As a kid I was always annoyed that nobody could give me a concrete description of poison ivy. The leaves are shiny! There are three! Beyond that everything got really vague.

Imagine my surprise a few years ago when I googled and discovered that Poison Ivy isn't a plant, it is a whole family of plants with quite a bit if variation in the family.

One thing to watch out for is root runners on the sides of trees. Some varieties climb trees for more light and the only part you see is the fuzzy brown roots--which are just as irritating as the leaves if you touch them.