A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Mystery Plants? Is this Poison Ivy (or any other poison plant)

I am sure this is Virginia Creeper. But EVERYONE keeps arguing with me, family & strangers, that the plant is Poison Ivy. For starters it's leaves are in clusters of 5 not 3 so I was sure it was safe. "Leaves of 3, let it be." But the reply was that poisonous ivy/plants can also have 5 or more leaves. (Not sure if that's true. Is it?) Then they told me that it has berries so that also proves it's poisonous ivy. ...Don't most ivies produce berries or flower???

So in case I'm wrong, I've come for a second opinion. Is this not Virginia Creeper?



The berries they were concerned with.






Brand new leaves of same plant.

I agree it is Virginia creeper. For more pictures and info type is Virginia creeper into the box called garden search on the upper right of the screen.

Thanks for confirming the plants identity! I never noticed the garden search before, thanks for telling me about that. :)

It is Virginia Creeper. Poison ivy CAN have 5/7 leaves but it's rarely common enough to cause concern. Virginia Creeper can cause dermatitis/rash to some people but not to all (i think it's oxalic acid inside...same as diffenbachia). VC has blue berries while PI has clusters of white berries (looks like a bunch of grapes). FYI: many plants that are around us are in the same family as poison ivy but we just don't know it! Pistachio, cashew, mango, smokebush, and sumac!

My whole front porch is covered with VC on PURPOSE! It provides me with a NATURAL blind for bird photography. Every Winter, I tear down the old and by mid Summer it is back IN FULL!!!

Here is a picture I took of a GIANT Poison Ivy vine slowly forcing its way into an open crypt at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, here in Nashville, TN


THE OPEN CRYPT

Do you think it would matter much if nobody cut them back? Guess the dead don't mind.

Makes for an interesting display - and good job on the photography, I might add.