do poison ivy, oak or sumac leaves turn red in autumn.?

Question

my child picked some leaves off a vine today that looked like poison ivy almost but the leaves were turning red and some of the leaves had 5 leaves per cluster.

i just saw pictures of virginia creepers in the autumn and spring, and this looks more like what she picked. i guess i may know for sure in the morning if her hands are broke out.

Answer 1

Your child fortunately has picked Virginia Creeper :-) It's very similar-looking to poison ivy (which DOES turn red), but has five leaflets per stem. It grows very thickly as compared to poison ivy, as a rule, and is often used as an ornamental for its bright red fall foliage.

Poison ivy has much wider leaves, and they are lobed, rather than being finely-toothed as Virginia creeper is; Virginia creeper has a comparatively slender leaf. They both have berries, so that isn't really a distinguishing feature unless you know what to look for.

I'm including links to shots of both plants from Wikipedia (they *do* have good photographs as a rule :-) ) so you can judge for yourself.

Answer 2

Yes, poison oak and ivy both turn red in autumn. I don't know about sumac; it does not grow where I live. Some poison ivy does have five leaves per cluster. The cute little saying, "leaves of three, let them be", may apply to certain variants of poison ivy, but where I live it almost always has five. I used to make my living outside in the woods; I learned very quickly what plants to avoid, so trust me on this.

Answer 3

5 leaves means you' re safe . Poison Ivy is a brilliant scarlet, and as it grows up trees its roots produce hairs that go from side to side, white fall berries. Man it is magnificent to look at.............but that is where it ends. Five leaves IS NOT poison IVY! that does not mean that your child is free and clear, some people are allergic to lots of plants not on the poison list, and many more are allergic to pesticides or herbicides that might have a residue on the plants. JUST MONITOR HER FOR A 48 HOUR PERIOD.

Answer 4

3 different times I mysteriously got poison ivy all over my legs! It was summer time so it was always hot and itchy and I had it behind and on top of my knees D: Not fun! Haha :o

Answer 5

the poisonious ivys do turn a reddish color when they get colder

the stems and trunks of the plants turn redder faster

and it is misleading that old saying

you know the one "leaves of three let them be "

it should say leave all the odd number sets alone