Don't Touch!
Reading about Elizabeth's Sumac, and her discussing poison ivy and poison sumac, made remember a shot I took of Poison Oak, at Oso Flaco Lake near Santa Maria, CA. Most of the year the leaves are green, but in fall they turn orange to red. I had never seen them as bright red as these were, and needless to say I didn't get too close. As kids we were always told that when the leaves are red they are extra "poisonous". These were just a few leaves from a plant that was climbing in the trees, as high as 6 or 8 feet high. I looked up the scientific name for this plant, Toxicodendron diversilobum, which grows in western north America, with poison ivy in the east. Contact with the leaves of this plant cause an itchy rash on the skin. I haven't experienced it for a long time, but remember "getting" poison oak after childhood hikes. We were taught early to look for the shape of the leaves, growing with three leaves on the stem.
12/4/19
Judith Sparhawk
