Poison Ivy Might Be Doing A Really Great Job At Fooling You

The sight made my whole life itch all over.

I was driving home from work last night, and saw a dude in shorts who was clearing trees on his property, and his legs were literally covered in what I assume was poison ivy. All the classic signs... the lines, the dry skin, the pustules. To be honest though, there's a million reasons why that guy shouldn't be using a chainsaw in shorts, and poison ivy might be the least of his worries, but that's not my problem....

When I got home, I came across an older article on NPR.com asking if people could really tell what poison ivy looks like. We all have our old-wives-tale idea of what we're supposed to be looking for. You know, like the good old standby, "leaves of three, let it be". But, can you definitively always tell?

It's appearance seems to vary wildly from one plant to the next.

Sometimes even on the same plant, it's size, shape, and color can vary widely. Which basically means, that poison ivy is a higher evolved species than us, and is actively trying to conceal itself so it can destroy us all and take over the planet. You may think I'm joking, but I've got a few dozen 1950's sci-fi movies to back up my claim.

Just look how all these are the same plant, but look entirely differently:

The real takeaway here, is that poison ivy does what it wants. It grows low to the ground, it will climb walls (especially in urban areas), and even sprout some small green berries that make it even more confusing to identify. So really, just stay out of the woods. Hahahaha....I'm kidding. Well, kind of.

IF YOU'RE A NEW MAINER, YOU MAY WANT TO CONSULT THIS LIST FOR SOME ADVICE...