What is poison ivy, sumac, or oak?
“Poisoning” from plants such as poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak is an allergic reaction that happens when your skin touches these plants. Contact with the oil in these plants causes most people to have a rash, blisters, and itching. This contact usually happens in the spring and summer. Poison ivy and poison oak have three leaflets on each stem and grow as a vine or bush. Poison sumac has opposing rows of 7 to 13 leaflets on each stem, with one leaflet at the end of the stem. It grows as a shrub or tree usually in damp, cool, marshy places. The poisonous oil is in the sap of these plants and oozes from any cut or crushed part of the plant, including the roots, stems, and leaves.
