Whenever I take a group on a hike, someone always asks me what poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans looks like. Someone inevitably recites, “Leaves of three, let them be.” I always mention that I love to eat raspberries and strawberries, which also have three leaves. So how do you really know?

Poison Ivy has compound leaves with three leaflets (leading to the saying “leaves of three, let it be”). It is really important to know how to identify poison ivy throughout the year because it is ever changing and the oils are always potent and can give you the rash regardless if it has leaves or not.Here are pictures to help you identify poison ivy throughout the year. I hope they help.

The twig breaks through the dried up fall leaves and comes up in early spring.

When the leaves first appear in the spring, they are red and are very shiny.

When looking at the three leaflets notice how they do not all look alike, at least one looks like a mitten.

Poison Ivy is a vine, and very hairy. There are many other woodland vines but none are as hairy.

Poison Ivy changes colors in the fall along with all the other deciduous plants.