Poison Ivy
This vine runs along the ground and climbs trees in just the same way as the beautiful Virginia Creeper. It is quite readily distinguished, however, for Poison Ivy has but three leaves in a cluster, while Virginia Creeper has five leaves.
The poison rash is caused by the irritating juices of the plant.
“My, How My Hand and Arm Burn and Itch”
“My, I wish I’d known that when gathering my flowers,” said another girl. “I really believe I’ve gathered some poison ivy among them. Look, is this the ivy? It has three leaves.”
“It certainly is,” said Soami. “Please throw it overboard. You may have a case of ivy poison ‘for fair,’ though not everybody ‘takes’ poison. Maybe you’ll be lucky.”
“I sincerely hope so,” said the girl so fervently that everybody laughed.
“Well, anyhow, don’t scratch!” warned the Guardian of the Fire.
But the next morning’s class hour revealed the result of the day’s adventures. Two girls came with bad cases of plant poison, and nearly every girl had been sunburned.