Leaves Of Three, Let It Be! Berries White, Take Flight! by John David Fawcett Humans are the only members of the animal kingdom afflicted by Rhus radicans, otherwise known as poison ivy. Although it's a nuisance to people, poison ivy is of considerable value for many animals such as deer and other small mammals which browse on the leaves, twigs and berries. A popular food for birds such as grouse, quail and turkey, especially during fall migration and in winter when other foods are scarce, the small waxy, yellowish-white berries of the poison ivy plant pass through these animals and are widely distributed throughout the forest. There is rarely enough sunlight for the plant to thrive deep in the forest, but in the damp, rich soil of clearings and the forest edge it may stand upright like a shrub, spread over the ground, or be a vine climbing up tree trunks attached with thousands of aerial rootlets. The young leaves are often reddish colored in the spring and green during the
