Summer is winding down , but a quite a little of us are still venturing through the local plant life and fauna bare - legged . As a public table service , we thought we ’d scratch up some poison ivy facts .
" ¢ Poison English ivy can be found in every U.S. state except for California , Alaska and Hawaii ( California has mickle of poison oak tree , however ) and in every Canadian state apart from Newfoundland and Labrador . research worker at Duke University have notice that higher concentrations of carbon copy dioxide in the atmospheric state not only cause poison Hedera helix to thrive , but also increases the intensity of urushiol . As a result , poisonous substance Hedera helix is no longer restricted to the most outside hike trail ; it can be find in public parks , through the whirl in urban sidewalks and in backyard gardens .
" ¢ Urushiol is the active ingredient in poison ivy ( and poisonous substance oak ) that gives some folks an itchy skin rash .
Notice we say " some" folk " “ truth be told , not everyone who comes in tangency with an offending industrial plant will break out in a rash . About one in five world will have no reaction whatsoever when exposed to the gummy sap emit from these plants . The persist 80 pct will break out in an itchy , blebby efflorescence from tangency either direct ( from the plant itself ) or collateral ( say , from pet a Canis familiaris that has urushiol in its fur ) . Resin from poison ivy has a long half - biography and people have been know to get a blizzard simply by impact a horticulture dick or knickers leg that had made contact with the plant more than a yr prior .
" ¢ Hopefully the Obama family is being aware of the flora while they holiday on Martha ’s Vineyard . Poison common ivy flourishes on the island as a bush and a climbing vine , as well as land cover . Nearby chemist’s do din business selling Technu , a non - prescription cleanser that removes urushiol from the skin . Horticulturist Polly Hill , who base the island ’s public botanical garden , used to eat up toxicant ivy leaf as a youngster in an sweat to build up up an immunity to its effects . And , for what it ’s worth , Ms. Hill lived to the ripe age of 100 without ever suffering a poisonous substance ivy skin rash .
