On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:06:29 GMT, fran
wrote:

Well, I was vindicated today. For years I have maintained that there
is a 5-leaf version of poison ivy and no-one believed me.

Today I pulled up a poison ivy vine by the roots, and found both the
standard 3-leaflet sets *and* the 5-leaflet sets on it! And yes, they
were from one plant - there was only one small root.

Silly me, though, I didn't think to take a photo of it until just now
- when it's already met it's fate. Oh well, I'll just have to wait -
I'm sure I'll find the (#&%&^% stuff again.

Just in case you're curious, the 5-leaflet set looks like the
3-leaflet set, except there are 2 more small leaves on the outside
forming a neat circle of leaves. The notches are the same and
everything. This version looks verrry like another vine that is
called wandering jenny, as I recall. Makes me wonder if they are
related.

Call me skeptical, I'd want to see it myself to be sure

Virginia creeper has tendrils, Poison Ivy (PI) has aerial
rootlets. Think "hairy rope" when looking for a PI vine.
Look up tendrils and then aerial rootlets to see the
difference between them.

Box Elder (more properly called Ash leave Maple) has
opposite leaves. Usually only three leaflets on young trees
only 1-2 feet tall. Mature trees have 3-7 leaflets. PI
always has **alternate leaves**.

Here is some crappy ASCII art.

Opposite:

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Alternate:

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There are only six other common species with three leaflets
and alternate leaves.

Poison Oak- questionable if it even differs from PI and
should be classified differently.

Fragrant Sumac - Could be confused with PI.

Cissus - much different.

Hoptree - not all that uncommon, but I've only seen it in
one particular area by me. Could be confused with PI.

Scotch Broom - much different.

Bicolor Lespedeza - much different.

Most of the common plants that look similar to PI have
opposite leaves and can be eliminated quickly with this
knowledge from a distance. The shape of the leaves, toothed,
smooth, irregular, is meaningless and not a good method for
identification of PI.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
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