Poison ivy - Wikipedia
Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus Toxicodendron native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate species: T. …
Poison ivy | Description & Poison | Britannica - Encyclopedia Britannica
poison ivy, (Toxicodendron radicans), poisonous vine or shrub of the cashew family (Anacardiaceae), native to eastern North America. Nearly all parts of the plant contain urushiol. When the plant is touched, the substance produces in many persons a severe, itchy, and painful inflammation of the skin known as contact dermatitis .
A poison ivy primer - Smithsonian Institution
In humans, contact with poison ivy causes a reaction known as a cell-mediated immune response. Basically, as Pell explains, the urushiol binds to proteins in the membrane of your skin cells and interferes with their ability to communicate with other cells. It tricks your immune system into regarding your own skin cells as foreign.
Toxicodendron radicans (Eastern Poison Ivy, Poison Ivy, Poison …
Poison ivy is native throughout the United States and much of southern Canada and can be found in a wide variety of locations including dry or wet woodlands, thickets, valleys, clearings, fence rows, roadsides and waste ground.
Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac - Cleveland Clinic
May 5, 2023 · Poison ivy is a common poisonous plant that causes an itchy skin rash. Other rash-inducing poisonous plants include poison oak and poison sumac. These plants produce an oily sap that contains urushiol (pronounced yer-OO-shee-all), which causes an …
Poison Ivy | What's in a Name? - Harvard University
The common name “poison ivy” highlights the potential toxic effects of contact with the plant’s leaves, which typically produce an intensely itchy skin rash and blisters. The name also refers to one of the plant’s common growth habits—that of an ivy-like trailing vine.
What does poison ivy look like? “Leaves of three, let them be” is a good rule to go by. Poison ivy usually has three green leaves on each stem. They can have a reddish look, grow close to the ground, or as vines. Dark spots on the leaves are sap that has been exposed to air.
Poison Ivy - Skin Disorders - Merck Manual Consumer Version
Poison ivy is an allergic contact dermatitis that causes a very itchy rash caused by exposure to the oil urushiol, which coats the leaves of poison ivy plants. An itchy, red rash and multiple blisters develop in the area where the plant came in contact with the skin.
Poison Ivy | Home and Garden Education Center - University of …
Plant Description. Recognizing the poison ivy plant (Toxicodendron radicans) can be tricky because it has many forms, colors and shapes. It can be a vine traveling along the ground or climbing a tree. It can be a shrub. The edges of the leaves can be toothed or smooth. The surface can be shiny or dull depending on its age.
What Is Poison Ivy? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and …
Feb 9, 2023 · Poison ivy is a toxic plant that’s commonly found throughout most of the continental United States. Upon contact with human skin, poison ivy often causes a rash, known as contact dermatitis....