Poison Ivy: Geocacher’s Bane
So, you think you know what poison ivy looks like, eh?
This annoying plant, often referred to as “PI” by geocachers, is sneaky, tenacious and has a number of different guises. There are only two rules I’ve learned about Poison Ivy which seem to be universal:
- The leaves are grouped into triplets
- The leaves never have a sawtooth border
Poison Ivy is often noted for other attributes, sich as:
- The leaves can be red, especially in the spring and in the fall (but not always)
- The leaves can be small or large
- The leaves can be shiny, but not always
- The leaves can be smooth-edged, but not always (they sometimes sport notches, but not sawteeth)
- The curve of the leaves can be convex as they come to a gradual point, or they can be concave and come to a sharper point
You may think you know what poison ivy looks like, but it may be possible that you are missing some poison ivy plants, or even mistaking another plant for poison ivy.
Since it loves to grow on the borders of trails (among other places), geocachers will have plenty of opportunity to come across poison ivy, which means plenty of opportunity to identify and study its habits. The more familiar you get, the less likely you will be to find out, hours after a geocaching trip, that you should have been more careful.
Poison ivy rashes can be an annoyance, or they can be truly debilitating.
For anyone who’d like to see pictures of poison ivy in many of its guises, check out Poison Ivy
Another great resource is the Poison Ivy Fast Facts Page which is part of this poison plants information center.
Be careful out there!