FOXTAILS
(Setaria spp.) are common summer annuals that occur throughout Ohio. Giant
foxtail (S. faberi) is most common, with densely pubescent upper leaf blades
and distinctly nodding seed heads. Green foxtail (S. viridis) has smooth
leaf blades, hairs along the sheath margins, and loosely erect seed heads.
Yellow foxtail (S. glauca) is short (one to two feet), with flat stems,
erect culms, and long, sparse hairs at the base of the leaf blade. Although
not poisonous, bristles on the panicles stick to skin and have caused abscesses.
STINGING
NETTLE (Urtica dioica) is a bristly, stinging, erect perennial that
reproduces by seeds and creeping rootstocks. Stems and leaves are covered
with numerous stinging hairs, the sting resembling that of a bee. Plants
grow up to six feet in height, with slender, rigid stems branching mostly
at the top. Leaves are opposite, three- to six-inches long, pointed with
saw-toothed margins, sometimes rounded at the base. Flowers are green
to white and arranged on branched spikes arising from leaf axils. The
plant is found throughout Ohio, especially along roadsides, fencerows,
ditchbanks, shady or moist wood edges. Contact with the plant can cause
inflammation and welts may form.
POISON
IVY (Toxicodendron radicans) is a native plant that is found throughout
Ohio, on roadsides, forest edges, and waste areas. Poison ivy is a creeping
perennial vine or bush that reproduces by seed and vegetatively by roots.
Woody stems grow along the ground and can climb on a permanent structure
(e.g., walls, trees, utility poles, or fenceposts). Once it begins to
climb, adventitious roots appear from the stem that hold it in place,
giving the stem a fuzzy appearance. The leaves of poison ivy are alternate,
with three leaflets, and often shiny with a reddish hue. The shape of
the leaflets can be variable (elliptic to egg-shaped), as can the amount
and position of hairs. Leaf margins may be either smooth, toothed, or
lobed. The green-yellow-white flowers have five petals and bloom in June
and July. The small white berries (about one-eighth inch in diameter)
are round and hard. All parts of this plant contain an oily resin (3-pentadecylcatechol)
that can cause allergic reactions. Virtually anything that comes in contact
with the oily resin (e.g., animals, clothes, gloves, tools) can carry
the resin and cause dermatitis. Smoke of burning poison ivy plants can
be extremely dangerous.