Avoiding Poison Oak, Ivy and Sumac
Summer is a great time for camping, hiking or just being outside, but it’s also a good time for poison oak, ivy and sumac. There is a great possibility that you’ll run into one of these during camping or hiking trips.
The easiest way to avoid these plants is to know what they look like and watch out for them. Poison oak grows as a vine or shrub and usually has three leaves, but can contain up to seven leaves per group. Poison sumac will be a shrub or small tree and has seven to thirteen leaves per leaf stem. Poison ivy grows as a shrub and will most likely have three broad, pointed leaves but it can have more.
