# Does poison ivy play any useful role in the ecosystem? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908 "2024-07-08T22:37:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/1 "2024-07-08T22:37:32Z")
Or can we get rid of it? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/2 "2024-07-08T22:54:57Z")
Poison ivy is very useful in propogating poison ivy. That’s all the more reason any organism exists in the biosphere. Your question is, really, “what good is it to _me_”. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/3 "2024-07-08T23:06:40Z")
Poison ivys (_Toxicodendron radicans_,_Toxicodendron rydbergii_, as well as other members of the genus _Toxicodendron_) are part of the sumac family and are a source of fruit for many birds, foraging mammals, and other animals, as well as pollinators where it serves the function of providing a food source by flowering out of season with most other angiosperms. > **[Wildlife Value of Poison Ivy](https://tarawildlife.com/wildlife-value-poison-ivy/)** > > Most of us avoid getting close to poison ivy. But, for wildlife, poison ivy is an important food source - birds, deer, raccoons, & more. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/4 "2024-07-08T23:07:53Z")
Vines are ground cover and prevents erosion. Unfortunately for humans; Poison oak, Poison Sumac, and Poison Ivy have powerful defense mechanisms. Can any herbivore safely eat these vines? **Leaves of Three, Leave Them Be** ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/5 "2024-07-08T23:10:24Z")
goats do a number on them. [Poison Ivy Got Your Goat? Call Goat Girls! - Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association](https://www.wmmga.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=101643&module_id=235634#:~:text=Goats%20are%20an%20ideal%2C%20environmentally,and%20multiple%20types%20of%20weeds). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/6 "2024-07-08T23:14:46Z")
My father was never bothered by Poison Oak. He pulled vines from my backyard without any problem. He bagged them for me and put on the curb. That much exposure would have nearly killed me. Even his clothes and gloves were a hazard and thrown out. Poison Ivy gets everybody. Never, ever, ever put it in a burn pile. The smoke will get you. I hate that stuff. Stinging Nettles are almost as bad. Except the pain goes away much quicker. Nettles (after processing) are an important herbal medicine used for centuries. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/7 "2024-07-08T23:35:51Z")
Don’t forget those marvelous [medicinal uses](http://bates.edu/canopy/poison-ivy/#:~:text=Toxicodendron%20species%20don't%20grow,many%20uses%20of%20the%20plant) of poison ivy. _“There is evidence that the Meskwaki, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi made a poultice from the plant to be used to treat swelling. Ramah Navajos used a mix of poison ivy sap, deer blood, and charcoal to make poison for arrowheads. Indigenous Americans on the west coast used poison oak leaves in cooking and in addition to using the sap to treat warts, rattlesnake bites, and ringworm.”_ Poison ivy has been grown as an ornamental in Europe, to which it was transported in the 1800s. I recall hearing about British gardeners who valued it for its attractive red fall foliage. Probably the same Brits who grow pokeweed for its ornamental qualities (one hopes that neither plant is as rampant a pest in British climates as they are in the U.S.). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/8 "2024-07-08T23:41:36Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > goats do a number on them. Goats will get into and eat damn near anything, much to the surprise of hobby farmers who think they are getting a few cute pets and then find their garden, trees, shrubs, flowers, and unprotected hoses and tubing nibbled down to the dirt. A little bit of allergenic oleoresin isn’t going to put them off of available feed. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/9 "2024-07-08T23:54:50Z")
Rabbits can eat poison ivy. Most ornamental ivy is poisonous to rabbits. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/10 "2024-07-09T00:11:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Poison ivy has been grown as an ornamental in Europe, to which it was transported in the 1800s. I recall hearing about British gardeners who valued it for its attractive red fall foliage ::::shudder:::: When I was in 4th grade, I picked up a large, pretty leaf that had fallen. Most of it had gone a shade of yellow, with one small green patch. I held it up to my face, clowning around. The next month was… not fun. More to the point of the original question: if the stuff were nuked from orbit, is there anything else less vile that might take its place in the ecosystem? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/11 "2024-07-09T00:19:26Z")
I understood the question to be exactly what it said in the title. Before getting rid of it, it is essential to know what part it plays in the ecosystem. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/12 "2024-07-09T00:37:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Can any herbivore safely eat these vines? Well, I guess technically humans don’t count as herbivores. [https://www.wsj.com/style/eat-poison-ivy-oak-immunity-3207ec3c](https://www.wsj.com/style/eat-poison-ivy-oak-immunity-3207ec3c) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/13 "2024-07-09T02:28:17Z")
Yes. She introduced novelty records and rockabilly to the punk rock scene and kept Lux out of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/14 "2024-07-09T03:28:24Z")
I’ve never seen poison ivy cover ground. Maybe if it took over some other ground cover. I’ve only seen in crawling up trees, fences and walls. Technically it could, I guess. I’ve walked a million miles in the woods. Seen lots of it. I’ve seen it climbing in kudzu vine. Never on its own, on the ground. Not apt to do the research for the root either. But, yeah it’s an important pollinator. And the namesake to my Ivy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/15 "2024-07-09T03:34:38Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’ve never seen poison ivy cover ground. Maybe if it took over some other ground cover. > I’ve only seen in crawling up trees, fences and walls. As a volunteer Ranger in San Jose we had Poison oak- _ **Toxicodendron diversilobum** _, and yes it will grow as a sort of shrubby ground cover. Many species eat it. Whatever you do- do NOT burn it. The smoke can irritate lungs and even kill. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/16 "2024-07-09T03:42:36Z")
Oh, I know about the burning. Wisteria will cause the same kind of problem, I found out the hard way. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/17 "2024-07-09T13:10:57Z")
Good to know, I see bunnies in my chaos garden where undoubtedly there’s PI vines sneaking around. As well as wild grapevine. I’ve also seen poison hemlock on roadsides in the neighborhood. I’ve looked it up but there are no sources that claim any benefits to hemlock in a habitat. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/18 "2024-07-09T16:53:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Poison Ivy gets everybody. I’m cautious, but often cannot avoid it. I rarely get affected, and it clears up quickly. My gf is the opposite. When we’ve both done yard work involving the vine, she will end up with a severe case while I might have some around an ankle. When I was a kid, a farmer down the road always talked about his immunity. Each year he’d make a sandwich using bread, butter, and poison ivy. He claimed that was how he avoided getting it. He was also kinda crazy and beat his wife and kids with impunity. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Nettles (after processing) are an important herbal medicine used for centuries. I don’t have time to search YouTube right now, but @Mangetout has a cool video on his atomic shrimp channel on making nettle soup. It’s the most beautiful soup, and you can imagine the silky texture. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/19 "2024-07-09T16:57:36Z")
My sister volunteers at the local forest preserves. The staff put in considerable effort to control invasives. But they have an ongoing dilemma w/ poison ivy. It is a native, and the only species that reacts negatively to it is humans. As others have noted, birds and some mammals eat the leaves and berries. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908/20 "2024-07-09T16:58:19Z")
I had a skin tag on my inner arm once that poison ivy landed on. The skin tag swelled up turned black then fell off. Painless all around.no scar nothing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-poison-ivy-play-any-useful-role-in-the-ecosystem/1003908.md?page=2)