Remember “Leaflets three, let it be?” Most people are sensitive to Poison Ivy, so this is good advice; but there are quite a few plants in Michigan that have three leaflets. In our area we have a lot of Poison Ivy AND a lot of Box Elder trees, and both have three leaflets.
Of course, Poison Ivy is a vine and Box Elder is a tree, but it’s not quite that simple. The young plants look much alike.
The number one most helpful ID feature for telling these two apart is the arrangement of leaves. Box Elder belongs to the Maple family, so branches and leaves are oppositely arranged. Poison Ivy has an alternate arrangement. In the photo, the Cottonwood leaves on the right are arranged in an alternating pattern on the branch (like Poison Ivy), and the Maple leaves on the left are arranged opposite each other (like Box Elder).
So, here’s a quick summary of what to look for…
POISON IVY
Vine; young plants stand on their own
Three leaflets, ALTERNATE on the stem
The vine puts out rusty red rootlets to hold on to a support.
BOX ELDER
Tree; young plants stand on their own
Three leaflets, OPPOSITE on the branch
Twigs are green to green-purple, often with a whitish “bloom”
For more, please check out this terrific blog:
http://www.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2015/10/20/poison-ivy-lookalikes/
Ford Lake Nature Notes 