Monday, April 27, 2015

Word of the Day -- Poison Ivy


Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as poison ivy (older synonyms are Rhus toxicodendron and Rhus radicans), is a poisonous North American and Asian flowering plant that is well known for causing an itching, irritating, and sometimes painful rash in most people who touch it, caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the sap of the plant. Urushiol, however, is not a defensive measure; it helps the plant to retain water. It is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name it is not a true ivy (Hedera). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals, and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed.

I can attest to the evil that is poison ivy.  But this poison ivy is even worse...


No comments:

Plywood Memories from Gencon to Vegas

  Out trip to Gencon took us up through the Arkansas Delta country, and into the boot of Missouri, across the Big Muddy and on into the spra...