[pct-l] Poison Oak & more botany

[Christine Kudija" <cmkudija@earthlink.net (Christine Kudija)]

Charlie, you stole what I was going to write (e.g. that "poison oak" ain't
an "oak" at all - nor even a near cousin to oaks).  But I'll add my $.02
anyway...

The webpage David Sacerdote recommended is superb.  What it didn't make
clear (at least to my eyes) is that poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)
also occurs in at least three growth forms - a vine that crawls up trees
(oaks, native walnuts, sycamores), an upright  shrub (often on rocky, low
elevation hillsides) and a subshrub, more or less in between the vine and
the shrub form.  So recognizing the leaves (look for the glossy, bright
green color, as well as the "oak-like" shape of the leaflets - but the leaf
shape is not diagnostic - note the species name, "diversilobum" - "different
leaves" (I think)) is important; recognizing the habitat is also important
(just know that riparian habitats aren't the only places you'll find
Toxicodendron (a very apt name).  I read recently that even washing with
plain water after exposure helps avoid the god-awful rash.

When I was a Camp Fire camp counselor in northern Calif, (a loong time ago)
we advocated using Fels-Naptha soap with cold water.  Fels-Naptha is a
laundry soap-bar that can be found in some supermarkets & old-fashioned
hardware stores, & probably easily special-ordered.  I have no idea about
its biodegradability, but if you've contacted the plant, you need to wash as
soon as possible.  Unless, of course, you're Brick.   Technu products are
supposed to be good, too, but Fels-Naptha is more versatile and you can
slice off a small chunk for your first aid kit in the regions where you'll
encounter the nasty stuff.

I remember a particularly gorgeous specimen on the trail just above the
Barrel Springs cow-pie demonstration yard (I mean campground...) that
required some gymnastics to get around.

Leaves of three, let them be....  (LOTLTB????)

Christine (B.A. Botany, UC Santa Barbara, 1983, fwiw)