Click on any image to open the slideshow
Toxicodendron radicans (L.)Kuntze
Eastern Poison Ivy
Synonym(s): Rhus radicans L.
Florida native
A common vine of hammocks, floodplain forests, swamps and disturbed sites throughout nearly all of Florida. The range includes all of the eastern United States west into Texas to South Dakota, plus Arizona. In Canada it is found in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Poison ivy is a vine that is trailing or erect, frequently growing up trees, shrubs or even structures. The leaves are alternate and trifoliate (having three leaflets). Leaflets are ovate and may have margins that are entire, blunt toothed, or often with a lobe on one or both sides towards the base. The petioles are reddish, especially where the leaflets attach, and are shorter than the leaflets. Leaflets are up to 20cm (~8 in.) long and 12cm (4-3/4 in.) wide. The small white to greenish-white flowers may have five or six lobes and appear in small clusters growing from the leaf axils. The fruit is a grayish-white drupe 4-7mm (up to about 1/4 in.) in diameter.
Toxicodendron radicans is a member of the Anacardiaceae - Cashew and Sumac family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jun 14, 2026
