THE YOUNG 
leaves such cruel and villainous qualities, 
nevertheless thousands of grown-up peo- 
ple and children have suffered intense 
pain and disfigurement by a very slight 
contact with it and even by standing 
ill its presence. { 
This wretched vine prospers wherever 
it can obtain a foot of ground, let it be 
sandy, stony, moist or parched; con- 
tented and prosperous, it reaches forth 
Fig. 1.— POISON IVY, SHOWING BERRIES OR FRUIT, 
AND ^RIAL ROOTLETS. 
its poisonous arms. Its scientific name 
is Bhiis toxicodendron. " Climbing by 
rootlets over rocks, etc., or ascending 
trees, leaves with three leaflets, which 
are rhombic-ovate, mostly pointed, and 
rather downy beneath, variously notched 
or [cut, lobed or entire " (Gray). And 
by habit it is essentially a climber, 
though when growing without sup- 
port it becomes erect, robust and 
bushlike. Under these conditions it 
SCIENTIST. 135 
is commonly known as the poison 
oak, and was long considered by botan- 
ists as being a separate variety of the 
Ehus genus. The stem of the vine is al- 
most smooth, except where the aerial 
rootlets or tendrils are attached to the 
under portion and sides of the stem. 
These tendrils are of a bright brown 
color when young, and of a dingy gray 
when old. The masses of fruit or seed 
vessels, when young, are of a light green 
color, but turn to an ashen gray when 
Fig 2. — LEAF OF POISON IVY (about half the 
actual size). 
fully ripened. The leaf is smooth, and 
inclined to be shiny, curving downward 
from the midrib. 
One would consider the poison ivy suf- 
ficient for all evil, but he has a relation, a 
very close relation, compared with which 
he is nowhere, and who is commonly 
known as the poison sumac, poison dog- 
wood, poison swamp sumac, and poison 
elder, and by botanists as the Bliiis 
venenata. "The branches are smooth, 
or nearly so, leaves odd-pinnate, leaflets 
7-13, abovate-oblong, somewhat pointed 
at both ends, entire " (Gray). This fiend of 
our beautiful wild flora is ten times more 
severe in its poisonous qualities than the 
ivy. It flourishes and delights to dwell in 
meadows and on the margins of woodland 
streams. Unlike the poison ivy, which 
climbs and clings to everything, the 
poison sumac grows erect, often attaining 
