Answer #1

There are thousands or millions of plant species on this planet. Some are tiny; some are huge. Some can be eaten while some are poisonous. Some are beautiful and can be used as ornaments while others are better off where these are planted. Whatever the purpose of these plants, these are God-given gifts that we must take care of.

Two plants that can serve as an ornament or a killer are ivy and poison ivy. What could be the differences?

Ivy or ivies is a plant from a genus called Hedera from the family Araliaceae. This is common across Southern, Central, and Western Europe, some parts of Africa, Micronesia, Central Asia, up to Japan and Taiwan. Poison ivy, on the other hand, is not a part of the genus Hedera but rather Toxicodendron. The family of poison ivy is Anacardiaceae. Poison ivy is very native to North America, Canadian territories such as Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Mexico, and some parts of England.

Ivies are creeping plants that creep on the ground for 5-20 cm in height and can also creep among trees, was, rock formations, man-made structures and others for up to 30 meters in height. For poison ivies, as a vine, it can grow on the ground for 4-10 inches and as shrub, it can grow up to 4 feet, shorter than ivies.

Ivies unlike the poison ivy are not poisonous plants. The leaves, stems, roots and the plant as a whole will not cause a skin reaction once being touched. However, the berries are poisonous once eaten so it should not be tasted nor consumed. Regarding poisons, the poison ivy is highly toxic to the skin which produces an allergic reaction once in contact with the leaves, stem with reddish hairs and its vines. It produces a compound called urushiol which is a compound found in these kind of plants. Urushiol will produce an allergic reaction to anyone who touches it and will cause contact dermatitis. The treatment for poison ivy can be through Calamine lotion or Burow’s solution. Oatmeal and baking soda are also effective in treatment of poison ivy.

In terms of appearance, it’s quite difficult to distinguish if a plant is a poison ivy to due to weather and climate as the leaves as being the predictor, are being destroyed by the weather. Ivies are very common among ivy league universities such as Harvard, Princeton, etc. Thus, the ivy league got its name from this plant.

Summary:
1. Ivy is from the genus hedera while poison ivy is from the genus toxicodendron.
2. Ivy is common in Europe and other parts of the world while poison ivy is common in north american countries.
3. Ivy grows longer and taller while poison ivy is shorter.
4. Ivy is not poisonous while poison ivy’s leaf, stem, and the vines will actually cause skin dermatitis.

Answered By: charm [6 ]