it actually prevents the detergent from contacting the oil. You want to get the oil thoroughly attached to the detergent before introducing any water. This is based on how they interact chemically. This also helps when cleaning any ordinary oil or grease, not just urishiol. Worked on your car and your hands are a mess? Follow this method. Detergent first, THEN water.

[@MaryMerryKingOfTheWoodsIsHe]

⁠@@Packhorse-bh8qnCool! Thanks! Makes sense and will really help out around here. Unless it is an unusually small case, whenever I get the dreaded poison ivy or poison oak, my doctor has to shoot me with steroids to ease my symptoms. Luckily, I’ve called myself pretty careful, so the dreaded skin bubbles and soul-sucking urge to scratch seldom appear. Backyard Ecology’s video and your tip will be lifelong saviors for me.👍🏻👏🏻

[@WormAteWords]

Extremely high quality content

[@BackyardEcology]

Thank you!

[@ruthfields3874]

And dont forget if you are allergic to it and you are burning wood 2ith it on it. You can inhale it. Ended up in hospital for 2 days. It stopped me from breathing. Stuff is wicked

[@BackyardEcology]

Very good point. The oils can be volatilized in smoke and it is a medical emergency if you get this stuff in your longs and throat.

[@IncendiaDivinus]

People like you make the world a better place . Thank you for the useful information . Stay safe !!!!!!

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks, you too!

[@davidwagner1718]

I’m 65 and I’ve only had a case of poison Ivy itching once. It was excruciating and I came to the conclusion that I would never wish that on my worst enemy.

[@spocksvulcanbrain]

You're way too nice because I know a LOT of people that I'd wish it on. OK. So I'm evil.

[@joshuabrown9413]

As a truck driver who utilizes the employee restroom at the rear of a dropped trailer, I find this video very helpful.

[@johnhavel7685]

I was so glad when I first figured that out since I was scared before to touch anything that looked like poison ivy. Learning those little differences is so helpful thanks for putting this out there so others can learn and not fear the hundreds of boxelder seedling that pop up in many yards each year

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found the video helpful!

[@Nstone53]

Thank you for showing examples. I've had a giant tree in my side yard that I had no idea what it was until today. I was gardening and I saw a new sprout that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. I was panicking a little. Husband and I watched a ton of videos but non of them confirmed it wasn't poison ivy. I saw an image comparing p.ivy to box elder and I saw box elder trees have the same seed pods my tree does. Finally found your video with confirmed our sprout has leaves opposite each other. Damn they look so close it scary.

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found the video useful! They do look very similar.

[@stevec404]

I took notes; and will check out the suspects in my yard. Thanks.

[@honey8784]

5 stars. No background music, no 5 minute intro dialogue❤, just the info we need. This is the best video I’ve seen . There’s a reason TikTok is wildly popular. Thanks again

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video!

[@dodgersfnshepard8673]

Bro thank you. You have no idea how far this will help me

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found the video helpful!

[@Nemo67577]

Also, be careful petting the family dog after an outing. From what i understand, the Poison Ivy is “oily” and sticks to the fur of dogs. but pls do yr own research.

[@BackyardEcology]

The urushiol can stick to dogs, boots, clothes, tools - anything that comes into contact with it - and remains active for quite some time.

[@jayejaycurry5485]

Besides the great information presented, what i really liked about your video is its brevity. I've seen too many videos taking 20 to 45 minutes to exclain something no more complicated that what was in yours. A waste of my time.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thank you! I try to keep to the point and make the videos only as long as needed.

[@dojoswitzer]

Alternating which side of the screen poison ivy is displayed makes this video quite confusing.

[@BackyardEcology]

It was one of my earlier videos. I keep things much more consistent these days.

[@randalcolucci6833]

Straight to the point, no games, no-nonsense. Just subscribed. Thanks.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks for the sub!

[@JH-qv3xv]

Someone who knows what he is talking about. Had to hit the subscribe button. Thanks

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks for the sub!

[@MillerMeteor74]

Several years ago I made a video on telling Poison Ivy from Virginia Creeper. Since I'm immune to the effects of Poison Ivy, I handled the leaves in the process of shooting the video, and I made it clear I was immune. I got a couple of haters who responded to the video who said my video was misleading, because some people are allergic to Virginia Creeper. But that fact was beyond the scope of my video. I ultimately deleted the stupid thing because they had me so pissed off. Maybe I could have turned off commenting. I don't know. But this was years ago.

[@BackyardEcology]

I 100% feel your frustration about the comments. You can only put so much in each video. I try hard to keep my videos focused on one single topic.

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

Tricks? That's kind of hard to answer after all these years living in the woods. After enough time, it like muscle memory; I can just instantly spot it because a person's subconscious picks up so much information. The characteristics of the leaves' resony sheen, the subtle difference in green. The habit of growth. The nature of where it prefers to grow; associated plants, amount of Sunlight, soil type. Spidey sense.

[@BackyardEcology]

I know what you are talking about. After some experience you just know what plants are without really thinking about it.

[@MaryMerryKingOfTheWoodsIsHe]

❤

[@LucidDreamer54321]

I'm totally immune to poison ivy.

[@dna3930]

Lucky!

[@nickolasthefrog]

for now

[@dustbat]

love a video like this. To the point, SHORT no "listen to me run on". Thanks you.🦇

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@vacationgal05]

Thank you! We have maple trees and assumed they were covered in poison ivy. Im gonna go check the leaf node placement! Thanks for the straight to the point, helpful video. 😊

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found it useful!

[@WilsonPendarvis-tn3wm]

I’ve made up an old new saying “leaves of green, leave the scene . “ Leaves of three, leave it be. but I just play it safe

[@JamminClemmons]

Don't forget; "Berries white, poisonous site!"

[@georgesheffield1580]

Since we do not have the box elder ( may be very rare ) it is safe to assume the plants are toxic to the skin W/O testing them on your skin .( N TEXAS mixed prairies )

[@nickjohnson9640]

Thanks. Short, sweet, and informative. Also I really love that fence for some reason

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you liked it!

[@A3Kr0n]

And we didn't have to change gears half way through to hear about Nord VPN's great sign up deal.

[@balijosu]

I was under the impression I'm not allergic to poison ivy. Maybe I'm just not allergic to maple syrup.

[@BackyardEcology]

Some people are immune to poison ivy - although immunity can disappear or appear over time. I use to never get it and now I do, but not horribly bad.

[@balijosu]

@@BackyardEcology Yeah I've heard that. Makes me less inclined to keep testing it...

[@pamelah6431]

All maples are opposite arrangement. So nice to rule out p.i. in like 2 seconds without touching it. :)

[@tanyawersinger2693]

Good video❤

[@jamesdietz29]

I am SO reactive to poison ivy that I'm not going anywhere near it OR anything that looks like it.

[@wannabetrucker7475]

I'm not allergic to poison ivy so am never correct in identifying it for potential visitors. Now i just say, pretty sure there is lots of it around.

[@Mike-su8si]

I already knew them all apart from each other plus i have a box elder in the backyard I've been keeping the top of it cut but then decidedto let it grow on up

[@bluesunproductions9079]

I will stick to my leaves of three leaves it be and buy my syrup in the grocery store

[@wallytverstol8627]

yes get to know the difference. biggest thing is the poison ivy is very glossy along with the three leaf clusters

[@raynic1173]

If I could give you a double like, due to the pollinate comment, I would.

[@godblessamerica7048]

Poison Ivy never bothered me, even though it was everywhere growing up in the Chippewa National Forest, unlike my wife, who is highly affected by it. I actually would pick it to show people what poison Ivy looked like. I have always been asked the same question: Why are you touching it? Now, stinging nettle, that's another story!

[@BackyardEcology]

I use to nor be bothered by poison ivy, and then one day I was. Immunity can come and go so just be aware. It is great while you have it though!

[@LorainPsycho]

Ones a tree and ones a vine. Although, the poison ivy on my fence looks like a tree, but it has been growing there for about 25 years. It's oil looked like pine sap while i was cutting it down and it was the worst I've ever gotten poison ivy. Usually i can just pull out poison ivy with my bare hands and never get it, but that stuff STRONG!!!

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy is a super variable plant and can grow as a vine, a small shrub, or even look like a tree sapling at times. I am sure that much sap caused one heck of a reaction!

[@wks7696]

Thanks! Does poison ivy, oak, sumac etc. ever have little purple flowers? I have a mystery plant in my yard and not sure if it’s “huggable.” 😅

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy, oak, and sumac all normally have white-greenish-yellowish flowers. I have never seen them with purple flowers, doesn't mean it can't happen but it would be an exception to the norm.

[@joannethorne6555]

Yeah, yeah, yeah...got it. Itchy bad. But... BOX ELDER MAKES SYRUP??? Uh...RECIPE?

[@BackyardEcology]

Yep, it's a maple and can be tapped to make syrup. It is an involved process. I'm sure there are videos about tapping maples for sap and boiling it down into syrup.

[@stolenrelic]

yessss thank you this is so useful

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CrankyGrandma]

Oh my! This is an issue to me! I have tons of box elder and it does look loads like poison ivy.

[@HypocriticYT]

Get a good dose of poison ivy and you won’t forget what it looks like 😂

[@BackyardEcology]

You would think it would work like that, but I know several people that break out with it that can't ID it.

[@HypocriticYT]

@@BackyardEcology they just haven't got enough of it (yet). A friend who hays gets it in the winter moving bales.

[@BackyardEcology]

@@HypocriticYT Ya, the oils can be persistent.

[@onetuliptree]

I get a lot of poison ivy plants in my backyard so I have specimens to examine up close, thank you for this information!

[@kanibist8330]

Well, I'll Be......... I think I have been on an unwitted mission to eradicate what I now think is box elder in my backyard...........

[@BackyardEcology]

They can be easy to confuse, especially when little sprouts. There is such a thing as too much boxelder though, it can be very aggressive in certain situations.

[@mr.somebody1493]

Box elder is a maple, and does make good syrup.

[@dougall1687]

Short and to the point. Thanks. Only minor quibble - maybe switching from box elder on the right (1.08-1.25) to box elder on the left (1.26-1.34) makes the difference harder to visualize.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! This is an older video, my newer vids are much more consistent.

[@lomgshorts3]

Just subscribed! But is there another difference? Poison Ivey leaves are shiny, where Box Elder leaves are not ??? Tell me if that is true, please.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks for the sub! Sometimes poison ivy will have shiny leaves, but not always. It is a highly variable plant.

[@ousoonercar92]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found the video useful!

[@justplainoltex4991]

We had th second wettest Spring in N. Texas history, and a coupla these things popped up in my yard of 30 yrs. I'm super allergic to poison ivy and I was about to drop a nuclear bomb on em... but somethin didn't seem right. I shoulda been scratchin my azz off just lookin at em. I wanna transplant to a better spot... maybe for th next 30. Any suggestions?

[@BackyardEcology]

Boxelder can get spread quickly once it starts producing seed so be aware of that. It also likes moist soil. Wait until the trees are dormant in the winter to dig and move them.

[@djknit]

Thank you! Great info

[@chesterthawkins7510]

Leaves of 3, let them be. Also NEVER burn poison ivy vines! The smoke will get you. Another vine often mistaken for poison is Virgnia Creeper. It has 5 leaves and is harmless and beautiful.

[@BackyardEcology]

Burning poison ivy is bad news! I will likely do a Virginia creeper video in the future. Some people are actually allergic to it, but it doesn't cause anywhere the reaction as poison ivy. The number of people that react to it is far less than those that react to poison ivy.

[@nomusicrc]

I THINK YOU NEED TO MAKE THE BIRD CHIRPING LOUDER

[@john-ic5pz]

yay I guess right. I put poison ivy syrup on my pancakes. 😆 lucky to not be sensitive to it. I once ate a sumac leaf by accident. 😆 BITTERRRRR! but no reaction either thank goodness

[@BackyardEcology]

The sumacs in the genus Rhus are not toxic - in fact they are used as a spice and the berries are used to make a lemonade flavored drink! Poison sumac is in the same genus as poison ivy, Toxicodendron and although it superficially looks like a true sumac it is quite a different shrub.

[@flagmichael]

I am one of the 10%-25% of people who are not very allergic to urushiol. One day I was out hiking with my buddy, who was badly affected by poison oak. I got a branch caught in the crook of my elbow and forgot to wash it off when I got home. It produced a bit of redness but nothing more. I washed it and in the morning it was unblemished. My buddy suffered for most of a week.

[@BackyardEcology]

Some people have little to no reaction to the oil produced by poison ivy. That immunity can go away though. I found out the hard way.

[@666toysoldier]

Very good. Now, make one that shows the difference between poison ivy and fragrant sumac.

[@BackyardEcology]

It is on the list!

[@niteshades_promise]

ive always asked myself "is that poison ivy, or THAT tree?" now i know the trees name. maple family? syrup? awesome info.🍻

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! Glad you found it useful!

[@peterrollinson-lorimer]

Box elder syrup? hmmmmm......

[@JH-pt6ih]

I never had problem with poison ivy. Could pull it out of the yard wearing shorts and short sleeve shirt and using only gloves like one would pulling out plants and shrubs. Then I started thinking I had bed bugs biting my ankles. Low grade annoying itch. Then one day that all changed!

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy immunity can disappear over time. Happens quite frequently.

[@joshuawaynehensley]

DO: eat tasty tree blood. Do NOT: eat itchy tree poison! Am I getting this right?

[@BackyardEcology]

That would be correct!

[@TheMrMused]

A side note: Google Lens almost always misidentifies Box Elder as Poison Ivy. Always look for opposite vs alternate!

[@BackyardEcology]

Good point! Most plant ID apps have some plants they often mis-ID! Always check the ID with another app or field guide unless you know for certain it is correct. I have seen some app IDs that were WAY off.

[@eriebreeze6584]

pollinate the like button !

[@kos37ter96]

I’ve found the box elder maple to be extremely invasive. It sprouts up everywhere regardless of it being in hedges, grass, even sidewalk cracks. We don’t have much property, so attempting to get rid of it without harming other plants is quite the task and it spreads every where that we don’t have it out. Ha

[@BackyardEcology]

It can be an aggressive tree - especially in disturbed areas. Boxelder is a pioneer species so it can easily cover a disturbed area as it produces a large amount of seed - like all maples. I have seen red maples do the exact same thing.

[@PadroPadro22]

Just got poison ivy 2 weeks ago from my yard, my app says Box Elder for all Ivy like plants. Gonna use this to be sure

[@BackyardEcology]

There are certain plants some of the apps always seem to get wrong - poison ivy is one of them because it is so variable in what it looks like.

[@dieterh.9342]

Love it! Thank you.

[@smokedbrisket3033]

Though you don't always see it on poison ivy, it's pretty common for PI to have leaf galls, at least down here in Texas and Louisiana. I've never seen galls on a box elder.

[@BackyardEcology]

Boxelder will get leaf galls in some areas.

[@duster1968]

Very interesting and helpful. Where i grew up (Oklahoma) poison ivy was more of a vine climbing up on everything it seems and was everywhere. I retired to western Montana (in part because of a really bad allergy to poison ivy) and the ivy here (what there is of it) is more of a shrub.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy is super variable. I have seen it growing as a vine, ground cover and a shrub all within sight of each other.

[@ericliskey3695]

An interesting idea for a video. Although several plants can easily be confused with poison ivy, I find that box elder seedlings are the leaves that are the trickiest. Everything in this video is correct, but my advice is: if you're unsure, don't try to figure it out. Just don't touch it.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! And great advice! When in doubt just leave it alone, works great for poisonous plants, snakes, and a lot of other things in nature.

[@markmiles1316]

Any feature associated with the box elder is the box elder beetle which appears in clumps of hundreds of bugs often found on the sunny side of a house in the spring. Black beetles with red strips. Harmles but they love my Missouri house.

[@BackyardEcology]

Boxelder bugs can sometimes appear in huge numbers, and sometimes in places without a lot of boxelder.

[@TheTibetyak]

At 01:28 discussing leaflet numbers, the poison ivy had the characteristic "leaves of 3". But it also appeared to have the leaf arrangement immediately opposite rather than alternating. Am I wrong about this?

[@BackyardEcology]

I think you are confusing leaflets with leaves. The three leaflets are all part of a single leaf, what is known as a compound leaf. The compound leaves are arranged alternately on the stem of a poison ivy plant.

[@Flashahol]

This confirmed that I am not very susceptible to poison Ivy and I now know what poison Oak actually looks like. Will not test my resistance to poison Oak the same way I did with poison Ivy: walk in it blindly wearing shorts and sandals while putting up a ridge line.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy and poison oak contain the same oil that causes a reaction in most people. Best not to chance it though as immunity can come and go without warning.

[@nathanhale7444]

Huh.... Now I'm wondering if I have both. The poison ivy is pretty easy to identify but the think that looks very similar to that box elder has milk sap and grows to be a small tree. I even have one that has poison ivy growing all over it like some kind of nightmare weed.

[@BackyardEcology]

Good chance you do have both - they are both quite common in the eastern US.

[@cornmono3665]

Thank you for saying the scientific names!

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you find them helpful! They are the only names that tell you the exact plant - the common names are super confusing. Some don't like that I use scientific names, but honestly it is the only way to be certain what plant is being discussed.

[@RandyGiven]

Good video. Thanks!

[@orionred2489]

WHY did you change the sides??? Bad on left... then bad on right.

[@BackyardEcology]

Was one of my earlier videos. I keep things much more consistent these days.

[@junettajohnson8660]

Thank you! Was about to trash a sweet little Box Elder because I wasn't sure!

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad I could help!

[@MossyMozart]

Very useful! I pollinated your like button. Buzz-buzz.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks for that!

[@derekdevries1284]

Im confused. Even the poison ivy leaf you show the leaves are aligned!

[@BackyardEcology]

Those are the leaflets that make up the compound leaf of poison ivy. All three of the leaflets are part of the same leaf. Check out this video to learn all about leaf types: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6OUqX5ubs6HhMk

[@batfrog1]

Good information, but the BoxElder also appears to have its own free standing stem.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy can grow as a vine, ground cover, or even a small shrub. It is a highly variable plant.

[@grettalemabouchou6779]

I would like to thank you for this very informative video...we live in an area that has poison ivy and oak. We camp and hike quite often and take the little ones......this may just save one of us from a costly Drs. visit and a shot in the bum. Blessings.

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found the video hepful!

[@LtPowers]

Good stuff, but you switched which plant was on which side at the end. Could be misleading.

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks! This is one of my earlier videos, things are much more consistent in my newer vids.

[@JoeOvercoat]

The way I remember which is alternating and which is opposing, is that PI is a vine, whereas is Box Elder is a shrub. That may not be technically correct but it works for me.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy can also grow as a ground cover and as a small shrub. It is one of the most variable plants in North America.

[@bryanm1498]

I typically look at the stem to see if it has any "hairs" on it which would signify an ivy plant. These hairs allow it to grab on to other plants or objects and stick to it. If it has no hairs, I conclude it to be box elder. If it does, it's poison ivy. Is this correct?

[@BackyardEcology]

When it is growing as a vine it may have adventitious roots (the things that look like hair along the vine) but when growing like a herbaceous ground cover or a small shrub they may be absent.

[@TeaTellyWMaria]

Excellent!

[@BackyardEcology]

Thanks!

[@krishmandal9769]

Wait. Stop. Hold a second. Neither of these look like poison ivy I have plenty of it in my backyard that I've been trying to get rid of for a few years now. The thing about poison ivy is that the leaflets all come from the same base. They look like they are joined at the hip. In other words the leaflets bases start at the same junction. And neither of these have that.

[@BackyardEcology]

The leaf on the left of the thumbnail is poison ivy. Poison ivy is an incredibly variable plant that has pinnately compound leaves that can have leaflet stems of varying lengths depending on the plant or localized population. Trying to attribute the leaf characteristics of one small population of poison ivy to the entire species is just not possible, or correct.

[@jimmyjack7083]

I've grown up around box elder and poison ivy and it never even occurred to me that some people could mistake them. Jack n the pulpits can resemble poison ivy a bit too.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy has so many look-a-likes.

[@reuniteireland]

Leaves of 3 let it be always makes me sigh because there's dozens or hundreds of plants like that

[@BackyardEcology]

There is a bunch of them!

[@vickywhitesell7482]

The Elder is a tree, poison ivy and poison oak are a viney- bushy ground plant that CAN grow up trees. Poison ivy has very shinny leaves and can have a reddish tint to it.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy is an incredibly variable plant - it can grow as a small shrub, a vine, and a ground cover. When boxelder first sprouts it looks very much like poison ivy.

[@breeinatree4811]

I just stay away from plants that have three leaves, unless I k own exactly what it is. Had a friend that was cleaning his yard and ran into poison ivy. He went to pee afterwards... yeah.

[@BackyardEcology]

Ouch! Not a mistake you want to make!

[@prayerforceone]

In the beginning, both plants looked like they were arranged opposite. The poison ivy didn’t look alternate to me.

[@BackyardEcology]

The pics at the beginning are of the leaves of the plants - which are compound and made up of leaflets. The leaflets are opposite on the leaves of both species. The leaves (the entire structure with 3 leaflets) are arranged alternately on poison ivy.

[@rchristie5401]

Ones a TREE and the other is a weed. If you dont know the difference between them. Do go outside.

[@BackyardEcology]

Except when they aren't. Poison ivy can grow as a vine, ground cover, small shrub, and even look like a small tree at times. It is an incredibly variable plant.

[@johnlounsbury6191]

good info....thanks

[@bluebutterflywellness2273]

You are SO helpful to me!! 💕💕💕

[@BackyardEcology]

Happy to help!

[@jb888888888]

Simple way to tell them apart: If you're itchy later, it was poison ivy.

[@BackyardEcology]

Unless you are immune to poison ivy - then you will never know. Best just to learn which plant is which.

[@LindaBayliss-g7x]

Both are everywhere on my farm and the box elder is far more of a problem than poison ivy since I'm not allergic!

[@BackyardEcology]

Boxelder has a way of growing in all the places you really don't want boxelder to be growing - and there is usually a ton of it.

[@dizzysdoings]

Remember also that poison ivy is a vine and will climb up a tree. The roots look like a hairy rope. Box elder gets the typical winged samaras for the fruit while poison ivy has white berries.

[@BackyardEcology]

Poison ivy can also grow as a small shrub and a ground cover. It is an incredibly variable plant.

[@ChefKatieRosenhouse]

Thank you so much for this video - we were freaking out about if our daughter grabbed a handful of poison ivy - hopefully it’s just box elder! 😅🤞🏻

[@BackyardEcology]

Glad you found it useful! Hopefully it wasn't ivy she grabbed!