Hambone's Mercantile

A crash course guide to “leaves of three let it be”

I see this question accompanying a picture of a plant a lot this time of year. Is this poison ivy? Inevitably, the vast majority of the responses are “leaves of three, let it be”, but that’s not good enough for me. If I am curious enough to ask for more information, I get frustrated by generic “don’t be so curious” answers (can you tell I was a curious child?).

So, here’s a little info on the various leaves of three you may see in the woodlands of Texas. The following picture IS poison ivy (with bonus bird poo…did you know birds like the berries of poison ivy?). You will hear lots of information on how to identify it, but looking at it a WHOLE LOT is the best way to get comfortable recognizing it, and we have no lack of poison ivy in our woodlands.

Really, what we are looking at is groups of leaflets. This means that each of those three broad sections are part of the leaf as a whole rather than three individual leaves. How do you tell where the leaf starts? You look for a little bump at the base of the leaf stem. this is called the petiole. Some people call it the bud scar. Here’s an example on oak.

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That little bump at the base of each leaf tells us where that leaf begins. Oaks have a simple leaf with lobes (the “fingers” that stick off) and a smooth “margin” (leaf edge). This is pretty close to the classic leaf we imagine.

Here’s an example of a leaflet from Virginia creeper.

This leaf is actually all of the projections from the central point, consisting of five leaflets, and not five separate leaves. Look closely at these two images. there is no bump between these five leaflets, but you can see that bump at the crook of the leaf in the picture above.

This is part of the reason that it can be a struggle to identify poison ivy. Poison ivy, like Virginia creeper, consists of three leaflets. Additionally, we have to look at how the leaves are arranged on the branch. Oak leaves are arranged alternately, American Beautyberry has an opposite leaf arrangement. But what does that mean and why are we discussing oaks and understory plants in a post about poison ivy? Well, this is another commonly sited way to distinguish poison ivy from other wildland plants, but not pointing out that poison ivy is a collection of three leaflets makes leaf arrangement a confusing diagnostic characteristic.

Poison ivy is described as having an alternate leaf arrangement, but sometimes trying to figure out the leaf arrangement in the field, especially when dealing with so many variables in how plants grow can be discouraging. Realistically, we need traits we can observe and confirm confidently in the field, and leaves of three isn’t enough. There are tons of plants with leaves of three that are common in Texas.

Sorrel vine (Cissus trifoliata) is commonly mistaken for poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), but it has more of a matte finish and a thick appearance to the leaves, almost like a succulent. It also leans more blue-gray than poison ivy, which appears to have a sateen finish, and a rich true green hue. Also, poison ivy tends to have almost a ruched fabric texture to it, rather than the smoother appearance of sorrel vine.

Pigeon wing (Clitoria mariana) is probably less commonly seen, but the size of the leaflets and their arrangement is also in that infamous “leaves of three” arrangement. Note the simple smooth leaf margin. Also, you can kind of tell from the image, these leaves have a bit of a fuzzy texture to them. Do you remember those plastic toys that used to have that old flocking on them? My grand parents and great grandparents had those kind of ornaments and figurines…pigeon wing kind of reminds me of those. Worn vintage flocking very fine, almost not noticeable. You can kind of see it in the blurred edges of the leaflets in the pictures. The leaflets are very thin and tender, and pigeon wing puts out a big pretty flower at the end of spring/beginning of summer. As far as color goes, pigeon wing tends to be a lighter fresher green hue than it’s itchy counterpart. Last year, on our place, the pigeon wing really showed out. I haven’t seen any flowers yet this year, but here’s an image from last year for your viewing pleasure.

These guys are in the same genus as butterfly pea, and I personally find them delightful.

Another plant commonly mistaken for poison ivy is called peppervine (Nekemias arborea). As it’s name suggests, it is a vining plant, and it tends to climb over shrubs etc. like a big carpet (similar to grapevines). It has a really pretty green-blue hue to it, and the lobes have a very sharp edged appearance to them. The leaflets have more of a neat pleated appearance rather than the soft ruched appearance of poison ivy. Also, if you look down the leaflet, you will see that there are more than three leaflets, but peppervine does have a terminal leaflet (the one at the tip of the branch) that can give it a three leaved appearance.

The last “look alike” I would like to share with you is a tree. It’s in the maple family, and it’s name is box elder (Acer negundo). This one is most commonly mistaken for poison ivy at the beginning of the growing season when new growth is coming on. Box elder tends to send out straight bright green shoots, which isn’t a habit of poison ivy (that sends out pale kinked shoots). The leaflets do appear in groups of three like poison ivy, but the hue tends to be a much lighter green color, and though the creases in the leaves look similar, the profile of the box elder leaf is much thinner, the points sharper, and the leaves less rigid. They tend to get more of a drooping look to them.



There are many many plants out there that could be mistaken for poison ivy. This is the time of year to make observations of the overall appearance of all of these plants. they are showing out in full foliage, unravaged by the Texas heat (yet), and if you can find a patch of poison ivy that you see frequently, learning it’s location and observing how it looks different through the year is very beneficial as poison ivy blooms are fragrant, the berries are an interesting white/green cluster and these may grab the attention of small humans who are eye-level with the itchy plant. Some people are even sensitive to the dormant sticks standing up off the woodland floor in fall and winter. Luckily, those sticks also have a pretty distinctive appearance once you get a feel for their form.

I hope this crash course guide helps you look at plants as a sum of their parts and makes it a little easier to recognize them from a distance, without getting too up-close and personal for your comfort. Sometimes, generalized appearances are easier to recognize than dissecting each trait. Stay safe out there!