My friend Joe came over this morning to borrow a kayak, and then had some car trouble, so all said and done he was here for about an hour and a half. I got him a few things and offered him tools and then figured it was a good time to do some gardening while he piddled with his car.
I realized that I have an extensive rash on my arm, which I assume to be the beginnings of poison ivy. I used to get poison ivy frequently and had to go to the doctor for a shot because it wouldn't go away naturally, but in the last couple of seasons I've gotten it and it's gone away on its own without too much discomfort. So I've been telling people that I'm no longer as allergic as I used to be. That's when the stuff gets you, apparently.
So I now have this rash which itches and covers almost the full extent of both of my forearms. The only thing I can figure is that yesterday, right before I left my house I weeded my tomato plants. I hadn't done this in weeks, so it was a lush groundcover of grass and weeds that I yanked away at in a flailing lackadasical manner. (Picture Ernie and Bert going through the toy chest.)
S,o fast forward to today's rash. In the yard, I've got these little shoots all over the place, front, back, side, everywhere. The leaves look like Oak leaves (not like Pin Oaks, but the more ovoid/oblong shaped leaves). In some locations they're substantial. So I've kinda thought that it was Poison Oak. I know Poison Ivy, but I don't know Poison Oak. (Someone told me once that Poision Oak was so named b/c it's leaves resemble Oak leaves.)
So this morning as I was putzing around in the lawn and finding ever more of these little buggers (and thinking that my toy box of a tomato planter must've had some fledgling poison weeds in it), I decided to surf the net in the hopes of positively i.d'ing this plant.
What I'm finding onine suggests that poison oak looks a lot like poison ivy, and the leaves that I'm finding online don't resemble the leaves of this specimen. But it's hard to tell from a picture online. So I'm wondering if they're actually oak shoots - but the oak tree is way in the back yard and the leaves aren't the same. And if they were shoots from an acorn, these'd be some pretty prosperous acorns. I mean these things are everywhere. And being oak shoots wouldn't explain this rash. I'm almost positive that there was no poison ivy in the tomato bed, as I can see that stuff from a mile away.
And I thought who better to ask than my very smart family? Can anyone identify this plant? I will attach several photos in a subsequent post.
On another front, it's a beautiful morning, and I've already been for a walk and intend to walk into town for a baseball game later today. As long as this rash don't act up.
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Those look like fine portraits of baby oak trees to me, and there's surely nothing poisonous about them. I've been told that there really is no such thing as poison oak, and that what people call that is really just poison ivy. It sounds like what you found on the internet supports that.
ReplyDeleteCristy has the great oak tree harvest every spring over at her place so I know those acorns sprout without a moment's hesitation, and, of course, the squirrels carry them all over and bury them is all sorts of places - a tomato patch is just the right spot for a squirrel. That would leave that damned rash to consider though. Is there anything else it could be?
We here at the Clark-Adams Oak Tree Farm call those plants oak seedlings. They are everywhere here, but then we have oak trees everywhere. We also have poison ivy everywhere and I have one word for you: Tecnu. It's some stuff you can buy at the drug store, around the calamine lotion and Ivy-Dry. You're out in the yard pulling weeds, you finish, come inside, rub this Tecnu all over your arms, legs if they are exposed, then take a shower. For me, this is a miracle drug, and I break out with poison ivy just by thinking about it. I just assume if I've been working in my yard that I've met some poison ivy and wash up with Tecnu and I'm good.
ReplyDeleteBlythe, there was an article in the paper today about poison ivy that said that the oil from the stuff - which is what causes the rash - can remain on garden tools, gloves, whatever for months. Could this explain your outbreak?
ReplyDeleteI do not have a degree in horticulture, but I agree with the smart ones above that you have a few little acorns that have sprouted in your yard.
ReplyDeleteThe last picture also has a "milkweed" in it, I think - prickly little viney thing with a little yellow flower. This can also cause a reaction of itching and redness on skin.
I would recommend staying out of the garden and spending more time at the ball game with a hotdog and a beer.