Talk:Toxicodendron radicans

Title Picture

This picture doesn't exclusively show poison ivy, so it will confuse people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.81.134.98 (talk) 20:47, 11 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I will see if I can produce one of only poison-ivy this week. Hardyplants (talk) 07:34, 12 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Anaphylactoid semiology?

Could we please have at least an appropriate wikilink there? A lot of laypeople are going to be looking up poison ivy, and a lot of those will not recognise the phrase, which is not explained elsewhere in the article either. 86.132.140.207 (talk) 22:50, 11 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Done, although it would be nice to translate it to English as well.--Curtis Clark (talk) 01:44, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed that, too.--Curtis Clark (talk) 01:52, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Where is the history?

There must be years of talk-page history on this basic subject -- where is it?-69.87.200.106 (talk) 20:54, 1 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

preventing, managing, suppressing, and killing

There should be a section about preventing, managing, suppressing, and killing poison ivy. Cutting it is hard to do safely. Pulling it out would be good, but is hard to do safely. Commercial herbicides can be used. It can be covered with an opaque tarp or cardboard etc until it dies. Boiling water might kill it. The most common "natural" Internet recipe is one gallon vinegar, one cup salt, and 8 drops liquid detergent; spray onto leaves.-69.87.200.106 (talk) 21:09, 1 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

evolutionary significance

"The evolutionary significance of poison oak resin containing urushiol is difficult to explain. The resinous sap probably helps to seal wounds and may retard the growth of infectious fungal and bacterial spores. A chemical defense strategy against "predatory pressure" seems unlikely since the foliage and fruits are eaten by deer, goats, horses, cattle and a variety of birds. In fact, wood rats even use the branches to construct their nests. Only humans appear to have painful encounters with the plant, although laboratory studies indicate sensitivity on exposed skin of guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, sheep, dogs and rhesus monkeys.

In the case of humans, our well-developed immune system may be overreacting to a relatively innocuous plant resin on the skin. But there is a positive side to all of this--research on poison oak may lead to a better understanding of the human immune system and the treatment of renegade viruses and tumor cells. In the final analysis, poison oak may be a blessing in disguise."^{Herbalgram (American Botanical Council)
Volume 34: 36-42, 1995 by W.P. Armstrong and W.L. Epstein, M.D. cited in waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0802.htm} -69.87.199.228 (talk) 02:02, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]