Poison Ivy

 

The Poison Ivy is in the center next to some Virginia Creeper, a plant that is frequently mistaken for Poison Ivy.

In this picture the Poison Ivy is next to the pine straw in the middle on the left. With it is Trumpet Vine, Raspberries (another plant mistaken for Posion Ivy), and Green Briar.

 

 

Common Name: Eastern Poison Ivy

 

Other Common Names: Poison Oak (Incorrect)

 

Botanical Family: Anacardiaceae (The Cashew/Pistachio Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Toxicodenron radicans

 

Description & Habitat: In North Carolina Poison ivy is the one member of the ‘itchy trio’ that is most likely to be found in an urban environment. Its seeds are dispersed by birds and in general it can be found in fields, pastures, yards, the woods, and in gardens. Sometimes this noxious plant is even found growing out of cracks in the cement and up the sides of buildings, telephone poles and infesting more desirable shrubs in the landscape. In general this plant has leaflets in pairs of three new growths may be glossy and may have a reddish color. One way to verify this plant’s presence is to take a close look at the two side leaflets. The side leaflets often have an outward pointed lobe that makes the side-leaflet look kind of like a mitten with ones thumb pressed against the hand. Poison Ivy is a vine in the truest sense of the word and uses numerous hairy looking roots to cling to and climb up hard surfaces leading to the old boy scout saying ‘hairy rope don’t be a dope’.  In general Poison Ivy can spread sexually via it’s berries or asexually through its vines rooting in new places, it flowers from May through July and the greyish-white berries are ripe and present between August and November. Occasionally you will find this plant has killed the shrub it was growing in and essentially has become the shrub. Poison Ivy if free-standing can be up to four feet tall. It should also be mentioned that the active dangerous compound on all parts of Poison ivy called Urushiol can be active for up to five years on surfaces and burning this plant can create airborne oil droplets that pose an inhalation danger.

 

A botanical Latin synonym for this plant is Rhus radicans.

 

When & What to Harvest: Nothing, there is nothing that is safe to harvest unless you’re a fan of suffering.

 

Non-Dangerous Lookalikes: Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), Boston Ivy (P. tricuspidata), Boxelder (Acer negundo), Raspberries (Rubus sp.), Mock Strawberries (Duchenea indica), Barren Strawberries (Waldsteinia fragarioides), Hog Peanuts (Amphicarpaea bracteata), English Ivy (Hedera helix), Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana), Kudzu (Pueraria lobata), Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia), Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica), Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata) and, Strawberries (Fragraria sp.).

 

Related Dangerous Species:  Asian Poison Ivy (T. orientale), Western Poison Ivy (T. rydbergii), Poison Oak (T. pubescens), Poison Sumac (T. vernix).

 

Recipe:  What?! If you’re considering eating this you are crazy.

 

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/toxicodendron-radicans/common-name/eastern-poison-ivy/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/toxicodendron-pubescens/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/toxicodendron-vernix/

 

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Fresh Foods:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Garlic Bulbs

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture Sample size

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture

 

 

Garden Plants, Fall Foods:

Arugula, Astro

Cabbage, Pac Choi ‘Rosie’

Collards, Green Glaze

Kale, Prizm

Kale, Redbor

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

 

Coming Soon:

Houseplants for the holidays

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (3): Aromatic Ginger, A Weird Cat, Parts 1 & 2.

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is November 2^nd at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Poison Oak (Wild Harvest Tour Special)

 Wild Harvest Tour Special Edition

 

Just to let you all know, the next few blog posts will be covering things that were exclusively seen on the Wild Harvest Tour, these are plants found in the woods of North Carolina. Some of these plants are good, some are bad but they are things you need to know about. I hope you enjoy the focused content folks.

 

https://www.facebook.com/people/Sandhills-Wild-Harvest/61557940700225/?sk=photos

 

This is Poison Oak, not to be confused with Poison Ivy. Note the free-standing upright form this plant takes.

This picture was taken at the end of April, notice the flower clusters, berries will soon follow.

Poison Ivy spreads by rhizomes that move near the soil's surface but below the leaf litter, this isn't one singular plant but a colony of them.

 

 

 

Common Name: Poison Oak

 

Other Common Names: Atlantic Poison Oak, Eastern Poison Oak

 

Botanical Family: Anacardiaceae (The Sumac Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Toxicodendron pubescens

 

Description & Habitat:  Poison oak is a native species that is deciduous and has an upright form that means it is considered a low-growing shrub. This is in direct comparison to its cousin Poison Ivy (T. radicans) which is a vining plant. This plant can grow upwards of 10 feet tall but it usually averages at about 2-4 feet. The specimens photographed for this entry were all about two feet tall. This plant is common in the coastal plains of North Carolina but can be found in wooded areas in the eastern states of the United States. Typically this plant is not found in urban areas, it is instead found in dry sandy areas in forests, natural undisturbed areas or in thickets. Although it does have a role in the wilderness of our state’s forests it is not something you want in your garden. Poison Oak spreads via rhizomes and can form large colonies as we found out on the tour. The specimens photographed were ten or more feet apart and were probably part of a large colony that spread out across a hundred feet or so. You can identify Poison Oak by its upright habit and the slightly fuzzy green, alternate leaf arrangement. Unlike with Poison Ivy Poison Oak leafs tend to be around the ends of their stems leaving bare stalks closer to the ground. In spring the flowers are a yellowish green (seen in pictures) and they are followed by tannish-white fruit which are called drupes.

 

Remember one critical thing when identifying this plant or its similar-looking cousin having three leaflets is not always accurate as many other plants that are not poisonous have three leaflets. Some examples of plants that have three leaflets or similarly shaped leaves are Virginia Creeper (most often mistaken for poison ivy), Strawberries, Barren Strawberries, Ash, Boxelder, Aromatic Sumac and even Boston Ivy. So relying on the number of leaves and their shape is not the best decision. The old rhyme from the boy scouts says: “Leaves of three let it be” and that’s where folks tend to stop. However the full rhyme has two more lines, “Berries white, flee the site, hairy rope don’t be a dope” and so ideally you want to look for two or three identification features to verify that the plant you are dealing with is dangerous. In the case of Poison oak you will find the three leaflets and the berries are close to the noted color but no ‘hairy rope’. Two is good enough to keep you safe but three is ideal, but use your best discretion in the woods.

 

All parts of Poison Oak contain a biologically active compound called Urushiol which is the same hazardous compound found in Poison Ivy (T. radicans) and Poison Sumac (T. vernix). This lovely compound is poisonous and will cause severe skin redness, itching, blistering, and swelling. Symptoms can come from direct contact, or cross contamination from clothing or tools that have been in contact with the plant. Even when in a state of dormancy there is a risk of contact causing health problems. Additionally contact with the smoke from burning this plant or its two aforementioned cousins may cause severe skin and or respiratory conditions and may require a trip to the emergency room. If you even think you have come into contact with this plant I urge that you thoroughly watch your hands clothing and tools with soap and water. At a minimum I suggest using Dawn dish detergent, but at best there are products like Tecnu which can be used as a laundry detergent and a body wash to get the Urushiol oils off your skin and out of your clothes safely.

 

As a final note on what the Latin name of this plant means, Toxicodendron is a combination of ‘toxicos’ meaning poison, and ‘dendron’ meaning tree. The specific epithet ‘pubescens’ means covered with fine hairs. The name alone tells you to look but do not touch, also you should keep your pets away as they can bring it in on their fur.

 

 

When & What to Harvest:

Just to be clear, there is nothing to harvest in the case of this plant. It is dangerous and should be noticed, avoided and left alone.

 

Poisonous Lookalikes:  Poison Ivy (T. radicans) is often called Poison Oak, but their growth habits and leaf morphology are very different. They are not the same plant and Poison Ivy is the one that typically is found in urban settings.

 

Related Edible Species: None.

 

Recipe: None, you really don’t want this in or on your body.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

 

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/toxicodendron-pubescens/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_pubescens

 

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Summer Vegetable Plants (NEW!)

Tomato – Sungold

Tomato – Midnight Snack

Tomato – Sweet 100

Tomato – Chocolate Cherry

Tomato – Lemon Boy

Tomato – Black Krim

Tomato – Paul Robeson

Tomato – Cherokee Purple

Tomato – Brandywine, Suddeth’s Strain

 

Pepper – Ancho/Poblano

Pepper – Ghost

Pepper – Carolina Reaper

 

 

Herbs (New!)

Bee Balm

Garlic

Hairy Balls Milkweed

Lemon Balm

Oregano

Sweet Genovese Basil

 

Garden Plants

Daylilies

Walking Iris

 

Coming Soon:

Dahlias

American Aloe

Yucca

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Sweet White Violet

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is May 4^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

The Hurricane that Couldn't

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market.

This was taken on Wednesday the 12th as the weather really started to change.

            To say that September has been in interesting month is an understatement, At the beginning of this month I had a topic in mind for the first article, wrote it up and ended up disliking its tone and so it was scrapped. As I worked on its replacement, the deadline passed and then Hurricane Florence decided to pay us a visit. It was not until last Tuesday that life in Fayetteville got somewhat close to normal and finally here we are with the two September articles combined into one. As some of you avid gardeners out there may already know September (weather permitting) is the time of the year in which you shift from warm season crops to cold season crops. While I can’t speak for any other gardeners out there the hurricane’s heavy winds battered all of my tomatoes into submission so of course as soon as the post hurricane cleanup occurred they got pulled out. If you want to try for a late crop of peas now is the time. Sowing carrots, parsnips, and radishes are also viable options at this juncture. But of course, if you don’t believe it’s fall, then the below picture should be your sign.

 

I somehow think these large spiders would be more horrifying if they glowed.

            The above is a particularly massive specimen of a Hentz Weaver ( Neoscona crucifera ) and it’s female due to the extreme sexual dimorphism in the species. Males are tiny comparatively because this allows them to approach a female without being eaten most likely. The females of this species are mainly nocturnal but you encounter them in the fall when they become at least partly diurnal. They will build webs that are easily a foot or more across with attachment lines that can run for many feet to fixed objects such as structures, trees, shrubs and patches of lawn. They seem to set up their webs daily starting in the evening, then tear them down some time in the dawn. Typically, if there is a population of these spiders in an area they will set up webs within the same 30-foot area. In my case this one and another two like it set up somewhere under the dogwoods and the driveway every night starting about mid-September. The Hertz Weaver may bite if agitated but is not known to have a bite that can harm you other than localized swelling. Getting a good night time image of this specific spider was part of the delay in getting this article posted. Weather and many errors in trying to get a decent photo stalled the original post. At this time of the year if you intend to walk in areas where trees and shrubs are within close proximity, carry an LED flashlight and shine it in your walking path, spider’s webs light up even at range so you don’t walk face first into one.

If I get only one that's still better than none.

            In keeping with what I originally intended to post in both of this month’s episodes there are some garden photos that needed to be shared. First is a casualty of the Hurricane; For the first time since I planted it, my Persimmon tree ( Diospyros kaki ‘Fuyu’) was loaded with fruit. Understandably I was excited by this because I thought after six years of messing with the darn thing, finally something to show for it. Well, Hurricane Florence showed up with her 50+ mph winds and said “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” and knocked all the fruit off the tree except this one in the photo above. That might be karma, because I did joke as the hurricane approached shore that ‘Aunt Flo is coming to town’ and well maybe the hurricane heard me. There are two things you should know about Persimmons; first never eat them on a completely empty stomach. Second, Persimmons contain a soluble tannin shibuol which when it contacts stomach acids can polymerize into a sticky goo, called a phytobexoar. This mass can cause indigestion and is slow to pass into the intestine. Moderate consumption of persimmons however if you eat to many Persimmons. Surgery may be required in extreme cases, though it is said that you can drink Coca-Cola to dissolve this mass and skip the doctor’s bill. It’s noted that horses can gain a taste for the fruit and eat to many and get sick for the same reasons a human eating to many would.

 

Apparently you plant Pomegranates and leave them alone to get fruit...who knew?!

But the persimmons were not the only thing worth noticing, you see the Pomegranates were also flowering hard too and never before have I gotten on camera a really good picture of what pomegranate flowers look like so for your viewing enjoyment here is one. Seriously, they do not look like any other plant I’ve ever seen! The petals remind me of crape myrtle and the unopened buds also look like that, but the waxy calyx in an open flower stops resembling any other fruit, and that is what eventually forms the pomegranate. The scientific name of the type of Pomegrante we see in stores and grow in our region is Punica granatum and in the case of the species I have on hand I also have Punica granatum var. nana which is a dwarf Pomegranate which is typically kept as an ornamental but also produces fruit. Culturally, in several sources it is stated that until the introduction of Tomatoes, Pomegranates were the most sought-after fruit and given that they have a long shelf life and can ferment in their rinds making a low yield sort of fruit wine it’s no surprise they were popular. Pomegranates are noted to have been one of the first cultivated fruits with Figs being the oldest known fruit to be cultivated.

Shiso so....nah I wont finish that joke!

Next up are some random shots; at the end of the season it just sort of figures that the Purple Shiso (Perilla frutescens var. crispa) out did the varied types of basil. I mean look at it go where the basil scored and sputtered it’s still growing and doesn’t seem to care if it’s flowering or not. I expect to have Perilla all over the place next year.

Ginger is super-easy to grow in our climate.

This is a first, it seems this first year Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is going to bloom. I have no idea what it’s flowers will look like or smell like but I do know that photos of that will be up here for you folks to enjoy as soon as this plant starts blooming. I expect a good harvest because if you look carefully, the pot that the ginger is in is distorted from its round shape to almost an oval, there are a LOT of roots in there for sure.

The blue berries of Virginia Creeper may look like tiny grapes, but they are highly toxic.

As a final picture for this post, above is a picture of Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) with berries. This climbing vine is considered a weed of moderate persistence because it is moderately difficult to eradicate. If you only read the classifications of the herbicide companies it’s the base of all garden existence with only Greenbriar (smilax rotundifolia) being consider more difficult to kill. However, Virginia creeper does have its advantages in that it can climb structures with adhesive disks that don’t damage the structures it is climbing on unlike true ivy (Hedera helix). This feature is advantageous because it can rapidly cover masonry allowing a cooling effect because it’s leaves will shade the building in summer. Often though, Virginia creeper is mistaken for Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) because Virginia Creeper can have anywhere from three to six leaflets per petiole and those leaves can outwardly resemble that of Posion Ivy.  The key identifying feature is that Poison ivy has leaflets that are shaped like your hand if the thumb is not extended, also it has white berries and its roots look hairy like true Ivy, because they are hairy looking and may dissolve masonry and stone.

For note this is where the advertising starts because it keeps the Test Garden’s supplied and running tests so you don’t have to. If you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Barring bad weather, I’ll be there selling the following summer offerings.

Plants Available Now:

Lemon Grass – $8.00

Sage, Common - $3.00

Santolina - $3.00

Ghost Pepper - $3.00

Tabasco Pepper - $3.00

Coneflower, Cayenne Red - $4.00

Coneflower, Pow Wow Mix - $4.00

Milkweed – $3.00

Milkweed, Whorled - $3.00

Flowering Maple - $4.00

Hops, 5” pot - $8.00

Dancing Bones Cactus - $3.00

Coming Soon:

[TBA]

These days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

            This brings to a close the Sixteenth and Seventeenth LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 10th of October which is the Wednesday after next. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.