Do Not Touch These Beautiful Leaves!!

[best appreciated at full size against black]

How can something this pretty be a bad thing?! Just rub these leaves on your skin, wait a few hours, and you'll have your answer! These are brand new Poison Oak leaves, and as they mature, they will turn to a rich, bright green. As spring turns to summer, they will turn a deep green, and then, as fall approaches, they will turn many shades of fiery red and brown, finally falling to the ground to decay into rich fertilizer to feed next year's growth. Even though Poison Oak can be incredibly beautiful, it's horrible stuff! It grows like wildfire into thickets of itchy doom, climbs up trees like vines, and is very difficult to remove because of the creeping rootstocks it grows from which seem to stretch forever from the main plant. It also grows from seeds, and our hillside is simply COVERED with it! I've managed to remove a good amount in our lower forest but it's hard work and it comes back very fast. I HATE THIS STUFF!!! And yet...I do love its beauty. I just don't want it on our property!

Western Poison Oak only grows along the Pacific Coast of North America and can be found from Canada to Baja, California. It produces a toxin called "urushiol" which causes an itchy rash which makes itself known a few hours after contact. This rash will last for up to three weeks depending on how allergic you are and the severity of contact. Most people are allergic, but there are a few who are not affected by this toxin. Also, if there is continued contact with Poison Oak, most people will become sensitized to it.

Handy tip!! If you get a rash from poison oak (or any sort of itch, actually!), put the affected area under hot water--as hot as you can stand--for 10-15 seconds. This will burn out the histomines in the area that cause the itching sensation, and it takes hours for your body to rebuild the histomines again. Try this the next time you get a bug bite or rash. You'll be amazed how well it works. I only wish I'd learned this when I was a kid, not a year ago!

If you would like to know more about Poison Oak, Wiki has a great source of information here: Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)

This image was taken in April, 2012.