This is a very kind picture of a very nasty plant.  I'll post a more fitting rendition, when I get one.  But for now, this works for plant ID.  Poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans.  I've also seen Rhus radicans as its botanical name.

 

Whatever name you call it, don't touch it!!!  Notice the three leaflets, and the vining growth habit.  In Girl Scouts we learned that you can shake hands with 5 leaflets, but not with three.  A similar looking vine is Virginia creeper.  It has 5 leaflets, and is harmless.   At a distance, they look similar, but up close you can see the differences.  

 

Both Va creeper and poison ivy are climbers, reaching 10-15 feet up into the trees.  They are both changing colors right now.  Va creeper is going red; poison ivy turning a sickly yellow-brown.  But later in the season poison ivy will turn a brilliant scarlet.  So far, I'm not helping much, but wait!!  Poison ivy growing up a tree has very distinctive roots.  They look hairy.  Noticeably hairy!  Most other vines don't have the fiber-hairy stems.

 

Every part of poison ivy carries the oil, Urushiol.  And it is this oil that causes inflammation of the skin.  People vary in reaction to the heavy oil, but the skin must come in direct contact with the oil or the smoke from burning poison ivy.  I have way too many stories about poison ivy to even start to tell, but let's just say I've become an expert at identifying it.  I can spot it at 100 yards at 55 mph.   It often grows alongside Jewelweed, with orange flowers, but you can't always depend on that for identification.

 

That's why I'm writing about it now.  I want you to learn to identify it now while the leaves are present, because once the leaves drop off it's more difficult to identify, but no less hazardous.  Figure out where it is, and avoid those areas. Pulling weeds and running into poison ivy roots can cause the skin reaction.  Brushing against the roots on tree trunks can still cause the reaction.  Be aware when you are burning yard trash, the smoke can really be bad news, affecting eyes and lungs.  No, really!!!  Know the enemy.   For me, it's poison ivy.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!