Beverly's New Guest

Smooth Leaves

     After our very wet spring and early summer we have accumulated a number of pests -- from slugs and scale to various sorts of fungus. By the end of July, however, I was getting reports of of a new "guest", one I had not seen in a long time --- poison ivy. Once a "country cousin" not seen much outside of metro-parks, poison ivy has begun to be seen more and more in golf courses. And now it has made an unwelcome appearance in Beverly yards.

     A rather anonymous plant, poison ivy is usually recognized by one's skin before one's eyes. It has three leaflets, but these can be of several shapes -- from smooth to serrated to deeply notched. Sometimes all three leaf shapes can appear on the same plant.  It develops whitish berries -- except when it doesn't. Sometimes its stems are red -- and sometimes they aren't.

Notched leaves

     Poison ivy can grow like a shrub -- but it also can grow like a vine -- up a tree trunk and out to smack you in the face when you are looking for it on the ground. The berries produce seeds which the birds spread around, but the plant also spreads through underground stems.

Vine Form

     In addition to being sneaky poison ivy is also very hard to kill. If you try to pull it out, the pieces remaining in the ground will regenerate. Burning it creates a vapor that gets in your eyes and lungs and makes you wish you had it only on your skin.

     The only real solution is to poison it, which may take repeat spraying. The leaves eventually turn white and die, but even then they are toxic, so use gloves and long clothing any time you approach it. Seal up the remains before disposing of it.