# Is all Ivy the poisonous kind that breaks you out in an itchy rash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686 "2013-05-07T05:46:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [May 7, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/1 "2013-05-07T05:46:33Z")
Ah the distinguished [Ivy league schools and their ivy covered walls](http://www.ivy.org/picts/princeton/prince-1.jpg). Is that stuff poison ivy? Does all ivy potentially create miserable rashes when touched or burnt? If not, then how can you tell the difference? I got some ivy on my back fence. I’m not anxious to touch it either. ☹ I’ve had some nasty break outs before. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/2 "2013-05-07T06:24:40Z")
No, most ivy is not [poison ivy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_ivy). In particular, the stuff with the [sort of star shaped leaves](http://www.pestid.msu.edu/Portals/0/dnnPhotoGallery/721/204.JPG) that you find climbing old walls is not poison ivy, and it is fine to touch it. What is on your fence, I can’t say. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/3 "2013-05-07T06:29:16Z")
no, they are quite different:[poison ivy (toxicodendron radicans)](http://www.google.ch/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1302&bih=936&q=Toxicodendron+radicans&oq=Toxicodendron+radicans&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i24l7.3013.3013.0.5640.1.1.0.0.0.0.68.68.1.1.0...0.0...1ac.2.12.img.3Zval7RGxNI), [real ivy (hedera helix)](http://www.google.ch/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1302&bih=936&q=hedera+helix&oq=hedera&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.3579.12558.0.15980.8.8.0.0.0.0.87.589.8.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.12.img.drbXd6kP9h0). Poison Ivy has groups of three clearly separate leaves, while in real ivy it’s a single leave with three to five tips. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/4 "2013-05-07T12:23:46Z")
Poison ivy’s appearance can [vary markedly](http://www.flickr.com/photos/vox/3817226841/) (outline of leaves, number of lobes etc.). If you don’t know what a wild ivy is, best not to handle it.\* \*you’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion. And of course, poison ivy can grow as a shrub and not even resemble ivy. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/5 "2013-05-07T12:33:26Z")
Is the ivy on the Ivy League schools actually ivy? I always assumed it would be some kind of climber like Virginia creeper or something. But yes, poison ivy and regular ivy are very different things. Here in the UK we don’t get poison ivy, but regular ivy is all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/6 "2013-05-07T12:42:45Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Here in the UK we don’t get poison ivy, but regular ivy is all over the place. Yes, and we always called hedera helix ‘English Ivy.’ ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/7 "2013-05-07T12:43:36Z")
No poison Ivy in the UK? The kids are missing out on a critical life experience. I swear we were peeing on the poison ivy mom. That’s why I have a rash on my bum and he has one on his manhood. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/8 "2013-05-07T13:39:18Z")
Ivy league ivy is probably English or Boston Ivy. Boston Ivy is deciduous and English ivy is a broad-leaved evergreen plant barring extreme weather. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/9 "2013-05-07T13:55:12Z")
Poison ivy was actually taken to England by garden enthusiasts who thought it was a pretty vine (and it is - it turns bright colors in the fall and has white berries). Hopefully for our U.K. friends it has not had an opportunity to escape gardens. If that happened, you could have a plague to dwarf that of giant hogweed. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/10 "2013-05-07T19:15:20Z")
There is poison ivy in the UK, but it hasn’t managed to spread here, so it’s not something you have to worry about. Ivy in the UK is something you need nothing more than a pair of gardening gloves to weed and is only likely to cause an adverse reaction if you eat it or are allergic to it. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/11 "2013-05-07T20:04:38Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Ivy league ivy is probably English or Boston Ivy. Boston Ivy is deciduous and English ivy is a broad-leaved evergreen plant barring extreme weather. Princeton has real ivy (Hedera), the others planted Boston Ivy, also called grape ivy, which isn’t actually an ivy: > **[The American Ivy Society, Inc.](http://www.ivy.org/about_bv12.htm)** > > The American Ivy Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the genus Hedera. > [@](#): > > But Princeton, the fourth oldest college in the United States, not only has the real ivy – Hedera – climbing on buildings, they also know which variety is growing there. > > Others mainly planted Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) which isn’t ivy at all, and learned to their dismay that it was hard to control its growth and had to tear it down. In September1982 our Ivy Journal reported that Harvard was stripping the ivy off the walls of campus buildings. We asked them for more details, and with their response sent us a sample of their “Ivy”. The prolific plant at Harvard was Parthenocissus. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/12 "2013-05-07T20:12:18Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > No poison Ivy in the UK? The kids are missing out on a critical life experience. I swear we were peeing on the poison ivy mom. That’s why I have a rash on my bum and he has one on his manhood. Poison ivy isn’t even spread throughout the US. [USDA Plants Database](http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TORA2) I grew up in the West, where we have poison oak, but I’ve never seen poison ivy before. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/13 "2013-05-07T20:21:08Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Poison ivy isn’t even spread throughout the US. [USDA Plants Database](http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TORA2) > > I grew up in the West, where we have poison oak, but I’ve never seen poison ivy before. It’s very closely realted. our Poison Oak looks and acts almost exactly like Poison Ivy, excpet that it rarely acts like an ivy. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/14 "2013-05-07T23:04:20Z")
My dad could handle poison oak without the rash. He cleared some off one of my trees for me. He was allergic to poison ivy. I’ve gotten into both backpacking and suffered the consequences. The more I look at my back fence it doesn’t look like poison ivy. No leaves of three and I haven’t seen any white berries in the fall. Hairy vines are a give away too. [http://0.tqn.com/d/landscaping/1/7/I/A/hairy\_vines.jpg](http://0.tqn.com/d/landscaping/1/7/I/A/hairy_vines.jpg) I may just have a vine. I hope. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/15 "2013-05-08T07:04:08Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > No poison Ivy in the UK? The kids are missing out on a critical life experience. I swear we were peeing on the poison ivy mom. That’s why I have a rash on my bum and he has one on his manhood. They’ve got stinging nettles. Every fucking where. Never had poison ivy but I’ve had tons of welts from nettles. Bane of my childhood. And that dockweed cure never worked for me, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/16 "2013-05-08T07:55:44Z")
The Cubs outfielders would be scratching themselves raw if it were. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/17 "2013-05-08T10:11:53Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Princeton has real ivy (Hedera), the others planted Boston Ivy, also called grape ivy, which isn’t actually an ivy: > [The American Ivy Society, Inc.](http://www.ivy.org/about_bv12.htm) As mentioned above, Boston ivy belongs to the genus _Parthenocissus_, which means it is closely related to the Virginia creeper, _P. quinquefolia_. I live in an end-of-terrace house, and my neighbour has a Virginia creeper on her side of the fence. Left unchecked for just one year, that plant covered the entire back of my house (and halfway round the far side), sent long tendrils under the roof and most of the way across my loft, and covered the whole 40ft length of the dividing fence and halfway along the back fence. :eek: It’s very pretty in autumn when the leaves turn bright red, but it is ridiculously vigorous. I believe [this is the same plant](http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=23&with_photo_id=42586144&order=date_desc&user=5071352), having eaten one of my favourite pubs. (Actually, this pub is only about 70 miles from my house, so it may well be the same specimen 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/18 "2013-05-08T17:31:17Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > They’ve got stinging nettles. Every fucking where. Never had poison ivy but I’ve had tons of welts from nettles. Bane of my childhood. And that dockweed cure never worked for me, dammit. Oh, we’ve got those too in North America. There was always a lot of it growing in the small wooded area behind my house growing up. And what do little boys love to do in the summertime? Play in the wooded areas behind their houses. Fuck you, nettles! t:mad: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/19 "2013-05-08T17:45:13Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > As mentioned above, Boston ivy belongs to the genus _Parthenocissus_, which means it is closely related to the Virginia creeper, _P. quinquefolia_. Does this mean we need to start referring to Harvard and Yale as creeper league schools? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686/20 "2013-05-08T17:50:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My dad could handle poison oak without the rash. He cleared some off one of my trees for me. He was allergic to poison ivy. > > I’ve gotten into both backpacking and suffered the consequences. My dad’s immune too. He can eat the stuff without problems. Not that you’d want to, other than on a bet, but there you go. Resistance to poison oak and ivy is common among (though not unique to or universal among) American Indians. I recall a friend doing fieldwork around a stream on a reservation telling how the Indians barged straight through the stuff and laughed at the lily-white college kids picking their way around it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-all-ivy-the-poisonous-kind-that-breaks-you-out-in-an-itchy-rash/657686.md?page=2)