Poison oak ID

[mdvaden]

As I read a few of these threads today, it reminded me of my hike yesterday with my son. I was teaching him how to ID poison oak in the winter time when the leaves are gone.

The closest stem / twig to poison oak's - here - may be Ribes sanguinium, the flowering currant; also deciduous.

Anyhow, for the first time, last November, I realized that poison oak stems on the ground, had a very tight, narrow and verticle habit. Most of the tiny twigs were very upright, and usually short. Not spreading, like twigs on tiny vine maple or snowberry.

Yesterday's hike went through many groups of poison oak on a New London Trail near Applegate Lake. We were basically on the California / Oregon border. My son was kidding as he walked back and forth in front of the sign on the trail marking the border.

I made a poison oak webpage last fall, and will probably add a photo of poison oak without leaves once I get a sunny hiking day.

It was amazing to learn that poison oak accounts for so many forest fire fighting problems, as well as something like 1% of the workers compensation claims in California. 1% is not a big number, but in California, 1% of workers comp claims must still be a lot.

Has anybody noticed whether the buds on poison oak remain about the same size or color throughout the entire winter?

[SwampDonkey]

I've no experience with poison oak. We do have some occurance of poisen ivy, but it's not real common. Usually on fence lines and farm edges or river valleys here.

I would think the buds would not chance during the dormant season on your poison oak. There may be some swelling (budding) in early spring. I'm not sure of their flowering habit or design as I've not looked it up. But, some flowering plants, as with trees, have different looking buds for flowers. Usually, the obvious difference is in size and more rounded shape, versus a regular vegetative bud. It's just something you have to observe during the different seasons without getting 'infected'.

I remember looking for Fiddleheads along the Skeena River, not far from Terrace, BC and I walked down on a flood plain where I found some, but on the way over from the roadside ditch I got into stinging nettles. My finger tips where numb for 2 or 3 days. My forearms and back of the hands stung almost as bad as a burn. The antidote here is jewel weed (spotted touch-me-not), which is usually growing beside it. Take and squeeze the juice on the infection.

[mdvaden]

I remember stinging nettles.

My dad had property in North Plains, Oregon, where those grew near the river. That's where I first got a light dose of them.

Somehow I've managed to remain unscathed since then.

Near Portland and in the Oregon north coast range, there was some poison oak, but not a lot. Here in southern Oregon, it's much more abundant, and I'm hiking more in the winter now that previously when we were up north. That's why I'm figuring out how to ID the plant in winter.

It's naughty chemical is the same as poison ivy's.

There's a few huge ones around this area. I think I already posted a photo link here to an album, but I found one in the coastal redwood forest about 2 hours west, that had a 4" to 5" trunk with it's foliage up about 150' in a Redwood.

That poison oak trunk vined sideways, and I could easily have grabbed it just out of curiosity.

No way I would have known to ID it from what was at head level. The fall color up in the redwood was what gave it away. If I learn that no other vines get that big here, that may be a giveaway too.

[SPIKER]

We do get some poison oak here abouts, but not all that much, PI and Sumac are far more aggressive in our area.   I can wallow in PI and not get but a small bump.  however once when I was a kid I got into what I think was SUMAC but I was only like 10 or so.   what ever it was left me scratching for a few days.   P.oak also has once gotten me, I wasn't aware what it was until later (next day) as I got in it at night. scrounging for firewood when camping.   which was only other time I ever got any real reaction from this type of plants...  (I got it pretty bad camping at 16 or so age.   I know to LOOK for all types now, but this was late fall and it was a BUSH that I pulled dead twigs off which looked dry enough to get fire going.   it may have been the smoke which really made it bad???   It also had small thorns on the dry leave edges which seems to poke ya but that needle on them leaves isn't all too common that I know of...

as far as nettles go, ya those suckers are rampant here in Ohio.!  I got into them a LOT as a kid and still do but being old with thick skin they only bug me enough to make me scratch and warm up kind of like a good arthritis cream ;)   (in fact one way I got in them bad as a kid was getting them for my mom who used them on her knees to help deaden joint pain.!?  :   This year we (woman and I ) were picking black berries and SHE stepped up beside me on one of the patches of nettles, I pointed em out and told her what they were (she of corse HUMFFED at me) and said she knew her way around and that they weren't nettles!  lol ;D  well she backed in pushing them out of the way with her back, with in a min or two she started screaming saying a spider was biting her on  the back, (me snickering at this time after repeating myself 3 or 4 time for her to be careful)  told her those were nettle spiders and would keep biting for a good 15 more min at least!   I think she ended up rolling around in the creek trying to get cooled off hahaha : 8)   Now she makes a point to stay away from things I point at!   (just wish I didn't put my hands on my hips so much ;) ) :D   enough joking aside, I may have to try my old mom's remedy for arthritis and snag some of those nettles this year for my joints when they start aching!?!?


Mark M