# Is this plant in my yard poison oak, poison ivy or anything else nasty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 8, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586 "2016-04-08T19:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/1 "2016-04-08T19:12:32Z")
It has 3 leaves and looks sorta like some images I found. It’s not in an area with trees. Just a large patch growing on the side of the house . [![](https://i.imgur.com/rzPquWj.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/rzPquWj.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/xGHE0Uu.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/xGHE0Uu.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/2 "2016-04-08T19:42:13Z")
It’s not like any poison ivy or oak I’ve ever seen. Poison ivy is more of a vine than that and the stems are woodier. The leaves of neither one have sharp serrated points like that though they can have soft serrations. Poison ivy can be found all over the US. I think poison oak is confined to the coasts. I don’t think it’s poison sumac either. I’ve never seen that one, but it doesn’t look at all like pictures. It looks like a common weed I’ve seen a lot, but I have no idea what it’s name is. here are some pictures of the three [http://www.teclabsinc.com/tips-info/images-video/images/poison-plant-identification/](http://www.teclabsinc.com/tips-info/images-video/images/poison-plant-identification/) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/3 "2016-04-08T19:49:50Z")
Agreed about the sharp serrations. And those aren’t like poison ivy triple leaves, there appears to be one leaf at the top of the stalk and pairs growing below it. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/4 "2016-04-08T19:51:38Z")
Those look like nettles to me. Use caution around them; I stepped in a nettle patch once and my ankles hurt like a mofo the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/5 "2016-04-08T19:52:29Z")
I know nothing of poison oak, but poison ivy is popular here. The classic identifier is 3 leaves coming from the same stem (i.e. not two leaves coming off the stem a quarter inch below the center leaf) Another common feature is an odd asymmetric shape to the outboard leaves, matched to each other like mittens. When poison ivy gets mature, the vine is typically very hairy, though by the time you have gotten close enough to figure that out you probably got it on you. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/6 "2016-04-08T19:52:36Z")
Leaves of three…but most definitely NOT poison ivy (or oak) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/7 "2016-04-08T20:55:56Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Leaves of three…but most definitely NOT poison ivy (or oak) It’s not even leaves of three. As others said, the OP’s plant has several pairs of leaves off a common vein. Poison sumac has leaves with the same geometry, but the shape is wrong and the veins on sumac are red. It might still be something nasty, but it isn’t poison ivy/oak/sumac. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/8 "2016-04-08T21:06:34Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Those look like nettles to me. Use caution around them; I stepped in a nettle patch once and my ankles hurt like a mofo the rest of the day. I don’t THINK it’s nettle; nettle has single leaves growing out of the stalk, not groups like these. Of course, I am not a botanist, and you should definitely not grab them and yank to find out if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/9 "2016-04-08T21:17:46Z")
I just noticed that you said your pictures **“look sorta like”** the plant in your yard. Depending on how close your plant _actually_ is to those pictures, I might revise my answer. The plant in the pictures is not poison ivy/oak/sumac, but I’m not sure about yours. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/10 "2016-04-08T21:27:04Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I just noticed that you said your pictures **“look sorta like”** the plant in your yard. Depending on how close your plant _actually_ is to those pictures, I might revise my answer. The plant in the pictures is not poison ivy/oak/sumac, but I’m not sure about yours. Oh. Let me redouble my exhortation not to grab and yank, then. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/11 "2016-04-08T21:35:09Z")
Certainly not poison ivy/oak. Google reverse image search didn’t have any definite hits. I know i shouldn’t guess, but I think they’re blackberry bushes. In what part of the world are these plants growing? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/12 "2016-04-08T21:36:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I just noticed that you said your pictures **“look sorta like”** the plant in your yard. Depending on how close your plant _actually_ is to those pictures, I might revise my answer. The plant in the pictures is not poison ivy/oak/sumac, but I’m not sure about yours. I believe he means the plant in his yard “looks sorta like” some images of poison ivy/oak/sumac he saw. I agree it’s none of those, and not nettles either. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/13 "2016-04-08T22:19:22Z")
I thougt nettles too. If you do an image search for “stinging nettles” you can see that there are a number of varieties. Some look pretty similar to the OP’s pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/14 "2016-04-08T22:32:30Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I thougt nettles too. If you do an image search for “stinging nettles” you can see that there are a number of varieties. Some look pretty similar to the OP’s pictures. The leaf shape may be similar, but as already pointed out the leaves are compound, with at least five leaflets. Nettles have simple opposite leaves. The plant is definitely not nettles. The resemblance is entirely superficial. ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/15 "2016-04-08T22:43:04Z")
Looks like salmonberry to me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/16 "2016-04-08T23:01:53Z")
> [@Dickerman](#): > > Looks like salmonberry to me. Salmonberry has only three leaflets. This has five at least. It may be some other kind of _Rubus_, however. A locality would be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/17 "2016-04-08T23:08:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I believe he means the plant in his yard “looks sorta like” some images of poison ivy/oak/sumac he saw. Ah, on a third reading, I think you’re right. > [@Dickerman](#): > > Looks like salmonberry to me. Assuming the yard is in the OP’s location in his profile (Atlanta), I don’t think it’s salmonberry. But I agree with you and **shunpiker** , it does look like something in the blackberry family / _Rubus_ genus. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/18 "2016-04-08T23:10:46Z")
Some sort of Lamia? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/19 "2016-04-09T02:00:08Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > Some sort of Lamia? I’m not sure what you’re referring to. If you’re referring to the dead-nettle, that’s _Lamium_. If you’re referring to the Lamiaceae in general, mints generally have simple leaves. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586/20 "2016-04-09T02:15:25Z")
Young poison ivy is reddish in color, if that helps. It’s really quite pretty. You could always crush a leaf and rub it on your leg and see what happens. Buy some calamine lotion first. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-plant-in-my-yard-poison-oak-poison-ivy-or-anything-else-nasty/751586.md?page=2)