Day 5. Avoid These Dangerous Plants

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Welcome to say 5 of the Staying Healthy on Your Hikes email series. We have already 
talked about the basics of hiking, and now want to cover some plants you might come 
across. While some plants on your hiking trails will be pretty to look at, others are going 
to be dangerous. This includes poison ivy and poison oak. Here are some ways to 
determine where these plants are so that you can avoid them.

Poison Ivy

The first dangerous plant you might encounter on your hike is poison ivy. This is one of 
the most common plants, and is often confused with poison oak, but is different. Poison 
ivy will cause an itchy rash on your skin, which is the first sign that you have come into 
contact with the plant. Typically, this looks like a large shrub with a vine that is running 
across the ground near the shrub. It should have a stem with no thorns, and clusters of 
leaves containing one large leaf and two smaller leaves. It is a green-yellow color.

Poison Oak

The next dangerous plant to avoid while hiking is the poison oak. This is also a shrub 
that grows low to the ground. With this plant, it can be identified by leaflets that are 
rounded on the edge and look more like the leaves of an oak tree. This type of plant will 
also cause a burning, itchy rash. 

If you come across these shrubs on your hike, make sure you avoid them and don’t 
touch them at all.

