It’s time for fall color, and we’re starting to see some out here in the country.
Our shrubs (sumac and sand plum) and vines (poison ivy and Virginia creeper) are showing orange and red. I sometimes hear people refer to our sumac as poison sumac. Poison sumac isn’t in our area. In fact, the only place in Oklahoma where it could possibly be found is in the swampy areas of southeastern Oklahoma. Poison sumac is found in wet areas, usually swamps. It’s a bush rather than a vine.
We have lots of poison ivy, and it will give you the same itch as poison sumac. Because we have so much poison ivy, I do most of my serious trail trimming in the fall and winter when poison ivy is easier to spot because of its color. I don’t get rid of it, though, because the white berries in the spring are eaten by more birds than any other berry out there.
Virginia creeper is sometimes mistaken for poison ivy since it’s a climbing vine like poison ivy. The compound leaf of Virginia creeper has five leaflets (see photo). Poison ivy has three leaflets. Remember the saying, “leaves of three, let it be.”
Sand plums make a delicious, tart jam, similar to Scandinavian lingonberry jam. The plums are ready for picking mid-to-late July.
