Mnemonic Rhymes for Poison Ivy

Leaves of 3; let it be.



Hairy vine, no friend of mine.

Berries white, run in fright.

Today we had a nature lesson about poison ivy, etc. Beware! It is THICK here as is poison oak and poison sumac!

A few more rhymes:
-Longer middle stem; stay away from them. (Refers to middle leaflet having visibly longer stem than 2 side leaflets.)
-Raggy rope, don't be a dope! (Poison ivy vines on trees have furry "raggy" appearance. This rhyme warns tree climbers to be wary. Old, mature vines on tree trunks can be quite large and long, with recognizable leaves obscured among higher foliage of tree.)
-One, two, three? Don't touch me.
-Red leaflets in spring, it's a dangerous thing. (Refers to red appearance new leaflets sometimes have in spring--later in summer leaflets are green, making them difficult to distinguish from other plants, while in autumn they can be reddish-orange.)
-Side leaflets like mittens, will itch like the dickens. (Refers to appearance of some, but not all, poison ivy leaves, where each of 2 side leaflets has small notch that makes leaflet look like mitten with "thumb".)
-If butterflies land there, don't put your hand there. (Refers to some butterflies land on poison ivy, since they are not affected, which provides them protection as their predators avoid eating plant.)
-If it's got hair, it won't be fair. (Refers to hair that can be on stem and leaves of poison ivy.)