Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Poison Ivy


This afternoon, I paid a visit to a vacant lot just south of Drumheller Springs, below the basalt cliff. While there, I encountered quite an amazing thicket that looked suspiciously like poison ivy (Rhus radicans). This plant has only been identified for me once before by my friend Tim Corcoran, but apparently it made a big impression. Something told me to avoid this plant at all costs, even though I was not 100% sure of its identity at the time.   


Since coming home, I looked up the plant online: 

This page gives a better view of the leaves in spring


Scientific Name: Rhus radicans. 

Spokane Name: suláqeʔ
The root word is not entirely obvious, 
but it is related to wir, meaning "to burn."

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