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Poison Oak

Toxicodendron diversilobum

Photo by HemaShah
Published on Project Noah
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36.7783, -119.418

Field Notes

Description:

Poison oak?

Habitat:

foothills of mt diablo

Reference Links:

blackoaknaturalist: December 2009

Species ID Suggestions

Poison oak
shannonmcgi
1

Comments (25)
HemaShah
Keithp2012,I this is poison oak .,Poison oak is a widespread deciduous shrub throughout mountains and valleys of California, generally below 5,000 feet elevation. In shady canyons and riparian habitats it commonly grows as a climbing vine with aerial (adventitious) roots that adhere to the trunks of oaks and sycamores. Poison oak also forms dense thickets in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, particularly in central and northern California. It was growing as a climbing vine on a tree.
HemaShah
Semi shaded area of an urban front yard lawn.Leaves do have a long petiole and seems like the stalk is a little hairy.
Hans.New
I´ve seen the date, emma. It´s just for the colour games, the leaf "plays", they remember me to fall leaf (But I think, dying leaves often react that way, for fall leaf is quite the same process)
HemaShah
Hans ,this was spotted in Jan.Late fall maybe.
HemaShah
Keith,this is a cut and crop pic.Assuming that the leaves are pretty much the same size as the ones in your spotting? Does the petiole ,hairs etc give any clues?
Hans.New
The colours are great. Looks like autumn at the start of the new year.
keithp2012
Mock strawberry leaves are smaller than poison ivy or oak
HemaShah
@ Donn, i will still have to do more research on this. Birds can bring these invasive plants into the neighborhood. Thnx,i will look into your suggestion. just need to read a little more
DonnEdwards
Not poison ivy/oak. Looks more like wild strawberry to me. http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkIYPUxZPIEUA5D.JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dstrawberry%2Bleaf%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D16&w=500&h=500&imgurl=farm3.staticflickr.com%2F2596%2F4041341291_0c0f94a54e.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F84265607%40N00%2F4041341291%2F&size=191.2+KB&name=Strawberry+fields+forever%21&p=strawberry+leaf&oid=2c6676f11bc655dfd9f48551878e8b20&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=Strawberry%2Bfields%2Bforever%2521&b=0&ni=84&no=16&tab=organic&ts=&sigr=11lgf4ldu&sigb=13922f49f&sigi=11l6s9dis&.crumb=kNyr9QH6HAq
KarenL
He wears long sleeves & long pants but somehow still seems to get the rash somewhere & then he spreads it everywhere when he showers!
HemaShah
Sorry to hear that.Maybe wearing full sleeved shirt might help.
KarenL
We have whole cabinet full of special washes, creams & lotions & yes he does also take antihistamines & vitamin C but he still suffers horribly for a couple of weeks at a time! He got it twice last year!
HemaShah
So does he take antihistamines for the rashes ?
KarenL
Great link! I've been lucky so far but my husband has had some terrible poison ivy rashes.
HemaShah
http://youtu.be/2_h7GyAwvwc For geographical distribution look at this tape.
KarenL
I'm wondering if we have this here too. We have several slightly different looking types of what I assumed to be poison ivy - my husband has has run in's with them all!
HemaShah
Botanist John Howell observed Toxicodendron diversilobum's toxicity obscures its merits. "In spring, the ivory flowers bloom on the sunny hill or in sheltered glade, in summer its fine green leaves contrast refreshingly with dried and tawny grassland, in autumn its colors flame more brilliantly than in any other native, but one great fault, its poisonous juice, nullifies its every other virtue and renders this beautiful shrub the most disparaged of all within our region
HemaShah
Poison oak has leaves that look like oak leaves, usually with three leaflets but sometimes up to seven leaflets per leaf group. It grows as a vine or a shrub. Poison oak is more common in the western United States, but it is also found in the eastern United States and, rarely, in the Midwest. Looks like a Sumac species.
KarenL
It usually grows in shade or part shade. The birds love the berries so it does tend to spread! I'm not absolutely sure that's what this is but the colors & form look a lot like the poison ivy we have here. If it's part of the landscaping it probably isn't - I don't think anyone would knowingly plant poison ivy!
HemaShah
Thanks Karen,will look into it.Is poison ivy invasive? This leaf was a part of our neighbourhood landscaping.
KarenL
Looks a bit like poison ivy!
HemaShah
Thanks Katie for this kind comment !! Welcome to Project Noah!
Katie9
I don't have any ideas but would like to say you have awesome picture taking skills and this leaf is beautiful
HemaShah
Any ideas on which tree this leaf fell from?

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Fall Into Phenology
Mission
Leaves and Leaf arrangements Of Mt Diablo and surroundings
Photographed
PublishedJanuary 3, 2012

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